Did Abraham Want to Sell His Wife? • The Daily Lesson from Rabbi Eliezer Berland

Below is a summary of the topics from the daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – yesterday after the Maariv (evening) prayer, Thursday night, the 9th of MarCheshvan 5786, Parshas Lech-Lecha:

1. We thank everyone who came to the atzeres (mass gathering); everyone who arrived had all their sins atoned for. There should have been a million people.
2. Today is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rabbi Yisrael Karduner zt"l. Breslov is only about learning Gemara (Talmud). If you have come to Shuvu Banim, you must learn for double the amount of time.
3. The sunset reaches its lowest point at 4:40 PM. This is because Adam HaRishon (the first man) fasted from Rosh Hashanah until Chanukah.
4. Adam HaRishon celebrated Chanukah twice. Enosh turned it into "Saturnalia," a pagan festival of fire.
5. Regarding the Ben Sorer u'Moreh (wayward and rebellious son)—at age 13, it is already possible to see if the child will become a murderer.
6. One should study the Rashi regarding Adah and Zillah, who wanted a get (divorce document) from Lamech. He was the most righteous and the most helpful in the home, but in the end, he murdered two people.
7. It was said that the building of the Tower of Babel was because every 1,656 years the firmament collapses, so they wanted to build supports for the sky. This was because exactly 1,656 years had passed since the creation of the world.
8. We were at the border until 12:00 PM on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Gershon Edelstein zt"l said that a person needs to marry a woman who will correct his mistakes. The Edelstein brothers walked on foot from Migdal HaEmek to Lomza.
9. During the decrees of Tach v'Tat (the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49), there was an incident where a woman did not believe the witnesses who claimed they saw her husband killed. Eventually, the "slain" man returned on his own feet and told his story: when they came to kill him, the soldier assigned to the task said, "I will not kill you. You remind me of my son. Pretend to be dead." He lay for eight days under the piles of corpses. Rabbi Yaakov Emden said, "I will no longer permit agunos (women whose husbands' whereabouts are unknown) to remarry based on such evidence!"
10. "That it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you" (Genesis 12:13). How could Abraham say that the king should take you so that I may benefit financially? Rather, Abraham saw that when he descended to Egypt, the angel departed from him, but it did not leave Sarah. He said to her, "That it may be well..."—meaning, may your angel protect me.
11. The girls should finish the entire book of Tehillim (Psalms) by Chatzos (midnight), and afterward, they should recite Tikkun Chatzos (the Midnight Lament). And whoever wishes to remain awake should stay awake.