A Lesson for Shuvu Banim Netivot at the Home of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi

The Shuvu Banim community of Netivot merited to enter the residence of our teacher, the Rav (Rabbi Berland) shlit"a (may he live long and good days), on Wednesday night, the 20th of Adar I, Parshas Ki Tisa. They came to hear the words of the Living G-d in a lesson that lasted approximately forty minutes.

Before you is a summary of the course of the lesson:

Our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, began the lesson regarding Torah 10 (from Likutey Moharan), which speaks about the secret of Mordechai and Esther, and the concept of "Kiyemu v'Kiblu" (they established and accepted—referring to the Jews accepting the Torah again during the time of Purim). The Rav said that our holy Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) delivered this Torah lesson about a week before the holiday of Purim. Furthermore, the Rav mentioned that "Achashverosh" has the same Gematria (numerical value) as "Rabbi Nachman," and he said that through our Rebbe, it is possible to subdue the klipah (spiritual shell of impurity) of Achashverosh. Afterward, the Rav spoke about how it is forbidden to disparage any person in the world, and how Esther became liable for death because she called Achashverosh a "dog"—referring to the verse "Save my soul from the sword, my only one from the hand of the dog"—at that moment, she became liable for death. Following this, for many long minutes, the Rav shlit"a spoke about the mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) of the giants of Israel who would walk for weeks and months on foot in order to live in a place of Torah.

Later in the lesson, he returned to the subject of Megillas Esther (the Scroll of Esther) and said that Mordechai is an aspect of Moshe (Moses). He added that Haman cast lots for the 7th of Adar and erred because that was the birthday of Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher), and he said that in Adar II, it is possible to subdue all the nations of the world. He also spoke about how Haman wanted to kill all the Jews in a single day because he knew that Hashem (G-d) would perform miracles and did not want there to be a long holiday for the Jews. However, in truth, the Megillah is read from the 11th of Adar, and the light of Purim extends until the 18th, which is when Haman was hanged. The Rav further spoke of the greatness of Esther, who merited to be greater than all women and all the prophetesses, because she reached the peak of bittul (self-nullification) when she said, "And if I perish, I perish." Additionally, the Rav shared a novel insight that Achashverosh was a reincarnation of Esau, and that at the moment he wore the garments of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), he could have performed teshuvah (repentance). The Rav said that Purim is the greatest holiday, which is above time, and there will never be another miracle like the miracle of Purim. Toward the end of the lesson, he spoke about the matter of Devorah (Deborah) and her war against Sisera.

After the conclusion of the lesson, one of the precious young men, Shmuel Cohen may his light shine, performed a Siyum HaShas (completion of the entire Talmud) together with our teacher, the Rav shlit"a.