The full text of the shiur which our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a gave over on Sunday, the night of 4 Kislev, after Ma’ariv:
So Tzaddik is the initial letters TzaDIK – Tzadi, Dalet, Yud, Kuf – Tzafon, Darom, Yamah, Kedmah (North, South, West, East), because all the illnesses that a person has are because he is not close to the Tzaddik, he doesn’t believe in the Tzaddik. Because every person, his partitions are breached – four [times] mechitzah [partition] – numerical value Brit (covenant) – 612. Mechitzah is exactly 153 [when spelled out with the yud] — so a person breaches all the partitions. 153 times 4. Through guarding the brit, there are four partitions. If not, every blemish which he causes, then a partition is breached, and then all the illnesses come to him, and he doesn’t understand from where are the illnesses. He prays, he learns – it’s not relevant. Every blemish of every forbidden sight, then another partition falls, another partition, another partition, until he doesn’t have four partitions at all. However, through the Tzaddik, that he comes to the Tzaddik, the Tzaddik is north, south, west, east – the Tzaddik builds for him all the partitions anew. Then he is protected from all the illnesses, from all harm, only through the Tzaddik. Therefore…it is written, “I saw, and behold Atik Yomin (the Ancient of Days) sat and the hair of his head was like Amar Nekei (clean wool)” (based on Daniel 7:9). AMaR Nekei is AMRam. Amram was Amar Nekei. However, he divorced Yocheved. This was the greatest transgression in the world, that a person divorces his wife; there’s no transgression greater than this.
Therefore…the moment that a person stands up in a test, then he shines to the whole world. If Amram, who is Amar Nekei, that he is – that he therefore merited to father Moshe, who is the epitome of Atika. He is the hair of Atik, the white hairs of Atik. The Jewish people, all of them, are the hairs of Atik, but only the Tzaddik can connect them to Atik! Without the Tzaddik, the hairs fall out. A person doesn’t understand why his hairs are falling out – because he doesn’t have the Tzaddik. Then the hair little by little falls out. Because the Tzaddik is Atik Yomin; he is in Atik, he is in Arich, he is in Adam Kadmon [three levels of sefirat Keter, the highest of the ten sefirot]. Therefore, the soul of Adam Kadmon comes out exactly: “Bold like a leopard, light like an eagle, run like a gazelle, mighty like a lion,” that if a person merits to be bound to the Tzaddik, to the soul of the Tzaddik, which is Adam Kadmon, who is the holy and awesome Tzaddik, our holy and awesome Rebbe, then he merits…this is exactly the same numerical value as “bold like a leopard, light like an eagle, run like a gazelle, mighty like a lion,” parallel to four partitions, that a person always needs to be “bold like a leopard, light like an eagle, run like a gazelle, mighty like a lion.” It’s impossible to arise later than four.
Therefore, Rechavam said, “I’ll bring for you…scorpions. I’ll give to you! Scorpions…everyone flee.” Who wants scorpions? Know that scorpions…is not children…in kindergarten. This is that all of them are Rosh Yeshivas. The Gemara says in Chullin 24b, that until when is he called a child? Until the age of eighty, if he can stand on one leg. Because the mikveh is a bath, not a sauna. Mikveh is entering and exiting. The Beit Yisrael said “Arayin in aroyes!” The asked what kavanot (intentions) to focus on in the mikveh, how many kavanot. To be two hours in the mikveh…three hours in the mikveh…all the kavanot of the Ari? He said mikveh is “arayin in aroyes” – the whole mikveh is to enter and exit, a thousandth of a second. They say: a cold mikveh – hard to enter, easy to exit! A warm mikveh is the opposite – it’s easy to enter, but hard to exit. Exactly the opposite – a cold mikveh we leave immediately.
A person only needs to immerse in a cold mikveh. Then he leaves immediately, and then he starts to pray. And then he needs to pray already before it is blue in the sky, because the blue is the throne of judgement. These are the judgements of that day. Therefore, they say that with the thread of techeilet [the blue thread on the tallit], all the decrees are cancelled. A person who rises after five is already lost. It’s already decreed on the children, on him, that the child won’t pray, won’t learn, and will fall, and the car will run him over. And everything that happens to each person, it’s all because he rose after five. If he would rise before five, there would be no decree on any child, on any grandchild, on any great-grandchild.
Therefore, we now…there will be a very great gathering, in a little while. Today there is a new gathering – to identify with Lot’s wife. Everyone is obligated to travel to the gathering. But everyone is coming to the gathering, also the Maryan family will come to the gathering. We’re travelling to identify with Lot’s wife. I identified with her. She was the most righteous in the world. They called her Pelotit. And they burned her [children]. Already one girl they burned. How many of her children do they need to burn…how many children, how many? How many of her children did he want them to burn? Four daughters remained for her. One they already burned, poor thing.
She said, “Enough!” I screamed at him: “What, you’re hosting [guests]? They already burned one of your daughters – not enough for you? There is the law. Law is the law – there’s no such thing. The law of the kingdom is the law. If there’s a law not to give bread to anyone, then we don’t give bread to anyone! Why does she give bread? What? Then what? Then he’ll die! What do you care if he dies on you? You want them to burn you? Is it good that they burn a girl…permissible to burn a girl? I haven’t seen such a thing.” I told him to throw the people out of the house – throw them out! Your wife doesn’t consent. What the wife says is holy. I said to him, “She doesn’t agree for them to burn a single daughter. She doesn’t want them burn more children.” Now everyone is travelling to the gathering, identifying with Lot’s wife. The buses leave in another five minutes.
