Here in Israel, there was a ‘debate’ about whether we were allowed to be happy on Purim.

I was hoping to get this shiur translated and up before Purim, but in the end that didn’t happen, so I’m sticking it up now.

I still have more to translate from this particular shiur – it’s the one where the Rav talked about everyone in Kiev being murdered and then a massive war starting, hopefully, that all got sweetened.

And I am also planning to paraphrase more of the stuff from Rav Elmaliach.

In the meantime…. the bizayon against the Rav is reaching new heights again, exactly as he planned.

That’s the only way to sweeten the harsh decrees, and anyone who is even semi-conscious can understand the situation right now is still very difficult for Jews all over the world.

My mum in the UK told me they are running ‘poor Gaza’ stories as the headline news every day, that there are massive crowds of angry people still demonstrating against Jews (ahem, I meant against Israel….) every weekend in the UK.

And the Jews there are feeling pretty nervous.

So…. lots and lots to ‘sweeten’ still, and I don’t expect the bizayon against the Rav to let up any time soon.

Whoopee do.

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Excerpt of shiur given on Wednesday March 6th, Parshat Vayakhel 5784

Now, we are before Purim, which is a mitzvah d’orayta.

The Chatam Sofer said in Yoreh Deah 234 that ‘to be happy on Purim’ is a mitzva d’orayta.

The [other] mitzvoth [like reading the megilla etc] are de rabbanan. But essentially, ‘simcha’ – happiness – [is d’orayta].

“On a day of your happiness and on your festivals, and on your new moons, you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt-offerings and over your feast and peace-offerings; and they shall be a remembrance for you before your God; I am Hashem you God.”[1]

This is said in Parshat Ba’alotecha, we say this after Tisha B’av, “you shall sound the trumpets”,which is a mitzvah on every chag.

==

And Purim was the biggest miracle of all the miracles.

There never was a miracle like this! Even when Moshiach comes, there won’t be a miracle like this, that for three days they hung up the enemies of the Jews.

And now us – 80 years ago, there was the worst disaster for Am Yisrael, of all time [i.e. The Shoah. Hitler, may his name be erased] ruled for 12 years, from [19]33 to [19]45, until erev L’ag B’omer.

==

Rav Zilberman was a Boyaner chassid, so it seems. He did the lighting [on the roof of the Tzion at Rashbi]. The lighting [on the roof in Meron] only belonged to the Boyaners. The Ruzhiner appointed the Admor of Boyan and that’s the way it was from generation to generation, that they did the lighting.

That year, which was 5705 (1945) he [Rav Zilberman] said now we are waiting [to do the lighting] until the moon shines. He found an excuse. They said, what’s with the shining of the moon?! The shining of the moon will only be at 10.05pm! Only at 10pm – that’s already on the 18th!

Already on the night of the 18th… Everyone was exploding. [They always] Light immediately after shkeya (twilight). Ten minutes after shkeya they do the lighting. And he’s already waiting three hours!

He said: I’m waiting for the moon to shine.

They didn’t understand what he was saying. The moon will shine at 10.05pm.

At ten minutes to ten, the newsflash arrived that the same enemy of the Jews [Hitler, may his name be erased], a gilgul of Haman, had killed himself.

All of this happened on erev L’ag B’omer, in the merit of Rashbi.

Therefore, we need to go to Rashbi every L’ag B’omer. He stopped the war.

==

Now, we are waiting.

In another two weeks, Sunday night, it’s already the first of Adar Bet.

Motzae Shabbat is already the 30th of Adar (alef). Whoever eats after shekyah on motzash needs to say ya’aleh ve’yavo, so in order not to get into a situation of doubt, we need to finish the first kazayit [of bread] before shkeya.

Afterwards, you can eat vegetables, fruit and snacks.

==

The whole matter is that we are now standing before the greatest mitzvah.

All the festivals in the future will be cancelled, apart from the days of Purim. So, [there’s a kooshia] what, that means there’s no Pesach?! There won’t be Rosh Hashana?! There won’t be Shavuot?!

Rather, the meaning is that the light of Purim will shine.

Now, we don’t see the light of Purim.

Because on Purim, the light of truth is revealed.

Purim is the day when everyone is able to come close to Rabbenu, to understand the point of truth, to understand where the ‘point of truth’ actually is, the real truth.

Every judge that gives over a true judgement, it’s a though he’s a partner with Hashem, in the creation of the heavens and earth!

The world only stands [in the merit] of those who go with the real truth, because there are many different types of ‘truth.’

But the ‘real truth’ – there is only one real truth. And this is revealed on Purim – the real truth is revealed!

Shekimu v’kiblu (they fulfilled and they accepted [the Torah]).

==

The Gemara in Tractate Shabbat says that on Purim, kiblu – that they accepted the receiving of the Torah that took place on Purim. This was a thousand years, a thousand years after Matan Torah. Kimu v’kiblu.

(960 years from Matan Torah).

==

So why did the churban occur [of the first Temple]?

If they accepted the Torah only on Purim? Kimu v’kiblu! So why was the First Temple destroyed? Why are we in galut? Why?

After all, the acceptance of the Torah was only 960 years later, 850 years after they entered Eretz Yisrael, and another 40 in the desert, and another 70 in the galut [in Babylonia].

[The Purim Miracle] was at the end of this 70 years. This is another 110 [years], so 960 years after this – only then was Purim. So Tosfot ask, why did Hashem destroy the land? After all, they still hadn’t truly accepted the Torah?!

The mountain was held over them like a barrel. Although they cried out na’seh v’nishma (we will do and we will listen), with one eye, they were already looking at the Golden Calf.

==

Because [in Egypt], everyone was serving avoda zara, except for the three tribes that were written in Vaira – Reuven, Shimon and Levi[2].

Shimon didn’t serve avoda zara, Reuven didn’t serve avoda zara, and Levi didn’t serve avoda zara. But the rest of the nine tribes, everyone had fallen into avoda zara, together with Ephraim and Menashe,[3] this is 10 tribes.

So, everyone fell into serving avoda zara. They were there for 210 years, and slowly, slowly, they became assimilated with the goyim.

==

It’s like before the expulsion from Spain.

Everyone was already apikorsim (non-believers; heretics).

[The Jewish community in Spain before the expulsion] had been there for 781 years.

Exactly like the period of time from the entry into Eretz Yisrael until the churban (destruction of the First Temple). There is was 850, here it was 781.

In those years, everyone had already assimilated. The RASHBA writes in Keter Malchut that already, everyone had assimilated. They screamed at him, why are you still keeping the Torah?!

They were already waiting to start marrying non-Jewish women.

==

Like [what was happening in Shushan], where everyone had already married non-Jewish women.

[And so it’s written:] “The City of Shushan was bewildered.” Why ‘bewildered’?[4]

This is because everyone had engaged in mixed marriages.

Like in the Shoah, where half the people had already assimilated, in the Holocaust. So Purim, this was already total assimiliation. And then suddenly, within three days, they saw such a total miracle.[5]

“For three days, do not eat and do not drink.”

==

There was R’ Avraham Elimelech of Karlin, he wanted to cancel [the decree of] the Holocaust.

He knew that there was going to be a Shoah – R’ Avraham Elimelech of Karlin. So, he came after Tisha B’Av[6]

==

Hitler said that now, he was going to annihilate the Jews.

He said for this seven years, day and night. Every speech, he said the first thing, I am going to annihilate the Jews. I will conquer Europe, and I will make a new order here. Germany is from the Aryan race.

‘Aryan’ is ‘Lion’ – ‘Aryan’ is from the language of radiance. The meaning of ‘Aryan’ is that it is the race that ‘irradiates’ the world, that it’s the ‘projector’ of the world. This is called ‘Aryan – it’s the projector of the world, it’s the ‘chosen race’, and the rest of the races are its servants.

And the Jews must be annihilated, which is the race that is ‘against’ their race.

==

There is a book [written by Hitler], Mein Kampf, that is being found by the terrorists [now in Gaza]. This book is in almost every house – Mein Kampf.

It says that the first things is to annihilate the Jews.

There are the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and they don’t know who wrote this, [about] who the Jews intend to destroy the world, and to conquer the world.

==

So, it’s written that the decree of Purim was pushed off [until the Shoah]….

==

And now, we are standing another two weeks before the greatest day of our life.

All the festivals will be cancelled, apart from Purim. So, the Chatam Sofer wrote that the simcha (on Purim) is de’orayta.

Reading the megillah is de’rabbanan. But essentially, the simcha on Purim (is de’orayta). To praise, to recognise the miracle, to thank for the miracle. We need to blow the shofars, and on trumpets.

“To blow on trumpets.”

So, the Chatam Sofer said that Hallel was de orayta, this is those who say Hallel on Pesach, and Hallel on Shavuot.

==

On Pesach, we only say half of Hallel, because [Hashem said] the work of My hands is drowned in the sea [and you are saying a song?!]

If the work of My hands is drowning in the sea, so it’s impossible to recite Hallel, because why didn’t you return them in teshuva? How is it possible, that there is such an Amram like this, and such a Moshe like this [and they didn’t bring the non-Jews back to God?]

==

Amram divorced Yocheved, so he already lost his strength.

So his daughter [Miriam] said to him, you are worse than Pharoah! All this is written in the Gemara, Tractate Sotah.

His daughter said to him, you are worse than Pharoah! What did you do to us?! Pharoah said, ‘Every son that will be born – into the River shall you throw him.”[7] [But the girls remain alive. But by divorcing, there are now also no girls.]

Everyone got divorced! The whole of Am Yisrael!

Amram insisted on getting divorced, and this was a huge disaster. Miriam was a child of five and a half. She went into the Sanhedrin, and said what is this?! How are you supporting such a thing as this?!

Her father was the head of the generation. The RAMBAM brings down in [his commentary on] Shoftim, Chapter 9, that the whole masoret (tradition) passed via Amram. The RAMBAM brings down that all the 613 mitzvoth, all the masoret – observing Shabbat, everything that is kept – everything was passed down via Amram.

The RAMBAM here, on Chapter 9, on the halachot about Kings.

==

Each person needs to study the RAMBAM, five chapters a day.

And then it’s possible to finish it within a year. Now, it was the yahrtzeit of the RAMBAM, on the 20th Tevet.

The Rebbe[8] said that halacha is according to the RAMBAM, the halacha on every thing is according to the RAMBAM. And in the future, they will pasken (decide) the halacha like the RAMBAM.

So, the RAMBAM brings down here the chain of transmission.[9]

[Skipping some]

==

The RAMBAM said: I wrote this commentary on the Mishnayot when I was travelling from sea to sea [when he moved to Eretz Yisrael], without books.

He didn’t have any books, and he already knew the whole of the SHAS. Everything was set out for him like in a drawer, like in a cabinet, like an encyclopaedia that is organised by its headings.

By 17, everything was already arranged by him.

==

The RAMBAM was born in Spain, and he had to run away from the Muslims.

He moved to Fais ? [in Morocco]. There is where he was. He got to Fais aged seven, and until 21 he was in Fais.

And after this, he decided that he was going to travel to Eretz Yisrael, and he came here. There was a famine here, and so he went to Egypt.

==

[Skipping some].

Now, it’s going to be Ramadan.

They[10] want to obliterate everything here. They said that by Ramadan already, there won’t be a single Jew left here. It’s like on Purim, when they said that there wouldn’t be a single Jew left in the world.

And they will bring here 100,000 Arabs, to destroy.

Maybe, we’ll move to Kiryat Menachem, maybe we’ll move to Beitar. Really.

Because here already, not a single Jew will remain.

==

They said, yes, limit [the number of Arabs allowed to ascend Har Habayit on Ramadan], don’t limit.

Bibi said go up, all the Arabs can come to Jerusalem.

There are two million Arabs. Not a single Jew will remain alive.[11]

In any case, then I’’ll come and move in with you, there’s no choice.

==

It’s the story in Istanbul, when the Baal Shem Tov was in Istanbul.[12]

So they said, by six in the morning, not a single Jew will remain!

And they made a condition, that no-one could tell them [i.e. The Jews]. Whoever would tell, they would hang him. Because the moment that the Jews knew that was a decree to kill them, so they would bribe everyone, and within a second, they would nullify the decree.

So, they made a decree.

This is a true story, that we tell over on the shvii shel Pesach.

Be here on the shvii shel Pesach,and then you can hear the whole story.[13]

==

In any case, the Baal Shem Tov started to sing: To do big wonders by Himself…

He got to Istanbul on the way to Eretz Yisrael.

The Rebbe said [that in order to get to Eretz Yisrael], you need to get to the ‘smallest of the small’.

Eretz Yisrael is the ‘greatest of the great’.

So, the Rebbe took off his shoes, he took off his shirt. He stayed just with his undershirt and his trousers. And like this for a whole month, he played war games in the street. He played with swords, he played that we are the French, and you are the Ishmaelites.

All this is brought down in Shivei HaRan.

And there is a book that describes exactly how the Rebbe used to hang around on the streets, until the Satan left him alone. It said travel to Eretz Yisrael! You’re already not ‘Rebbe Nachman’!

==

The Baal Shem Tov travelled [to try to get to Eretz Yisrael].

The Smichat Hachamim travelled; the [Vilna] Gaon travelled, and the Iggeret HaGra was when he travelled to Eretz Yisrael.

He wrote the Iggeret HaGra to his wife with masculine language [grammar?].

[He was asked] if there was an obligation to go and pray in a beit knesset, he said lo talechi (don’t proceed), because there, everyone talks nonsense.

Today, they are already praying, but once, they didn’t know how to pray. They didn’t know aleph-bet, they just used to talk nonsense.

The whole Iggeret HaGra was [written] when he was travelling. He left from Koenigsburg, and there is his signature in Amsterdam. The signature of the CHIDA – the CHIDA is Chaim Yosef.

The CHIDA is the grandson of the Chesed L’Avraham.

[The Vilna Gaon was] Elihu ben Shlomo.

So, [they signed] one after another.

==

Whoever travelled [to Eretz Yisrael] had to go via Amsterdam, and there he would be accepted, there, and they would register him.

And they would send [people] to Eretz Yisrael according to this registration list.

You are with ten children, you are with 20 children.

And each one, according to…. And the Sephardim were registered in Istanbul.

In Istanbul, everyone was a billionaire.

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] Bamidbar 10, 10.

[2] See Shemot 6.

[3] I.e. That the tribe of Yosef was split into that of Ephraim and Menashe, so it came to 10 tribes who were serving avoda zara.

[4] I.e. Why is it referring to the whole of the city of Shushan as being ‘bewildered’ and not just the Jewish community alone?

[5] By way of listening to the instructions of Esther who told them the following.

[6] He came to Eretz Yisrael, and said that if everyone would fast on Rosh Hashana, the decree of the Holocaust would be nullified.

[7] Shenot 1:23.

[8] See Siach Sarfey Kodesh II, 56.

[9] See Rambam, Halachot Malachim, 9:1).

[10] It’s not clear who the Rav is referring to here.

[11] Two days before the first day of Ramadan, the Rav warned publically on multiple occasions that a terrible pogrom was being planned for the Meah Shearim neighborhood for 8.30am Sunday morning. In the event, at exactly that time, the Rav was taken to hospital in a very serious, life-threatening condition. As has happened so many times before, it appears that the Tzaddik took the harsh decree upon himself.

Three days later, three of the holiest boys from the Shuvu Banim community were killed in a terrible car accident returning from visiting Kivrei Tzaddikim in the Shomron, and two of their friends were seriously injured. But the pogrom in Meah Shearim didn’t materialise, Baruch Hashem.

[12] Regular readers of the Rav’s lessons will recognise that Rav Berland frequently refers back to this story of the Baal Shem Tov in Istanbul, and updates it with new details, when there is a new harsh decree that requires ‘sweetening’.

[13] According to Rav Elmaliach’s message, the second revelation of four of the soul of Moshiach is meant to occur on the shvi shel Pesach, 5784.

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Lots and lots of hints and allusions to the Sabbateans in this shiur.

Those same people, and their descendants, are still going after the Rav.

Ha mavin yavin.

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