"The Entire Counting [of the Omer] is to Merit the Resurrection of the Dead" •

Before you is the full daily lesson as delivered by our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a - yesterday after the Maariv prayer, Thursday night, the 29th of Iyar, Parshat Bamidbar:

"Then there were ten killed on the beach near Rosh HaNikra, and missiles. And another ten seriously injured in Tze'elim where an ammunition warehouse exploded. This is all because all the girls have not yet lengthened their dresses. And they still walk with a slit [in the skirt], which is the most terrible and awful thing; it is literal pritzus (immodesty), a Torah prohibition. Every girl must immediately sew up her slit. Then soldiers will stop being killed.

Now we are at forty-five days [of the Omer] – Rosh Chodesh (the New Month) of Sivan, and now we are just five days away from Matan Torah (the Giving of the Torah), when their filth ceased and everyone merited Techiyas HaMeisim (the Resurrection of the Dead). Because the entire Sefirah (counting) is to merit Techiyas HaMeisim, and all the women in the desert merited Techiyas HaMeisim. All the women in the desert did not die; not a single woman died, as it is written in Parshat Pinchas, 'And among these there was not a man' – no man remained from all those who left Egypt, not a single man remained. Because the men made the [Golden] Calf, whereas the women did not make the Calf; they were against the Calf. But the men were in favor of the Calf; it is written 'Vayitpareku' (and they took off) – they tore off their ears, cut their ears, plucked the nose rings along with the ears, the earrings along with the ears.

Therefore, a woman is forbidden to do laundry on Rosh Chodesh; now it is Rosh Chodesh on Friday. A woman should have done laundry tonight, or later tonight it is still permitted. Tomorrow it is already forbidden to do laundry. Only very essential things – pikuach nefesh (a matter of life and death). But if it is not pikuach nefesh, it is forbidden to do laundry on Rosh Chodesh. Because the women received all twelve Roshei Chodashim (New Months); this year there were thirteen Roshei Chodashim. Because the woman is always more than the man.

As it is written in the Gemara (Talmud), Bava Batra 140b, that if a baby boy is born, one receives a maneh (a unit of currency), but if a baby girl is born, one receives two hundred. Rav Chisda said that the baby girl is more important than the baby boy; the daughter is more important than the son. Because the daughter studies, the daughter takes exams, the daughter studies to be a teacher, to be a principal. The boys just wander the streets, throwing stones at Arabs, at Arab cars. The boys don't know where they belong, why they are here. Anyone who cannot study Gemara eight hours a day becomes a hoodlum, becomes a criminal, sits in prisons, sells drugs, smokes drugs, transports drugs. All the boys are getting lost; we are now in such a generation where most of the boys are getting lost.

Just as Miriam said to her father [Amram]—her father said to 'divorce immediately' [to avoid Pharaoh's decree]. Then he said to her, 'Then there will be daughters; the People of Israel will arise from the daughters.' Because the essence of the People of Israel arose from the daughters, for the daughters are G-d-fearing, they are innocent, they accept all the 613 mitzvos (commandments).

And therefore Hashem (G-d) asked the daughters—before—the mothers—before Matan Torah, a day earlier, if they agree to receive the Torah. Moshe called all the mothers, as it is written in Midrash Shocher Tov, Chapter 8. He called all the mothers a day before Matan Torah, five days before the Giving of the Ten Commandments, and he asked them if they were ready.

'I am Hashem your G-d'—they said yes. 'Do not murder,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not steal'—they said yes. According to Rabbi Akiva, they said 'yes,' meaning they agree. According to Rabbi Yehoshua, they said 'no' [meaning they would not perform the forbidden act]—'Do not murder,' no; 'Do not commit adultery,' no; 'Do not steal,' no. So the daughters receive the Torah before the boys. They receive the Torah with more innocence, more seriousness; every girl is more serious than a boy, studies more, and masters her studies better. Therefore, girls always get higher grades on exams than boys. In mixed classes in universities, the girls are always first in all the exams.

Therefore, a daughter must know that her role is to study to be a teacher, to be a principal. If every girl becomes a principal of a seminary of a thousand girls, that is every girl managing a thousand girls. A thousand times a thousand is a million girls who do teshuvah (repentance), and through this, the complete Geulah (Redemption) will come speedily in our days, Amen."