Every Jew Has a Burning Heart

A fiery lesson with pearls of wonderful new insights from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) for Parshat Chayei Sarah:

Ephron had a great treasure in his courtyard (the Me'arat HaMachpelah - Cave of the Patriarchs). He had Adam and Eve there, who would shine from one end of the world to the other, but to him, the Me'arat HaMachpelah was darkness and gloom. It was complete darkness because since Adam and Eve were buried in the cave, Hashem (God) arranged for there to be such terrible fears and such imaginings that demons and spirits were found there. There was a terrible fear to approach it; it was a desolate place on the side of the mountain. No one wanted to buy this place until Ephron was certain he was deceiving Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father) in the sale of the cave.

Reb Noson explains that the holiest place, the holiest Tzaddik (righteous person), wherever there is great holiness, it always appears as a place of darkness and gloom, surrounded by demons and spirits. As it is written: "Everything that is more sanctified than its fellow is more desolate than its fellow." "Ephron" in Gematria (numerical value) is 400, which equals "Ra Ayin" (evil eye - 400), the opposite of a "good eye." Therefore, he saw only darkness and gloom in the Me'arat HaMachpelah. But David HaMelech (King David) had a good eye, as it is beautifully written, "fair of eyes and goodly to look upon"; he saw only the light in every Jew, the "Nekudah Tovah" (good point) in every Jew, the holy spark within every Jew.

A person sees their own light but does not see the light of another, whether between friends or in the home. Sometimes a man sees light in his wife, while the woman does not see light in her husband, or vice versa—the woman sees light in her husband but he does not see light in his wife. Truly, everyone needs to see light in the other, because it is forbidden for a person to see a deficiency or a flaw in another. The essence of the "evil eye" is that he cannot bear that his friend is better than him, that his eye is narrow regarding his friend's elevation—he sees that his friend learns more or prays more. Why do you care if he prays better or learns better? Every person has an "evil eye," and no one is willing for the other to be more than them. If a person were willing for the other to be more than them, they could live forever and could rectify the entire world. But a "good eye" is something else entirely; it is when you compliment the other, love the other, and rejoice in their elevation. This is the matter of the True Tzaddik, who is entirely a "good eye"—this is David HaMelech, who is "fair of eyes and goodly to look upon," who is entirely a good eye and whose eye is not narrow toward anyone.

Within every person there are treasures; one only needs to remove the dust that covers them. One needs to exit the "Klipah" (husk/shell) of Ephron, from the "evil eye." In every son and every daughter and in every Jewish soul there are infinite treasures. A Jewish soul is glowing for Hashem and burning for Hashem; every soul of a Jew wants to do Teshuvah (repentance)! Every Jew has a burning heart for Hashem Yitbarach (the Blessed Creator), a burning heart that can set the whole world ablaze. Every Jew is a fiery flame. In the inner essence of every Jew, a fire glows: "A constant fire shall burn on the Altar; it shall not go out." Every single Jew can bring the whole world back in Teshuvah. Even the greatest "Rasha" (wicked person) can return in Teshuvah, because the greater a Rasha he is, the more power he has, for he has a greater soul.

This is like what is told in the Midrash about Yosi Meshita, who denied Hashem, denied everything, and joined the Romans. At that time, anyone who kept Shabbat or circumcised children was crucified. He saw that the Jewish people were lost, wiped off the earth; he fell into despair and said, "Why do I need to be a Jew? I will be a Roman." He went with them to burn the Beis HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) and threw torches with them. Before the Beis HaMikdash was completely burned, the Romans said to him, "Wait a moment! Who will enter the Sanctuary to take out the Menorah?" They told him, "You go in and take something." Everyone knew that whoever entered the Sanctuary would be burned; whoever entered the Holy of Holies would be burned. Everyone was afraid to enter, so they told him, "Whatever you bring out first will be yours." Yosi Meshita entered, grabbed a golden Menorah, and came outside. They said to him, "Give us that Menorah! You cannot take it; it is too expensive! Take a cup or a spoon, but not the Menorah!" At that moment, the Jewish spark was ignited within him. Suddenly the spark was lit; the Menorah lit his spark. He saw that the Menorah was entirely light, and then he held the Menorah tightly and said, "You will not receive the Menorah; you will not get the Menorah!" They said to him, "What do you mean we won't get the Menorah? We will slaughter you, we will beat you!" He said to them, "I am not giving the Menorah; you will not take the Menorah from my hand. I will die with the Menorah." They said to him, "It doesn't belong to you! It belongs to the King! We must bring the Menorah to Titus." He said to them, "You will not get the Menorah under any circumstances; I will die together with it." And then he became entirely a fiery flame, entirely a fire burning for Hashem. "I am returning to Judaism! I am starting to be a Jew! Cut me into pieces." They said, "Fine." They took him and put him inside a carpenter's table used for sawing wood and began to cut him, sawing him piece by piece. The moment he began to suffer, he felt such pleasure; with every sawing, he delighted. He was entirely possessed by joy, entirely enthusiastic, saying, "I accept Teshuvah upon myself; I accept the torments with love. Master of the World, it is good that they are sawing me, it is good that they are cutting me. Forgive me for all my sins—how did I join the Romans who murdered millions of Jews? How did I not know that the People of Israel are eternal! A Jew is eternal. Blessed is Hashem, they are sawing these rotten bones of mine, these poisoned bones that caused me to sin and dragged me to where they dragged me." And Yosi Meshita was entirely singing to Hashem, entirely happy, and while they were sawing him, he continued to sing. He did not feel any pain. He sang songs, singing "Nafshi Cholat Ahavatecha" (My soul is sick with Your love). They are sawing him, and he is lovesick for Hashem; he only feels Hashem. He feels nothing except for Hashem.