"Everyone Wants to Pray

Before you is the full daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – yesterday after the Maariv (evening) prayer, Monday, Parshas Kedoshim, the night of the 29th of Nissan:

"[There were fatalities in the war just now] and another three seriously wounded who are sedated and ventilated, and another nine wounded without hands or legs—it is all because not all the girls have lengthened their dresses yet. Every girl who hasn't lengthened her dress to the ankle causes another hundred deaths and another hundred wounded. Every girl needs to break her iPhone and her smartphone and all the impure electronic devices; there are impurities today that didn't exist even in the time of the Flood. In the time of the Flood, there were no iPhones, no smartphones, no devices, and no Xiaomi. If everyone smashes their Xiaomi at this very moment, then this cursed war will stop, and Jews will stop being killed. And now we will learn about the word 'Ulay' (אֻלי - perhaps) [regarding the verse 'Perhaps the woman will not be willing'], because why—who stole the 'Vav' from 'Ulay'? Someone stole the 'Vav' from 'Ulay' and printed the Chumashim (Pentateuchs) without the 'Vav' of 'Ulay.' I don't know why they printed it without the 'Vav.' 'Ulay' should have a 'Vav'—why is it without a 'Vav'? And why in the second instance and not the first? It is written twice. [And it is difficult to understand why the Torah writes the story of Eliezer at such length twice, while the most important and existential laws are not explicitly written in the Torah. The laws of] Shabbat are not written; it only says [only] 'You shall not kindle fire' and it says only 'Let no man go out of his place.' 'In plowing and in harvesting you shall rest'—this is a dispute between Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva; Rabbi Ishmael says this refers to Shabbat and Rabbi Akiva says this refers to Shmita (the Sabbatical year), this is in Rosh Hashanah page 9. Shabbat is not [explicitly detailed] in the Torah. 'Totafos' (phylacteries) means to stick a note saying 'I am not a Zionist, I don't recognize [the state]'—Tefillin (phylacteries) is not explicitly written [in the Torah]. This is an invention of Shuvu Banim! You invented this! Where is Tefillin written? Tefillin is not written in the Torah; it's your invention! So the Torah doesn't write Tefillin, nor Shabbat—it writes nothing, no mitzvah (commandment), it writes no mitzvah at all. The Pesikta says in Chapter 5 that this was so the gentiles would not copy it. Therefore, if it were written in the Torah 'Tefillin,' 'to make Tefillin,' all the gentiles would walk around with Tefillin—all the gentiles! I came to Florida and everyone wanted to walk with Tefillin; they saw Tefillin and everyone wanted Tefillin. 'Bring Tefillin, bring a Tallis (prayer shawl).' In the end, the gentiles said, 'You'll drive everyone crazy here; eventually, some will go to the mental asylum.' Even Teddy [Kollek, former mayor of Jerusalem] already wanted to go to the synagogue, he said, 'In the end, they'll put me in a mental asylum.' This is brought in 'Ish Tzaddik' (A Righteous Man), about [Rabbi] Aryeh Levin, where he said, 'I want to go to the synagogue, I want to pray.' Everyone wants to pray, everyone wants to put on Tefillin, everyone wants to wrap themselves in Tzitzis (fringed garment)—there isn't a single person who doesn't. Even Michal the daughter of Kushi (the daughter of Saul) put on Tefillin; even women used to put on Tefillin until the World War—everyone wants to put on Tefillin! Everyone! So what did they do with the 'Vav' of 'Ulay'? Why did they take this 'Vav'? Who stole it? Let him return it; the thief must return it. Why did they steal the 'Vav'? What did the 'Vav' do to them? Rashi says that there was not a single kosher (virtuous) girl in Charan. Charan was the capital with two million girls, and they were all already licentious, they were all already confused, their heads were spinning, they had already lost their minds, the Satan had possessed them. Only one kosher girl remained [she was Rebecca]. Eliezer asked Abraham, 'How will I find this girl? Where will I find her? Should I take her to a doctor? What should I do?' He said, 'Don't worry, the angels will go, "My angel shall go before you." The moment you arrive, you will meet her. You don't need doctors, you don't need magnetic devices, nor electronic devices, nor electronic gates—you will see her immediately. My angel shall go before you.' And then he saw the water rising toward her. The water is 700 meters deep in the ground; it's a well—all the wells are 700 meters—and the water rose on its own. And he saw 'Kadkod' stones (precious stones), because it says 'Kad' (jug) nine times. He saw a halo on her head, a real halo, the Shechinah (Divine Presence), a pillar of fire, just as Deborah the wife of Lappidoth had a pillar of fire. Once, every girl had a pillar of fire; every girl could fly in the air. Even Serach was under a Cherem (ban) [because she prophesied that Joseph was alive]. It is written in the Baal HaTurim that they put her under a Cherem—'What are you revealing?' Whoever reveals that Joseph is alive will die on the spot. For 22 years they deceived a father, an old father, a father who was already 130 years old—he's not young, he's not a young lad you can just deceive, a father at the age of 130. Pharaoh asks him, 'How old are you?' 'I am 130 years old, few and evil [have been the days of my life].' They stole my son, they stole my daughter, everything is just stealing and stealing, and suddenly Simeon is gone and Benjamin is also gone. Rabbi Chaim Vital writes in [Parshas] Vayeitzei that they came [to Jacob to bring news of Joseph's revelation] without Benjamin. Why were Judah's bones rolling in the coffin? After all, he brought him back! No, he didn't bring him; he was afraid to bring him. The road was full of robbers, full of murderers, full of Hamas, they had to go through Rafah, through Khan Yunis—it's impossible to bypass Rafah. One could go through Dubai as well... that's true, but Jacob did not agree to go through Dubai; he went through Rafah, Khan Yunis, so there they would kidnap his children, they would kidnap Benjamin, [therefore] they left him in Egypt. So Jacob suddenly sees there is no Benjamin, no Simeon. Every time, Jacob loses a son—they go to Dothan and lose a son (Joseph), they go to Egypt and leave Simeon, now Rabbi Chaim Vital says they return from Egypt and there is no Benjamin. They say, 'No, he stayed there, we were afraid to bring him.' [And when they told Jacob that Joseph was alive and was king in Egypt] he immediately fainted. It is written, 'And his heart failed, for he did not believe them.' He immediately fainted; they poured cold water on him and more cold water. They brought Yechiel Stern to perform CPR, but nothing helped—his heart failed [because Jacob said in his heart that surely Joseph had become irreligious]. Until he saw the wagons (Agallos). What are wagons? The Midrash says: 'Egla Arufa' (the decapitated heifer). What is Egla Arufa? They need to take a heifer and decapitate it—first thing, bring a heifer and we will decapitate it. Egla Arufa, because at the moment they parted, they studied the entire section of Egla Arufa. They studied the entire 'Nachal Eitan' of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky; when they left Hebron, he walked with him for about 3 Parsas (approx. 15 km), and he taught him all the laws of Egla Arufa. He said, 'Tell father that I remember all the laws of Egla Arufa; everything he taught me, I have been reviewing every day for 22 years.' Then 'the spirit of Jacob was revived.' He says, 'If he remembers Egla Arufa, he is alive and well.' The story is true."