Rachel Buried Along The Way

As Yaakov is preparing to die, he arranges to bless his children and first visits Yosef with the purpose of giving brachot to Yosef’s two sons. They will be, Yaakov says, like Reuven and Shimon – sharing the status of his own sons. Yaakov reflects upon the history of his relationship with Yosef, recalling the special love he shared with Rachel, Yosef’s mother. He tells Yosef that when Rachel died, she was buried near the place that she died, “along the way.” Of course, Yosef knows all this.

Rashi explains that Yaakov suspects that Yosef harbors some resentment towards him for not showing his mother proper respect in selecting her burial place. Yaakov explains that he always had the greatest reverence for her and it was necessary and appropriate that she be buried in exactly that place. This is because in the future the children of Israel will go into galut in Bavel and Rachel will cry for them as they pass her burial place. She will daven for them and eventually they will return in her merit.

Maharal in Gur Arye asks why Rachel, in particular, cries for her children and intercedes on their behalf. After all, any or all of the matriarchs could serve in this role, and she is in fact the mother of only a small fraction of the children of Israel. Maharal uses Rachel’s characterization here to make a profound philosophical point about the history of Israel and our cycle of exile and redemption. Maharal says that Rachel’s destiny and her surrender to that destiny exemplify the brokenness of our world and how Hashem must eventually repair it.

When Lavan decided to trick Yaakov, and essentially Rachel too, Rachel nevertheless played along and gave the secret codes to Leah to enable her to succeed in the ploy. Rachel realized that what was happening must be the will of Hashem, and that it was not possible for Yaakov to have only one wife. The children of Israel had to come from different mothers because they reflect the fractured state of the world. Only later, after the exiles all return for the final redemption, will Israel at last be unified. The world will also be made whole and Hashem’s name will be one.

Rachel was the individual who most directly experienced the pain of this state and who also retained her faith in Hashem in the face of it. Therefore, it is Rachel who cries for her children and who ultimately welcomes them back.