The daily chizuk from The Rav, the holy Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a — Nimrod threw Avraham into the fiery furnace, and suddenly he saw someone else inside with him

“Go for yourself, from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house” (Bereishis 12:1)

“For he too is flesh” (Bereishis 6:3)

“And its seven lamps upon it, seven and seven spouts” (Zechariah 4:2)

“Sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Yeshayahu 30:26)

Sunday, 2 Cheshvan 5785 — “Rebbe Nachman is alive and enduring”

These are his holy words:

Avraham asked, “Who created the sun?” Nimrod said, “I created it.” Immediately, everyone came and everyone shouted at him.

A 70-year-old woman arrived and said, “I want an idol that’s 70 years old.” Avraham brought her a wrinkled idol—wrinkled face—and she paid him a thousand pounds for the idol. She walked away happily, because she had an idol “aged 70,” and she herself was a 70-year-old woman. Then Avraham said to her, “Wait, wait—come here a second. Do you know we took this out of the oven five minutes ago? You’re 70, but this idol came out of the oven only five minutes ago!”

She said to him, “Fine—then give me back the thousand pounds.” Avraham returned the entire thousand pounds, and she threw the idol in his face.

Now a 90-year-old Jew arrived—more wrinkled, more bent over—and said to Avraham, “Bring me an idol that’s 90 years old.” Fine. Avraham took one out of the oven: “Here’s one that’s 90.” He charged him two thousand pounds.

He had already walked 100 meters away when Avraham called out to him, “Hey, Jew—come back a second. Do you know we took that idol out of the oven a minute ago?”

“Fine—return the two thousand pounds.” Avraham returned the two thousand pounds and took the idol back.

Now the 90-year-old man and the 70-year-old woman walked together down the street and met Nimrod. They began shouting at Nimrod: “Fraud! Liar! What are you telling us—that there are idols aged 70, aged 90? They’re only a minute old, two minutes old!”

Nimrod saw this and understood that a rebellion was about to break out—civil revolt. He immediately took Avraham, put him in chains, and said, “Either you retract, or straight to the fiery furnace!”

Avraham said, “Straight to the furnace. I’m ready—this is exactly why I did it.” Then the fire rose upward—fire, fire. They had been stoking the fire for seven days; the flames rose up to the heavens. This was in Ur Kasdim: you could see fire—everything burning, a massive blaze. They seized Avraham Avinu and threw him into the fire.

Suddenly the king saw someone else inside the fire—this was the angel Gavriel, making flowers for Avraham Avinu. Everything turned into flowers, roses. King Nimrod went out of his mind: it all became flowers, roses.

The king said, “Take him out!” Fine—Avraham came out of the fire. Nimrod bowed to him, kissed his feet, and said, “I’ve discovered a new idol”—instead of saying, “Hashem Hu HaElokim, Hashem Hu HaElokim,” a person must know that Hashem Hu HaElokim—he said, “I’ve discovered a new idol. Everyone—bow to him.”

Nimrod immediately gave him his own son and said, “He will grow up by Avraham Avinu.” Then Hashem said to him, “Go for yourself, from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house” (Bereishis 12:1). This is exactly the gematria of 343—seven times seven times seven: 777. So Avraham merited 777; he merited Lemech, whose lifespan was 777. Avraham also merited 777: “For he too is flesh” (Bereishis 6:3)—therefore it is exactly the gematria of 343.

Because above the pure Menorah that we read about in Parshas Beha’aloscha—“And its seven lamps upon it, seven and seven spouts” (Zechariah 4:2)—they revealed that the number 777 is the holiest number: 343—“For he too is flesh.”

As it is written: sevenfold like the light of the sun—“And the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Yeshayahu 30:26).

777—the main thing is that there will be light. Suddenly there will be a light such as has not existed since the creation of the world—now there is going to be such a light as has not existed since the creation of the world, a light that has not yet been brought into being, because Rebbe Nachman is alive and enduring; Rebbe Nachman is here.

Therefore everyone must travel to Uman today—after the shiur, everyone is traveling to Uman, without exception.