"A voice is heard in Ramah; wailing, bitter weeping. It is
Rochel, crying for her children. She refuses to be comforted
for her children, for they are gone."
Until recently, the words of the novi seemed to carry
a double meaning. Rochel Immeinu's tears were shed not only
for her children in exile but for the lack of worshippers at
her graveside.
Located less than half a kilometer and in walking distance
from the municipal border of Jerusalem, but in the middle of
a hostile population, Kever Rochel was turned into a
political no-man's-land by the Intifada of 1987 and 2000.
First the Israeli government tried to give it away to the
Palestinians; then they hid it behind a fortified wall
guarded by a phalanx of soldiers; then they closed it to
visitors altogether. While the wall still stands, the other
edicts were rescinded in the face of public protest. But the
damage had been done. Rochel Imeinu cried for her children,
but it was too dangerous for her children to come.
This summer, however, two roshei kollel started a new
organization called Mosdot Kever Rochel to bring Rochel
Immeinu's children back to her. Today, people arrive daily to
pray, join regular minyonim and recite Tehillim
betzibbur. Morning, afternoon and midnight,
kollelim are learning onsite. Programming for the
yomim tovim, rosh chodesh and other occasions has been
introduced. "The Vilna Gaon said that the main resting place
for the Shechina during our exile is at Kever Rochel,"
one of the founders notes. "It is a very direct spot."
To answer the question in everyone's mind: Yes. It is a
somewhat dangerous spot. In fact, the surrounding
neighborhood of shuttered homes and stores looks like a ghost
town and a war zone. The army only allows bulletproof buses
to make the one minute trip from the border to the
kever. Passengers alight and board behind concrete
walls. Inside, meanwhile, the atmosphere is remarkably
tranquil and relaxed, and there has been no trouble for a
long time.
R' Moshe and R' Kalman are two people who have always felt a
special closeness to Kever Rochel. Since the 1980s, in fact,
R' Moshe has learned and prayed regularly at the kever
for hours, often without ever seeing another soul.
"According to Chosen Yeshuos (c. 1800), the Redemption
will come when Torah scholars are studying at Kever Rochel 24
hours a day," says R' Moshe. "That is our goal."
Throughout the day, bulletproof Mehadrin buses with separate
seating bring people from Jerusalem. The fare for a one-way
ticket was fixed at less than a bus ride in Jerusalem. The
ride from the city center to Kever Rochel takes half an hour
by day and fifteen minutes at night.
Egged also runs a regular route (163) to Kever Rochel from
the Central Bus Station in Yerushalayim through Geula and Mea
Shearim. The fare is higher. At the army checkpoint, riders
transfer to a special armored bus.
LeSheim Shomayim
Their intentions are purely Lesheim Shomayim. For the
sake of Rochel Immeinu. They are not at all involved in
politics. "But we're doing it quietly, as far as the Arabs
are concerned," R' Moshe says, "because we don't want to
agitate them. As far as publicizing this among Jews, we are
doing it loudly. We announce the bus times by sending cars
with loudspeakers throughout the heimishe
neighborhoods of northern Jerusalem, and follow it up with
newspaper advertisements. We want everyone to come to Kever
Rochel."
In the merit of all the efforts, may we merit to witness the
fulfillment of Hashem's promise:
"So says Hashem: keep your voice from weeping and your
eyes from tears, because there is reward for your deeds, says
Hashem. They will return from the land of the enemy. There is
hope for your future, says Hashem. Your children will return
to their border."
