The Shiur of Rav Eliezer Berland Shlit”a – Thursday, 6 Nisan

THE SHIUR WHICH OUR REBBE RAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A GAVE OVER ON THURSDAY NIGHT AFTER THE MA’ARIV PRAYER – 6 NISAN:

THE PARASHA OF THE NESI’IM [TRIBAL PRINCES] AND ELIYAHU HANAVI

Then there was Elitzur ben Shede’ur.  He entered into the rock.  “Stand for me there on the rock.”  There is the cleft of the rock (nikrat tzur), and there is the roof of the rock (tikrat tzur).  All the work of a person is to reach the roof of the rock, that he will always be at the roof of the rock.

And then Moshe Rabbeinu fasted forty days and forty nights.  Then after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he already had removed his entire body.  Then Eliyahu HaNavi asked Hashem.  Hashem said to him: “What are you doing here Eliyahu?  What are you doing here?  How did you enter here?  What, without permission?”  He didn’t have a visa, so Hashem said to him: “What are you doing here?  What do you have here?  How did you get here?  What do you have here?”

Then he said, “What can I do? ‘The Children of Israel abandoned Your brit (covenant).’  They abandoned Your brit.”

[Hashem said to him:] “Now go to all the britot.  Now you will have a punishment: you have to participate in every brit, even if there are ten britot.  It makes no difference.”  Even a million britot – he needs to be at a million britot.  On one day, in one second – at a million britot.

So they ask: Is this a punishment?!  This is a merit to be at all the britot.  What kind of punishment is this?  If only we were at all the britot in the world.  If only we went to all the britot.  What is this written here, “And for the Jews, there was happiness, joy, and honor.”  Joy is the brit milah, that they decreed on the brit milah.  Because Antiochus gave eight days.  Antiochus was the biggest miser in the world.  He didn’t agree that there would be twelve.  A day like now, twelve days – Elitzur ben Shede’ur, Shelumiel ben Tzurishaddai.  He said only eight, enough only eight.  Then now we have a problem: how do we fit twelve into eight?  I don’t know.  I learned mathematics – how could this be…  But in Nisan, we work out.  Nisan is a wonder – we have twelve days [to read the Parasha of the twelve Nesi’im, and not eight days like in Chanukah].  We make celebrations, and sing and sing.

QUEEN ESTHER DIDN’T GIVE UP

But in the end, the king said to Queen Esther, “Listen, everything is lost; they already hung Haman.”  Because at Shuvu Banim, they do everything upside down.  Everything they do upside down, even…  Behold, they hung Haman on Chol HaMoed.  Esther said, “I want to drink four cups.”  He didn’t allow her.  He said, “You won’t drink four cups.  I warn you.  You won’t drink a drop.”  “Give [me] a sip…”  “No, even a sip, no.”  “A drop.” “No!”  So what will be here in the end.  Suddenly, she sees.  Then they said, “Distribute my clothes to them” (Tehilin 22:19).  There were already party dresses.  She had a thousand party dresses, they already handed out them all.  “Distribute my clothes to them, and on my garment they cast a lot” (ibid.).  All the dresses they handed out.  Suddenly they said, “Now let’s hang her” at nine [o'clock]… the children didn’t want to…  The small children are in bed at eight.  I’m warning you!  All the small children in bed at eight!  Quick, go to bed!  The children didn’t agree.  They wanted to see how they hang Queen Esther.  He said, “Tonight we’re hanging Queen Esther.”  Suddenly, what do they see?  Instead of hanging Esther, they hung Haman.  This is a terrible thing: Haman didn’t do anything that wasn’t good.  Everything, he…  He asked the king about everything.  He didn’t just do things.  With everything, he was commanded [by others].  He was obedient.  With everything, he did what the king told him.  He brought him ten thousand silver talents.  I want to buy the Jews.  He told him, “Take this back.  I don’t need the silver.  I’m not prepared to kill the Jews.  I don’t have strength.”  He said, “See what happened to Sisra, what happened to Pharaoh.  What happened to Sisra.”

THE STORY OF SISRA AND THE HEROISM OF YAEL

You know what happened to Sisra?  Sisra is two times Haman.  Why is Sisra two times Haman?  “From heaven, the stars battled from their paths.”  You need to say “from their paths” another time they battled – this is two times Haman.  Two times Haman he was.  Nothing [could] help him.  Poor thing.  In the end he drowned in the Kishon.  Yael came and said the explicit Name.  It’s written בלאט – Balat (quietly). What is “Balat”?  “She [Yael] came [to Sisra] balat - quietly” – this is exactly 42.  This is Bet, Lamed = 32.  Alef, Tet is 10.  So she said the Name of 42 [letters].

“[Sisra’s mother] gazed” – Sisra’s mother was a righteous mother.  Therefore, we need a hundred blasts [of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah] to nullify the mother’s crying.  If a mother sheds a tear, oy vavoy – that no mother should dare to shed a tear.  She shed a hundred tears -- it came out a hundred blasts.  Every Rosh Hashanah, a hundred blasts for the hundred tears.  What are you talking about – tears?  A righteous, holy and pure mother, walked with a 100 veils and a 100 dresses.  Therefore, two Temples were destroyed, and the third is on the way, now it will be built.

So Achashverosh said to Esther, “There’s nothing to do.  Everything is lost.  Listen, '[a decree] sealed with the king’s signet may not be revoked.'  We aren’t changing decrees here – not Bennett.  There is no government there, the government fell.  By us, a government is a government!  We made a decree – this is a decree.  You won’t cancel me a decree.  You won’t meddle in my affairs.  You want to, fine…  My eyes – you are my eyes, buy you won’t cancel me any decree.  I’m telling you…"  She said, “and Esther again spoke before the king, fell at his feet, cried, and pleaded to him…”  “My G-d, my G-d, why have You abandoned me.”