"Whoever Prays or Does Hisbodedus in the Rain Will Never Be Sick!" • The Daily

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 20th of Adar, Parshas Vayakhel:

"And the men came upon the women" (Exodus 35:22). Women always rise before the men. It is written in the Etz Chaim (a primary Kabbalistic text) that a girl has a million times more intellect than a boy; a girl receives a hundred on all her tests and all her report cards. Like the story of a certain son who arrived and knocked on the door, and Rabbi Banna'ah (a Talmudic Sage) said that one son was indeed his, and the father wrote a will for that son. After the father's passing, they didn't know which one was the true son. So Rabbi Banna'ah told them that each one should take a staff and strike the grave until a Bas Kol (Heavenly voice) comes out. In the morning, they all ran until they smashed the tombstone to pieces. He asked, "Did you all go?" They said, "One did not get up [to strike the grave]." He told them, "The inheritance is for him." Then they took the others to prison. For the Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel) says that if they don't know the truth, then they divide it equally. Then his wife came and said, "Slaughter a servant for me," like Antoninus who used to slaughter servants. The boys stop their Yeshivas from the 1st of Nissan. The girls, from Friday, can go to do Hisbodedus (secluded prayer). Whoever prays in the rain or does Hisbodedus in the rain will never be sick! Right now, this is the cleanest air. The girls should say Tehillim (Psalms); in three hours and twenty minutes, they can finish the whole Tehillim, and afterwards Mishlei (Proverbs) and Iyov (Job). Because it is written twice seventy; through the decree of Ahasuerus, it was delayed. Because they didn't know it would end well; they thought everyone would be killed. But it was during two nights of miracles. Shmuel says to start from "On that night" (Esther 6:1), but there are those who say it was three nights. All of this was in the merit of Esther. In the merit of the women—we just learned that they brought a mountain of gold [for the Tabernacle], until Moshe said, "Enough, stop!" A woman washing the house—that is a Mishkan (Tabernacle). A bed, a table, a chair, a lamp—that is a Mishkan. Every day we perform all the tikkunim (rectifications) from the time of Adam HaRishon (the first man). "With my tears, I melt (amseh) my couch" (Psalms 6:7). "Amseh" is an acronym for the generations of Enosh, Mabul (the Flood), Sodom, and Haflagah (the Generation of the Dispersion). We need to rectify all four of these generations. Also Sodom, where they would stretch people and cut off their legs. Then there is the miracle of Haman—it's not understood why they hanged him, since everyone makes decrees against the Jews. Ahasuerus wanted to continue killing the Jews; he didn't do teshuvah (repentance). Only Esther forced him: "And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears" (Esther 8:3). She cried out, "My G-d, my G-d, why have You forsaken me?" (Psalms 22:2).