Elijah, the Angel of the Covenant • The Bris of the Great-Grandson of the Gaon

On Wednesday, the 14th of Shevat, during the week of Parshas Beshalach - Shirah, a Bris (circumcision) was held for the son of R' Chaim Menachem Zucker, may Hashem protect and grant him life, the son of R' Yaakov Zucker shlit"a (may he live long and good days) and son-in-law of R' Chaim Reicher shlit"a. The newborn is a fifth-generation descendant and the great-grandson of our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

The Bris took place at the residence of the great-grandfather, our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, who was honored with serving as the Sandek (the one who holds the baby during the circumcision) and reciting the blessings. The child was given the name in Israel: Natan, son of R' Chaim Menachem. May it be His will that just as he entered the covenant, so may he enter into the study of Torah, the marriage canopy, and good deeds. After the conclusion of the Bris, the Rav shlit"a entered his holy home and emerged two hours later to his holy residence for the seudah (festive meal) of the Bris.

Our teacher the Rav shlit"a delivered a shiur (Torah lesson) during the meal. Here are some points from the lesson:

In most of the shiur, the Rav spoke about Elijah the Prophet, the "Angel of the Covenant." Elijah once said, "They have forsaken Your covenant," and after fasting for forty days and forty nights, he had to go to the "cleft of the rock," the cave where one must completely strip away the physical body, as mentioned in the book *Pri Tzaddik*. There, he requested the "mouth" of Moses—"The image of Hashem he beholds, mouth to mouth I speak with him, in a vision and not in riddles." Then Hashem told him that even if he fasted for a million years, he could not be like Moses. However, if he wanted to receive the "mouth" of Moses, he must attend every Bris. The Rav said that whoever attends a Bris merits "the image of Hashem he beholds" and "mouth to mouth."

During his talk, he dealt with various matters, including the secret of the "small Aleph," which has the numerical value (Gematria) of "Rabbi Akiva" (spelled with a 'Heh' at the end rather than an 'Aleph'). He cited the Gemara in Menachos regarding how Moses our teacher requested that the Torah be given through Rabbi Akiva, because he was destined to interpret heaps upon heaps of laws from every crown (tag) on the letters. He also discussed the matter of the "iron combs" (referring to Rabbi Akiva's martyrdom) and expanded on this at length. Afterward, he spoke about the greatness of the day of Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees, which fell on Thursday—the day after the Bris. He also discussed the war of Sennacherib and how Hashem struck down all his soldiers, who numbered two billion, six hundred million minus one. He further delved into the events preceding the story of the Megillah—Darius and Cyrus, who killed Belshazzar, the father of Vashti, and forcibly married her to Ahasuerus. Because of this, they decided to make a feast to see to whom the kingdom truly belonged, etc. Toward the end of the shiur, he spoke about how the infant sits and sees from one end of the world to the other and learns the entire Torah, and because of this, he does not want to leave his mother's womb until the angel strikes him on his face and he forgets all his learning.

After forty minutes of a "fiery flame" shiur, our teacher the Rav shlit"a began to sing the piyut (liturgical poem) "Yom LeYabashah." For about half an hour, they sang songs of gratitude and joy to Hashem, may He be blessed, for the miracles that are with us every day, and specifically for the birth of the great-grandson, the fifth generation to our teacher the Rav shlit"a—may he live long and reign over his kingdom. During the songs, they also sang "A'ufa Eshkona" in honor of the Hiloula (anniversary of passing) of Rabbi Yitzchak Abuhatzeira. The Rav shlit"a sipped from the "Arak of Salvations" and even distributed shirayim (remnants of a Tzaddik's meal) to the family members who participated in the seudah of the Bris.

For the Zimmun (invitation to grace after meals) over the cup of wine, the grandfather R' Yaakov Zucker was honored, and for the special "HaRachaman" prayers for a Bris meal, our teacher the Rav shlit"a was honored.

Below are photos from the ceremony and the Bris meal (Photography by R' Yaakov Zucker):