Rivka Imenu’s Traumatic Pregnancy by Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

Rivka Imenu’s Traumatic Pregnancy by Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

I was blown away by this powerful description of Rivka’s pregnancy with Esav and Yaakov by my teacher and mentor Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

Rivka was a prophetess and during her pregnancy with Esav and Yaakov she was under greater stress than any woman in history.

Rivka knew that within her she was carrying the greatest hatred in the world, as it says “Esav hates Yaakov.”

In her belly she contained Hitler and Stalin and Titus. And every time she felt a contraction, she could see in her mind’s eye a Jew contracting in fear when a Nazi would come to search for him. Every time she felt “the boys running around within her” she felt the movement of Jews running away during the bloody pogroms in Kishinev.

The mother of the greatest hatred in the world is Rivka. Is it any wonder that she was scared? “Why me? Why do I need to give birth to this?”

Learn more about Rabbanit Yemima’s weekly parsha sheets (in Hebrew)

7 comments

  1. Yes, why?

    Where’s the inspiration?

    How did she keep going?

    What’s the lesson in it for us?

    • rabbanit yemima says that after this she went to seek out Hashem, meaning that she went to an inspirational class on, strangely enough,the parshat hashavua. And she heard a midrash about esav and yaakov that gave her hope for the future.

  2. From the greatest darkness, the greatest light can be born

  3. i didnt read the hebrew. maybe the fact that she was also carrying yaakov the the third father of the jewish people. its amazing – mother of the Yidden and also goyim. Esav had potential to be greater than yaakov, he comes from a higher spiritual source…

  4. wow, just think about knowing what your beloved child will turn out. I think the hrdest thing migth have been to still love Esav. No mtter what your child does you love tham dont you? Or is there a point where one sis this is not the child I loved? Interesting

  5. sorry for my spelling Im too tired to make spellchecks…

  6. this comment was sent to me by Rebbetzin Mina Gordon
    The Kli Yakar discusses this and says: Rivka was told שני גיים (גויים)בבטנך two nations are in you. Rashi brings the words of Chaza”l that the word גוים is spelled like גיים-גאים proud ones, referring to the wealthy descendants of each of Rivka’s children, Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi and Emperor Antoninus, friend and patron of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi.
    Kli Yakar explains: How did this help Rivka? It helped because now she was assured that she will have nachas from Esav, too, through his descendants that choose to help the descendants of Yaakov, and through the righteous converts that come from Esav, like Rabbi Meir, Unkelos, etc.

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