Vayishlach - Rachel's Death Points to Messiah

The Torah portion of Vayishlach is full of deeper meanings hidden underneath the surface meaning. Ya’akov returning to Kena’an (Canaan) with an abundance of blessings points towards the return of the Jewish people. The story of the death of Rachel points to the Messiah.

In Genesis 32:4 it says:

In the last Torah portion, Esav had plotted to kill his brother Ya’akov soon after his father died. Rivkah heard about this plot, and sent Ya’akov away from Kena'an, telling him to stay there until Esav’s anger cooled, and then she would send word that it was safe to come back. Esav’s anger never cooled, and Rivkah never sent any word. Now, twenty years later, with four wives and many flocks and cattle, Ya’akov returns. Ya’akov was worried that Esav was still angry.

As stated earlier, Ya’akov’s return to Kena'an symbolizes the final redemption, where God will gather His chosen people and bring them to the land of Israel. Ya’akov’s confrontation with Esav symbolizes the end times confrontation between Israel and the rest of the nations.

Ya’akov sent servants ahead of him to greet Esav with gifts and to give him an explanation as to what he’d been doing in the past twenty years. Ya’akov told his servants to say that he’d returned with, as it says in Genesis 32:6, “Oxen, and donkeys and flocks, and men-servants and maid-servants.” According to the Midrash, each of these things has a special meaning in relation to the end times. The oxen refers to Messiah son of Yosef, as Moshe said in Deuteronomy 33:17, “His firstling bullock, majesty is his; And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox; With them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth.” The donkeys referred to Messiah son of David, as stated in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, He is triumphant, and victorious, lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.” The flocks refer to the people of Israel, as it says in Ezekiel 34:31, “And ye My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.” Finally, the male and female servants refer to the God fearing Gentile believers that will be redeemed, as it says in Deuteronomy 29:10, “Thy stranger that is in the midst of thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water;”

Rachel died while giving birth to her second son, who she named Ben-oni, which means “son of my troubles.” Ya’akov renamed him and called him Ben-yamin.

Rachel symbolizes all of Israel, as it says in the Midrash and Torat Mosheh:

The two names of Rachel’s second son point to Messiah. Ben-Oni points to the first coming, and Benyamin points to the second coming.

Ben-Oni means “Son of my trouble.” This describes the messiah who’s supposed to make war against the nations of Israel and die in battle. This describes the first coming of Yeshua, as it says in Matthew 10:34, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” The great exile of the Jewish people from their homeland and all of the terrible things that have happened in the past 2000 years all started with the coming of Yeshua. He has been a “son of trouble” for us indeed.

When the Messiah returns though, he will be “seated at the right hand of the Father.” Ya’akov refers to this by the name Benyamin, which means, “Son of my right hand.” Psalms 80:17 and 110:1 also refer to the Messiah being “The man of your right hand.” “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

In Genesis 35:19-20 it says:

The Midrash has an explanation as to why Rachel was buried in Ephrath instead of the cave of Machpelah, where the rest of the patriarchs and matriarchs are buried:

Ya’akov set up a pillar over Rachel’s grave to stand as a monument for future generations. It will remain a monument “unto this day”, meaning, until the Messiah comes back.

Since Rachel’s life is an allusion to the life of Messiah son of Yosef, Rachel’s death and the mourning that follows it is an allusion to the death of Messiah son of Yosef. Just as Rachel intercedes with God on behalf of her children, Messiah son of Yosef intercedes with God on behalf of us. Like Rachel’s grave, Yeshua’s empty grave is a place of sorrow and hope for the redemption.

Matthew 2:17-18 has a connection between the birth of Yeshua and Rachel’s weeping:

As Herod carried out his plan of mass infanticide, again Rachel let out another cry for her children. Her last words all the way from the time of Ya’akov can be applied just as accurately to Yeshua as they were applied to Benyamin: “This is the son of my trouble.”

It is said that Rachel, to this day, weeps for her children, but one day God will comfort Rachel, and her losses will be repaid in full. As it says in Jeremiah 31:16:

This speaks of the day when Mashiach will return and gather the people of Israel back to the Land of Israel where he will rule over the world under Torah and establish world peace.