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Though the visit to Kever Rachel is an annual event, this year was special. The heartfelt tefillos of these heroic women were not just for the donors partnering in the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim and the many Jewish girls still held captive in Arab villages, but for the Israeli hostages in Gaza and for the soldiers and security forces fighting on seven fronts.

“The words ‘Rachel weeps for her children… because they are not’ had extra special meaning this time,” said a Yad L’Achim official. “These women, who’ve experienced their own captivity at the hands of Arab men, pleaded for Jewish girls who are experiencing what they went through, for our brethren in captivity in Gaza, and for the soldiers who are putting their lives on the line in Gaza, Lebanon, Yehudah and Shomron, and elsewhere. You could hear the uncontrolled sobbing when the names of the hostages were read out.”

The women arrived in chartered buses from all around the country; some were even brought from their hiding places for the special event.

“This year, the traffic jams on the way to Kever Rachel were worse than usual. But despite being stuck in traffic for so long, they were joyous on their arrival. Every single one of them expressed gratitude for the privilege of being able to come to the holy site and daven for herself, her children, and the Jewish people.

Rabbi Chaim Kahn, a senior Yad L’Achim activist who led the event, related the sense of excitement felt by the women.  “We have arrived at Mama Rachel!” they said to one another.

The event began with a sumptuous dinner served in a special room in the tomb complex. The women were given an hour-long lecture by Rebbetzin Orit Salomon on Mama Rachel and her characteristic of sacrifice, of willingness to give of herself for the sake of others.

“The young women were eager to learn details about the life of Rachel Imeinu, so that they could try to emulate her,” said Mrs. Suri Kostlitz, from Yad L’Achim’s counter-assimilation department. “The event was also an opportunity for them to get together and share common experiences from the Arab village. It gave them strength.

“They all entered the tomb of Mama Rachel, caressed its holy stones and poured out their hearts in supplication.”

Another social worker also noted the unusual traffic jams this year. “Rachel Imeinu was buried on the road,” she said. “There is no doubt that the journey to her tomb, which this year took so long, was full of meaning. The harder it was to get to her, the more the merit.

“It was amazing to hear the women talk about the simple connection between the long journey to the tomb and the journey that everyone makes in their lifetime, and the journey that Mama Rachel took … It was moving to hear them talk about how they feel loved and embraced by the Yad L’Achim family. They feel they belong.

“Credit for this extraordinary happening goes to the organizers of the event, and of course the administration of Yad L’Achim, which arranges special events throughout the year for survivors.”

A senior Yad L’Achim official said: “We have no doubt that the tefillos of these heroic women at Mama Rachel will awaken the mercy of Heaven, and bring yeshuos and personal redemption for everyone whose name was mentioned and for Am Yisrael as a whole.”

Photo Credit: Yad L’Achim

Names of donors read out at the kever of Rachel Imeinu.

Let our tefillos ascend before the throne of honor. The survivors in prayer.

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