“In the Merit of His Sitting in Prison

WORDS THAT MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A SAID ALMOST TWENTY YEARS AGO ON THE YAHRZEIT OF RABBI NATAN IN 5766 (2006), REVEALING TO SOME EXTENT THE DEPTH OF THE TZADDIK’S FORESIGHT:

THE YA’AROT DEVASH SAYS HERE ABOUT YOSEF HATZADDIK THAT EVERYTHING THAT HE MERITED TO WAS THROUGH BEING IN PRISON.  THE YA’AROT DEVASH CONTINUES AND SAYS: “HASHEM PLACED THIRTEEN IN PRISON.  AVRAHAM WAS IN PRISON FOR TEN YEARS, AND EVERYTHING THAT YOSEF MERITED TO WAS IN THE MERIT OF HIS HAVING BEEN IN PRISON.  IN THE MERIT OF THIS, HE MERITED TO ALL HIS LEVELS – THIRTEEN YEARS IN PRISON.”

It is written, “And he was a kapuz [meaning jumping, running, or quick] man” (Bereishit Rabba 86), that he would dance and see Hashem in front of his eyes.  He didn’t think that he was his father’s son, his grandfather’s grandson, the great-grandson of great-grandpa.  He simply danced in prison, danced there day and night.  He danced day and night in prison, and in the merit of this, he merited to be the High Priest (Kohen Gadol), because the High Priest enters into the innermost sanctum [Holy of Holies].

And this is the matter of Rabbi Natan.  He merited to be a flame, an aspect of the High Priest.  Rabbi Natan merited to be the High Priest who enters the innermost sanctum.  The Pirkey D’Rabbi Eliezer says that for forty years, Yosef was the second to the king, and for forty years, he was king.  For eighty years, he was in the royal palace.  Pharaoh died after forty years, and Yosef merited to become king.  Yosef was one of the ten kings who ruled over the entire world, because then Egypt ruled over the entire world.

The Ya’arot Devash continues and says: This is the reason why Yosef merited to what no else merited to – “And the house of Yaakov shall be fire, and the house of Yosef a flame,” in the merit of the ten years that he was in prison -- twelve years [in total] – [he merited to] all that he ascended to, higher and higher, like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi).  Rashbi was also thirteen years [in hiding].  He was in the pit for twelve years and for another year after that, because Rashbi came to rectify the blemish of Yosef talking about his brothers.  Therefore, he also had to be in a pit for thirteen years.  It is brought in the introduction to the Zohar that Rashbi came to completely rectify the blemish of Yosef, because Yosef still hadn’t merited to rectify the entire blemish.  Therefore, he became spiritually “impregnated” [in ibur] in Rashbi.  Rashbi was an ibur of Yosef, Moshe, and all the Seven Shepherds, and Rashbi came to rectify the blemish of “through what shall I know that I will inherit it?,” and all the blemishes of the Patriarchs.  This was Rashbi’s purpose.

Rashbi was in the pit for thirteen years, and the sand ate away all his skin, his entire body, and in this way he ascended to the level of Pinchas ben Yair, because Pinchas ben Yair was the highest.  In the merit of his being in the sand and the sand eating him away for thirteen years, he merited to the level of Pinchas ben Yair.  He merited and the entire generation merited along with him.

The Zohar says in many places that every time Rashbi’s students wandered in the deserts, they would suddenly come upon a cave and hear people sitting and learning Rashbi’s Torah.  While walking on mountains, from city to city, from country to country, they would suddenly reach some cave and hear voices.  They were afraid: Perhaps these were bandits, armed robbers.  Suddenly, they would hear words of Torah.  They would hear -- according to the melody -- that these were words of Torah.  They would see people sitting with candles – merchants who had left their houses, their wives, and walked for several months in deserts.  The Ya’arot Devash explains that during the times of Rashbi, the light of Rashbi illuminated the whole world, because when we include ourselves in the Tzaddik and decide to learn Torah, it illuminates throughout the entire world.

Yosef HaTzaddik was chosen to sit in jail, and Hashem orchestrated [events] so that Yosef would reach all the levels, all the heights.  Afterwards, the angel Gavriel came and taught him seventy languages.  Yosef reached all the levels in prison.  Today, in every prison in the world – in America, the Land of Israel – there are synagogues with books, and a person doesn’t need to become confused because he is in prison.  He needs to take advantage of this in order to finish Shas several times, the Shulchan Aruch several times.  It’s possible to bring in disks of the Daf Yomi, Gemara, Likutey Moharan, like it is written, “Hashem was with Yosef” – in every place.  Yosef saw Hashem.  He didn’t think that he came from his father, from his mother.  He was: “Hashem was with Yosef.”  Hashem arranged it especially so that Yosef would be in prison for thirteen years.

A person needs to make for himself a prison on his own.

TO HEAR A RECORDING OF MOREINU HARAV BERLAND SHLIT”A SINGING IN PRISON, FROM 25 ADAR 5777 (3-23-17), CLICK HERE [https://www.shuvubanimint.com/7195-2/]