"And from Hashem is an Intelligent Wife"

Before you is the full daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, the Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) - yesterday after the Maariv (evening prayer), Monday night, the 24th of Tammuz, Parshas Matot-Masei:

"The Torah portion speaks of the daughters of Tzelafchad, as well as Pinchas and Masei. At the end of the portion, it concludes one verse before the last: 'Machlah, Tirzah, Noa, Hoglah, and Milkah.' Machlah corresponds to the Sefirah (Divine emanation) of Keter (Crown), Tirzah to the Sefirah of Chokhmah (Wisdom), Noa to the Sefirah of Binah (Understanding). Hoglah is the Sefirah of Yesod (Foundation), and Milkah is the Sefirah of Malchut (Kingship). Because the woman is always the Sefirah of Malchut, but in 'Behaaloscha' (when you raise the lamps), she merits to be Keter. Machlah is Keter – 'A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.' 'From Hashem is an intelligent wife'—the Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) brings this in Torah 2, Part 2: 'House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but from Hashem is an intelligent wife.' A woman needs to be intelligent, sharp, and witty. Every woman needs to be sharp and witty. She should know everything, know mathematics, and calculations. She should know the 'secret of the circle' (Pi), as the Gemara (Talmud) says – three times the width. That it is 3.14, 28, 55. So if it is ten Tefachim (handbreadths), it is 31.4; if it is twenty Tefachim, then it is 60.8 Tefachim. And if it is thirty Tefachim, then it is already 92.4, and forty centimeters, then it is 125.6. One must always know it is three times [the diameter], but the Gemara says not exactly three, [but rather] 3.14. Which is 14, 28, 55. And after that, she must know the Rashi. Every woman needs to learn a chapter of Rashi every day, a chapter in Shmuel (Samuel) with Rashi. And a chapter in Yehoshua (Joshua) with Rashi. She doesn't need to know all the names of the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria), that doesn't belong to girls. But she needs to know all the stories, and how they conquered Jericho, and how they crossed the Jordan—how they flew over the Jordan without a pilot's license; they flew over the Jordan, and there's a trial about this now in The Hague—and how they conquered thirty-one kings. A woman needs to know all of Rashi exactly, all of Yehoshua and also Shoftim (Judges). All the stories about Shmuel and about Shimshon (Samson), and about the daughter of Yiftach (Jephthah), as it is written. No one knows the true story of the daughter of Yiftach. The true story is that they did not slaughter her. In all the books it is written that they did slaughter her, that she came to her father with the knife, and the knife dripped blood. Therefore, it is forbidden to drink water during the Tekufah (seasonal transition) of Tevet; the prohibition is specifically for that second. However, they were stringent to avoid it three hours before and three hours after. But truly, the prohibition is for that exact second; one must not drink water from the taps, only from closed bottles, not open bottles. Only closed bottles. That was in Tevet. In the Tekufah of Tishrei, they came to slaughter Yitzchak (Isaac), and then too the knife dripped blood—three drops of blood—which entered all the lakes. And when Moshe (Moses) struck the rock, that was the Tekufah of Tammuz – which is now. Then 'He split the rock and water flowed'—'flowed' (vayazuvu) implies drops of blood—drops of blood came out of the rock and mixed with all the waters in the world. And the daughter of Yiftach corresponds to Tevet. After that, we have the Tekufah of Tammuz, which is Moshe's rock. The Tekufah of Tishrei is when Avraham bound Yitzchak and the knife dripped blood. And the Tekufah of Nissan is the Plague of Blood; the Plague of Blood occurred in the month of Nissan. Then all the water in the world turned to blood. Therefore, it is forbidden at that exact second, regarding which there are five or six opinions, even eleven opinions, as to exactly which minute it is. So we observe it three hours before and three hours after, but for us, it no longer matters. For us—in our generation—we are no longer strict about this, we no longer pay attention to it. This is only theoretical, just to know the matter of the daughter of Yiftach, who went with the knife and said: 'Father, you shall not change one word of what you said, I will not allow you.' This was a dominant daughter who took control of her father; she did not let him go back on his word. He already regretted it, tore his clothes, and said, 'What has happened to me? I thought of a sheep, a goat, a cow, an ox—I didn't think of you.' But she came out with drums and dances. Therefore, she merits all day only to sing and play music in the Heavenly Palaces! And every girl who sings and dances enters the Palace of the daughter of Yiftach!"