Voices October 2007 / Cheshvan 5768

I had the opportunity recently to travel with the women of Efrat to Kever Rachel a week before Rachel Imeinu's yahrzeit - 11 Cheshvan (October 23). Like several other groups of women in communities throughout Israel, the women from Efrat have faithfully made the weekly trek for the past six years, never missing a week, to pray and then listen to a Torah class inside the Rachel's Tomb complex. (Efrat’s visits are dedicated to the memory of Efratian Sarah Blaustein, HY”D, a volunteer on the Kever Rachel bus, who was murdered on the road outside of Efrat on Isru Chag Shavuot 2001.) Over the years, the group has sometimes found itself alone inside, or B"H elbowing for space because of a simcha or Rosh Chodesh tefillah. On this trip, by the time they left, the holy site was completely packed.

As they pray each week, women from Jerusalem arrive with an Egged bus, and girls' schools join as well. The small room in front of the memorial stone is crammed with girls, mothers and grandmothers - swaying, praying, silently weeping. They take turns leaning their head against the covered tombstone. They whisper their prayers and plant a loving kiss upon the covering.

Women and men alike have prayed at the burial place of our Matriarch Rachel since the time that Joseph, son of Jacob, was sold to merchants on the way to Egypt. Joseph fell upon his mother's grave and sought her comfort. So too, as the Jewish people were exiled to Babylonia by King Nebuchadnezzar , the Stone Chumash relates, they passed along the road to Bethlehem "tormented, hungry and exhausted, Rachel's soul came to her grave, and wept, beseeching G-d's mercy upon them (Jeremiah 31:14)." The result of her plea was Hashem's eternal promise to Rachel that her children would return to their borders.

For thousands of years since, Am Yisrael has been attached to this holy place, and each Jew has connected in his own way to our Mother Rachel.

Women especially have come to Kever Rachel for spiritual strength and guidance, to pray for children (Rachel suffered with childlessness for many years until Joseph was born), for help raising their children, and for all the personal thoughts one can only share with a Mother.

Now, thanks to the Rachel Imeinu Foundation (www.rachelimeinu.org), which aims to strengthen the Jewish presence in and around the complex housing the tomb, girls approaching Bat Mitzvah can make a special connection with Rachel Imeinu through a unique Bat Mitzvah preparation program, and then actually celebrate their Bat Mitzvah in great joy in a building in the Kever Rachel complex.

Just as it has become traditional for boys to celebrate their Bar Mitzvahs at the kotel, the Foundation hopes that its distinctive program will encourage girls from all over the world to celebrate their Bat Mitzvahs at the future World Bat Mitzvah Center.

President of the Rachel Imeinu Foundation, Chaim Silberstein, said that the Center will be located in the Rachel Imeinu Educational Campus, which is currently in Beit Bnei Rachel, a 9000 sq ft building located on one acre of land alongside Rachel's Tomb. It was purchased from its Arab owners several years ago by a group of Jews who wished to help bring a permanent Jewish presence to the area around Kever Rachel in order to strengthen the holy site.

Tsipi Egert, Bat Mitzvah Coordinator for the Rachel Imeinu Foundation, guides bat mitzvah girls in their study for a year or several months in a program that is custom-made for each girl, including learning for a siyum with one parent, learning with the other a topic of their choice, such as Kever Rachel or Rachel Imeinu's life, or other Jewish women, like Devora, Bruria, Donna Gracia Mendes Nasi, Nechama Leibowitz or others.

Most Bat Mitzvah girls thus far have been from chutz la'aretz, so learning and planning have been done over the internet. Girls from Israel are also invited to participate.

Tsipi noted that since this weekly learning session is a special time for parent and child, she wants to make sure that it is a happy and memorable one. So she has incorporated fun and activities in her worksheets, like challah baking or candlestick decorating. And to encourage parent-child communication, some of the weekly questions ask the child to discuss different issues with her parents.

She also incorporated a commitment of Arevut Hadadit (responsibility for one's brethren). Tsipi told Voices, "Every Jew is responsible for one another. We try to incorporate that feeling of responsibility for Am Yisrael in the program by making chesed an important ingredient. The most recent girl to reach Bat Mitzvah in our program came to work in the Pina Chama soldiers' hospitality hut. Another Bat Mitzvah worked in a soup kitchen, and then went to a hospital to give out teddy bears to the young patients.

“A Bat Mitzvah is part of Am Yisrael and she should feel responsible for the welfare of her people."

Scrapbooking the Year

Tsipi noted that the Bat Mitzvah Program does not focus on the day at Kever Rachel, but the growth process that leads up to it. Most of the girls sign up for long-term programs. Therefore, part of the process is to record her learning and preparations for the Bat Mitzvah in Kever Rachel. She brings her photos, notes and souvenirs to Israel. Here Scrapbook teacher and designer Deena Edelman <dre208@gmail.com>  meets with each Bat Mitzvah girl at the end of her trip, and helps her prepare a scrapbook that will be a beautiful memento of her meaningful experience. She includes photos of her preparations, memorable worksheets, mementos of her chesed volunteering, the Bat Mitzvah celebration, and other memorabilia connected to the trip to Israel and the event.

Tsipi added, "Rachel Imeinu is a tremendous role model for Bat Mitzvah girls. She's the mother of Am Yisrael. She's the one who looks after them as they go into the exile and she begs for them to return from the exile."

"So, especially for someone coming from chutz la'aretz, traveling to Israel and making a Bat Mitzvah in Kever Rachel… The children coming back from exile and enjoying a simcha in Kever Rachel. It comes full circle."

Tsipi said that at a recent Bat Mitzvah at Kever Rachel, everyone "danced for ten minutes just to the song V'shavu Banim L'gvulam. It was so perfect."

Families wishing to participate in a learning program for their daughter, leading up to a Bat Mitzvah in Kever Rachel should contact Tsipi Egert, Tsiporah@egertcohen.co.il.

Rachel Imeinu Center

Chaim Silberstein noted that when the Rachel Imeinu Educational Center (which will include the World Bat Mitzvah Center, a Museum, Visitors Center and Learning Institutions) is completed, it will encourage even greater numbers of Jewish girls and women (and of course, men) to visit Kever Rachel. He noted that this will hopefully attract a wide spectrum of Jewish visitors, including those who do not normally visit Kever Rachel on their trips here. Through experiencing a meaningful Bat Mitzvah, or visiting the Center and Museum, they will strengthen their ties to their country and heritage.

For more information, to take a tour to Kever Rachel, or to arrange for a Bat Mitzvah celebration at Rachel's Tomb, log on to www.rachelimeinu.org  or contact: chaim@rachelimeinu.org.