Our matriarch Rivka personifies binah yeseirah, a mother’s intuition coupled with the ability to instill her children with Torah values. Her intuition was based on prophecy she heard directly from Hashem; that she was carrying two nations in her womb and that the “elder shall serve the younger” (Bereishis 25:21-23). She received the prophecy and had the ability to actualize it.
Rivka knew she had to take action, use subterfuge and prevent Eisav from getting the bracha from Yitzchok. She guided Yaakov and devised the plan which actualized her prophecy. The Torah shows us clearly how Rivka understood her children better than their father Yitzchok. Similarly, the Torah related how our matriarch Sarah understood, with her binah yeseirah, the needs of her son to the point where Hashem intervened and instructed Avraham to listen to Sarah (Bereishis 21:12).
As Jewish mothers, we should learn from our matriarchs to use the unique inner strength we possess. Inner strength based on binah yeseirah – divinely inspired intuition. When raising our children, we undoubtedly encounter challenges. May Hashem help us follow the footsteps of Sarah and Rivka in guiding our children; each one al pi darko on their unique individualized Torah path.
