"Rachel was Buried in the Middle of the Highway

Below is a summary of topics from the daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – yesterday after the Maariv (evening) prayer, Tuesday night, the 12th of Marheshvan, Parshas Vayeira:

There are a billion questions on this Torah portion. Why did Sarah laugh? Just two days earlier, Abraham told her they would have a son—did she forget everything? If Yocheved gave birth at the age of one hundred and thirty, why did Hashem only record Sarah’s miracle? Is anything too difficult for Hashem? If Hashem wills it, a child can emerge even from a wall! Why was nothing said to Abraham, even though he also laughed? Rather, there is a type of laughter that stems from crying; if a person loses everything and goes bankrupt, he might start laughing out of sheer bitterness. The Heichal Bracha (Chassidic commentary) explains that she didn’t truly laugh—it was actually crying! "Rachel weeps for her children"—now is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rachel Imeinu (our mother Rachel). For 48 years, Joseph did not forgive his father [Jacob], asking, "Why did you bury her in the middle of the highway?" Today we understand that this was al pi hadibbur (according to the Divine word). Regarding all those in captivity whom we want back here—if there had been a seminary in Be'eri, this wouldn't have happened. Every girl needs to learn to be a leader; it is possible to bring the whole world back in teshuvah (repentance). Hashem gave women a million times more intelligence than men. The entire virtue of a son is that he learns Gemara (Talmud). A person must protect his son until the wedding; after the wedding, his wife will protect him. This is because women did not sin with the Golden Calf, nor with the Spies, nor with Korach—not a single woman died in the desert. Of the 600,000 who died [in the desert], that averages to 15,882 each year. Every girl should do the math—they remained widows because they should have given their husbands a "club to the head" (metaphorical wake-up call) so they wouldn't go dance with the Calf. The role of a woman is to protect her husband, which is why she is called a "wall." Therefore, she needs to register to be a leader and open seminaries, and then all of Israel will perform teshuvah (repentance) and we will merit the complete Geulah (Redemption).