Rav Berland’s Shiur from Shushan Purim

THE SHIUR OF MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A FROM THE NIGHT OF SHUSHAN PURIM, BEFORE THE MEGILLAH READING:

[Hashem said to Adam] HaRishon, he said to him, “What do you choose for yourself?  Choose something: burning, stoning, decapitation, strangulation.  You brought death to the world.”  All the tragedies, all the holocausts, all the churbanot [destructions of the Temple] -- Adam HaRishon is guilty of all of them.  He is guilty until the end of generations.  It’s already 6,000 years, two churbanot, the Holocaust, six-million Jews.  Adam HaRishon brought on everything.  Hashem asked him, “What do you choose for yourself?”  He said, “I choose hanging – on the gallows.”  He says, “So when shall I hang you?  When do you think that it’s fitting to hang you?  Choose the date.”  Adam HaRishon said – all of this the “Daat Zekanim,” the Baalei Tosofot say: “Yes, I see Haman, a fine young man, really a nice young man.  He will be my atonement, he will be my exchange, he will be my replacement.  Let’s hang him on the gallows in my place.  He will be hung on the gallows.”

Haman is the serpent itself.  Haman was the serpent itself.  And everyone has a serpent.  Everyone has to deal with the serpent, until 120 years. And if one will live until 500, then 500 years.  Enosh began to worship idolatry at the age of 695.  This is considered young; this is considered a little child.  Once, they would live until 969, so this is two-thirds of a life.  Like a person [today, whose death is] at the age of seventy, so two-thirds is the age of fifty.  So 695 is a very young age.  He said, “Grandpa is dead [Adam HaRishon].  No one knows who grandpa is, who created him.”  He [Enosh] said, “I created grandpa.  I made everything.  I created everything.  I created the world.  I created the sun.  I created the moon.  I created the stars.”  Everyone believed him, [because he is] the grandson.  He was the true grandson, the grandson of the chief Admor.  Adam HaRishon was the first Rebbe in the world, the first Admor in the world.  His grandson says – he was the holy grandson.  695 [years] he was holy.  One day, he announces, “I created the world.  I created planet earth.  I created the sun.  I created the moon.  I created the stars.”  The Asarah Ma’amarot – the Rama MiPano – says that he held onto that idea for eight years.  He knew that he was a liar.  He knew that he was a deceiver, but the serpent within him burned inside of him!  He had a serpent inside of him!

So the serpent is Haman – “who the king raised up.” Mordechai [said?]: Master of the World – higher than the Kadosh Baruch Hu?  Higher than Achashverosh?”  He “merited” to be higher than everyone; he merited… “who the king raised above all the ministers.”  Achashverosh said, “I am afraid to touch them [the Jews].  [See] what happened to Sisra, poor thing…  Sisra was a ‘righteous’ man.  ‘From the heavens the stars waged war, from their paths they waged war.’”  “מן שמים נלחמו הכוכבים ממסילותם – From the heavens the stars waged war, from their paths” is [the initial letters of] Haman.  He [Sisra] was Haman.  Haman was spiritually impregnated in him.  And after this, “הכוכבים ממסילותם נלחמו” – another time [the initial letters of] Haman.  Two times Haman; he was double Haman.  Twenty years he ruled.  The entire story of Haman is three days.  The entire Megillah is three days.

“In the twelfth year of his reign” – Shuvu Banim have the custom of doing Purim in Adar Bet; this is the custom of Shuvu Banim.  However, really this [the miracle of Purim] was in Nisan.  This was Seder night.  “And fast for me three days” – “And Mordechai passed.”  What is [the meaning of] “passed”?  That [Mordechai] passed over the halacha, because it is forbidden to fast on Passover.  Shuvu Banim are capable of everything.  He knew that at Shuvu Banim they would agree to everything.  “And Mordechai passed” – Esther said that now we’re not eating, not eating on Passover.  We’re not fulfilling – not four cups, not Matzot.

Rabbi Avraham Elimelech of Karlin said – Rabbi Avraham Karliner had a hundred yeshivas, maybe 200.  He said that if people would fast for three days, they would cancel the decree [of the Holocaust].  Even if they had fasted one day!  After this, they had to fast for six years [during the Holocaust].  There was no food; they received a slice of bread a day.  They would fast for three days, like Queen Esther did, like she said to fast three days.  It would have cancelled the decree.  For seven years, he talked about this, that he would annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elder, baby and women in one day.  Only this decree was put off; it wasn’t cancelled.  The decree of Haman wasn’t cancelled.  Therefore, “ותכתב אסתר – And Esther wrote” is with a large Tav.  “ופרמשתא – Parmashta [one of the sons of Haman]" is with a small Shin.  [Together, this comes out] Tav-Shin [the year 5700, when the Holocaust began].  It [the decree to annihilate, kill, destroy] was put off to 5700.  It was put off for 2,500 years.  From the year Tav-Het, when the Temple was built – two years before this was the story of the Megillah.

The Gemara says in Megillah 14b, that two years beforehand, before the building of the Temple, was the whole story of the Megillah.  Haman knew that now they were going to build the Temple, so it would be the end of the world.  The Jews will rule over the world.  There would be no Persian empire, there would be no kingdom in the world.

So he therefore made a gallows fifty cubits high, in order to cancel out the fifty days of Sefirat HaOmer.  Because when did they hang Haman?  On the first day of the Sefirah, according to the Mishnah Berurah, so [they hanged Haman] on the first day of the Sefirah.  “And the manna [HaMan] was depleted the following day [the day following Passover]” (Yehoshua 5:12) – the Omer.  It is already alluded to in the verse that they hanged Haman immediately after Sefirat HaOmer.  They finished counting the Omer, went out to the city square, made a gallows fifty cubits high, [and hanged Haman].

And why specifically fifty?  Because it’s forbidden to hang father and son together.  This is against the Torah – “Do not slaughter it and its son in one day.”  All the more so, if it’s ten children with their father, it’s certainly forbidden.  This is a Torah prohibition – “Do not slaughter in one day.”  Therefore, Haman, he made a gallows fifty cubits high, so there would be a separation of a cubit between each child.  Every person is three cubits.  Haman was three cubits, his sons were three cubits.  The separation is a cubit – this is four cubits.  Multiplied by eleven, this is 44.  Three above, and three below comes out fifty [cubits].  So therefore, they had to make a separation of a cubit, because “Do not slaughter it and its son in one day.”  It’s forbidden to slaughter the father and son together.  There’s no such thing.  We need to observe this halachah.

However, this was before the 13th that they slaughtered Haman.  This was before the Mishnah Berurah on the 16th.  This was another thirty days from today.  This is the 16th, so we will make a festive meal and big Hilulah.  Therefore, all [the Tannaim, as will be explained] travelled to Bnei Brak, in honor of the Hilulah.  For on the 16th, we already make the Hilulah.  Then, because there is the Hilulah on Motza’ei Shabbat [Saturday night], we travel to Meron already on Friday.  So they already needed to be on Erev Passover in Bnei Brak, in honor of the Hilulah, because the Hilulah is made in Bnei Brak.  They learned Torah in Bnei Brak from the descendants of Haman.  So all the descendants of Haman would always make the Hilulah on Mota’ei Passover, the Hilulah in honor of their ancestor.  But Rabbi Akiva learned Torah in Bnei Brak.

Because really there is a great question about why suddenly they’re travelling to Bnei Brak.  What connection do we have to Bnei Brak?  It’s written, “…after Rabbi Yehoshua, to Peki’in, after Rabbi Eliezer to Lod.”  If we want to travel to Uman, we travel to Lod, not to Bnei Brak.  So after Rabbi Eliezer to Lod.  Why to Lod?   Because by way of Lod, it’s possible to get to Uman, and the whole goal is to get to Uman.  This is all of Purim – to get to Uman, that we can make Purim next year in Uman.  So therefore, Rabbi Eliezer lives in Lod, because he set in motion [the trips to] Uman; he brought the planes to Uman.  Therefore, he lived in Lod.  So they were supposed to travel to Lod.  Because who was the Rabbi and who was the Talmid?  The Rabbi was Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua; they were the Rabbis of Rabbi Akiva.  So you need to go after Rabbi Akiva?  After Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua!  [Rabbi Eliezer, to Lod], or to Peki’in [the dwelling of Rabbi Yehoshua]. It’s possible to travel to Peki’in; this is closer.  Peki’in is here, immediately after Jerusalem is Peki’in… It’s possible to travel to Peki’in, the cave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, to make Purim there, [and] Seder night.  So we either go after Rabbi Yehoshua to Peki’in or go after Rabbi Eliezer to Lod.  But why suddenly Bnei Brak?  Rather, Bnei Brak is the numerical value of “HaSatan” – we need to subdue the Satan.

“Nachash – serpent” plus one is [the numerical value of] “Satan.”  The Satan is the serpent itself.  Everyone has a serpent!  Therefore, Purim comes to extract the serpent!  The whole matter of Purim, that we gather – a time of gathering for all.  “And he gathered” -- “Go and gather the Jews.”  Mordechai gathered together all the Jews.  It’s impossible to subdue the serpent except through [gathering] all the Jews.  Therefore, Mashiach will come only when all the Jews will be in unity; then Mashiach can come.  Because Mashiach is also the numerical value of Nachash.  So Mashiach – 358; Nachash – 358.  So only Mashiach can subdue the Nachash!  Therefore, Purim is the only day of the year that it’s possible to subdue the Nachash.  This is the only day that a person can get out of his evil inclination, his serpent!  Because the evil inclination accompanies a person all 120 years.  All 120 years, the serpent accompanies a person.  Therefore, we say, “And remove the Satan from before us and after us.”