"For There Is Reward for Your Deeds," Says Hashem

Presented here are prayers to be said at the grave of Rachel Imeinu and for the yahrtzeit of Rachel Imeinu, which begins today, the 11th of MarCheshvan, from Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a:

Prayers while traveling to Rachel’s Tomb:

Master of the world, full of compassion: as we travel to Beit Lechem Efratah, to the holy and awesome tziyun, which is the grave of Rachel Imeinu—about whom it is said, “Rachel weeps for her children; she refuses to be comforted”—for Rachel Imeinu never stops praying, not for a single moment or second, for us and for all our troubles. And now we are all in terrible distress and under terrible decrees. Every day, every moment and second, different and unusual illnesses visit us—dangerous illnesses that seem to have almost no hope.

And now we have come to you, Rachel Imeinu, to pray before you about all our troubles and about all the troubles of the House of Israel, [during the Three Weeks one adds especially during the Three Weeks] for our Beis HaMikdash was burned, our city was destroyed, and “strangers ruled over us; there was none to rescue us from their hand.” Therefore we have come to you, Rachel Imeinu, to pray before Hashem, and that you should raise our prayer before Hashem with mercy and favor—until, in your merit, we will be saved with an everlasting salvation, and the Beis HaMikdash will be built in the blink of an eye, in our days, Amen.

Master of the world: as I now travel to the grave of Rachel Imeinu to prostrate myself at her holy and awesome tziyun, please grant me the merit to cleave to her holy qualities, and to merit to weep day and night over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and over the destruction of the people of Israel, just as she did—as it is written, “Rachel weeps for her children.” Include me in her holy tears, and let me feel the pain of each and every Jew, and weep day and night over the spilling of the blood of Your holy and pure children.

Please, compassionate and gracious Almighty, from Whom no plan is withheld: please grant me the merit to be like Rachel Imeinu, who gave everything she had to her sister, and surrendered herself completely—everything, utterly everything—for her precious sister. She gave her all—this world and the next—and through this she merited that she would bring the Geulah, and Moshiach would first come to her holy tziyun. Please grant me the merit to travel to her constantly, day and night without pause, and always to prostrate myself at her holy tziyun, and to pour out my heart like water at her holy tziyun—until I merit, in complete wholeness, to be included in her holy soul.

Prayers to be said at Rachel’s Tomb:

Master of the world, grant me the merit to be like Rachel Imeinu, who weeps day and night over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and over the blood of Israel that has been poured out like water.

Master of the world, grant me the merit to be holy and pure—my wife and I—like Rachel Imeinu, who, because of her immense holiness and purity, handed over all her identifying signs to her sister Leah. She yielded her portion in the World to Come, and all the life of this world, for her sister; and she merited to give over her very life for her sister with a whole heart. So too, grant me the merit to give over my life for each and every Jew with exalted mesirus nefesh. Through this, may I merit to unite all the letters of Your holy Name—Yud-Kei and Vav-Kei in their full expansion—and to fulfill, “Only with You will we mention Your Name.” And then may I merit that Your holy and awesome Name—Yud-Kei and Vav-Kei—will be before my eyes constantly, without pause, day and night, without even a single second of interruption.

Please, compassionate and gracious One: just as Yaakov Avinu merited to work for Rachel for seven years, so too grant me the merit to honor and cherish my wife day and night. Give me mochin to value her and honor her without even a second’s pause, and always to run to greet her and to bring her every good thing in the world—until, in the merit of the seven years that Yaakov worked for Rachel, there will be revealed to me: “The Yesod of the Tzaddik is hidden in seven; the sign of the covenant is forever; the spring of blessing—Tzaddik Yesod Olam; You are righteous, Hashem.”

And may I merit to roar with awesome roars over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and over the blood of Israel that is spilled in the streets of the city day and night without pause, as it is written, “Hashem roars from on high; from His holy abode He gives forth His voice; He roars mightily over His dwelling.” And may I raise a voice of lament and weeping day and night over the shattering of the daughter of my people—like Rachel Imeinu, who does not stop for even a second from crying over the killing of our people: brothers, parents, grandparents, and schoolchildren, as it is written, “So says Hashem: A voice is heard in Ramah—lamentation, bitter weeping—Rachel weeps for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, for they are gone.” And may I merit, in complete perfection—my wife and I—to be included in the soul of Rachel Imeinu, and through this to draw down the soul of Moshiach, who will merit to guard the holy covenant in the highest perfection—just as Rachel Imeinu merited to draw down the soul of Yosef, who merited to withstand every test in the world, until he merited to sanctify the entire space of the world, until even offerings of lesser sanctity are eaten in his portion, visible to all who see.

Master of the world, in the merit of Rachel Imeinu, who took upon herself the spindle of silence—who saw her gifts in her sister’s hands and remained silent—so too grant me the trait of silence in wholeness. May I then fulfill in wholeness, “Hashem is in His holy Sanctuary; let all the earth be silent before Him.” And may I merit to give all that I have to everyone in the world, and be like Rachel who rests here, who gave everything she had to her sister—both this world and the next. In that merit, may I become a throne for the Shechinah, and enter the King’s palace, and merit to be among the children of Rachel’s chamber, which shines with precious light from one end of the world to the other. May I merit the awesome “ice” that is above the Chayos, and may I become entirely like that awesome “ice,” like Rachel who merited Yaakov, who said, “By day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night.” And in that merit, may I burn with the fiery sparks of Your flame, and for twenty-four hours burn with the fiery sparks of Your flame to You, blessed One—until, through this, I merit to be included in Abba and Ima Elyonim, and like Rachel Imeinu, to draw down into the world the soul of Moshiach ben Yosef, who will redeem the people of Israel.

Master of the world, Almighty, from Whom no plan is withheld: in these holy and awesome moments, as I prostrate myself at the holy and awesome tziyun of Rachel Imeinu, grant me—through Your abundant mercy and Your infinite kindness—the merit to pour out tears day and night as she did, over the spilling of the blood of Israel, a holy nation, whose blood is poured out like water day and night in the streets of the city and in the public squares, and no one opens his mouth in protest.

Please, compassionate and gracious One: I know that all the awesome suffering that the people of Israel are going through is only because of my terrible sins, and the endless blemishes of the covenant in which I have stumbled from my youth until this very day. Please, compassionate and gracious One, grant me the merit, like Rachel Imeinu, of: “So says Hashem: A voice is heard in Ramah—lamentation, bitter weeping—Rachel weeps for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, for they are gone.”

Please, compassionate and gracious One, grant me the merit to raise a voice of lament and a voice of weeping day and night—especially at Chatzos until morning—over the shattering of the daughter of my people, and over all the slain of my people, old and young, whose blood is spilled day after day; and it is all only because of my terrible blemishes of the covenant.