Grave

Rachel Imeinu

Yahrzeit (Hillula)

11 Cheshvan — Rachel Imeinu

Rachel Imeinu - the wife of Yaakov Avinu

Yahrzeit - 11 Cheshvan

Burial place - Jerusalem, Gilo

The great Admor of Klausenburg, Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam, who survived the Shoah and lost his wife and 11 children in the Holocaust, comments as follows on the words of the prophet Yirmiyahu about Rachel's weeping:

«Thus says the L-rd: Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your labor - says the L-rd - they shall return from the enemy's land. And there is hope for your future - says the L-rd - your children shall return to their own borders».

Why does Yirmiyahu speak of return twice? - asks the Rebbe, who himself had known captivity.

«A broken man returns from the enemy's land to his own land,» he said, «and it is not easy for him to accept it, not easy for him to feel that he belongs to this land - for too long he breathed foreign air».

And these are thoughts about the state of a soul that keenly senses change, and in comforting Rachel, G-d promises her - “There is hope for your future: your children shall return to their own borders.”

And this is already about returning to one's own land, to one's own geographical borders, those so clearly indicated by the Torah.

The grave of Rachel Imeinu is a segula for prayers for the birth of children and for children already born.

Sipurei Tzadikim

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and Rachel Imeinu Once Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu was being taken to the hospital, and on the way he heard that Operation Cast Lead had begun. He immediately asked the ambulance driver to turn toward the grave of Rachel Imeinu. As unwell as he felt, he wept and prayed at her resting place for the soldiers of Israel. During this operation, a story spread throughout Israel that IDF soldiers approaching the towns from which the shelling had come had repeatedly seen a woman emerging from the houses, dressed all in black like a Muslim woman. In fluent Hebrew she warned them of danger, raised her hands to Heaven, and begged the soldiers not to enter those houses, saying it was a trap - the houses were mined. When the soldiers asked her who she was, she answered them: “Rachel Imeinu.” A few minutes after the soldiers left those places, the houses exploded. After the operation ended, several soldiers went to Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu to ask whether it could really be that the Matriarch Rachel had appeared in such places at such a time. And then Rav Mordechai said: “Of course, for I prayed and asked at her grave that she watch over you.” (From a lesson by Anat Ben Ari)

Prayer at the Grave of Rachel

«Kumi Rachel Imeinu ha-Kedosha ve-tehi meilitzat yosher avuri, Va ani bitech ba'ah levakesh lihyot em ve-ra'aya, Kumi imi ki ayefah nishmati Ve at imi, Rachel Imeinu ha-kedosha, She-yoda'at et tza'aram shel banayich, u-venotayich, Tihyi meilitzat yosher sheli etzel ha-Kadosh Baruch Hu, Tomri lo al af she-lo diyakti ba-machshava, ba-dibur u-vama'aseh, Ani rotzah lizkot, lihyot em ve-ra'aya, Ve ani yoda'at, ve-adayin lo me'uchar ki gedolim chasadav shel ha-Kadosh Baruch Hu. Kumi imi Rachel u-misri tefilati le-El Chai, Adon ha-Adonim, Melech ha-Melachim, U-tesamchini na ve-ta'iri li or tefilati, Yeshu'ati ve-shavati Elav Yitbarach, El Melech Chai, be-omri: Shema Yisrael Ad-nay Elo-heinu Ad-nay Echad, amen ve-amen»! Translation: “Rise up, our Holy Matriarch Rachel, and be a righteous advocate for me, And I, your daughter, have come to ask to become a mother and a wife, Rise up, my Matriarch, for my soul is weary, And you are my mother, holy Matriarch Rachel, who knows the pain and suffering of your sons and your daughters, Be a kind defender for me before the Holy One, Blessed is His Name, Tell Him that, although I have not always been exact (careful/diligent) in my thoughts, in my words, and in my deeds, I want to merit becoming a mother and a wife. And I know that it is still not too late, for great are the kindnesses of the Holy One, Blessed be He”. (Translation and transliteration – “Sila Tehilim”)

May the merit of the tzadeket Rachel Imeinu protect Am Yisrael!