On Chanukah, They Saw Such Miracles that Everyone Wanted to be Mehadrin min

THE FULL TEXT OF THE SHIUR WHICH OUR REBBE RAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A GAVE OVER ON WEDNESDAY, THE NIGHT OF 30 MARCHESHVAN (ROSH CHODESH KISLEV), AFTER THE MAARIV PRAYER:

THEN YAEL KNEW EXACTLY WHERE IS THE SOUL THAT WAS IN SISRA.  BECAUSE EVERY EVILDOER HAS A SOUL OF A TZADDIK.  THERE’S NO EVILDOER IN THE WORLD WHO DOESN’T HAVE A SOUL OF A TZADDIK.  IN ONE SECOND, HE CAN IDENTIFY THIS – THIS IS HIS CHOICE.

Even Rivka, who was born to a most wicked father – such an evildoer had never been and will not be -- says the Ben Ish Chai, she said “I will go” (Bereishit 24:58).  “I’m fleeing from here.  I just waited for someone to come and take me out of the valley of killing, from this mess, such a terribly wicked father; I don’t want to know him.”  They said, “Sit shiva!  Your father died, had a stroke in the brain, had a stroke in the heart.  Take part in the shiva.  'Sit with us a year or ten [months]'” (ibid. 55).  She said, “Not shiva, and not a minute, and not a second.  I’m going!”  So explains the Ben Ish Chai: “I will go” – “I’m going, I’m fleeing from here so long as my soul [is within me].”  “Come here…”  They immediately wanted to put poison in her food, but in the end blessed her: “Our sister, may you be thousands of myriads, and may your offspring inherit the gate of its enemies” (Bereishit 24:60).  Who are “its enemies”?  This is Lavan.  He cursed himself.

Because the whole matter is that now is the new moon.  Another half-hour is the new moon.  Then the wicked are in the hands of the tzaddikim.  Then the rule returns to the tzaddikim.  All Kislev is the prayer of Channah, that Channah prayed, “The bow of the mighty is broken” (I Shmuel 2:4).  She knew that this is the astrological sign of Keshet (Sagittarius—the bow).  Because there were three wars, the initial letters of which are PeSeL (idol) – Polonius, Selonisia – this was then in Beit Tzur, south of Beit Lehem.  This is from the time of Yehoshua bin Nun, this city.  It’s possible to see it even now.  There, there was the strongest army.  There Yehuda Maccabee fought twenty-four hours.  He didn’t rest for a second.  With the sword, he fought twenty-four hours until the whole army fled.  Then they ascended to Jerusalem in the month of Kislev, on 25 Kislev they lit the Menorah anew.

And they didn’t have olive oil – there was none.  Because on one hand, it’s permissible to light in [a state of] impurity – this is a community Menorah.  This isn’t a private menorah.  The community is permitted [to light] in impurity.  It’s permissible to bring the Passover offering in impurity, the Tamid offering in impurity.  So also the Menorah here is permissible to bring [oil] in impurity.  But the whole matter of Chanukah is HaMehadrin min HaMehadrin [e.g. the highest level of kashrut], that on Chanukah they saw such miracles, that everyone wanted to be HaMehadrin min HaMehadrin!  Then they sent to the Galil to bring oil.  This is seven days round trip and another day that it takes to produce the oil.  Then they had to bring new oil.  Therefore, on the new moon the light of Chanukah –the Menorah – begins.

“Go for yourself from your land” (Bereishit 12:1) – this is the Menorah, “that I show you” – this is the Menorah, because “Go for yourself (Lech Lecha)" is [the numerical value of] 100… Avram, the first thing, Lech Lecha – this is exactly 343 = 7 times 7 times 7.  That the Menorah in the future will have seven tzinorot, seven branches, and 49 tzinorot for every Menorah.  And the fountain will be above the Menorah; above the Menorah will be a river of oil.

All of this Channah received in her prayer, because once, every woman was a prophetess.  Every woman was a prophetess; every woman had Ruach HaKodesh (divine inspiration).  Every woman knew what would be until all generations.  And this is what Channah saw in the sign of Keshet -- that we are now entering the new moon in another twenty minutes.  That she saw that in the sign of Keshet there will be “the bow of the mighty is broken,” and that the government of the Greeks will fall, and thus began the their fall until the end of all generations.

THE SHIUR BEGINS AT TIMECODE 35:24