Through the Sweetness of the Torah, Missiles Will Not Fall • The Daily Shiur from Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

Today we are reading the portion of the Nasi (tribal prince) of Reuven. The name Reuven implies, "See the difference between my son and my father-in-law." Reuven was born in the first year of Leah's marriage, because Leah was also barren, but because they broke their physical desires, the "hated one" (referring to Leah) was the first to be blessed with children.

Leah was certain that Rachel had tried to steal her shidduch (marriage match) with Yaakov. Therefore, when Binyamin supposedly stole Yosef's goblet, the brothers called him "a thief, the son of a thief" (referring to his mother Rachel stealing her father's idols).

Furthermore, the Gemara in Sotah (36b) brings in the name of Rabbi Meir that the tribe of Binyamin "stole the turn" by jumping first into the Red Sea. Because of this, "the princes of Yehuda stoned them" (as they vied for the privilege to jump in first).

Avishai ben Tzeruyah was equal in greatness to seventy thousand men of Israel. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (95a) relates that Avishai ben Tzeruyah flew through the air to save King David. His brother, Asahel, would hover over the tops of the stalks of grain. All the sons of Tzeruyah could fly through the air. If the mother is holy, the children can fly in the air!

It is written in the Zohar that before every soul descends to this world, they pass it through Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden) so that it can see what it stands to lose if it sins... If the soul merits, it finds its way to the Shuvu Banim community.

Regarding Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet), Hashem told him, "I have commanded a widow there to sustain you." There was a severe famine and there was no food. But when exactly did Hashem command her?

The Gemara in Chullin discusses whether it is permissible to eat meat slaughtered by an apostate. They attempt to learn this from Eliyahu HaNavi, who ate from the kitchen of the wicked King Achav (Ahab). However, the Gemara clarifies that the righteous Ovadiah served as the kosher supervisor in Achav's kitchen.

The wicked Izevel (Jezebel) slaughtered one million, two hundred thousand men, and another six hundred thousand women.

So why was Eliyahu HaNavi afraid of her? He was the one who brought down fire from heaven! He burned four hundred prophets of the Baal, and then four hundred prophets of the Asherah, plus fifty soldiers and their commander, and then another fifty soldiers and their commander. Altogether, that is 952 people. Multiplied by a life sentence, that equals 25,000 years! That is why he is still alive to this day.

Rabbi Chiya asks Rabbi Yossi: Why was Eliyahu afraid of Izevel? She sent him a message saying that if he flees, it is well, but if not, she would slaughter him just as he slaughtered the prophets of the Baal and the Asherah.

Rabbi Yossi answers that the verse does not say "Vayira" (and he was afraid), but rather "Vayar" (and he saw). He prophetically saw that the time had come for him to enter the cleft of the rock.

It is written in the Gemara in Megillah that if there were even a tiny hole in the cleft of the rock, the entire world would burn up from the intense Divine revelation. The Pri Tzaddik (Parshas Bereishis, page 93) explains that it is impossible to enter that rock; only someone who completely strips away his physical body can enter it.

And there, Hashem said to him, "What are you doing here (poh), Eliyahu?" The word "poh" (here) can also be read as "peh" (mouth). Eliyahu wanted to attain the "mouth" of Moshe Rabbeinu, about whom Hashem said, "Mouth to mouth I speak with him, in a clear vision and not in riddles."

Why aren't the Ten Commandments written inside the Tefillin? Because the declaration that "Hashem is One" is above everything else! It represents the complete nullification of one's ego and independent existence. When a person recounts the miracles of Hashem, it brings about the nullification of his physicality.

A person needs to learn twice as much Torah. The Chazon Ish zt"l said that the regular yeshiva semester (zman) is merely a preparation for the vacation period (bein hazmanim), when one must learn even more! We pray every morning, "Veha'arev na" (Please make the words of Your Torah sweet in our mouths)—that our learning should be sweet. From Heaven, they show a person just how sweet the Torah truly is.

If we experience the sweetness of the Torah, missiles will not fall on us; instead, they will boomerang right back at our enemies!

It is written regarding Avraham Avinu that when he threw dust at his enemies, it miraculously turned into arrows and swords. But when his enemies threw swords and arrows at him, they turned back upon them and dissolved into dust.

Esav never forgave Yaakov for taking the birthright. He said, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching." He plotted to marry Machalas, the daughter of Yishmael. Esav conspired with Yishmael, telling him how to assassinate Yitzchak. Then, Esav planned to kill Yishmael under the pretext of being the "blood avenger" for his father, and after that, he would murder Yaakov. This is why the name Yishmael is mentioned twice in that context. However, through Divine Providence, Hashem orchestrated events so that Yishmael died just one minute before the wedding canopy (chuppah).

A person should learn all the Midrashim every week; they are filled with wonderful stories. It is written in the Midrash at the end of Parshas Pekudei that Moshe initially rejected the women who brought their copper mirrors to be used for the Mishkan (Tabernacle), even saying to "break their legs" (a harsh expression of rebuke), because he viewed the mirrors as tools of physical desire. However, Hashem told him that these mirrors were the most precious of all the donations, because through these very mirrors, the women enticed their exhausted husbands in Egypt, leading to marital union and the continuation of the Jewish people.

The Torah says regarding Miriam, "If her father were to spit in her face..." (Bamidbar 12:14). Why? Because in Egypt, the men did not want to bring children into such a bitter exile. Miriam rebuked her father, Amram, saying, "Your decree is worse than Pharaoh's!" Hearing this, Amram and all the men arose and took back their wives. But when the babies were born, the Egyptians came and threw the infants into the Nile River. Amram then said to Miriam, "Do you see what came out of your words?" But right then, the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river and saved Moshe!

It is written that Basya, the daughter of Pharaoh, came to the Nile River every single day for three months to search for Moshe. The verse says, "And her maidens were walking." Her seven maidens strongly disagreed with her decision to save a Hebrew child. So, the Angel Gavriel came and gave them a powerful strike, burying them into the ground.

Then, Basya's arm miraculously stretched out one hundred or two hundred amos (cubits) to reach the basket. She brought Moshe to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh immediately saw that the child was circumcised. Now, this was 351 years after Yishmael had been circumcised, and today, half the world—the Muslims—circumcise themselves because of him.

The city of Haifa is an incredibly important place. Buried there are the great sages: the Ramban, Rabbi Yechiel of Paris, and Rabbi Shimshon of Sens, zt"l.

The tribe of Shimon did true teshuvah (repentance), and because of this, they merited to completely cut off the seed of Amalek.

Returning to the reading of the Nasi, the verse says, "One silver bowl, its weight was one hundred and thirty." This number represents a deep secret: all the terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda stem from the spiritual blemishes created during the 130 years that Adam HaRishon separated from his wife, Chava.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin (95a) relates how Avishai ben Tzeruyah flew through the air to save King David. The giant Yishbi had trapped David and placed him under the heavy beam of an olive press to crush him. But David prayed, "You widen my strides beneath me," the earth miraculously opened up, and he was saved. Then, Yishbi hurled David high into the air, planting his sword in the ground so David would fall onto it. But at that exact moment, Avishai arrived. On his way, Avishai had killed Yishbi's mother, Orpah. Avishai pronounced the Holy Name, freezing David in mid-air. Eventually, they both landed safely on a mule, and they taunted the giant Yishbi, saying, "Say hello to your mother, Orpah, who is dead!"

The Sages teach: "Let the descendants of the 'kissed one' (Orpah, who kissed her mother-in-law and left) fall into the hands of the descendants of the 'clinging one' (Ruth, who clung to Naomi)." When Ruth clung to Naomi, Naomi warned her about the strict laws of Judaism, saying, "We have the punishment of stoning; they will execute you for transgressions!" But Ruth answered with complete self-sacrifice, "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried."

Because the main thing in life is to be a true, faithful Jew, not merely an "Israeli." Even Khamenei, the leader of Iran, stated that he is specifically against the "Israelis"—the Zionist entity.

Every husband should learn together with his wife the third chapter of "Chovel BeChaveiro" (the laws of one who injures his fellow, from Tractate Bava Kamma).

For every single hour that a person sleeps, he needs to learn two hours of Gemara!