Parshat Pekudei by the Esteemed Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

Words in memory of Shmuel Aizik Magen ben Adel.

On Purim, We Ascend to the Fiftieth Gate

"Rebbe Nachman said that one must cry out for 40 days before Purim, 'Save me from the klipah of Haman-Amalek.' A person must attain the secret of Purim, to feel what Purim is, to think about what Purim is. It is not just a holiday for getting drunk and acting wildly, but rather it is a holiday where one ascends to the fiftieth gate, to the 'Resha D'la Ityada' (the Unknowable Head), one ascends to the 50th gate."

In Every Generation There is Another Haman Until We Do Teshuvah

"Everyone knows that one must strike Amalek, eradicate Amalek, kill him, but who is Amalek? Amalek is us! Within each and every person, there is an Amalek inside. As long as Amalek is within us, nothing will help. Even if we kill Haman, a Sisera will come, a Titus will come, a Vespasian will come, a Hitler will come. As long as a person does not emerge from his flaws of the covenant and his pride, then Haman is alive. This Satan enters someone else. When they killed Haman, that generation was saved, but in every generation, new 'Hamans' arise."

"Haman is created from sins! From every sin, a Haman is created, a terrorist is created; from every sin, a Nazi is created. Because when a Nazi comes to kill a Jew, I created this Nazi! I created this terrorist! If I do teshuvah, the terrorist will be burned, erased. So who is Haman? Who is Amalek? Amalek is me. As long as I am in the world, as long as I am alive, the Geulah will not come until I transform myself and change myself. Nothing else will help. And this is Purim—'V'nahafochu' (and it was turned around), that everyone must turn themselves around from one end to the other."

On Purim, Who a Person Truly Is is Revealed

"On Purim, the sweetness of the river flowing from Eden is revealed. On Purim, everyone ascends to the Garden of Eden. Everything one eats and drinks on Purim—the preserved wine, the wild ox, and the Leviathan—it is all birds from the Garden of Eden, the Leviathan from the Garden of Eden, the wild ox from the Garden of Eden. Through the light of Purim, the 'Kedushat Yom Tov' says that who I truly am is revealed. This is revealed specifically on Purim, when a person arrives and sees where he truly stands. He merits to see all his flaws, all his sins; he sees that, in essence, he is Haman."

One is Obligated to Become Intoxicated So As Not to Fall into Sadness

"The 'Kedushat Levi' says that the moment a person sees his own lowliness, where he is situated, he can fall into such despair, and precisely on Purim he is in terrible danger because everything is revealed to him! He sees the flaws he is in—flaws of the eyes, distance from faith—and through this, he can fall into terrible despair. Therefore, on Purim, one must drink wine, as it is written, 'Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of soul,' in order to elevate the mind to sing and rejoice. Because after it becomes clear to a person that, in essence, I am Haman, I am the greatest criminal, he could fall into such terrible sadness. Therefore, our Sages ordained, 'A person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim...' because through this 'intoxication,' the verse 'V'nahafochu' will be fulfilled in him. He will see that, on the contrary, even a Haman like me, a wicked person like me—behold, thank Hashem, I am coming to pray, I heard the Megillah on Purim, I was even at the mikvah, I even put on tefillin, I merited such mitzvot. So there is no greater Kiddush Hashem than this, because the further away a person is, the greater his Kiddush Hashem and the greater the joy, because 'cursed be Haman' is turned into 'blessed be Mordechai.' Precisely one who knows he is Haman can merit to be 'blessed be Mordechai.'"

On Purim, a Great Light Shines That Does Not Exist All Year

"The Holy Ari says that every Purim, the light of 'Yesod Abba' shines for us, which does not shine at any other time. This light, which is called 'Yesod Abba,' is always covered, always in concealment, and when we read the Megillah, a revelation occurs and the light of Yesod Abba is revealed. Such great lights descend that everyone can do true teshuvah. Mordechai, who is Yesod Abba, is revealed in all his glory on Purim, because the light of Mordechai—the light of Yesod Abba—draws down miracles and wonders for us. This light is the faith that there is nothing else besides Him, that there is nothing except Hashem. There can be an Ahasuerus, there can be a Haman; they can issue decrees, but in truth, they do not exist. They are only fog, and all their words are only to awaken us to teshuvah."

Purim is Only to Do True Teshuvah

"All of Purim is to return in teshuvah. Purim is not to act wildly, it is not to set off firecrackers, it is not to break things, not to vomit, not to harm anyone. Purim is truly to do true, true teshuvah, as was seen among our people in all generations on Purim, that rivers and rivers of tears would flow from them during the reading of the Megillah. They would pour out rivers of tears during the dancing, and this is 'a person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim.' To become intoxicated means to be perfumed, not to get completely drunk. To become intoxicated means a face red from enthusiasm; it is deveikut (cleaving to Hashem)."

Rebbe Nachman says that on Purim one must 'keep one's head' more than on Yom Kippur

"Because on Yom Kippur, one is in the synagogue for 24 hours and sits glued to the chair, but on Purim, one must also drink wine, also rejoice, sing, and dance, and yet remain in a state of settled mind and be attached to Hashem. All the drinking of wine is to reach deveikut, to see Hashem face to face. The Shulchan Aruch says that heaven forbid a person should think that at the expense of drinking he can skip Birkat Hamazon, or miss Maariv, or not pray with intention. 'Intoxication' is not lightheadedness; 'intoxication' is only on the condition that you do not neglect even one blessing, one custom. The essence of the mitzvah is that a person should be in joy, 'wine gladdens the heart of man,' because in wine there is the power to ferment the blood, and when a person's blood is fermenting, it is easier for him to dance, to rejoice, it is easier for him to sing; it facilitates the joy, it intensifies the joy."

Purim Day is Gratitude for the Whole Year

"Because a person needs to be happy all year, but a person cannot be happy all year with a joy that goes beyond the ordinary, because one must remain sane, with a settled mind, to be with the partitions of the intellect, because the intellect limits and restricts and guards the person, whereas wine abolishes the partitions of the intellect, heaven forbid. Therefore, all year the Rebbe warned very strongly not to drink any wine or any intoxicating beverage, but on Purim, we want the opposite! To burn all the partitions of the intellect! And this is the special power of Purim, that then the wine does not harm the person if he drinks properly, because on Purim, 'wine enters, the secret emerges,' and then love of Hashem and fear of Hashem are revealed in the person. Because if a person is full of love of Hashem and full of deveikut to Hashem all year, then on Purim everything bursts out! He merits to dance from the abundance of love of Hashem and from the abundance of deveikut. And if a person is the opposite—far from deveikut, and he is attached to bad traits, to disrespecting others, to lashon hara—then on Purim, lightheadedness and disrespect for others burst out in him, because on Purim the partitions of the intellect are burned and disappear through the wine."

"On Purim, we want to burn all the partitions of the intellect through the wine, so that love of Hashem will truly be revealed and not other things, because a person who is burning with love of Hashem all year and has no time to show it, when Purim arrives, he can show love of Hashem for 24 hours."

Only Mordechai is Called a Jew in the Entire Tanakh

"Only Mordechai the Jew merited to be called Mordechai the Jew in the entire Tanakh! No tzaddik and no person merited the title 'Jew' in the Tanakh! Only Mordechai merited the title 'Jew'! And all because he 'would not bow down or prostrate himself.' From this, Mordechai showed that there is nothing else besides Him! From this, Mordechai showed that there is nothing at all except Hashem! From this, he showed that there is no Haman! That there is no Amalek! That he had no fear of Haman, no submission to Haman, but only the fire of Torah burning in him! The fire of truth burning in him! The truth that there is nothing else besides Him burning in him until he did not rise and did not move! He reached such a level of 'there is nothing else besides Him' that even Haman, with all his alarming, frightening appearance, did not move Mordechai even by a hair's breadth; he 'did not rise and did not move'! Haman was considered by Mordechai like a puffed-up balloon that was about to burst at any moment, and therefore he is the only one who merited the title 'Jew.'"

The Work of Purim

"All the work of Purim is to reach 'there is nothing else besides Him'! All the work of a person is to reach 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was no man with Me.' The winepress alone! There is nothing else besides Him! Hashem is with me alone! One must see Hashem alone! Esther goes and says, 'If I perish, I perish.' Esther goes alone! Esther goes in the aspect of 'I have trodden the winepress alone.' She has no self-interest, no self-will; she is only with Hashem! She is with Hashem in perfection! Only if a person goes with this conclusion, 'If I perish, I perish,' that it becomes complete darkness for him, and complete concealment, he sees no light, and yet he goes with Hashem! 'If I perish, I perish'—only then is Hashem revealed. Only when a person is in trouble, in suffering, in persecution, then he can truly see that there is no world, that there is only Hashem. A person goes through suffering, he suddenly sees that he has no helper in the world, no supporter in the world. Usually, a person thinks that they respect him, love him; suddenly he sees, 'I looked, and there was no one to help' (Isaiah 63:5). Suddenly he sees that there is no one! But only Hashem is with him! Then he sees that there is nothing else besides Him and Hashem has not abandoned him."

"All the work of a person is to ascend above time, to know that there is nothing else besides Him. Tzaddikim teach us that there is no time, and there is no world, and there is nothing, nothing exists. This is a world that passes in the blink of an eye! What are we doing here in the world!? Except for Torah, prayer, and good deeds, there is nothing to do here in the world! There is no world here! This world is imagination and illusions. The Rebbe already understood from the age of five that it is all imagination and illusions. He called this world 'medameh' (imaginary), that we are being deceived in this world. Everything is illusions! A person is impressed by people, a person is impressed by all sorts of things—everything is an illusion! Nothing will remain here! Not diamonds, not land, not ash, not pearls, nothing exists here, not a world! Not time! Everything passes in the blink of an eye."

"When a person thinks that there is a world of desires, etc., and is impressed by this world, he draws a spirit of impurity upon himself. The moment he thinks that there is a world, he is already under a spirit of impurity, under time. The essence of holiness is to ascend above time, to know that there is no 'this world,' to know that there is nothing else besides Him. A person must know that except for Hashem, there is nothing in the world, nothing in the world, there is nothing else besides Him! A person can reach such a level of faith that he no longer sees anything! He no longer sees evil! He does not see wicked people! He does not see anything in this world! He only sees the 'there is nothing else besides Him,' he only sees sparks of Divinity! He only sees pure and holy souls hovering around him! He sees the whole world as pure and holy. When they insult him, he doesn't even feel that they are insulting him! On the contrary! When they degrade him, he says—this must have been words of honor, what... are people even capable of degrading? Who is capable of degrading? People only say words of honor, they only respect, they say words of encouragement; surely I didn't understand correctly, my head is not right! He doesn't even feel that they are insulting him; his soul has already stripped itself of any body, he no longer hears any insults, he sees Hashem every moment before his eyes."

'A person receives an insult, at that moment he received a million dollars'

"It is told about R' Zusha and Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk that they arrived at an inn. There were some drunkards there who started kicking each other until they saw R' Zusha! He was further inside than R' Elimelech. The drunkards started hitting R' Zusha! Kicking! They almost broke all his bones! And then the 'Noam Elimelech' said to Rabbi Zusha—'My brother! You are taking everything! You are taking all the blows for yourself! You are taking all the insults for yourself! I also want blows, insults, I also want the World to Come. What about me? Am I not a human being? Don't I deserve a little? I also want to merit! Give a little to me too! Why is everything for you?' For a whole hour he persuaded him, crying before him to switch places with him—finally, he convinced him. The 'Noam Elimelech' went inside so they would hit him, and R' Zusha went outside. And as they switch, the gentiles say, the drunkards say, 'Enough hitting one, let's hit the other one who is outside!' And they hit R' Zusha again. R' Zusha said to R' Elimelech, 'You see, everything comes to me; no person touches what is prepared for his neighbor by even a hair's breadth.' With one insult, one atones for sins of thousands of incarnations; with one insult, one atones for a person's endless sins. With one insult that they insult a person, he can merit what he will not merit with thousands of works. Every insult is worth thousands upon thousands of fasts, thousands upon thousands of afflictions. This is instead of entering into fire, instead of entering into furnaces of fire. A person does not know what kind of rectifications these are—'No eye has seen, O God, besides You.'"

"When a person finishes the prayer with 'Aleinu Leshabeach,' he must know that this is the greatest praise that exists! With this praise, they brought down the walls of Jericho: 'For Hashem is the God in heaven above and on the earth below, there is nothing else... Hashem will reign forever and ever.' The moment a person begins to sanctify himself, begins to purify himself, he can see Hashem before his eyes! He can merit to 'I have set Hashem before me always.' Many people who just began to return in teshuvah saw the Name of Hashem right before their eyes! There are those who saw the Name of Hashem in the sky, and there are those who saw the Name of Hashem in some synagogue, there are those who saw it on some wall—everyone saw the Name of Hashem literally! They saw that there is nothing else besides Him! People were in India, did meditations, suddenly they saw the Name of Hashem hovering in the air; inside the idolatry, they saw the Name of Hashem! They jumped, ran away in the middle, and returned in teshuvah. A person must know that except for Hashem, there is nothing; except for Hashem, there is nothing in the world."

"The Holy Ari says that every Purim, the light of 'Yesod Abba' shines for us, which does not shine at any other time. This light, which is called 'Yesod Abba,' is always covered, always in concealment, and when we read the Megillah, a revelation occurs and the light of Yesod Abba is revealed. Such great lights descend that everyone can do true teshuvah. Mordechai, who is Yesod Abba, is revealed in all his glory on Purim, because the light of Mordechai—the light of Yesod Abba—draws down miracles and wonders for us. This light is the faith that there is nothing else besides Him, that there is nothing except Hashem. There can be an Ahasuerus, there can be a Haman; they can issue decrees, but in truth, they do not exist. They are only fog, and all their words are only to awaken us to teshuvah. All of Purim is to return in teshuvah. Purim is not to act wildly, it is not to set off firecrackers, it is not to break things, not to vomit, not to harm anyone. Purim is truly to do true, true teshuvah, as was seen among our people in all generations on Purim, that rivers and rivers of tears would flow from them during the reading of the Megillah. They would pour out rivers of tears during the dancing, and this is 'a person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim.' To become intoxicated means to be perfumed! To become intoxicated means a face red from enthusiasm; it is deveikut."

In memory of Rabbi Shmuel ben Sarah zt"l.