Finally, Rochel had her own child! ויזכר אלקים את רחל וישמע אליה אלקים ויפתח את רחמה - “G-d remembered Rochel; G-d hearkened to her and He opened her womb.” (Bereishis 30:22). The Medrash asks “What is this reference to remembering?” The Medrash answers that the Ribbono Shel Olam remembered Rochel’s silence so as not to embarrass her sister when their father Lavan pulled the deceitful “switch,” at the time of Yaakov’s wedding. Not only did Rochel keep quiet, she actually gave a secret sign to her sister whereby Yaakov would think that he was marrying Rochel that night, and would not protest the marriage.
There is a word that should jump out at us twice in this aforementioned pasuk: The pasuk uses the word “Elokim” to represent the Ribbono Shel Olam. However, seemingly, it should not say “Vayizkor Elokim” (using the Divine name of midas hadin (judgment)), but rather, it should say “Vayizkor Hashem (yud-kay-vov-kay; using the Divine name of rachamim (mercy and compassion)). In fact, this pasuk uses the name Elokim not once, but twice: “Vayizkor Elokim es Rochel” and “Va’yishma eileha Elokim” Is this not a misuse of the name Elokim, which always connotes the midas hadin?
The answer is that the pasuk is teaching the power and great zechus [merit] of “shtikah” [silence]. The fact that Rochel kept quiet and let her older sister get married is so great that even the midas hadin needs to say, “It is time now for you too to have a child.” That is why the pasuk uses the name Elokim.
And what is the great zechus? The great zechus is the sensitivity displayed towards an older sister. Rochel was terribly worried that now that Leah married cousin Yaakov, she herself was going to wind up with Yaakov’s twin brother Eisav. This was going to ruin her life. Rochel wanted Yaakov as a husband more than anything. Nevertheless, to prevent the pain and humiliation of her sister, Rochel kept silent. The zechus of that sensitivity was so great that it even overwhelmed the midas hadin, such that Elokim recognized the need to reward Rochel.
