This week, Israel is gearing up for
the yahrzeit of Rachel Imenu which will take place on Tuesday. Jews from all
over Israel and beyond will come to Kever Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb) on the
outskirts of Jerusalem right near Bethlehem to pray. Women specifically will
make the trip in order to pray for a shidduch (match), a child or whatever
their hearts desire.
Flyers, brochures and supplements in
newspapers have been circulating all over Israel promoting Mosdos Kever Rachel,
the organization that takes care of Rachel’s Tomb. The cover of one of the
brochures says “This year *everyone* is getting close to mother.” There is only
one problem- the cover page of this brochure only has pictures of men. If
everyone is getting closer to Rachel, our foremother, then why are there only
men in the pictures? Inside of that same brochure, any pictures that contain
women, including a bride, have the women’s faces blurred out.
How can this be?
Rachel was the woman who patiently
stood by while Yaakov was tricked into marrying her sister Leah first. Rachel
was the woman who saw that she could not rely on Yaakov’s prayers so she took
the initiative and prayed for a child. Rachel was the woman who died while
giving birth to Binyamin, the youngest of the tribes.
Rachel represents all of the women
who need God’s assistance, women who open up their hearts to God hoping to have
their prayers answered. How can their faces be left out and replaced by faces
of men?
Tradition tells us that the reason
that Yaakov was tricked with the wrong bride was because he was unable to see
her face. In order to make sure that this does not happen again, at the wedding
we do a bedekin where the groom makes sure that he has the right bride by
looking at her face and only then lowers the veil. The bedekin ensures that
Rachel will be the last sacrifice of a woman whose face could not be seen
leading to detrimental circumstances. The last place that women’s faces should
be missing is on a brochure which speaks about the importance of Kever Rachel.
Another element that is absent from
these brochures is a picture of what Kever Rachel looks like today. The
brochures show pastoral pictures of what the Tomb looked like before a fortress
was built around it to keep it secure. Today, Israeli soldiers, both men and
women stand guard at the entrance to the fortress as well as inside to make
sure that all of the visitors are safe as the building is very close to
Bethlehem and has been firebombed many times. Last year on Rachel Imenu’s
yahrzeit, there were so many visitors that part of the building nearly
collapsed. It is crucial that we show our support and appreciation for the
soldiers who put their lives on the line so that we can pray safely at Rachel’s
Tomb.
This week, I will personally be
delivering gift baskets to the soldiers protecting Kever Rachel. I will proudly
have my picture taken with these young heroes. Please be in touch if you would like me to
deliver a basket on your behalf. http://toratreva.org/Joomla/index.php
