Below is the full shiur which our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a gave over last night – Tuesday 27 Av, after the Maariv prayer:
So Miriam the Prophetess heard the bitter news that her brother was going to die. They said to her conclusively: This is called a “deadline”, there’s nothing to do – your brother must die. Then she immediately travelled to Uman, the first thing; even though there was a war, she travelled to Uman. She organized another hundred women, a hundred buses, and two airplanes. And she lied down on the grave – a voice went out that he would live another 39 years. Even though he was supposed to die at the age of 81, he merited to live until the age of 120. And Yocheved lived until the age of 250.
The Ramban brings in parashat Vayigash, chapter 46, verse 15 [the accounting of the years of Yocheved]. That [she was] 130 until Moshe was born, and [lived] another 120, and Moshe still came to comfort her. Because she was the most unfortunate women in the world. Three children died on her, one after the next. Such a tragedy hadn’t been since the creation of the world. Three died on her, three sweet children – first Miriam, Aharon second, and Moshe third – all of them died [in the same year], one after the next – “I eliminated three shepherds in one month” (Zecharia 11:8). In one year three children died – that this was such a tragedy that it’s impossible to recover from it. And who comforted her – Moshe himself. Moshe Rabbeinu comforted her. He said to her, “You are the greatest woman in the world.”
Because she sacrificed her soul [for the continuation of the Jewish people during Pharaoh’s decree]. Because Pharaoh came every day to kill her. Every day, Pharaoh send soldiers to kill her, every day. It’s written in Midrash HaGadol, “He made for them houses” (Shemot 1:21), that she turned into walls, decorations, chandeliers, candelabras. Every day, over a period of eighty years, she turned into something else – once into benches, once into seats, once into tables. Every day, he didn’t find [her]. He didn’t know where she disappeared to, and together with Miriam, they turned into [these things]. Because Miriam was three years old, Yocheved was already 120, and she merited together with Miriam – “He made for them houses” – that Mashiach came out of Miriam – Mashiach ben David. And Yehudah comes out of Miriam – this is Mashiach ben David, that he should be revealed speedily in our days, Amen.
To hear the audio of the shiur, click here for the Hebrew page, and scroll down to bottom of text.
