Rachel's+Tomb+in+Bethlehem

= Ariela Zebede Pre-Trip Research... =

Location of your site:

 * Rachel's Tomb ** (Hebrew: **Kever Rachel **) is a Jewish sacred site located between [|Jerusalem]  and [|Bethlehem]  in the West Bank. It is also a significant historical and religious site for Muslims and Christians.

== Geographical Features (Include a Picture or Map): ==

The site consists of a rock with eleven stones upon it, one for each of the eleven sons of Jacob who were alive when Rachel died in childbirth. Over the centuries, the rock was covered by a dome supported by four arches. The large tomb is now covered by a velvet drape. Today, the site is very close to the checkpoint from the Palestinian territories into Israel. The original tomb, a rectangular structure with a white dome, has been enclosed inside a fortress, complete with guard tower, soldiers and barbed wire.

From the Byzantine period until the 1800’s, Rachel’s Tomb consisted of a small domed structure. In 1841, Sir Moses Montifeori renovated it and added on an anteroom and enclosed the dome over the grave marker.

When Jacob buried Rachel, her tomb was on the roadside outside of Bethlehem. In modern times, however, the city has grown until the tomb is now in the center of town with one of the main streets passing right next to it. Since 1948, a Moslem cemetery has surrounded the building on three sides. From 1948 to 1967 Jews were banned by the Jordanian government from praying at Rachel’s Tomb. After the Israeli victory in the Six Day War, the Tomb was reopened to Jewish worshippers.

In the early 1990s, the State of Israel’s Ministry of Religion renovated and enlarged the site again. The original tomb is now housed within a reinforced edifice, and the complex includes two guard towers.



The Meaning of the Name of your Site:
Kever Rachel literally means Rachel's tomb. Rachel was buried there, so this is why it is called that.

Historical Background/Significance:
This site is believed to be the burial place of the biblical matriarch **Rachel**, wife of Jacob and mother of two of his twelve sons. They were on their way to Efrat. She died giving birth to Benjamin and "Jacob set a pillar upon her grave" (Gen. 35:19) (Parashat Vayishlach) For Jews, Rachel's Tomb is the third holiest site after the [|Temple Mount] in Jerusalem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. It has become an important place of Jewish pilgrimage, especially Jewish women unable to give birth.

== Do other Cultures or Religions have connections to your site?: ==

It is known as Rachel's Tomb to Jews, and the Bilal bin Rabah mosque to Muslims. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> For the Muslims, it is a mosque and a cemetery. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> It is also significant to the Christians because Rachel is their matriarch as well.

Connect a Talmudic/Biblical saying to your site:
//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">They set out from Bet-El; but when they were still some distance from Efrat, Rachel went into childbirth, and she had hard labor. When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Have no fear, for it's another boy for you." But as she breathed her last --as she was dying-- she named him Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benyamin. So Rachel died.She was buried on the road to Efrat -- now Bet Lechem. Over her grave Jacob set up a pillar, it is the pillar at Rachel's grave to this day. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">(Genesis 35:16-21)

== Share any Midrash, Fables, or other “stories” about the site: ==

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">According to Jewish tradition, Jacob chose to bury his wife where she died rather then in the family burial plot in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. He foresaw that his descendants would pass her burial place on their way to Exile in Babylonian (423 CE) and that she would intercede with G-d on their behalf. The prophet Jeremiah portrays Rachel as a concerned mother weeping inconsolably until G-d assures her children’s well being:

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Thus said G-d: A voice is heard on high, wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeps for her children; she refuses to be consoled for her children, for they are gone. Thus said G-d; Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for there is reward for your deed – the word of G-d – They will return from the enemy’s land. There is hope for your future – the word of G-d – and your children will return to their border. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">(Jeremiah 31:14-17)

= Now You're ready to create a multimedia presentation in Hebrew for class here in America. =
 * http://prezi.com/xg7jgxh_esjw/kever-rachel/

= You're also responsible for a brief "Tour Guide" presentation in __ENGLISH__ to be given at your site in Israel. =
 * [Type your English "Tour Guide" script here]

= After the Trip... =

Picture From your Site.
[Add a photo from your trip to the site here]

Reflections:
[Write a brief reflection on your visit to your site. Was your experience what you expected? Did you learn something new? What was it like experiencing this place in person...]

[] [] [] [] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Rachel.html