OU TORAH ONE+ONE Rachel By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

Many have the practice to recite, in the prayer following Shemoneh Esrei, a verse that starts and ends with the same letter as their name, or that contains their name, or both. This is considered a source of merit. In this series, we will briefly analyze these verses. רָבוּעַ הָיָה כָּפוּל עָשׂוּ אֶת הַחֹשֶׁן זֶרֶת אָרְכּוֹ וְזֶרֶת רָחְבּוֹ כָּפוּל They made the breastplate square; it was folded over. Its length was a span and its width was a span when folded over. – Exodus 39:9 The verse for the name Rachel discusses the choshen, the breastplate of the Kohein Gadol (High Priest). The traditional commentaries don’t have anything to say on this verse, though Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan says that it seems that the choshen was folded along its width rather than along its length, with the result that it was a span square when folded. (A span is a half-cubit, about nine inches.)