The daily strengthening from our teacher, the holy Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a — “Every day, you must say the names of these three Tzaddikim”

Sunday, 3 Tammuz 5782 — Yotam never saw a woman in his life; these are his holy words:

It is written in the Sephardic machzorim that when they take out the Sefer Torah, they should say: “in the merit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.”

It is written in Gilgulei Neshamot that Rabbi Shimon was a reincarnation of King Yotam son of Uziyahu. He never sinned in his entire life—he was a reincarnation of Yotam.

[“And Chizkiyah said in the name of Rabbi Yirmiyah, in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: ‘I can exempt the entire world from judgment from the day I was created until now; and if Eliezer my son were with me—from the day the world was created until now; and if Yotam son of Uziyahu were with us—from the day the world was created until its end’” (Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 45)]

If Rabbi Shimon were together with Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon, and with Yotam son of Uziyahu, then all sins would be forgiven.

Every day, one must say the names of these three Tzaddikim: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon—about whom it is said that he can exempt the entire world from judgment: “and if Eliezer my son were with me—from the day the world was created until now.”

And with Yotam son of Uziyahu—from the day the world was created until its end. Rashi says that Yotam did not commit any transgression at all; he was the only king who did not commit any transgression. He grew up inside a cemetery; in his entire life he never saw a woman—he didn’t see anything.

As it is written about the two sons of Shimon HaTzaddik, that they did not know how to distinguish between a man’s garment and a woman’s garment, because they had never seen how a woman dresses.

So you have to ask: how do they take such a Kohen Gadol who doesn’t even know how people dress? A Kohen Gadol must know that dressing is itself an avodah—how to dress, what to wear.

Now they brought him to teach him: one dressed the other—Choni dressed Shimi, and Shimi dressed Choniyo.