Rachel Says to the Kadosh Baruch Hu: Like I Ceded Everything

BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE DAILY SHIUR WHICH OUR REBBE RAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A GAVE OVER ON TUESDAY, THE NIGHT OF 6 KISLEV, AFTER THE MAARIV PRAYER:

SO RACHEL DID A TERRIBLE ACT, SIMPLY TO DO SUCH AN INSOLENT ACT AS THIS, THAT SHE TOOK THE SIGNS BETWEEN HER AND HER GROOM, HANDED THEM OVER TO ANOTHER WOMAN.  SUCH A THING WE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.  NO ONE DARED TO DO SUCH A THING, NO BRIDE, NO ENGAGED WOMAN WOULD GIVE THE SIGNS BETWEEN HERSELF AND HER GROOM TO SOMEONE ELSE.  THIS IS ALSO A BETRAYAL OF THE GROOM, EVEN IF YOU ARE WILLING TO CEDE…  HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY…?  WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?  WHAT, DO YOU REGRET THE MATCH?  WHAT DO YOU REGRET?  WHAT HAPPENED HERE?  A TERRIBLE THING!  WE MAMASH OBJECT TO THIS.  WE’LL MAKE A RALLY AGAINST THIS – A PROTEST RALLY!  IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO TOLERATE SUCH CRIMES, AND SUCH…  THIS IS AGAINST THE GENEVA ACCORDS, OSLO, ALL THE ACCORDS.  HOW IS SUCH A THING DONE – YOU GAVE THE SIGNS TO SOMEONE ELSE?  WE HAVEN’T HEARD AND HAVEN’T SEEN IN ALL HISTORY, IN ANY BOOK, IN ANY STORY OF ANY NATION, THAT A PERSON WOULD CEDE – WOULD DO SUCH A THING – WOULD GIVE HER GROOM TO SOMEONE ELSE.  THERE’S NO SUCH THING!  THERE NEVER WAS AND NEVER EXISTED.

Rather, the Ben Ish Chai says, all of this is a preparation for the redemption, that only in the merit of this will be the redemption.  Only in the merit of this, Hashem says to Mama Rachel, “Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, because there is reward for your accomplishment” (Yirmiyahu 31:15).  This is the accomplishment, that you ceded everything!  Because now Esav will take her and abuse her, and torture her.  The arch-murderer, murdered Nimrod.  Who didn’t he murder?  He murdered everyone.  Now he will murder Rachel.  She will fall in his lot.  She has no choice.  She has no choice at all.  She cedes everything to her sister [so that] there won’t be a second of embarrassment.  What happened?  So there was a mistake here.  It will work out already.  They’ll tell her, “Your father is wicked, switched you around.”  Rachel doesn’t need to agree to this.  Does she need to bring her into her own home with her own hands?!  We never heard of such a thing in any place in the world.  There’s no such thing!  We must protest against this, to act, to walk with banners in the streets and to protest against this injustice.  It’s impossible to tolerate such injustices.

However, the Ben Ish Chai says that this is a preparation for the redemption, that Rachel says to the Kadosh Baruch Hu, “Just as I ceded everything, broke all the rules, went against all common sense, against all logic.  Everything for my sister, to protect my sister, that she shouldn’t fall into suffering for even one second.  After all, they would have said that there was a mistake here and that’s it, and they would buy her some chocolate and that’s it.  You don’t need for this to give over the [signs].  We never heard such a thing, to give over her groom – there never was and never existed, and also never will be!  Rather all of this is a preparation for the redemption, that Rachel shows the Kadosh Baruch Hu – that she is flesh and blood – that she cedes everything for her sister’s sake; so the Kadosh Baruch Hu also needs to cede everything.  Like we say, “For the conductor, a psalm by David.  The heavens declare the glory of G-d…  Who can discern mistakes?  Cleanse me from unperceived faults.  Also…” – even intentional sins – “Also from intention sins, restrain Your servant and then… I will be cleansed of great transgression” (Tehilim 19:1-14).  That Hashem, in the merit of Rachel, forgives all sins that a person does, whether from all the reincarnations, and also whatever he will do, Hashem already forgives him retroactively for everything in the merit of Rachel Imeinu.

THE SHIUR BEGINS AT TIMECODE 30:00