"The Tzaddik looks at a person and he becomes a heap of bones" • The Daily

Before you is the full daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) – yesterday after the Maariv (evening) prayer, Tuesday night, the 20th of Sivan, Parshas Shelach-Lecha:

"So every day there are ten people killed in the north and the south, in Metula and Rafah. It is all because not all the girls are wearing long dresses as they should. They walk with a slit; every girl should sew up her slit or change the dress, and immediately people will stop being killed. Now Yoav Gallant traveled to the United States, to Washington, begging them to send some rifles, some cannons, some planes. They tell him, 'You Jews are the most foolish, the most idiotic' – they humiliate him – 'You shoot at children, at babies, at women. You shoot at each other; you aren't even killing terrorists, you're just shooting at each other. How can we give you weapons?' This is all because the girls haven't yet lengthened their dresses properly to the ankle and haven't closed the slit. Since Rebbe Nachman says in Sefer HaMiddos (The Book of Traits), letter 13, that the Geulah (Redemption) will only come through the women, only through the girls who guard their tzniut (modesty) and guard their holiness. Who learn to be teachers and principals. Even though it is the summer break, it is forbidden to go without socks—not short socks. This is a great test – two months of vacation, sixty days of vacation, it is a test for all the girls. Every girl must see to it, even if she goes to the sea, to keep her socks on, that they reach up to the stomach, as they should. And not short ones or without socks, G-d forbid. For our body is a 'Ketonet Or' (garment of skin), it is the body of a snake, not the body that Hashem (G-d) created for us. The body that Hashem created for us will only be at the Resurrection of the Dead. As it says in the 'Fourth Spring' of Chesed L'Avraham, River 11: if a person wants to have children who are 'light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and mighty as a lion'—children who run to prayer, light as an eagle, running to prayer, running to the Kollel (study hall), running to learn, running to the Cheder (elementary school), not miserable children who take forever to get organized, until they wake up, until they are in the bathroom, until they come out of the bathroom, it's already twelve noon... We need such children who will be light as an eagle, swift as a deer, mighty as a lion. And 'bold as a leopard' (Az KeNamer), who are not confused by the nonsense, by the desires, by the smartphones, by the iPhones—they break everything, they smash everything, nothing confuses them. This is called 'bold as a leopard.' They are not afraid of any person in the world. On the contrary! They are ready to argue with anyone, ready to humble the wicked—'He humbles the wicked to the ground, He raises the lowly to the heights.' We need such children, a completely new generation, who will humble the wicked like Avraham Avinu (our father Abraham), who broke the idols. Who told Abraham to break the idols? Who told him? Noah didn't tell him. Methuselah didn't tell him. His father immediately handed him over to Nimrod. Nimrod said to him, 'Why are you breaking idols?' Noah didn't break idols, Methuselah didn't break idols, Enoch didn't break them. 'Why are you breaking my idols? Pay up!' Where does he have money? At the age of thirteen. 'Fine, then jump into the fire, or bow to the fire, or jump into the fire.' He [Abraham] says, 'Water is afraid of fire, I am not afraid of fire; on the contrary, I am jumping into the fire, I want to be burned for Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d's name).' A person's entire work is to be burned for Kiddush Hashem. 'With all your soul'—[Rabbi Akiva's students saw that] they were combing his flesh with iron combs. So they said to him, 'Our teacher, this far?' He said, 'I have been waiting for this for 120 years.' He was 120 years old. He wants the iron combs, he wants... Then Rabbi Akiva says to the students—they said to him, 'And you shall love Hashem your G-d' (Ve'ahavta Es Hashem Elokecha)—the final letters of these words spell 'Taka' (will strike). Just say these three words 'And you shall love Hashem your G-d' and not a trace will remain! Everyone will be burned! He cast his eyes upon him and made him a heap of bones! The Tzaddik looks at a person and he becomes a heap of bones. You make them a heap of bones in a second, you make them a heap of bones. Hanina ben Teradion made them a heap of bones. They lit a bonfire for Hanina ben Teradion and were waiting for him to enter the fire, and he entered the fire and was not burned. They pour gasoline and he isn't burned. He [the executioner] says, 'What is happening here?' He [Hanina] says, 'Did you ask me for permission? Let me do an hour of Hisbodedus (private prayer). Without an hour of Hisbodedus, I cannot enter the fire. Have mercy on me, let me do an hour of Hisbodedus. I will ask permission from Hashem.' He said, 'Fine, do an hour of Hisbodedus, I permit you. The main thing is to jump into the fire at the end!' I want to jump into the fire, he does an hour of Hisbodedus. He said to the Kastiner (executioner), 'You can do whatever you want! You can burn me, cut me into pieces, whatever you want, with joy. On the contrary, burn me right now, this second.' He says, 'What is happening?' He [Hanina] says, 'I asked in Heaven—I am going straight to Gan Eden (Paradise), straight to the Throne of Glory, "No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You."' He says, 'I want that too!' The executioner says, 'What, don't I deserve it? I want equality in the burden, I want equality. We are for equality! I also want to jump like you, do you promise me the World to Come?' 'Certainly, I promise!' They both jumped into the fire. A Bas Kol (Heavenly Voice) went out: 'Rabbi Hanina ben Teradion and the executioner are invited to the life of the World to Come.' So in the merit of the girls who will walk with tzniut (modesty), who will withstand the tests of the summer break to throw away their smartphones and their Xiaomis and will not be confused by anything they see in the street—and then they will be 'bold as a leopard' and 'light as an eagle' coming to prayer—running to prayer, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, mighty as a lion, to be heroines. Like Yael and Devorah (Deborah) who stood against four billion soldiers, four billion! Two women against four billion! A hundred thousand times forty thousand or forty thousand times a hundred thousand is four billion, four billion soldiers against two women. 'Awake, Devorah, awake, speak a song.' She says, 'Awake, awake, awake.' Everyone needs to say, 'Awake, Devorah, speak a song,' to sing and play music all morning, all night. Now, all night play music without ceasing, continue the melodies. It is possible to reach Hebron and Meron and return, and there will be the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen!"