"A Person Wants to Serve Hashem Without Humiliation, This is Like Eating a Limb from a Living Animal" - Words of the Esteemed Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a from Givat Olga

Words of the esteemed tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a as delivered in a lesson at Givat Olga on the first night of Chol HaMoed Sukkot 5779.

"The Luz bone, the secret of the resurrection of the dead, "And indeed, Luz was the name of the city formerly" (Genesis 28:19). "Luz, which Sennacherib came to but did not confuse, Nebuchadnezzar did not destroy, and even the Angel of Death has no permission to pass through it" (Beraita in Tractate Sotah), anyone who lives in this city will live forever, and anyone who comes now to the lesson will live to the age of 200."

"Through the Luz bone, one lives forever, and therefore one must eat Melaveh Malka, because only the Luz bone benefits from this meal. "And love covers all transgressions" (Proverbs 10:12), because through the Luz bone one merits shame, through shame his blood is spilled..., and through the covering of the blood everything is covered automatically. Therefore, it is forbidden to eat a limb from a living animal, this is what Isaac said to Esau, "And make me savory food, such as I love" (Genesis 27:4), delicacies that do not contain a limb from a living animal. A person wants without humiliation, this is a limb from a living animal. When Hashem wants the service of the Jewish person who is a tzaddik, He sends him humiliations. A limb from a living animal, it is forbidden to eat a limb from a living animal (the mitzvah of the Jewish person does not ascend to the heavens without first receiving humiliations)."

"As long as a person experiences shame, it is like the spilling of blood from the slaughtering that purifies the limb from a living animal. Isaac pleaded with Esau to agree to accept humiliations and then do teshuvah. A person does not do teshuvah because he does not accept humiliations, without teshuvah it is a limb from a living animal. To avoid it being a limb from a living animal, one must accept endless humiliations, then Hashem can taste from the mitzvot."

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"Avraham Avinu did not uncover when he circumcised, therefore also in the Exodus from Egypt they did not uncover. Lavan did not uncover because he was kindness, Isaac is kindness within might, all the work is in kindness within might. "Comfort, comfort" is Isaac, twice restrained is Isaac, therefore we came to Givat Olga, because here is the illumination of Isaac (the second night of Chol HaMoed Sukkot). Then, one merits teshuvah from love and transgressions become merits."

"All of this our Rebbe reveals in Torah 83 of the second part, the Torah of the burned book, this is the greatest Torah of our Rebbe's teachings. This is teshuvah from love, that Hashem can taste from all our mitzvot, both positive and prohibitive. Because Avraham did not need to uncover, he was kindness within kindness. And after the humiliations, a person merits the covering of the blood. The covering of the blood is so that a person does not fall into pride, because after humiliations, a person can fall into pride and say that he is being humiliated because he is a tzaddik. But, all the humiliations are so that a person will have humility, which is the covering of the blood, that a person receives humiliation and says, this is what I deserve - he does not allow the external forces to come and draw from the mitzvah."