"If the Tzaddik Had Nullification, He Would Receive Eternal Kingdom"

On the first night of Chanukah, the venerable Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a arrived at the Chanukah gathering in Ashdod. The Rav shlit"a lit the menorah before the masses and sang the Chanukah hymns together with the large crowd. Afterward, the Rav shlit"a delivered his special holy words for the holiday.

The venerable Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a lights the first candle of Chanukah in Ashdod

The holy words of the venerable Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a at the gathering in Ashdod

"Today is a new creation of the world. There were two Lamechs, one the father of Noah and one the father of Tubal-Cain. Lamech came to his wives, Adah and Zillah, and said to them, 'And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have killed a man for wounding me, and a child for my bruise' (Genesis 4:23). Adah and Zillah answered him, saying that they did not want to live with a murderer. He answered them, 'I am blind and did not see,' for he would draw the bow and Tubal-Cain would aim, and thus he would hit the mark. This is how Cain was killed at the age of 130. This Lamech was the first in the world to kill both the grandfather and the child."

"'And Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and he begot Lamech' (Genesis 5). 'Year (shanah), and he begot Lamech' (vayoled et Lamech) forms the acronym for Saul (Shaul). For Lamech had to be reincarnated as Saul, for if Saul had nullified himself to the tzaddik, he would have rectified everything. If a person had nullification to the tzaddik, he could rectify all his reincarnations back to the first man."

"'For Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, and Lamech seventy-sevenfold' (Genesis 4:24). Lamech came in the form of Saul, and Saul had to undergo terrible trials. Samuel said to Saul, 'Wait seven days until I come to you' (I Samuel 10). Saul waited seven days for Samuel's arrival; a minute before twelve, he broke. Saul only needed to wait one more minute and he would have received eternal kingship. Samuel told Saul that if he had not offered the burnt offering and had waited one more minute, he would have merited eternal kingship for generations upon generations; only the seed of Saul would have reigned in the world."

Holy sights from the Chanukah gathering in Ashdod with the venerable Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a

The photos are courtesy of A. Solomonovitch shlit"a