The Daily Chizzuk of our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a — “Every time a person is disparaged, it’s only blessings”
Monday, 6 Av 5783
These are his holy words:
Kayin did not know what he was doing. He went crazy because Hashem did not accept his offering. “Hashem turned to Hevel and his offering” (Bereishit 4:4).
For the 370 lights — all the work of a person is to bring down the 370 lights. Chava had 370 multitude (3,700,000) lights which were taken from her after she ate from the Tree of Knowledge.
Today, the whole task is “ma’aseh — action.” Wherever it’s written “ma’aseh” — this is Shin-Ayin (370) MaH [the name Havaya filled with Alef’s, whose numerical value is 45=MaH]. Through the name MaH, we bring back the 370 multitude lights — a person comes to the world to be MaH [also meaning “What?” — implying humility and self-nullification], every day to be MaH. Through the 370 multitude lights, one needs to be MaH.
Therefore, [there was] the incident involving Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Yehoshua who were coming on a ship (Baba Batra 74b), and Rabbi Eliezer was sleeping and Rabbi Yehoshua was awake. Rabbi Yehoshua became horrified. Rabbi Eliezer woke up — why did you became horrified? I saw a great light on the sea! He saw the tail of the Leviathan.
For the whole task of a person is to reach the Leviathan. All our sitting in a Succah is in order to reach the Leviatan, for the entire feast in the future world will be the feast of the Leviathan.
Leviathan is [the letters of] “LeVY TaN” — “TaN” is the numerical value of 450, ten times MaH, to merit to ten times MaH — the whole task of a person is to be ten times MaH, to be in the greatest humility.
Every time a person is disparaged, everything is only blessings. The true friends of a person are his disputants — they are the true friends. They cleanse him of transgressions, cleanse him of all types of stains.
Like the Etrog, which needs to be cleaned of all stains. We would work in Haifa. We would clean the Etrog of all stains. We worked there by a man whose name I forget. We would clean the Etrog of all stains. I did this for free, because I had mercy on him.
It’s forbidden for there to be any stain. So the disputants clean a person of all stains. The more that they dispute him, the more that they put him down, disparage him, so the more they cleanse him of stains. A person comes to the world so they will cleanse him of stains; for this he comes to the world.
Everyone disputed Metushelach. Also everyone disputed Noach, because is an ark built over a period of 120 years? An ark is built in three days. It’s altogether 150 meters. However, over every nail, Noach would give a drasha. For 120 years he gave a drasha for every nail. Who cares what will be in another 120 years? Who knows if we’ll even live until then? This doesn’t interest anyone. Who knows what will be in another 120 years?
Noach spoke to the walls. No one listened to him. The whole matter is that a person needs to always be less than 100. All the years, less than 100. Even though everyone was putting him down, everyone was disputing him — everyone disputed Noach, he remained the only man in the world. The whole world, the whole planet earth disputed him: “What flood? There’s no flood. The flood will be upon you.”
