In Parshat Vayishlach we learn of the untimely passing of Rachel Imenu, and so we will also conclude our examination of the character of our Matriarchs.
Just as we saw previously with Leah – that she is given gifts for her kindness in the form of noble destinies for her descendants – we find the same is true of Rachel. But it is important to note that although we trace the lineage of each of the tribes through one of the wives of Yaakov (including the handmaidens who had each been associated with a daughter of Lavan), Rachel and Leah are both remembered as “our mother.” (This is not the case regarding the handmaidens.) This is an important point to emphasize, as it’s clear that the mothers didn’t favor their own progeny and saw themselves as inextricably bound up with the destiny of all the children of Israel.
We saw last week how Leah is acknowledged and rewarded for her selfless concern for all the future generations of Israel; of Rachel we learn the same in the well-known prophecy that is our haftara on Rosh Hashana. Indeed, on Rosh Hashana, when we seek to awaken the paternal mercy and forgiveness of our Creator, we emphasize frequently the special role of Rachel and of her grandson Ephraim.
The navi Yirmiyahu (31:15) tells us the voice of Rachel can be heard in Rama, crying for her children. A few lines later we hear of Hashem’s dearest son Ephraim, a charming playful child. (Ibid. 18, 20). From here and elsewhere we see that when Israel is described as a collective – including the good and the wicked, those who are obedient to Hashem’s law and those who have not accepted its yoke – we are described as Ephraim and as the offspring of Rachel. On our behalf, Rachel beseeched mercy, asking Hashem to show at least as much consideration for us as she showed her sister in saving her embarrassment on her wedding night. (See especially the introduction to Eicha Rabba.) On this passage, the Maharal also taught that since Yaakov’s love for Rachel was greatest, she is remembered as the “house” of Israel. Within her figurative walls all of Israel seeks refuge.
Rachel’s influence was to unify Israel, to remind us to welcome and accept one another just as she was a mother to all Yaakov’s sons and her sons never treated any of the other brothers with disdain or disrespect. After the navi describes Rachel weeping for her sons, he tells us that the sons will all return to their boundaries (Ibid. 17). Maharal says that from this we can learn that the ingathering of the exiles will occur in the merit of Israel overcoming our differences and working together – all of us – as a unified, collective whole.
The Kedushat Levi, Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, draws an additional conclusion from this passage. He says Rachel’s unceasing faith and hope for the redemption of her children sustains and empowers us throughout the long exile. For someone languishing over long centuries in a state far removed from personal and spiritual actualization, it can be overwhelming and soul-crushing to anticipate the difficulties that must still be endured. But Rachel sets an example for us. She was the first to fall weeping and mourning at the onset of the first exile, and she will be the last to stop praying until every last one of her lost children is gathered back home.
In the aforementioned chapter of Yirmiyahu, Ephraim is referred to as the “firstborn” of Israel to Hashem. This formulation is a bit unusual, for Ephraim, of course, is not the firstborn of Hashem (whatever that might mean) or of Yaakov for that matter. Ephraim is actually not anybody’s firstborn! Yaakov does notoriously declare Ephraim to be the firstborn of Yosef, and even goes so far as to say that “Ephraim and Menashe will be like Reuven and Shimon to me” (Bereishit 48:6), but nowhere else do we find Ephraim to be the firstborn of Israel, let alone of Hashem. By Yaakov’s decree, Ephraim becomes the firstborn of Rachel who, as we have seen, weeps for her missing children.
The Malbim on Yirmiyahu 31:9 follows Radak in understanding that the original exile from Eretz Yisrael was of the Northern Kingdom, the “Ten Lost Tribes” led by Ephraim. When the time of the redemption comes, Hashem will undo the process of the exile by reversing the order of events. By this reading, Ephraim is Hashem’s firstborn because he was the first to go into exile and he will be the first to return to Eretz Yisrael. First will come the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel, followed later by the Kingdom of Yehuda under the Mashiach ben David.
On this note, Rav Hillel of Sklov taught in the name of the Vilna Gaon that Ephraim is Hashem’s firstborn because the Mashiach son of Yosef will be the first redeemer to arise, inaugurating the redemption of Israel. This is Ephraim, the firstborn of Hashem. Rachel, the beloved first love of Yaakov, is also the mother to all of Israel, and in her merit and by the power of her prayers, the exiles return and we experience victory over our enemies.
