“This is just what I needed,” multiple women expressed in gratitude, after the dinner and a kumzitz at the Chabad of Baka, to commemorate the yahrzeit of the biblical Rachel’s passing.
On Wednesday, October 25, on the eve of 11 Heshvan, 200 women and girls from across Jerusalem went there to connect and pray on this special day. Despite the harrowing war and tense situation in Israel, the hall was filled to capacity.
The event was sponsored and organized by Rachel’s Children Reclamation Foundation and the Haies and Shleif family, in loving memory of the organization’s founder, Evelyn Haies.
Participants were treated to dinner and a talk by “Rav Gav” Friedman, who inspired the audience to increase their unity and love for everyone, especially family members. “Rachel Imenu [our matriarch] sacrificed everything for her own sister,” he said, “teaching us that charity begins at home.”
The incredible work to save Rachel's Tomb
Yehoshua Haies spoke about the incredible work of his wife, Evelyn, who formed Rachel’s Children Reclamation Foundation in 1995 to save Rachel’s Tomb from the Oslo Accords. Taking the initiative to become one of the main purchasers of a property adjacent to Rachel’s Tomb, Evelyn helped ensure through Jewish ownership that the shrine would be included in the official Jerusalem boundary.
Nechama Dina Hendel, co-director of Chabad of Baka and the Friendship Circle of South Jerusalem, shared a few words about mama Rachel’s eternal legacy. In light of the current war, she affirmed, “We are all brokenhearted by this unfathomable tragedy. It’s important to remember to focus on positive action as we all cry and mourn. Our matriarch Rachel teaches us to channel our tears to bring redemption.”
The evening ended with a moving kumzitz led by Ora Rosman and Elisheva Wolfowich. The participants put their arms around each other and swayed to the famous song “Acheinu kol beit Yisrael” – “All of Israel are brothers, those who are in distress and in captivity... may God have mercy on them and redeem them from suffering to salvation, from darkness to light, and from captivity to redemption!”
They meant every word as they prayed for the 241 hostages (soldier Ori Megidish was later, blessedly, rescued by the IDF) and for the safety and protection of the entire nation of Israel. ❖