The root of the Hebrew word for ‘compassion,’ rachamim (רחמים), is from the same root as the word rekhem (רחם), which means ‘womb.’ The connection between these two ideas is that a mother has innate compassion for her children, the fruit of her womb, as it says in Isaiah (49:15), “Can a woman forget her baby, or disown the child of her womb?” Yechezkel teaches that when Hashem returns the captivity of Yaakov, He will shower them with mercy and compassion, comparable to the natural compassion a mother has for her child.
Source: Israel in the News
