Why Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) Attends Every Bris • A Lesson from the

Before you is the full lesson delivered on the Holy Shabbat of Parshat Vayigash 5786 by the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), during the Kiddusha Rabba (festive morning meal) following the conclusion of the Musaf prayer:

This lesson was transcribed according to the listener's understanding; any errors should be attributed to the writer and not, Heaven forbid, to our teacher, the Rav shlit"a.

The Zohar in Parshat Vayigash asks: Why did Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) fear Izevel (Jezebel)? Was Eliyahu HaNavi afraid that she would kill him? After all, anyone who even approached him, he could incinerate in a second! He killed 400 prophets of Baal, and another 450, and another 50, and another 51. He burns anyone who even gets close to him—he burned [The Rav said in English: 850, 50, and another 51]. He was simply a "killer" (in a spiritual sense of zealotry), so why would he fear at all? He possessed the power of Nadav and Avihu, except that Nadav and Avihu ascended to heaven "when they offered a foreign fire," while he ascended in a chariot of fire and horses of fire. So why did he fear Izevel?! Izevel was the wife of Achav (Ahab). The name Achav is composed of the letters Aleph-Chet-Aleph-Beis, which spells *Ach-Av* (brother-father)—he was like a brother to his Father in Heaven. He was meant to be Mashiach ben Yosef (the first stage of the Messiah), but he nullified himself to his wife. One should nullify himself to his wife, but only if she is proper and a *tzaddika* (righteous woman); however, Izevel was wicked.

So, the Zohar explains that it doesn't actually say "*Vayira*" (and he feared)—it doesn't say he was afraid. Rather, it says "*Vayar*" (and he saw)! What did he see? He saw that he was about to receive a new soul—that he was going to enter the *Nikrat HaTzur* (the cleft of the rock). He then went to the *Nikrat HaTzur*, which corresponds to the month of Tevet. "Behold, there is a place with Me (*Iti*), and you shall stand upon the rock (*HaTzur*)" (Exodus 33:21). Everywhere it says "*Iti*" (with Me), it refers to the month of Tevet. "Magnify Hashem with me (*Iti*)" (Psalms 34) refers to Tevet. Also regarding Esther, it is written, "In the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet" (Esther 2:16)—anyone who gets married in Tevet will have *Shalom Bayit* (marital harmony).

Esther received the kingdom in the month of Tevet. It is written that Esther was "greenish" (*yerakroket*). What does "greenish" mean? Rebbe Nachman explains in Torah 12 (of Likutey Moharan) that this refers to the "green line" that encompasses the entire world, which is the secret of *Binah* (Understanding) that surrounds the world—the soul of the *Tzaddik* encompasses the whole world.

So Eliyahu went to enter the *Nikrat HaTzur*. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and Hashem said to him, "Arise and eat" (I Kings 19:5)—eat! Regarding Moshe (Moses), the opposite is written: he refined the very concept of eating; he didn't eat, not even a bourekas or a blintz. But regarding Eliyahu, it says "Arise and eat." He wanted to be like Moshe; he wanted the "mouth" of Moshe. "You cannot be like Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Teacher)," Hashem tells him, "What are you doing here, Eliyahu?" (I Kings 19:9). And because he said "I alone" (implying the Jewish people had abandoned the covenant), he was punished by having to attend every *Bris* (circumcision).

The Baal HaSulam (Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag) asks: What kind of punishment is this? Why is attending every *Bris* a punishment? He explains: Because he wanted to be like Moshe. Moshe was born anew every single day; every day he was like a newborn baby. So they told him: "You want to be like Moshe? Come every day to the *Britot* (circumcisions) and you will be like a newborn baby." David HaMelech (King David) says, "Like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me" (Psalms 131).