Who Comforted Moshe Rabbeinu

Before you is the full lesson delivered by our teacher, Rav Berland shlit"a, last night—Tuesday, the night of the 27th of Av, after the Maariv prayer; for viewing, reading, and listening:

When Miriam the Prophetess heard the bitter news that her brother was going to die, they told her, "This is the end, this is what is called a deadline, there is nothing to be done, your brother must die." So, she immediately traveled to Uman—first thing—even though there was a war, she traveled to Uman. She organized another hundred women, a hundred buses, and two airplanes. She lay on the tziyun, and a voice went forth: "He will live for another thirty-nine years." Even though he was supposed to die at the age of eighty-one, he merited to live until the age of one hundred and twenty, and Yocheved lived until the age of two hundred and fifty.

The Ramban brings in Parashat Vayigash, chapter 46, verse 15, the Ramban brings [the calculation of Yocheved's life—] that one hundred and thirty years until Moshe was born, and another one hundred and twenty, and Moshe even arrived to comfort her. Because she was the most miserable woman in the world; she lost three children one after the other. Such a tragedy had never happened since the creation of the world; three passed away from her, three sweet children—Miriam first, Aharon second, and Moshe third—all of them passed away [in the same year] one after the other. "And I cut off the three shepherds in one month" (Zechariah 11:8). Within a year, three children passed away, which is a tragedy from which one cannot recover. And who comforted her? Moshe himself, Moshe Rabbeinu comforted her; he said to her, to the greatest woman in the world.

Because she performed self-sacrifice [for the existence and continuity of the People of Israel, during the time of Pharaoh's decree, 'Every son that is born...']. Because Pharaoh came every day to kill her, Pharaoh sent soldiers every day to kill her, every day. It is written in the Midrash HaGadol, "And He made them houses" (Exodus 1:21), that she would turn into walls, into decorations, into chandeliers, into lamps; every day for eighty years she would turn into something else. Sometimes into benches, sometimes into chairs, sometimes into tables. Every day he could not find her, he did not know where she had disappeared to. And together with Miriam, they would transform. Because Miriam was a three-year-old girl, Yocheved was already one hundred and twenty years old. And she merited, together with Miriam—"And He made them houses"—that Mashiach would come from Miriam, Mashiach ben David. And Yehudah comes from Miriam; this is Mashiach ben David who will be revealed speedily in our days, Amen.