Sarah Prayed for All Generations, and Therefore Her Candle Never Went Out

A lesson delivered by our teacher, the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, on Motzaei Shabbat Parshat Noach 5779

"A new mikvah was discovered located between the Cave of the Patriarchs and the graves of Yishai and Ruth, which is called the Mikvah of Sarah Imeinu, and many who have immersed there have already been blessed with children, specifically male children. This is a mikvah that purifies from all impurities; if a person has sinned, and he is remorseful and does teshuvah (repentance), and he takes upon himself not to return to the sin, he is purified from everything; he is included in Adam Kadmon. When a person is included in Arich Anpin, all sins are forgiven."

"'And upon the crown of the head of the one set apart from his brothers' (Genesis 49:26), the blessing of Joseph, 'With the bounty of heaven, with dew, and with the deep that couches beneath' (Deuteronomy 33:13), this is the oil; there is gas in the Land of Israel that could suffice for the entire world. One must recite the blessing every day, 'Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring' (Genesis 49:22) before sleeping. 'Daughters stepped upon the wall' (ibid.), all the daughters stepped upon the wall and threw their jewelry; Joseph opened one piece of jewelry and inside it was written, 'Osnat, daughter of Dinah, daughter of Jacob.' Osnat knew that she was now marrying Joseph, and indeed, on that very day, she married him."

"'But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made supple by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel: Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that coucheth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb' (Genesis 49:24-25), all the oil of the entire world is found in the inheritance of Joseph. 'The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills' (Genesis 49:26), the everlasting hills are the prayers of the holy Matriarchs; they are the ones who prayed for all generations. Sarah prayed for all generations, and therefore her candle never extinguished. Sarah's candle never extinguished; for the honor of Shabbat, she would extinguish it and light it again. Whoever is named Sarah will merit that her candle will never extinguish, just like Sarah Imeinu."

"'Behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires' (Isaiah 54:11), they are speaking about an ointment called 'puch' (stibium), that whoever puts it on their eyes will see the Holy Temple standing on its foundation. 'And lay thy foundations with sapphires,' Hashem will take stones of 30 cubits by 30 cubits, that is a diamond of 15 meters by 15 meters. 'The place of sapphires are its stones, and it hath dust of gold' (Job 28:6), if we dig in the area of Sodom, we will find such diamonds."

"'And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles' (Isaiah 54:12), fire will come out of the stones of the Holy Temple; there are diamonds from which fire emerges from the stones. 'And upon the crown of the head of the one set apart from his brothers' (Genesis 49:26), Joseph merited all the diamonds in the world; all the diamonds that were in the world belonged to him. Whoever is a true tzaddik merits all the diamonds in the world. This was the entire Haftarah of the Parsha, because the Haftarah is more important than the Parsha."

"'Behold, I will set thy stones in fair colors' (Isaiah 54:11), that every girl should cover herself with a blanket of 'puch', like Yael, 'And she covered him with a blanket' (Judges 4:18), 'basmichah' (with the blanket) has the gematria of Tziporah. Because, Devorah was a spark of Moshe Rabbeinu, and Yael performed all the miracles in the world; all the miracles were on the 5th of Cheshvan, 'Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent... At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead' (Judges 5:24, 27), 'shadud' (dead/destroyed) has the gematria of Metatron; the angel Metatron impregnated Yael. If a woman merits and the angel Metatron is conceived within her, she gives birth to the High Priest."