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Parshat Vayetzei
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

ויאהב יעקב את רחל

'Master of all worlds, who can correct it all? Only Your Unity, when You place Your 'eyes' upon the Land of Israel and upon King Messiah...' (Ramhal's 515 prayers, prayer 195) 

To explain this short snippet from Ramhal's prayers would require much kabbalistic elucidation. However, in a nutshell, we may simply explain that this prayer calls for the Unity of HaShem's manifestation as the Holy Blessed be He with His manifestation as The Holy Presence. This unification is what is commonly referred to by many when saying the preliminary utterance before a mitzva: 'Leshem yichud kudsha brich hu ushechinteh'. The Holy Presence is considered the 'Majestic' manifestation of HaShem which lies 'upon the Land of Israel and upon King Messiah.' The connection of 'King Messiah' with this attribute of 'Majesty' is obvious. However, what does the Land of Israel have to do with this attribute of 'Majesty'? It is the Land of Israel which is the Land of Providence - where HaShem's 'Majesty' and  Sovereignty is more clearly felt. We may also infer from this linkage of the Land of Israel to King Messiah that a dominant part of the 'spirit of King Messiah' (see Isaiah 11, 2) lies with the 'spirit of the Holy Land', i.e the spirit of this Holy 'Majestic' Presence.

One of the names of this Holy Presence associated with the Holy Land is called 'Rachel' as our Mother Rachel exemplified during her lifetime some of the manners of this Holy Presence. We have noted that, according to the Arizal, the Holy Presence associated with 'Rachel' is especially linked to Hebron. We have also noted that the name of one of Hebron's righteous figures, Rebetzin Menuha Rohel, can literally mean 'resting place of Rachel' (i.e resting place of the Holy Presence called Rachel).

Rebbetzin Menuha Rohel Slonim (1798-1888[1]) was the daughter of Rabbi Dovber Schneuri, the second Rebbe of the Habad Hasidic dynasty. She is considered to be a matriarch of the Habad dynasty as well as Hebron's Jewish population in general.[2] Rebbetzin Slonim was born on the 19th of Kislev 5559 (1798 CE), the very same day her grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi was released from imprisonment in S. Petersburg, considered by Habad as 'The Festival of Redemption'! Her father chose the name Menucha because he said, "therefore, we shall have a little Menucha ('rest' - after his father's release from imprisonment)."[3] She was named Rachel after an aunt that died in her youth. After she fell dangerously ill, her father promised that she would live to move to the Land of Israel. In 5605 (1845 CE), with the blessing of her brother-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, she and her family moved to Hebron. For forty-three years she served as the matriarch of the Hebron community. New brides and barren women would request blessings from her. She was renowned among both townspeople and beyond, Jews and non-Jews alike for her curative and salvation abilities, and was nicknamed "the grandmother Menucha Rachel". Every bride who visited the Maarat Machpela on the day of her wedding came to get her blessing and the Admor Rebbe Elazar Mendel of Lelov used to visit her home three times a week when staying in Hebron. He was strict about standing when she entered or left the room and always asked her to bless him.[7] She died on the 24th of Shevat 5658 (1888 CE), and her lifespan encompassed all of the first five Lubavitcher Rebbes.[3]

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #244

'I had a pot that needed to be repaired, so I set out to find a repairman to repair the pot. It 'turns out' that the repairman that I found had just moved that week several houses away from my house...' M.A 

Sources: Wikipedia on Menuha Rachel Slonim

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