“Then Adam called his wife Chava, for she was the mother of all life.” (Genesis 3:20)

She was the other side of the image of G-d. For G-d is not just a boundless light, beyond all things. G-d is something that is here now, within all things, giving them life, being whatever they are being. In her source above, she is “the Shechina” — the Divine Presence That Dwells Within.

This is what drove the earthly Chavah to eat the fruit: this yearning to be within, to experience the taste of life, to be immersed in it. With this she transgressed — she carried herself from the realm of the Divine into a world where all that is real is the here and now, where there is no vantage point from which to discern good from evil, no light to discern the fruit from its husk. And she took with herself the Shechina and she imprisoned Her as well, so that havoc ensued throughout the cosmos.

But the desire behind her transgression was the holy yen of the Shechina to permeate all. And in the end, she will succeed, and life within will also be G-dly.

As long as the drama of this universe remains incomplete, the Shechina is silent, she does not sing. We see the world She vitalizes, but we do not hear her voice within it. In all people’s minds, She plays a secondary role — for her husband conquers and subdues, while she, they say, only provides life and nurture. Such is the mindset of an immature world.

There is a time-yet-to-come, when the secret of the Inner Light will be revealed. Then the Mother of Life will sing loud without bound.

A voice is heard on high, wailing, bitterly crying. Rachel weeps for her children She refuses to be consoled. For they are gone. “Restrain your voice from weeping,” G-d tells her. “Hold back your eyes from their tears. “For your work has its reward and your children shall return.” (Jeremiah 31:14)

Rachel is the embodiment of the Shechina as She descends to care for Her children, even to travel their journey of exile with them. And so she ensures they will return. Rachel is the world of revealed words and deeds. She held beauty that Jacob could perceive and desire. But Leah was too lofty, too far beyond all things, and so Jacob could not attach himself to her in the same way.

Her sister, Leah is also our Jewish mother, the Shechina. It is from Leah that almost all of the Jewish nation descends. She is the transcendent, concealed world; those hidden things of the Divine Mind too deep for men to fathom. She is the Sphere of Royalty as She rises above to receive in silent meditation.

If the Shechina is a diamond and each woman is a different facet, then Rachel is the spark of hope that glistens in each one and emanates from deep inside. The spark that never became detached, that remains above and beyond even while the Shechina that contains it sinks below. A resilient spark that all the rivers of exile cannot wash away and oceans of tears cannot extinguish.

“Drink…and I will also draw water for your camels to drink.” (Genesis 24:17-18)

With these words, Rebecca betrothed herself to Isaac and rose to become mother of two nations; Jacob and Esau. It was her act of giving and her eagerness to do good, as she took the opportunity seeking out with joy and delight, with all her soul and being. She implanted this goodness within us as our inheritance. In the Bible the story of the union of Rebecca and Isaac is told and retold three times. In this story lies the birth of the Jewish people and their purpose. In it lies the secret for which all the cosmos was created: the fusion of opposites, the paradox and beauty of life.

It is the servant Abraham, the matchmaker, who speaks to the Master of the universe from the sincerity of his heart, who is obsessed with his mission and delights in its every step. It is each and any one of us. We are here to unite heaven and earth. And in the union of Man and Woman is found all these.