"Everything Sarah Tells You—Listen to Her Voice" — The Daily Lesson from The Rav

Before you is the full lesson delivered by The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, last night—Tuesday night, the eve of the 15th of MarCheshvan—after the Ma’ariv prayer:

It is written in the parashah: “Everything Sarah tells you—listen to her voice” (Bereishis 21:12). Rashi says that Sarah was greater than Avraham Avinu, because only Sarah understood the truth. She understood—she had a sharp eye; she possessed true Ruach HaKodesh.

For in every woman there is Ruach HaKodesh; in every woman there is an aspect of prophecy. Like Serach bas Asher, who was a prophetess. For everyone placed her under a ban together with her wicked father. She had a wicked, utterly corrupt father who revealed the entire secret, and therefore they placed him under a ban—until Moshe Rabbeinu came two hundred and fifty years later: two hundred and ten in Egypt [and another forty years in the wilderness—then it was revealed that Asher had not told anything, and Serach bas Asher knew it through prophecy].

Because the moment they went down to Egypt, they revealed Yosef. They went ready to kill and be killed. [Yosef said to the brothers:] “For what did you come?” [The brothers said to him:] “To kill and to be killed.” [Yosef said to them:] “What—so you are murderers!”

Even Avraham said, “If only Yishmael would live before You” (Bereishis 17:18). That was the ‘Meretz people’ who were spiritually ‘impregnated’ within him. Who said—after all… because Avraham contained within him all the souls, all the souls that would exist until the end of all generations. And the ‘Meretz people’ said that they are so beautiful, so refined… they are so delicate of soul.

I tell everyone to sleep until one in the afternoon—because Hashem is One—and then they’ll shout that Hashem is One… What can I do? It’s hard for people to get up before one. Let them get up at one; and if not, then two is also fine—those who are quick get up at two. In any case, that is the custom of Shuvu Banim until today. So I am in favor of this custom.

Therefore I tell everyone to vote for Meretz—then they will have lots of “meretz” (energy), and they will have it—and maybe they’ll get up in the morning a little earlier.

In any case, Hashem says to Avraham: You don’t understand anything; you don’t see anything! You are blind—don’t you see that he is “a wild man; his hand against everyone” (Bereishis 16:12)? No… he is the sweetest thing in the world—because he had long peyos down to his waist; such sweetness has not existed since the creation of the world—such a sweet, charming child.

So what—he shoots arrows…? He shoots arrows at birds; it just happens that he hits Yitzchak… by accident, not intentionally. “In his life—he didn’t mean to kill a Jew…” A Jew kills an Arab—everyone knows, that’s how it is according to the approach of Meretz, for they are the בעלי המרץ (the ones with ‘meretz’), thank Hashem… They know: a Jew kills an Arab; but an Arab doesn’t kill a Jew—there’s no such thing. “Who killed Trumpeldor? Jewish zealots killed him…” It was the 14th of Adar—who destroyed Tel Chai…? He wasn’t a member of Meretz, so they killed him.

So everyone knows that Meretz are people of a beautiful soul, refined people… And this is what Avraham said—that Yishmael is a refined child, and a sweet child, and you don’t throw a child out of the house! There’s no such thing! To expel such a sweet child from the house?!

But Sarah said to him: You have nothing to do here! This child is the worst—he is a wild man: “his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him.” He will never be a mensch; he will remain a wild man—from the day he is born until the day he dies, he remains a wild man! He has no change and no progress—only backward!

So Sarah had Ruach HaKodesh, and she was a prophetess.

And regarding Serach bas Asher—the Baal HaTurim asks: How did she know that Yosef was alive? After all, they didn’t reveal it! They had just sold Yosef, and they didn’t reveal it to anyone—not even to Yaakov. Yaakov says, “A wild beast has devoured him” (Bereishis 37:20). Yaakov believes that “a wild beast has devoured him.”

Suddenly, after twenty-two years, she begins to dance. Immediately they contacted Itamar Raz at the clinic to send a nurse with an injection—after twenty-two years that a person has disappeared, they start dancing and singing!?

Why is she dancing? Tell them: Father, Grandfather—Yosef is alive… No—she would have died on the spot if she had said “Yosef is alive,” because Yaakov would have said: What suddenly… you know this from age three—you know it; how did you not tell me? So she would have died on the spot. Therefore she needed to dance for twenty-four hours.

And then she sang: “Yosef is still alive, and he is king in Egypt, and he has two sons—Menashe and Ephraim.”

To watch the replay of the lesson — minute 1:32:02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCaTyn22GSY