Our Mother Rachel, whose passing is commemorated on the 11th of Cheshvan, stands by the roadside among Ishmaelites—alone and weeping, praying and crying out. Her tears join with ours as we pray together with her. She is the eternal mother, loving each one of us, sharing our pain, sensing every one of our lacks, weeping for her children until they return to their borders.

We are living in the time of the “Iron Swords” war, challenged by air-raid sirens, rockets, threats from the north and the south, tormented and shocked by the infiltration of 2,000 terrorists, by the destruction and burning of communities and homes, by looting, devastation, and ruin the likes of which we have not known since the days of the Nazi Holocaust.

The pain is unbearable: more than 1,400 murdered in horrific suffering; over 4,000 wounded; and more than 217 captives held by the despicable hands of Hamas. Threats come from many fronts, from within and from without, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.

It is important and worthwhile to recall the recurring stories about our mother Rachel in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, so that we may recognize the power of prayer—especially at Rachel’s Tomb.

Thus related the soldier Avner Azulai, who was inside Gaza at the time:

…At the moment when a group of soldiers was about to enter a house in the Gaza Strip, we heard a woman’s voice saying: Do not enter the house—there is death there! She repeated the sentence many times. We thought she was a terrorist, but then we saw an unusual figure: she had no legs or arms, and we did not see her face. She was not a living woman, but a form that radiated white light from within.

The guys wanted to shoot her, but I told them I would ask who she was.

She said these words: I am Mother Rachel! I began to tremble—it was more than frightening!

When I asked her, Why did you save us? she answered: Because of all the prayers of the people of Israel, I was sent to save you.

These stories repeated themselves again and again: a wondrous woman warned soldiers of mortal dangers, cautioning them not to enter a particular house because it was booby-trapped, or another because a wire connected to the door was attached to explosives.

And when they asked her name, she answered: Rachel.

The story became clearer when it was connected to the extraordinary actions of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, of blessed memory.

At that time, the rabbi was hospitalized in critical condition. He paid no attention to his own suffering and asked to be brought to the Tomb of Rachel our Mother. At the same time, Operation Cast Lead was taking place in Gaza. The soldiers were fighting in hostile and dangerous territory and were in great peril.

They brought him by ambulance from the hospital to the tomb, and there, with complete self-sacrifice, he prayed to the Creator of the world and asked our mother Rachel to protect her beloved children who were risking their lives.

Let us be wise and make use of the special gift that the Creator has given us: Rachel’s Tomb.

For a mother will not rest and will not be silent until we feel her love for us, and our prayers are answered from Heaven.