Though Rachel was barren, Hashem hearkened to the sisters’ prayers in the merit of their dedication to one another. Rachel’s life sadly ended when she was thirty-seven years of age, due to Yaakov’s proclamation that the one who would be found with the gods taken from his father-in-law Lavan “shall not live.” (Unbeknownst to Yaakov, Rachel had been the one who had stolen her father’s idols.)
Rachel Imeinu was interred at the outskirts of Beis Lechem (in the territory of Binyamin) by divine command, to enable her descendants to pray by her gravesite on their way to Bavel following the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash. When Mother Rachel interceded and cried out to Hashem on her children’s behalf, G-d promised the righteous Rachel that her children would return to their land.
May we merit witnessing the return of all of her children and the miraculous completion of the third Bais HaMikdash, speedily in our day.
