The Daily Chizzuk of our Rebbe, the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlita — “Yotam never saw a woman in his life”
Sunday, 3 Av 5782
These are his holy words:
It’s written in Sephardic prayer books that when we take out the Torah scroll, we need to say “in the merit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.”
It’s written in Gilgul Neshamot that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a reincarnation of King Yotam ben Uzziyahu. He never sinned in his life. He was a reincarnation of Yotam.
[In Succot 45, it’s written: Chizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmiyah in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: “I can exempt the whole world from the judgement from the day that I was created until now, and if my son Eliezer was with me — from the day the world was created until now, and if Yotam ben Uzziyahu was with us — from the day the world was created until its end.”]
If there were Rabbi Shimon, and also Rabbi Elazar berebi Shimon, and Yotam ben Uzziyahu, all sins would be forgiven.
One needs to say every day the names of these three Tzaddikim: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Elazar berebi Shimon, that he could exempt the whole world from judgement, “and if Eliezer my son was with me, from the day the world was created until now.”
And with Yotam ben Uzziyahu, from the day the world was created until its end. Rashi says that Yotam never committed any transgression. He was the only king who never committed any transgression. He grew up inside of a cemetery. He never saw a woman in his life, didn’t see anything.
As it’s written about the two sons of Shimon HaTzaddik who didn’t know how to distinguish between the clothes of a man and the clothes of a woman, because they never saw in their lives how a woman dresses.
So you need to ask how they [could] take such a Kohen Gadol who doesn’t even know how to get dressed? A Kohen Gadol needs to know that this is avodah — how to get dressed, what to dress.
Now they brought him to teach him. Each one dressed the other one. Chonio dressed Shimi and Shimi dressed Chonio.
