The first evening prayer and the awesome Torah lesson of our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a after his release – Wednesday night, 12 Tevet, from the balcony of his home.
Highlights from the shiur of the Tzaddik (unfortunately there are many parts that are not clear, but this is what we managed to understand) from after Maariv.
“The Rebbe wanted us to be like wild animals that roar all night – in this world and the next world – scream! Like lions — scream!
“We walked amidst the lions. Ten giant lions came next to Victoria Falls. We began to pray the afternoon prayer and the lions are growling and roaring! All the soldiers arrived. They saw that the lions were setting upon us. To us, it made no difference. At worst, they’ll eat us, and suddenly they fled! Because Avraham Avinu jumped into the fire, broke the idols, he entered the fire. He didn’t think he would be saved! Haran [his brother, who entered the fire after him] thought that he would be saved – so he was burned. But he merited to Rivka, to Sarah who was his daughter, and to Rivka his great-granddaughter. So all of them are from Haran.
“Snake farms. In a little while we will visit the snake farms as is written, ‘The great serpent who crouches within its rivers.’ Pharaoh is called the great serpent. The Zohar says that there are ten serpents. Therefore, this is the tenth of Tevet – the tenth of the tenth [month, when counting from Nisan] which subdues the serpents.
“On Motza’ei Shabbat [Saturday night] everyone is going to Hevron, because the first of Shevat is Rosh Hashanah mamash. All the Admorim were accustomed to travel to the graves of Tzaddikim on Erev Rosh Chodesh Shevat. Everyone should say all the Tehilim all night, because we do all the rectifications on 29 Tevet, next Motza’ei Shabbat – everyone does all the rectifications of Rosh Hashanah. Afterwards, we eat fruit. It’s written in ‘Davar Be’ito’ to eat fruit, because in the future the law is according to Shamai [who says that Rosh Hashana for trees is on Rosh Chodesh Shevat]. You go according to Beit Hillel, we according to Beit Shamai.
“It’s written in Avoda Zara (8a) that Adam HaRishon made two Chanukahs: Chanukah according to Beit Shamai [who light on the first day eight candles, and every night this is reduced by one candle] and Chanukah according to Beit Hillel [who starts with one and adds, like we do]. Therefore, Yosef asked, ‘Do you have a father [A-V] or brother [A-Ch]?’ [A-V i.e. 1-2, like Beit Hillel; A-Ch i.e. 1-8 like Beit Shamai].
“From sunrise to sunset, Avraham managed to circumcise 100,000 men! Because he was obligated [to fulfill] ‘on this very day,’ because they, first of all, wanted to slaughter him and make shawarma out of him! Shuvu Banim make shawarma out of people for Melaveh Malka [the Rav is joking]… Every time we add someone, and if he isn’t kosher we make him kosher. We stick to him scales and fins, then [he’s] a fish like this…
“What is this ‘great serpent that crouches within its rivers’? It’s written, ‘On that day, Hashem will punish with his harsh, great, and mighty sword the Leviathan – the bar-like serpent and the Leviathan – the twisting serpent; He will kill the serpent that’s in the sea’ (Yeshiyahu 27:1). The bar-like [serpent] is the male, the twisting one is the female. He will kill ‘the serpent that’s in the sea’ – this is the tenth of Tevet! Then we subdue the serpent which is the evil urge that resembles a serpent and swallows people alive. Even lions it can swallow! Like the lions which fled.
“Because Avraham jumped into the fire and said, ‘Why wasn’t I burned? I wanted to die for the sanctification of G-d’s name!’ Because 10 Tevet is about dying for the sanctification of G-d’s name. People made a Brit Milah, jumped from the roofs, because this was a death sentence. On Chanukah, the Chashmonayim [Maccabees] – like today when they want to outlaw Brit Milah! Day and night they’re doing a program in the media. In prison, we saw a program about how they want to get rid of Brit Milah! Mamash, extremely wicked [people]! There never was like these since the creation of the world – they’re all reincarnations of snakes.
“So on that day, ‘He will kill the serpent that’s in the sea’ (ibid.)! It was the tenth of Tevet, the yahrzeit of Rabbit Natan – so this is the yahrzeit of Rabbeinu! Because the Rebbe and Rabbi Natan are one thing.
“And through songs and the evening prayer with focus, word-by-word, we kill all the serpents and all the snakes! And we should merit to a complete redemption speedily in our days, Amen.”
