Kever Rachel and Our Grave Theology
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5775
Somewhere in the back of my mind I have this image of the Jews leaving Israel during the first exile and as they pass by the grave of our Matriarch Rachel she cries out to God on their behalf and God comforts Rachel with a verse from Yirmiyahu,, veshavu banim legvulam! There is reward for your actions – they will eventually return!
I am not going to talk about graves of tzadikim but I want to show you where this idea came from, what the issues are with it and offer a different answer to the question that arises, all in a few minutes!
Parshat Vayechi opens with two sections. The first – Jacob requests from Joseph that he (Jacob) be buried in Israel.
It continues with the blessing of Ephraim and Menashe. That section begins with Yaakov recounting the patriarchal blessing that he received of land and children and the promise that Joseph’s sons would be included in that blessing. The section ends with Jacob’s blessing of the children. Smack in the middle of the second section – we read:
בראשית פרק מח
ז) וַאֲנִ֣י׀ בְּבֹאִ֣י מִפַּדָּ֗ן מֵ֩תָה֩ עָלַ֨י רָחֵ֜ל בְּאֶ֤רֶץ כְּנַ֙עַן֙ בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְ בְּע֥וֹד כִּבְרַת־אֶ֖רֶץ לָבֹ֣א אֶפְרָ֑תָה וָאֶקְבְּרֶ֤הָ שָּׁם֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶפְרָ֔ת הִ֖וא בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם
On that verse Rashi writes that Jacob is trying to explain to Joseph why he did not bury his mother in the cave of Machpela in order to assuage Joseph’s anger. He tells his son that he should not be blamed as this was a divinely commanded burial so that Rachel could cry for her children as they leave to exile. Thus the image with which I began!
There are two problems with that Rashi:
- Theologically – do we really need Rachel to be buried in a particular place to daven from the grave for us? Rashi in Yirmiyahu himself reads Rachel’s cry as calling out in heaven
- Rashi does not actually explain what that verse is doing there. Both the Ohr Hachaim and the Ridvaz ask the question but it should be apparent to any reader of the
Why does the Torah place this verse in the middle of the blessing of Menashe and Ephraim?
Rashi is correct that Joseph might be curious, but that does not explain its connection to the blessing.
The Radak suggests that Jacob felt the need to explain Rachel’s burial so that Joseph would not hold it against him and follow his wishes of being buried in the cave in Israel. In other words, the explanation is connected to Jacob’s burial request and not the kid’s blessing. The obvious problem with that approach is- then the verse should be written in section one (the request for burial) and not in smack in the middle of section two (kids blessings).
Rather we need to look for a connection between Rachel’s death/ burial and Menashe/Ephraim.
The Ohr Hachaim writes that Jacob is referencing Rachel’s early death to explain why both Menashe and Ephraim inherit in Israel, the only of Jacob’s grandchildren to receive such a blessing.
He writes that had Rachel not died young she would have had more children and Menashe and Ephraim are receiving the portions for the kids that Rachel would have had.
Rav Amnon Bazak, a Ram in YHE, argues that the double portion is payback for not burying Rachel in the cave.
Either of these answers seems better than those offered by the medieval commentators.
I guess for me the moral of the story is – don’t build grave theology from a Rashi that is both textually and philosophically challenged!
