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Writing of Torah Scroll for Saving Am Yisrael from a Holocaust – The Complete Shiur by Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

February 1, 2024

On the day of the king’s birthday celebration, the birthday of the Gaon and Tzaddik Moreinu HaRav Eliezer Berland shlit”a, the Rav shlit”a began writing the letters in the Torah scroll for the saving of Am Yisrael, for the elevation of the souls of those who were murdered, for the end of the war, and for the well-being of the soldiers and the well-being of the hostages.

At the emotional event, Moreinu HaRav Berland shlit”a conveyed his words with holy fire while repeatedly emphasizing the importance of the writing of the Torah scroll during the period we are found in:

“Now is the greatest moment, fulfilling ‘Write for yourselves this song.’ Now, we have written the letters, each letter opposite a complete world. Every letter that is written is a complete world. Through the writing of the letters, we are saved from all the decrees. If they had written one Torah scroll in Uman, there would not have been a Holocaust at all! That we are binding ourselves to Rabbeinu [Nachman] cancels the current holocaust. Now we are found in a holocaust. Children are taken hostage, women and men are taken hostage. We must save the hostages.”

In light of the great importance of the writing of the Torah scroll, as Moreinu HaRav shlit”a said in his words: “The writing of this Torah scroll is for the well-being of the soldiers, for the well-being of the hostages, for the elevation of the souls of the murdered,” we have begun a fundraising drive for this purpose. Everyone has the ability to take a part in the writing of the letters of the holy Torah scroll of Moreinu HaRav Berland shlit”a.

As a great merit for the salvation of the Jewish people and for bringing close the redemption with mercy, everyone can merit and contribute to the writing of the Torah scroll – be it a quarter, half, or a whole page, or even an entire parchment or more. Because this is the Torah scroll of the redemption, we believe that at that conclusion of the writing of the Torah scroll, there will be peace in the Land and the redemption will arrive.

It is possible to donate a full parchment, a page, half page, or quarter page, as well as smaller donations.

Anyone who donates a complete parchment will receive a partnership certificate signed by the Gaon and Tzaddik Moreinu HaRav Eliezer Berland shlit”a.

These are the complete words of Moreinu HaRav Berland shlit”a:

For also Rabbeinu was taken hostage. How did they rescue him? They succeeded in rescuing Rabbeinu. The Baal Shem Tov was also taken hostage. They succeeded in rescuing the Baal Shem Tov through the letters.

Now we are travelling to Rabbi Naftali Katz. Everyone must go. There was a pillar of fire upon him – Amuda D’Nura! The whole house was filled with fire, everyone fled. Like with Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon [bar Yochai], that the house was filled with fire, and everyone fled.

Because when you write a Torah scroll, you receive a new soul with four wings! Like Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon – he received a new soul with four wings. And everyone fled except for Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who didn’t flee. He saw the soul with four wings. Therefore, “write for yourselves this song,” because everyone is obligated to write a Torah scroll. It is not enough that he buys or gives the scroll. You need to write at the very least one letter. One letter in each Torah scroll that is dedicated. A Torah scroll such as this will encompass all Am Yisrael, to release the hostages, for the elevation of the souls of those murdered, that they are all already in the Garden of Eden.

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Because the whole Torah is called song, because a person comes [to the world] only for song. It is only possible to join Miriam’s well – the Well – to Rachel through song. “Then Israel sang this song, ‘Come up, O well! Call out to it!’” A person comes to this world only to sing, to make music, to dance, and then he fills the well, because the well remains empty. Because the well comes in the merit of Miriam. Therefore, they did not want to enter the Land. They wanted Miriam’s well, they did not give up Miriam’s well. Because it is forbidden to give up Miriam’s well. They also did not want to give up the manna, and they also did not want to give up the Clouds of Glory. However, once they entered the Land, they were surrounded by the holy Shechinah [Divine Presence], [which is] greater than the Clouds of Glory. And so, “For a long time, [Yehoshua] made war.” They made [war] for a long time. The greatest sin was that he made [war] for a long time. Therefore, he died ten years before his time – at the age of 110.

They said [before] Yosef, “Your servant, our father” five times, and he heard it five times. So also they took off ten years from him, because it is forbidden to say, “Your servant, our father.” Because Yaakov did not die. Yaakov lives and endures. When we write a Torah scroll, we draw the forefathers to us, Avraham, also Yitzchak, and also Yaakov – this is the numerical value of dust and ashes. The entire matter of a Torah scroll is that a person should know that he is dust and ashes. Therefore, we need 638 – this is the numerical value of dust and ashes.

“And dominate all the children of Seth – and he shall crush the nobles of Moav.” When writing a Torah scroll, we fulfill the verse, “and he shall crush the nobles of Moav,” which Bilam saw with Ruach HaKodesh, that the end of Moav will be “and he crushed.” Because what is Balak afraid of, what difference does it make to him? It’s written “Do not attack Moav, and do not provoke them to war.” Do not provoke Moav, and also do not make war with them. To Chezkiyah, they said, “You will die and not live,” but here, “Do not attack Moav, and do not provoke them to war. So what is Balak afraid of?

However, Bilam said to him, “And crushed the nobles of Moav” – no remnant of Moav will remain. Like it was in the end, that no remnant of Moav remained. Now it is already a new nation. Also no remnant remained of Amon. This was what Balak was afraid of, “A nation that covers the land’s surface has left Egypt, and is now dwelling near me (MiMuLI).” “MaMLaL me” – MaL; MaL is to destroy. He wants to destroy me – “He is now dwelling MiMuLI [to destroy me].”

So why do they call him Balak ben Tzipor (son of a bird)? Did he have a father “Tzipor”? Did he have a father that was called “Tzipor”? Or was he really a bird? God forbid, his father was not called “Tzipor.” So what happened? Every king had some parrot, some bird, with which he would perform sorcery. And without this sorcery, he wouldn’t go out to war. It was impossible to go out to war; no one knew who would win. However, every king has a bird, has a parrot, has some animal which speaks. He brings to it incense, brings a golden needle and pierces it in the tongue. Then it speaks and tells him everything.

So he said to it: Bird, do you know what happened here? “A numerous people (am) left Egypt” – “am” is the mixed multitude. It is written, “The mixed multitude amongst them desired a craving.” This is not a country, this is not an organized people – this is a people, a mixed multitude. This is a people of slaves who fled Egypt and want to destroy the land. We need to stop them.

Then the bird said to him: This is not a people, this is Israel. You are not familiar [with them]? You do not know what Israel is?! “You have contended with the divine and with man and you have won.” They fought with men “and won.” Yaakov fought with men “and won.” They can fight with angels, not only with you.

Then he said: No, in any case they want to “like the bull licks up the vegetation of the field.” How is a bull relevant here? Rather, the bull is Yosef HaTzaddik, because they travelled with Yosef’s coffin.

A person needs to travel to Yosef HaTzaddik every day – there is no excuse not to travel to Yosef HaTzaddik. To atone for the sale of Yosef – we still have not atoned. “And he comforted them and spoke to their hearts.” Who is the comforter? Yosef is the comforter. Yosef comforts their hearts and speaks to them. Nothing happened: “You thought to do me harm, but God made it come out good.” Everything came out well. See what Tzaddikim you are. Everything that you do turns out well. No evil comes through your hands. Only miracles and wonders. I became king – “He is the ruler; he provides for all the people of the land.” It is written, “And they sat to eat bread.” They sell their brother and sit down to eat bread? They needed to fast that day! When the Sanhedrin takes someone out to execution, they need to fast that day. They made a session of the Sanhedrin. There were nine, [so they] took the Shechinah [to make ten]. Because Yosef said they were eating a limb from a living animal, [and whoever eats] a limb from a living animal is liable to the death penalty. [And someone who comes to kill you, rise early to kill him.]

Because the Rambam says that this was fowl. Because the first thing is to learn the Rambam. Monday was the Yahrzeit of the Rambam, so we are receiving a spark from the Rambam. Everyone must see to finishing the Rambam, within a year, to finish the Rambam. Like Aharon Berkowitz took this on; that five chapters a day, we finish the Rambam. Because the Rambam is written for small children in kindergarten. It is halachot. For ten years, he wrote the Rambam – the Yad HaChazakah. He barely had any books. He said: I am writing a commentary on the Mishnayot without a book, so I am wondering from sea to sea. So I am travelling by the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the Mediterranean Sea. Now I am writing a commentary on the Mishnayot, and after this he writes the Yad HaChazakah.

So the Rambam was the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, and when we write a Torah scroll, the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu becomes spiritually impregnated within us. All the time that we are writing a Torah scroll, even one letter, we merit that the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu becomes spiritually impregnated within us, and we merit to Moshe Rabbeinu.

And Moshe was heavy of mouth and heavy of speech – both heavy of mouth and heavy of speech. Because he took the coal, put the coal in his mouth. Because he removed Pharaoh’s crown. For he [Pharaoh] said to the astrologers: Do you see – this is the child which we spoke about! They had said that in the end, a small two-year-old child would come and remove his crown. When they brought him to Pharaoh’s palace, after two years, he removed his crown. Because the work is to remove the crown (Keter) – this is the work! A person come to this world to remove the Keter. Because if there is Keter, there is no Da’at (knowledge); if there is no knowledge, there is Keter. So Moshe merited to remove from Pharaoh the Keter. And then the astrologers said, “We need to drown him immediately, to eliminate him.” Then someone said, “No, let’s bring a plate with coals and a plate with golden coins.” And then he put the coal in his mouth; he became heavy of mouth and heavy of speech. And at the Ten Commandments, [he was healed].

Rabbi Natan explains that when we write a Torah scroll, it is like the Ten Commandments. It is like the occasion of Mount Sinai. Now is the occasion of Mount Sinai! And we see Hashem face-to-face. “Face-to-face, Hashem spoke with you.” Now we are at the occasion of Mount Sinai, we see Hashem face-to-face, the occasion of Mount Sinai. We are found right now on Mount Sinai. Like Rabbi Yochanan said to Rabbi Elazar ben Arach: “You and I stood on Mount Sinai,” when fire descended from heaven and singed the trees. Because every time that we write a Torah scroll, fire descends from heaven, like with Rabbi Yochanan (Chagigah 14b), when fire descended from heaven. Like with Rabbi Zeira – fire descended from heaven. Every bird which flew over him would be burned. Yehonatan ben Uziel – every bird that flew over him would be burned – this was Yehonatan ben Uziel. Rabbi Zeira would enter into the fire. He lived in Tiveria, would make a bonfire every thirty days, enter the bonfire, and say all the Tehilim.

All the work of a person is finish the Tehilim. Every day, a person must finish the Tehilim, like at a time of war, because this is the only thing which protects. And therefore, when we write a Torah scroll, then fire descends from heaven, and everyone is surrounded by fire. Like with Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon, that everyone was surround by fire – three days and three days surrounded by fire. Because when we write a Torah scroll, then we are surrounded by fire, three days and three nights. Therefore, Moshe saw Hashem “in the heart of the fire”! The Megaleh Amukot in 112 says, “in the heart of the fire” is the numerical value of [the angel] Mem-Tet Eliyahu HaNavi. He saw Eliyahu HaNavi.

When we write a Torah scroll, then we see Eliyahu HaNavi; Eliyahu HaNavi is revealed. Because what are you talking about that Eliyahu HaNavi should receive a punishment, [to go] to all the Britot. He said, “They abandoned Your covenant.” They annulled Brit Milah. He said the truth. So 1. It is forbidden to accuse even if it is true; 2. “What are you doing here [פֹּה] Eliyahu?” He wants the mouth [פֶּה] of Moshe. [Hashem says to him:] You want the mouth of Moshe Rabbeinu? This is only through you writing a Torah scroll, this is only through you going to all the Britot. “What are you doing here [[פֹּה? פֹּה is פֶּה (mouth). You want the mouth of Moshe Rabbeinu? Then go to all the Britot. Then Hashem asks him twice, “What are you doing here Eliyahu?” Because “they abandoned Your covenant.”

“Hashem is not in the wind, Hashem is not in the fire,” because now fire is descending from heaven. Everyone receives the mouth of Moshe Rabbeinu, the [aspect of], “Mouth-to-mouth do I speak to him, in a clear vision, and not in riddles.” Therefore, we need to walk forty days and forty nights. We must walk on foot. There was no Mercedes yet, there were no airplanes yet. He [Eliyahu] walked for forty days and forty nights. Then, after he walked for forty and forty nights, he reached the cave where Moshe stood – “the cleft of the rock [nikrat tzur].” Because there is “tikrat tzur [the roof of the rock]” and “nikrat tzur,” but you need to reach “tikrat tzur.” This is the goal, that there will be the “tikrat tzur.” However, Moshe reached only “nikrat tzur,” to the cave where Moshe and Eliyah stood. Only Moshe and Eliyahu stood in such a cave. The “Pri Tzaddik” explains that it’s impossible to enter this cave in any way at all – it’s impossible to enter. This is a rock that is sealed from all sides. Only through shedding the body completely [is it possible to enter]. A person comes into the world to shed the body completely. It’s forbidden to have any scent of a body. The Zohar says in “Shelach-Lecha” that it is forbidden that there should be any scent of a body. When a person ascends to heaven, he must shed the body completely. It is forbidden to have any scent of a body – no scent.

Therefore, Rabbi Natan explains, we write a Torah scroll on animal hide. You cannot write it on paper, nor on garlic, nor on bronze, nor on a golden disk – only on animal hide. This is to turn the skin, to turn the body [into something spiritual]. When a person writes the holy letters, then he turns his skin, the animal hide, from the skin of … “because the inclinations of man’s heart are evil from his youth.” “Let the who is like a wild donkey be reborn as a man.” Because a person receives the intellect only at the age of sixteen – mochin (mentalities] of Ema. Mochin of Abba is at the age of eighteen. Eighteen to the wedding canopy – then he receives mochin of Abba. A person comes to the world to receive mochin of Abba, and he only receives them through writing a Torah scroll.

And therefore, when Rav Acha bar Yaakov came to the Yeshiva of Abaye, [because] he came to learn Torah with Abaye, then Abaye said: “It is forbidden to give him a place to sleep – absolutely not! The first thing is not to give him a place to sleep, that he should sleep on the bench.” He said that the bench is the best thing; then he will rise for Chatzot, and he will pray. Such is it: a bed with a blanket, then a person will not get up. He will get up at ten, at one, at two he will rise. Sometimes at three. He has a warm blanket, an air mattress. But if he sleeps on a bench, then see that he will rise at Chatzot. Then there will miracles and wonders. When a person rises at Chatzot, he can perform all the miracles in the world. Then, Rav Acha bar Yaakov really did rise at Chatzot. They didn’t give him a bed, nor a mattress, nor a blanket, nor a pillow. They just said to him, “Sleep on the bench.” In the merit of his sleeping on the bench, when he woke up, he saw a giant demon in the form of a serpent.

The form of the snake was the poor and unfortunate women who was cut into twelve pieces [the concubine of Giva]. Instead of coming with twelve heads, it came with only seven heads, that she was cut into twelve pieces, and then with the seven heads, as Yaakov Avinu said, “Shimon and Levi are a pair; instruments of violence are their wares. Let my soul not enter their plot; let my spirit not unite with their meeting. For they have killed men with their anger, uprooted bulls with their will. Cursed is their anger, for it is fierce, and their fury, for it is cruel.” Such curses! Such curses are not found in the entire Torah. Even Bilam did not say such curses. What did they do? They didn’t do anything. They freed your daughter. What do you want? Your daughter was taken captive. Today there are 129 hostages; with Dinah, it is 130. They agreed to free one hostage. So why do you curse them? Be happy – they freed the hostage.

The Ramban asks: Let Yaakov free her? Yaakov fought ten wars after this with ten cities “with my sword and bow” — “I took from the Emorite with my sword and bow.” Then he battled ten countries. We will go by way of Kiev – they kidnapped a girl. We’ll kill all Kiev…what sort of behavior is that!? Where have we heard of such a thing? You want to save your daughter? Fine, go to the mayor, beg, bring him a Pidyon. What is the meaning of killing a complete city for a single girl? There’s no such thing! Absolutely not – “Cursed is their anger, for it is fierce, and their fury, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Yaakov, scatter them in Yisrael.” Such curses are not found in the entire Torah. So poor Shimon and Levi did not receive an inheritance in the Land – neither Levi nor Shimon. The same thing with Pinchas ben Elazar. He did the same thing that Shimon and Levi did, but he did not kill a city – he killed a tribe. Such chutzpa has not been since the creation of the world! A complete tribe, a poor tribe, an unfortunate tribe, Jews! Simple, good, kosher Jews – he killed them all and didn’t leave one alive. Infants and children. Why? Because there was some woman who was abused. Still we haven’t heard that we kill a whole tribe. Where have we heard such a thing? For the sake of one woman, we kill a whole tribe? Where did he learn this? Maybe he learned this in Shuvu Banim? Perhaps he was a student of Shuvu Banim. To kill a whole tribe – such a thing hasn’t been heard of since the creation of the world. 600 men remained, amongst them King Shaul.

“It was the first year of Shaul’s reign” – the chosen of Hashem. He was called the chosen of Hashem, because he was a reincarnation of Lemech. “If Kayin suffered vengeance at seven generations, then Lechem at seventy-seven.” So Lemech was reincarnated in King Shaul. He was supposed to rectify him, but it was only possible to rectify him through Shmuel HaNavi. He could only rectify the reincarnation of Lechem if he would wait. Shmuel said to him, “Wait. Now is Sunday at twelve noon. Wait until [next] Sunday at twelve noon.” This is seven days. Five minutes to twelve arrives, and Doeg says to him, “This couldn’t be. He went to do Hitbodedut. Shmuel HaNavi is doing Hitbodedut there in the [forest]. Where does Shmuel do Hitbodedut? Shmuel HaNavi does Hitbodedut [in the forest], there in the forests, in the groves. We’ll search [in the forest] for Shmuel HaNavi. Let’s search for him there, where he disappeared to us. It’s already five minutes to twelve. Bring the offering, bring the Olah.” Suddenly, everyone had already fled. He remained with barely ten men. Everyone abandoned him, said, “What’s happening here. We’re already waiting seven days.”

They had come from Gilad, from Menashe, from the Golan, from all directions – war with the Philistines, war in Gaza. 400,000 arrived, armed with swords, and 400 men. But everyone fled, everyone left, so he didn’t begin. So he became fearful. So he had weakness of the knees; they call this “cold feet.” They saw cold feet and everyone left. So Shaul says “Let’s get going, bring the Olah. We’ll start with ten men.” So he says, “Leshem Yechud Kudsha Brich Hu… [the Kabbalist formula said before Mitzvot],” he binds himself to Rabbeinu, slaughters the Olah, and [then] Shmuel appears. A minute to twelve, Shmuel appears. He says, “This was your test, to see if you are capable of nullifying yourself to the Tzaddik.”

Because a person always has questions (kushyiot) about the Tzaddik. The Rebbe says that just as there are questions about Hashem, there are questions about the Tzaddik. So a person is created with questions about the Tzaddik. Am Yisrael immediately want water, want quail, want – “We remember the fish that we ate for free.” The Egyptians handed out fish for free? Where did they hand out fish for free? They barely gave them a piece of matzah, an olive-sized portion of matzah a day. What [is this] “we remember the fish that we ate for free”? The zucchinis, the watermelons. “You want a watermelon? I’ll bring you a watermelon. What’s the problem? Go to a vegetable store, pay ten shekels, buy a few watermelons.” What are you talking about? You’re longing for watermelons? You want watermelons? Moshe didn’t bring us watermelons. They get angry at Moshe – “Where are the watermelons? You promised us watermelons. You didn’t fulfill your promise.”

“We remember the fish that we ate for free.” What “free”? The Chatam Sofer says that when the women went to draw water in jugs – because when you go to draw water, the fish flee; here it was the opposite. The fish jumped, jumped into the jugs. But this was only with the women, says the Chatam Sofer, now on the parshah. This wasn’t [the case] with the [Egyptians], [nor] with the Jewish men.

The men got divorced, they did not want to get married. They were against marriage. Pharaoh said, “Every son that is born — throw him into the river.” The men were simple, said, “We accept this with simplicity. ‘Dina d’malchuta dina — the law of the kingdom is law.’ We need to honor the king. The king said a decree, we need to honor it.” They honored the king. “The first thing is to honor the king. ‘Dina d’malchuta dina’ – this is a law in the Shulchan Aruch.” The women said, “We don’t care about Pharaoh, we don’t care about ‘dina d’malchuta dina,’ we don’t care about these things. We are not willing to divorce.”

They went to Beit Din. Miriam the prophetess arrived at Beit Din, said “What is this custom of divorcing?” For three months, they divorced, from 7 Sivan until 7 Elul. The first to get divorced was Amram. Amram was the first one in favor of divorcing, because Amram had needed to stand up to the test – then the Egyptians would have repented. Because we do not say Hillel during Passover, only on the first day. “The work of My hands is drowning in the sea, and you are singing.” “The work of My hands” is even the gentiles, even the Egyptians. You are in Egypt for 210 years – get them to repent. But we don’t need to stand with stalls in the marketplace, with stalls with Tefillin, and to see a thousand women pass by every five minutes. That way, we won’t bring back Am Yisrael in repentance. If we want to bring back Am Yisrael in repentance, we need to pray with intention, word-by-word. The Rebbe says that each letter corresponds to a soul. So we need to put on Tefillin [with intention]. If a person puts on Tefillin with intention, then he brings back all Am Yisrael in repentance. You don’t need to just literally be stationary. You can travel to soldiers. Now everyone is repenting, everyone wants Tefillin. Everyone needs to contribute a pair of Tefillin. Even this Torah scroll, it is all for the well-being of the soldiers, for the well-being of the hostages, for the elevation of the souls of the murdered.

So now, after they killed all the men of Binyamin, an entire tribe killed for the sake of one woman, they killed the entire tribe, six-hundred men remained, and they swore “that not a man among us will give a wife to Binyamin.” They killed the women, killed the children. Because it’s passed on in the genes. If there is one unruly child in the family, this is passed on in the genes to all the children. So they exterminated this tribe. So Rachel said, “Ben Oni – the son of my affliction,” because now, everyone needs to travel to Rachel’s tomb; right now, when we finish the lesson, everyone should travel to Rachel’s tomb, return here by eight.

Because now, we are talking about Rachel Emeinu, because now is the loftiest moment, because this is also 23 Tevet, and also 24 Tevet is [the Yahrzeit of Rabbi] Naftali Katz, who had a pillar of fire upon him. All his life, there was a pillar of fire upon him, especially on the day of his passing, when the entire house was filled with fire. All of this is in “Smichat Chachamim.” When we write a Torah scroll, the house becomes filled with fire. All the time that we write a Torah scroll, the house becomes filled with fire. So the house is full – if we were worthy, we would see this, like how Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon saw the house surrounded with fire, and then everyone fled. Then Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi Yossi ben Lakunia arrived, and they made a match, the match of Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon. After this, the marriage is made at the age of eighteen, but the match is concluded at the age of thirteen. And they made such a match, as has never been in the world, Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi Yossi ben Lakunia. And he saw the fire. He saw fire in the form of a crown.

He saw how the fire surrounds Rabbi Elazar Ben Rabbi Shimon. He said, “What a [worthy] groom I see, that the fire surrounds [him]. Such a groom I have sought. Behold, now I have revealed that the fire surrounds him, that he is entirely surrounded by fire.” They sat within the fire for three days and three nights, neither eating nor drinking. They were just surrounded by fire, surrounded by fire! [When] a person writes a Torah scroll, for three days and three nights he is surrounded by fire, black fire upon white fire. The entire Torah is fire; all the letters are fire. The moment that a person writes a letter in a Torah scroll, then it is as if he wrote the whole Torah scroll. Then fire descends from heaven and surrounds him, surrounding him for three days and three nights. After he writes the letters with fire, writes the letters.

Now that we are writing a Torah scroll, we are surrounded by fire, fire descends from heaven, and every letter is black fire upon white fire. Every letter is black fire upon white fire – we merit to draw down fire from heaven mamash. Because we need to pray that this war will end, because there is no end to it. They already said that there is no end to this war. Because it is impossible to enter every house. Every house is booby-trapped, and all of it has underground tunnels beneath the houses. There are endless tunnels, endless tunnels. It is impossible to finish it in a year. Everything is booby-trapped. It is impossible. Every house takes a whole day, until they enter, check it, and so on. So already half the army has been removed from there.

Even when a person donates a Torah scroll, he has not fulfilled his obligation until he writes at least one letter. And every letter is as if he has written the entire Torah scroll, as if he is surrounded by a flame of fire. For this is what Moshe Rabbeinu saw “in the heart of the fire (belabat eish).” “Belabat eish” is the angel Mem-Tet and Eliyahu HaNavi. “Belabat” is 434. “Mem-Tet” – 314. [“Eliyahu HaNavi” = 120, plus 314 = 434].

It is written about Yael, “Between her legs, he fell, vanquished (shadud).” “Shadud” is 314, [hinting] that the angel Mem-Tet became spiritually impregnated in her. How did she know? She took a peg; it was complete madness. I can say explicitly that it was sheer madness of the mind. A peg, everyone knows what a peg is. Can you pierce with a peg? He will wake up immediately. She said, “I don’t want to take a knife; it is a man’s tool (kli gever)” – all the stringencies in the world. And she succeeded in extracting from him the soul of Rabbi Akiva [which was in his temple]. Because all the power of Sisra was the soul of Rabbi Akiva. Like [Og] the king of Bashan – BaShaN is [the initial letters of] Shimon ben Netanel. Because every wicked person has in him the soul of a Tzaddik – every wicked person. Every person comes down with the soul of a Tzaddik and the soul of a wicked person, so even the biggest evildoer has in him the soul of a Tzaddik.

Therefore, it is written that Esav wanted to convert. It is written, “Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that Esav wanted to convert.” Two children marrying; this is the child of the greatest Tzaddik, of the greatest Admor. They were the children of Avraham Avinu. Machalat was the child, the granddaughter, a righteous woman – Machalat bat Yishmael, Yishmael ben Avraham. Esav ben Yitzchak ben Avraham – two children. This was a magnificent wedding; they came from all over the world – kings from all over the world, noblemen. It is written in “Emek HaMelech” that they made Avraham king over the whole world. He defeated four kings; this is not simple. Such a thing has never happened and never will happen again – a lone person against four kings. All [-] and 2,600,000,000. How are 2,600,000,000 defeated in a minute?

Here they have already been fighting for ninety days. They still haven’t done anything, haven’t conquered anything. It’s all a joke, all a deception. So that they won’t fire Bibi, he plays games like these. “In the north, they succeeded a bit” — it’s all nonsense, they haven’t succeeded in anything, haven’t conquered anything. Now Biden said, “Enough already. Stop, stop already. I don’t have the strength. Already for the sake of 1,500 Jews, you killed 20,000. For every Jew, kill a thousand… but not 20,000. It can’t be like this. So they are saying about this that this entire war is a deception. Because the Chief of Staff is afraid they will fire him. Because they killed 1,500 people, specially mobilized the army. They wanted to bring down Bibi.

Now we are talking about the fact that we have now written a Torah scroll, so surely this war will stop now. And we talked about the fire descending from heaven, and this is “belabat eish – in the heart of the fire” – this is fire. Hashem revealed Himself to him [Moshe] in “belabat eish.” Eliyahu HaNavi is 120. “Eliyahu” is 52, “HaNavi” is 68 – 120. With 314 [for the angel “Mem-Tet”], this is exactly 434. The “Megaleh Amukot” says all of this. We need to learn the entire parashah with “Megaleh Amukot.”

The “Megaleh Amukot” reveals to us each verse, the secrets of each verse: why he is heavy of mouth, why he is heavy of speech. Why he insists [that Hashem send someone else] for seven days. After Moshe Rabbeinu began [“VaEtchanan”] on 1 Adar and concluded on 7 Adar, Hashem says to him, “You insisted for seven days; also I will insist for seven days.” Hashem “learned” from Moshe to be stubborn. A person needs to learn that the first thing is to be stubborn. Then a person learns how to be stubborn. Hashem says to him, “Go rescue the Jewish people.” He says, “me?” What do you mean “me”? There is a halacha. Everything has halachot. If someone is told to be the prayer leader…

Now we are opening a new synagogue. Shuvu Banim is opening in Harish. [If] we do not know who to choose, we choose some person and ask him, “Do you want to be the prayer leader?” He must say no, that is the halacha. Okay, they ask him another time, “Are you willing to be the prayer leader?” He has to say, “Well, let me think” – that is how it is written in halacha. The third time he must get up and go to stand as prayer leader. It’s impossible to refuse more than three times! Here it is seven days. It’s madness, it’s insanity – refusing for seven days? Hashem is talking to you. So I would talk to him. He can tell me… honk at me. But Hashem said to you, “Redeem. Be the messenger of the congregation, redeem Am Yisrael. Go to Pharaoh.” For seven days, he is stubborn, until “Hashem’s anger flared at Moshe.” Enough! How much? Aharon will be Kohen, you will be the Levi. So we have no concept what is the meaning of the humility of Moshe. Even if we were to work on this for a billion years, we wouldn’t reach the edge of the edge.

Therefore, Eliyahu HaNavi says, “I want to be like Moshe Rabbeinu. I already fasted for forty days.”

“Fast a million times, a billion days, it will not help you. You cannot be Moshe Rabbeinu.”

This is not a game. “I say yes, no, I agree, don’t agree.” This is talking to the Kadosh Baruch Hu. “I am not going to redeem the Jewish people. I see that also the redemption will not succeed. In the end, after forty years, they will become stuck in the desert, and this will take forty years. So now are the parshiyot of Moshe Rabbeinu, all the parshiyot from Shemot until Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei. After this is “And He called [vayikra] to Moshe” [with] a small alef. That everything that Moshe merited to is in the merit of the small alef. In the merit of this, Moshe merited, because Moshe was the “small alef,” the numerical value of Rabbi Akiva. He was included in the soul of Rabbi Akiva; this was the soul which Yael extracted from Sisra.

Every wicked person has a soul of a Tzaddik – every wicked person, it doesn’t make a difference. It is easily possible to cause him to repent. So “alef” is [when spelled out, the numerical value of] 111. “Zeira – small” is 288. Add 111 and this is 399. “Rabbi Akiva” [spelled] with a “heh” [is also 399] is “alef zeira – small alef.” The “Megaleh Amukot” explains that when they scraped him with iron combs, he merited to the “alef.” Because we begin with alef. Bereishit (In the beginning) begins with bet. “Anochi Hashem Elokecha (I am Hashem your God)” begins with alef. A person comes to the world for the sake of the alef, because the upper yud [of the letter alef] is the upper waters. The lower yud is the lower waters. The vav is the firmament which divides between water and water, and this is the Tablets. The Tablets would divide between water and water.

Because Rabbi Akiva said to them, “[When] you reach the pure marble stones, do not say, ‘water, water’ (Chagigah 14b), and if not, you are liable to death.” What happened — water, water? Rather, the intention is the upper waters and the lower waters. That you should not say that the Tablets were broken. The Tablets did not break. The Tablets are living and enduring, and the Tablets are found with us.

And a person comes into this world like the tribe of Binyamin, who would only receive blows all the time. At first, he stole a goblet, so they called him “thief, son of a thief.” Was his mother a thief? Rachel Emeinu a thief!? For this, we travel to Rachel Emeinu? He says, “You had a thieving mother, and you remained a thief, and your brother just spoke evil speech all day. This is a family of thieves.” Such words? To speak like this about Mama Rachel!? About Mama Rachel? For this reason, we travel to Ema Rachel, because they called her a thief. He says to him, “Yes, your mother stole, and you stole. Also Rivka was a bit of a thief. This is sort of a family thing.”

Because Esav was a child with deprivations. He never received a kiss or hug in his life. It’s impossible to raise a child like this. You steal his clothes, sell them in the flea market. I know what… these were “Esav’s best clothes.” Not without reason were these expensive clothes. Not for nothing did she steal them. These were worth billions, these clothes. And he walks in the field, in the forest, and all the beasts fall. With these clothes, he would capture all the animals. Yaakov said to Esav, “Tell him [Nimrod] to take of the garment, just to take off the garment one time.” These were not just any clothes – these were billions, worth more than all the gold in the world. So not without reason did she steal them. It’s possible to understand why she stole them from him, but why does he need to be the poor one whose clothes are stolen? So Rivka stole the clothes. Rachel stole the Terifim. This is something in the genes, I think. It’s a family thing, hereditary.

When we came to Ma’arat HaMachpelah [the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron] for the first time, they said, “Here is buried ‘Yusuf [Esav].’” Then the Arabs showed to us where his head is buried. Today we stand outside, but when we went inside, then opposite Yaakov Avinu there is a sort of niche in the wall, and there is his head [of Esav]. This is the Arab tradition. Because Yitzchak prayed that in any case he would be buried in Ma’arat HaMachpelah. And Lavan also prayed for this. It is written “on Mount Gilad” – this is Hevron. The literally meaning is that this is Har Gilad, but the homiletic, secret meaning is that Lavan prayed that at least Esav would also be buried there. Lavan – this was his sister [Rivka, the mother of Yaakov and Esav]. We are the children of his sister. He was concerned about the sons of his sister, his nephews. He was concerned about them. He said, “In any case, Yaakov will be buried [in Ma’arat HaMachpelah]. I understand, but why shouldn’t Esav also be buried [there]?”

So they went to bring the contract from Egypt, and Naftali gave a leap and found the contract. However, by the time he arrived, it took five minutes, ten minutes, and Chusham was a deaf-mute. It isn’t good to be a deaf-mute, not worthwhile. Since he was a deaf-mute, he took off his [Esav’s] head. That’s not how to act, that’s not how to behave. Because he learned in Shuvu Banim, so he took off his head, poor thing. And the head rolled into Yitzchak’s lap, and there he is buried. The Arabs show this niche to this day, and everyone needs to go there.

So all this that we are talking about here, that now we are in Parshat Shemot, and we have merited to write a Torah scroll during Parshat Shemot, and a fire descends from heaven when we write a Torah scroll, for a black fire descends upon a white fire. Every letter includes endless mysteries upon mysteries, every crownlet mounds upon mounds of halachot.

Moshe Rabbeinu just insists. He is such a stubborn one, stubborn. I don’t know where he learned this stubbornness. For seven days, he argues with the Kadosh Baruch Hu, “Don’t send me” and that’s it. He asks, “Whom shall I send?” He says, “Send Aharon HaKohen, send Miriam, send Chur.” He says, “You have Aharon.” [Hashem says to him,] “Only you, only you, only you, only you.” Very well. He ascends to heaven and who does he meet? Rabbi Akiva. Peace upon you, Rabbi Akiva. What’s new? They brought there burekas, some blintzes, some matzah balls they brought to them.

Alright, he asks Rabbi Akiva, “What’s new? What are you doing?” He says, “I am writing a Torah scroll.” He also wrote a Torah scroll. Exactly when [Moshe] ascended to heaven, he found Rabbi Akiva writing a Torah scroll. He is making crownlets? What are these crownlets? What are these adornments? The Kadosh Baruch Hu says to him, “In the future, a man will arise at the end of several generations…” I did a calculation: it is 1,480 years. Now Moshe is on Mount Sinai. Hashem shows to him Rabbi Akiva. Forty years in the desert, 400 years in the Land of Israel. It is written in Parshat Terumah 480. Another 410 – 890. Another seventy, this is already 960. Another 420 – this is 1,380. Now we are from when Moshe was on Mount Sinai until the destruction – 1,380 years. Now Rabbi Akiva, let’s say that this is after a hundred years. Then this is 1,480 years – another 1,500 years, someone will come and write a Torah scroll with crownlets and say about every single crownlet mounds upon mounds of halachot – about every single crownlet.

Mounds upon mounds – billions of halachot, about every crownlet. Why there is a crownlet like this, and three crownlets, and so on. Sha’atnez [getz] are with three crownlets. And every crownlet is all the secrets, everything that was and everything that will be – everything that will be until the end of generations. Everything is written in the crownlets.

So what does Moshe Rabbeinu say? “Yala, give the Torah through Rabbi Akiva. Here, I found someone.” He [God] says that there isn’t. [Rabbi Akiva says,] “Yes, there is.” He argues, he only loves to argue. Do you love to argue? You don’t love arguing… You are not like Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe Rabbeinu just argues all day. He ascends to heaven, sees Rabbi Akiva, [says to Hashem], “You said there is no one. Here, I found [someone]. There is Rabbi Akiva. He says better expositions than I, better novelties than I. Give the Torah through Rabbi Akiva, give the Torah through Rabbi Akiva.” Hashem says to him, “Quiet!” He says to him, “Quiet, enough already, enough arguing. You only argue, argue all day. It’s impossible like this… ‘Quiet, this is what came up in thought.’ I cannot explain to you, be quiet.” Then he says, “Show me his Torah, show me his reward.” Then He showed them selling his flesh in a slaughterhouse. This was a demon. Hashem brought a demon in his place, that was the size of Rabbi Akiva. Then he [Moshe] asked, “Is this Torah and its reward?” Hashem says to him another time, “Quiet!” It is forbidden to ask questions. Whoever asks questions is told “Quiet.” Even Moshe Rabbeinu, if he asks questions, Hashem says to him, “Quiet. Stop with your questions. Stop with the stubbornness. Stop.”