Final Words

“And it was, when her soul departed, and she died, she named him Ben-Oni, but his father called him Binyamin.” (Bereishis 35:18)

It’s not unusual for a husband and wife to argue. But there’s a proper place and time for everything. Why did Yaakov argue with Rochel over the name of their newborn child now, on her deathbed?

What’s more, every one of Yaakov’s other sons were named by their mothers, yet we never saw Yaakov intervening. Why now of all times? (Rabbi YY Jacobson, TheYeshiva.net)

Shidduchim hadn’t been smooth sailing for Shani, but at 24, she was finally floating down the aisle, a vision in white lace, her eyes luminous as she gazed at her chassan, Moishe. Together, they faced the crowd that clapped and sang for them as they stepped out from under the chuppah into their new lives together. All was glorious.

I’d love to stop Shani’s story here. To freeze her life in that perfect moment when all was full of promise and a golden future lay ahead.

But after a year of marriage, with no pregnancy in sight, Shani and Moishe decided to see the doctor. Just to make sure everything was okay.

Let’s recall the episode of Yaakov’s hasty departure from Lavan. Prior to fleeing with Yaakov, Rochel had stolen her father’s idols. Lavan chased Yaakov and accused him of stealing his gods. In response, Yaakov swore that whoever stole the idols should die, not knowing of course, that Rochel had stolen them.

Rashi quotes the Midrash that this curse caused Rochel to die in childbirth.

Now, sometime later, Rochel is about to breathe her last. She and Yaakov loved each other deeply, and it’s time to bid farewell. But there’s no rush of emotions and deep thoughts at this moment. Instead, they argue about a name?

Everything was definitely not okay. Their niggling worries about fertility were shocked into speechless horror when the doctor informed them that fertility might never be an option. Shani was battling a vicious, fast-growing cancer, and time had become her worst enemy.