Rabbi Berland shlit"a’s Lesson — Last Night, the Night of 11 Nissan

The holy words of our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, from the lesson delivered last night, Monday, after the Maariv prayer on the eve of 11 Nissan:

It is written, "And Haman was driven to his house, mourning and with his head covered." Who drove him? Mordechai. How did he know... where did he learn? At Shuvu Banim. How did he know to drive Haman? Poor Haman, he asks the King about everything. He consults with the King about everything. He was the most disciplined in the world, the most obedient. But Queen Esther said no! He must be hanged. So the King, who had previously hanged Vashti because Haman told him to, now did the opposite; he hanged Haman because Esther told him to.

Where did Esther learn? Also at Shuvu Banim. Esther was a student at Shuvu Banim; there she learned to hang all the Hamans. There she learned that Haman must be hanged even though he is so obedient, such a good boy. Such a good boy of Jerusalem. But he must be hanged; there is no other choice.

But it didn't help at all. Even though she had already hanged Haman, even though they had already hanged Haman, the King said to her, "And seal it with the King's signet ring, for it cannot be revoked." We signed one hundred and twenty-seven letters! It is not just one letter; there are copies. Because it is written that there were two letters there; one letter was "to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate." But it was secret, just like Hitler did. "To destroy, to kill, and to annihilate" was only for the heads of the cities, for the heads of the Gestapo. For the whole world, it was just labor camps, health camps, children to schools—children didn't study. They opened schools for the children, they took the children and said these will be orderly schools. Here they shoot, here they fire missiles, everything is arranged in the most beautiful way. But Hitler's true plan was secret. It was the same with Haman; there were one hundred and twenty-seven letters, one hundred and twenty kingdoms, letters, seals. Esther says, 'Master of the World, what is happening here?' Ahasuerus says, 'Forgive me, you are my eyes...' Why is it written, "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King..."? He used to tell her, 'You are my eyes.' Esther said to him, you tell me 'You are my eyes'? "If I have found favor in your eyes, O King," I am your eyes, so do something! Ahasuerus said it is impossible to do anything, "And seal it with the King's signet ring, for it cannot be revoked." We signed one hundred and twenty-seven letters, it is impossible to annul the decree. "And Esther spoke yet again before the King, and fell down at his feet, and wept, and made supplication unto him: My G-d, my G-d, why have You forsaken me..."