Daily Shiur – Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

PRESENTED BELOW IS THE SHIUR WHICH OUR REBBE RAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A GAVE OVER ON TUESDAY, THE NIGHT OF 20 AV, AFTER MA’ARIV:

WHY DID AMRAM DIVORCE YOCHEVED?

So Amram divorced Yocheved at the age of 130.  At the age of 130, he was already tired of it.  How much can he tolerate?  How much can a person tolerate?  130 years is already enough.

Everyone thought that Yocheved must have burned his food, perhaps made some kind of face at him.  No one understood why they’re getting divorced at 130.  Where have we heard of anything like this?  Where is there anything like this, getting divorced at 130…?  We haven’t heard [of such a thing] in the history of the world; there was never such a thing.  However, this was the reality – at 130 he got divorced.  A decree came out: “every son that is born, throw him into the river” (Shemot 1:22).  Amram understood right away: “What, we’ll bring children in order to throw them into the river?!  Everyone should go to his parents.  I’ll go to my parents.”  He was Amram ben Kehat.  “I’ll go to my father Kehat.”  Kehat lived 133 years, Amram 137.  Yocheved will go to her father, Levi – Yocheved bat Levi.

IN ORDER TO BRING THE SOUL OF THE TZADDIK, ONE NEEDS TO DIVEST OF THE PHYSICAL

It’s written, “A man from the house of Levi went and took the daughter of Levi” (Shemot 2:1).  There are no names [mentioned], because there were no names.  This was shedding the physical.  Nothing.  Yocheved wasn’t Yocheved.  Amram wasn’t Amram.  They already shed [the physical] a long time ago.  In order to bring a soul like Moshe Rabbeinu, one needs to divest oneself of all physicality.  Therefore, it’s written, “A man went.”  The Zohar says (Shemot 11-12) this is the Kadosh Baruch Hu, that Amram was [as it were] the Kadosh Baruch Hu Himself.  Every soul needs to turn into a part of the Kadosh Baruch Hu.  This is only through prayers, because the Rebbe says that Gemara is the preparation for prayer.  “Maidens after her, her comrades are brought to you.”  “Maidens” are the letters of the Gemara.  If a person learns in depth, then he has mochin (the spiritual mind) to pray.  If he doesn’t learn in depth, then he doesn’t have mochin.  He can’t succeed in overcoming strange thoughts.  However, only through prayer, he turns into a portion of the Kadosh Baruch Hu, and Yocheved turned into the daughter of the Leviathan – “bat Levi”; this is a portion of the Leviathan.

The shiur begins at 51 minutes

“VAETCHANAN” – TO LEARN FROM THE LEVIATHAN HOW TO SUPPLICATE

Now was [parashat] VaEtchanan.  Moshe -- Hashem says to him: “You know how to supplicate…?  What do you make of yourself?  What, do you think that you can fool me?  What, how do you pray?  In the middle of prayer, you jump.  That’s how it is?  Fine, this isn’t called ‘VaEtchanan (I pleaded).’  You don’t know to plead.  Learn from the Leviathan.”  So says Midrash Rabbah – learn from the Leviathan.  “Will he multiply entreaties to you?” (Iyov 40:27).  Hashem says to Iyov, “Do you know how to say entreaties like the Leviathan?”  Only the Leviathan knows how to plead, because the Leviathan is the fiftieth gate.  In order to know how to supplicate, we need to be in the fiftieth gate.  Leviathan is “TeN” [numerical value 450] – this is the name MaH [=45] – ten times the name MaH.  “Levi-TeN” [same letters as Leviyatan—Leviathan in Hebrew].  That only when a person is in the fiftieth gate, then he can supplicate.  Then the prayer is accepted.  Because a person doesn’t know why a prayer isn’t accepted – because he doesn’t supplicate.  He doesn’t know how to supplicate.  Even Iyov didn’t know, all the more so Moshe.  Moshe says, “VeEtchanan” (Devarim 3:23).  This is 5[15.  Hashem says to him,] “This is nothing.  Learn from the Leviathan.  Go to the Leviathan, learn to supplicate.”  Therefore, Rashi says that before praying, we must sing some melody.  Moshe would sing, “Hoshe’a et amechah (save Your people)” (Tehilim 28:9).  We sing “Or zaruah latzaddik, ul’yishrei lev simcha (light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart)” (Tehilim 97:13).

Additional broadcast ~ shiur begins at 36:28