Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
וַתָּמׇת דְּבֹרָה מֵינֶקֶת רִבְקָה
וַתִּקָּבֵר מִתַּחַת לְבֵית אֵל תַּחַת הָאַלּוֹן
וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ אַלּוֹן בָּכוּת׃
Devorah, Rivkah’s nurse, died.
She was buried under the oak outside Beit El.
They named it Alon Bakhut (Oak of Weeping).
Yaakov’s family is traveling back to Canaan… and suddenly the Torah introduces a new character just when she dies! Who was Devorah, and why does she appear at this point in the journey?
Rashi (quoting R. Moshe ha-Darshan) offers a backstory:
מָה עִנְיַן דְּבוֹרָה בְּבֵית יַעֲקֹב?
אֶלָּא לְפִי שֶׁאָמְרָה רִבְקָה לְיַעֲקֹב "וְשָׁלַחְתִּי וּלְקַחְתִּיךָ מִשָּׁם" (בראשית כז:מה), שָׁלְחָה דְבוֹרָה אֶצְלוֹ לְפַדַּן אֲרָם לָצֵאת מִשָּׁם, וּמֵתָה בַדֶּרֶךְ.
What’s Devorah doing with Yaakov’s family?
When Yaakov ran away, Rivkah promised him “One day I will send someone and fetch you from there” (Bereishit 27:45). Rivkah sent Devorah to Paddan Aram to bring Yaakov out of there, and then she died on their way back.
- At this point Yaakov hadn’t seen his mother in more than 20 years. How might he have felt when Devorah came with a message from his mother to come home?
- Devorah was Rivkah’s nurse, and this means that she helped to raise Rivkah when she was young. Why would Rivkah send her nurse as her representative? What does this tell us about their connection?
- What kind of connection do you have to the people who aren’t your parents, but help raise you?
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