The Secret of the Tears of Leah and Rachel: Why Was Rachel Buried on the Crossroads?

Lesson No. 25 | Lesson 1 - Tuesday Morning, Parashas Pinchas, 13 Tammuz 5755 at the Yeshiva

Our Matriarch Leah merited tremendous spiritual heights in the merit of her tears at the crossroads, while Rachel, who was confident in her portion, was forced to complete her weeping in exile. This article explains the secret of Rachel's burial on the crossroads, the connection to the supernal attainments of Jacob our Patriarch in the secret of the Jubilee (Yovel), and the secret of the Tefillin and the Eshel tree planted by Abraham our Patriarch.

Our Matriarch Leah was willing to give up Mashiach ben Yosef for the sake of her sister. When a person sees that another is in pain, he understands that it is not worthwhile to pursue greatness at the expense of someone else. Leah yielded, but in the merit of her yielding and in the merit of her tears, she merited both Mashiach ben David and Mashiach ben Yosef. Furthermore, she merited to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah and to precede her sister in marriage to Jacob.

In what merit did Leah achieve all this? Rabbi Yehuda says in the holy Zohar:

"Leah, all her days, would stand at the crossroads."

All her days she would sit at the crossroads and cry over Jacob. Even though she had a very lofty soul, she was destined for Esau. A person can possess a very great soul, yet be surrounded by a multitude of kelipos (spiritual impurities) and harsh judgments. Only through crying and tears can a person strip away the kelipos and judgments that surround him. In this way, Leah removed the kelipos and merited all these spiritual heights.

In contrast, Rachel said, "I certainly belong to Jacob; it is obvious." Out of this confidence, she did not cry. However, anything a person wishes to attain must come through weeping and supplications. If not, the matter will slip from his hands. Because Rachel was certain that everything was coming to her, the merit to marry Jacob first, the merit of Mashiach ben David, and even the merit to be buried with him in the Cave of Machpelah slipped from her grasp.

Rachel Weeps for Her Children in Exile

When a person hears of a tragedy, that Jews are being killed, he must immediately shed tears. But Rachel did not go out to the crossroads to cry. Therefore, Hashem said to her, "You did not go out to the crossroads? Now you will be buried at the crossroads, and now you will cry."

Since Rachel did not cry in her time, she must now complete her weeping throughout thousands of years of exile. The souls that come from the side of Leah, which are the Generation of the Wilderness, are already completely rectified. But the souls that come from the side of Rachel reincarnate from generation to generation, and it is for them that Rachel must now cry. Every single tear that Rachel sheds rectifies all the generations and souls that need to emerge from her. A person must learn from this never to stop crying over the souls that need to emerge from him, and to rise every night for Chatzos (the midnight lament over the destruction of the Temple) in order to shed tears.

Joseph's Question and Emunah in the Tzaddik

On the verse, "And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died upon me on the journey," the holy Zohar explains the word "upon me" (alai) as meaning "because of me." Jacob is saying: She died because of me, because she did not cry over me. Since she thought everything was coming to her and did not cry over Jacob, she therefore died on the road and was buried there.

This matter aroused a tremendous question for Joseph the tzaddik. Jacob says to Joseph before his passing, "I know that you hold something in your heart against me." Joseph walked around for decades with a difficult question about his father: Why did father bury mother in the middle of the road, in a desolate place, and not bother to bring her at least to Bethlehem or Hebron for a respectable burial?

These thoughts and questions about Jacob our Patriarch were what caused Joseph all his downfalls and descents, until he was sold as a slave. When a person lacks complete emunah (faith) in the tzaddik and harbors questions against him, he ultimately gets sold into slavery. Therefore, Jacob now reveals the secret to him:

"I buried her there by Divine command."

Jacob explains to Joseph: I did not bury her there out of disrespect, but rather out of prophecy and a heavenly command, so that when the Nation of Israel goes into exile, Rachel will weep for them and awaken Divine mercy.

The Secret of the Jubilee and the Attainment of Tefillin

Initially, Jacob our Patriarch had no spiritual grasp of Leah. He worked for seven years thinking he was working for Rachel, who represents the secret of Shmitah (the Sabbatical year). But in truth, every second of Jacob's grueling labor ("By day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night") was equivalent to seven years.

The holy Zohar says that when Jacob finished his work, a heavenly voice emerged and said to him: You have reached a supernal attainment called Yovel (Jubilee)—the Fiftieth Gate, which is the spiritual root of Leah. Leah represents the aspect of Alma D'Iskasya (the Hidden World), and therefore Jacob did not grasp her completely until his name was changed to 'Israel'. Only then, as the holy Arizal explains, did Rachel pass away, leaving Jacob with Leah to attain her secret in its entirety.

This secret of Leah and Rachel is reflected in the mitzvah of Tefillin. Leah is the aspect of the knot of the Head Tefillin. Since she is a hidden and concealed world, there are no revealed parchment scrolls within the knot, only pure spiritual light. Jacob represents the Head Tefillin themselves, which contain four parchment scrolls and the mochin (supernal intellect) of Daas (Knowledge).

Rachel, on the other hand, is the aspect of the Hand Tefillin. The holy Arizal explains that the Hand Tefillin conceptually require five parchment scrolls, because Rachel's Daas fell between the shoulders, and the man must elevate her Daas for her. Therefore, the letter Yud of the knot of the Hand Tefillin, which represents Daas (the fifth scroll), must remain constantly attached to the Tefillin box without interruption. It is absolutely forbidden to separate the Yud from the Hand Tefillin, because it is what elevates and connects Rachel's Daas to the supernal intellect.

Abraham's Eshel and the Judgment of the People of Shechem

All the spiritual work of Abraham our Patriarch was to attain the secret of the 'Tent' (Ohel), which is the secret of Leah, the secret of tears and supplications. Regarding this it is stated:

"And he planted an Eshel (tamarisk tree) in Beersheba."

The Tannaim (Mishnaic sages) debated the meaning of this Eshel. The Rashbam explains that the Eshel was an orchard that Abraham planted in order to practice Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) and pray within it. The word Eshel (אשל) hints at the phrase "I will pour out my speech before Him" (Eshpoch lefanav sichi). Rabbi Yehuda explains that the orchard included figs (te'enim), grapes (anavim), and pomegranates (rimonim), whose Hebrew acronym forms the word Atar (עתר)—from the root of "And Isaac entreated (vaye'etar) Hashem." Each fruit draws its spiritual sustenance from a different prayer and elevates a different prayer.

Conversely, Rabbi Nechemia says that the Eshel was an inn for hosting guests. And Rabbi Yossi says that it was the first Sanhedrin (rabbinical court). Abraham our Patriarch taught his students to adjudicate monetary laws with absolute integrity. Jacob our Patriarch continued this path, and as the Midrash says, during his twenty years in Laban's house, "he did not even find a needle"—he maintained absolute clean hands in monetary matters.

This concept of laws and justice connects to the incident of Shechem the son of Chamor. The Rambam explains that the sons of Jacob killed the people of Shechem because they violated the commandment to establish courts of justice, which is included in the Seven Noahide Laws—they saw the injustice done to Dinah and did not judge the criminal.

However, the Ramban disagrees and asks: Is a private individual liable to the death penalty just because the mayor failed to establish a court? Rather, the Ramban explains, the people of Shechem committed such abominations and lowly acts that they lost their human form. The moment people sink into such abominations, they are considered like animals, and it is no longer applicable to judge them in a regular court. Therefore, the sons of Jacob acted as they did, out of the understanding that absolute moral corruption demands a fundamental and profound response.

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