The 21 Killed in the Building Disaster in Gaza

Before you is the full daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, last Thursday - Parshat Beshalach, the night of the 16th of Shevat, following the Maariv (evening) prayer:

"All those who have not yet registered for any institution must register for 'Emunat Tzion' (Faith of Zion), with Rabbi Stern, who is missing ten girls for every class; three classes means thirty girls, and also a boys' class is missing ten boys, together that's forty. Everyone who lives in the vicinity of the Emunat Tzion kindergartens, especially in Musrara, must register by tomorrow; Sunday is the final deadline to register the boys and the girls, children and toddlers to 'Emunat Tzion'—everyone without exception—to fill the minimum quota, and then it will be possible to return to Nechamat Tzion (Consolation of Zion) as well.

And now we pray that the war will stop; twenty-four killed in one day, on Monday. Three in a tank, twenty-one when the buildings collapsed—all the mines exploded, all the explosive charges exploded. They were all yeshiva students, they all left wills to study Torah and not to stop the war in any way until the kingdom of wickedness is abolished.

Because every day missiles are fired, except over Jerusalem; missiles are fired all over the country. People are terrified, people fall on the way to the MMD (protected room), to the shelters, to the room... to the protected space, people fall on the way. There is a girl who fell five years ago, until today she is unconscious—then she was seven, today she is twelve in Ashdod—unconscious, because her mother fell on the way while running at two in the morning to the MMD. And while sleeping, people wake up in a panic, drop the children, and fall themselves. Someone who is seventy years old gets injured for life; there are people who lost hands and legs. All this is because not all the girls have lengthened their skirts yet; every girl must lengthen her skirt so that the leg is not seen.

Because Michal wanted to eliminate David; he went out before it [the Ark], as the Midrash Rabbah says in Bamidbar regarding the Ark of the Covenant, that he danced before the Ark of the Covenant with somersaults in the air. And then she suddenly saw the legs; she said, 'I have never seen such a thing in my life, not with my father and not with my brothers.' They are all called Mephibosheth, Ish-bosheth, all named after 'bosheth' (shame/modesty). Saul was the peak of modesty that could be, therefore he was called the chosen of Hashem; they never saw his legs, certainly not his daughters'. And Michal could not tolerate it; she said to David, 'You are not entering the house until you ask for forgiveness.' So it is written in Midrash Rabbah.

Therefore, the moment the girls cover all their legs completely, every girl will be surrounded by a pillar of fire like Deborah the Prophetess, who was surrounded by torches of fire, like Rabbi Zera who was surrounded by torches of fire. Every woman should take upon herself tzniut (modesty) and break the Xiaomi, and the smartphone where terrible things are seen, which do not even come out of Gehinnom (purgatory) even at the Resurrection of the Dead. Everyone who breaks—every boy and girl who now breaks their Xiaomi—will merit a pillar of fire, torches of fire, and the war will end and there will be the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen!"