This Night is Truly Rosh Hashanah! • The Daily Lesson from the Gaon and Tzaddik

Before you is a summary of the 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, Wednesday night, the eve of Tu B'Shevat, Parshas Yitro:

The argument between Vashti and Ahasuerus was because she would not lower her head; a woman needs to yield just a little bit so that there will be shalom bayis (domestic harmony). There were no marriage counselors back then; she just screamed, "I am the queen!" It is written twice, "Queen Vashti." She said, "I am the fourth generation from Nebuchadnezzar, who took four steps [for the honor of Hashem]." Ahasuerus said, "He only took three steps." They said, "Let's make a feast and see who hangs whom." The feast began on the 3rd of Tishrei—on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei they didn't come to the feast. They started on the 3rd and finished on the 3rd of Nissan. Six months were missing, so they finished on the 8th, and the 8th plus seven more days brings us to the 15th. Therefore, it is written in the Haggadah, "He became intoxicated with the holy vessels"—Belshazzar became intoxicated. Vashti said, "My father drank a thousand barrels and didn't get drunk; you drank a little and became completely intoxicated." Ahasuerus said, "We'll see who is the king here; I'm hanging you." The Chasam Sofer zt"l (of blessed memory) explains all of this, and this is the entire essence of Purim—that in the merit of hanging Vashti, it eventually became clear that the entire rule over 127 provinces was in the merit of Esther. She merited this because of our matriarch Sarah, for every "Amen" that one says, they receive kingship over the entire world. This is how the Baal HaTanya explains it in Torah Or, and he says this applies even to a gentile. Today is a double Rosh Hashanah—both Tu B'Shevat and the giving of the Torah (Parshas Yitro). Today is literally Rosh Hashanah. Today they are giving out report cards; my great-granddaughter came with a report card where everything was "Excellent." I said, "This can't be!" But in truth, this is the intellect of a girl; it is twice that of a man, her mind is open. Boys have attention problems and concentration issues; boys need psychologists. A girl grasps everything in a second. It is written that Bruriah grasped in one day what others learn in three years. [Regarding the verse] "And four camels between one side and the other," they shortened everything—Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) and Tehillim (Psalms). A girl finishes Tehillim by Chatzos (midnight), as well as Melachim (Kings) and Yeshayahu (Isaiah). It is written that Sennacherib distributed horses and riders; I am bringing you tanks, you bring the tank drivers. The Gemara (Talmud) is just stories—the ox falls into the pit on the father because it wanted to eat greens. A person needs to know the entire Shas (Talmud). Everyone needs to learn five pages of Gemara. The girls should say Tehillim, and everyone should register for "Nechamat Zion." Now we are also opening a cheder (elementary school) in Yiddish; it starts after the seventh day of Pesach. This night, we stay awake all night; it is the first night of Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Yitzchak [Luria], the author of "Aeufa Eshkona," says to eat thirty types of fruit. One must check the figs and strawberries to ensure there are no worms. Today is truly Rosh Hashanah; all the tikkunim (rectifications) are present. The reading of the Torah is literally the giving of the Torah; one must not speak even between the reading of one person and the next (bein gavra l'gavra). And regarding what is written, "Do not murder"—were there really murderers [among the generation of the desert]? Rather, even if a person does not give a proper, friendly greeting, it is considered a form of "Do not murder."