but for the reunification of the sundered sephirot (divine attributes) of Tiferet and Shekhinah. Because most women have little knowledge of mystical literature and concepts, Leah's purpose in writing this text is to teach women without specialized knowledge how to pray properly, that is, for the sake of the redemption of the Shekhinah from her exile, with weeping. Following kabbalistic sources, Leah attributes great power to tears. Elaborating on what was already a focus of women's piety, the blessing of the new moon in synagogues, she provides a framework that she believed could bring redemption. In the Yiddish portion of her text (accessible to her female readers), Leah laments the bitterness of the exile and names the New Moon as a time of favor. The protection of each of the four biblical matriarchs is invoked. The central model she presents is the midrashic trope of the children of Israel going into exile, weeping at Rachel's grave. Rachel, a common symbol for the Shekhinah, then entreats the Holy Blessed One (Tiferet), with tears, to redeem the Israelites from their exile. He is so moved by her plea that He agrees to bring the redemption. Leah suggests that women in her day should follow the example of the children of Israel, and of "our faithful Mother Rachel". Together with Leah's images of the other matriarchs, her Yiddish tkhinne, like her introduction, combines an appreciation of women's traditional roles with an assertion that women have far more spiritual power than is usually recognized. References Sources https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0009_0_09238.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/653224/Yiddish-literature 1715 births 1795 deaths Yiddish-language writers Kabbalists 18th-century Polish Jews Jewish women writers