"The Megaleh Amukos Says" • A special collection from the lessons of the Gaon

On the Holy Shabbat, the 13th of Menachem-Av, the Yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rabbi Natan Nata Shapiro of Krakow, author of the holy book 'Megaleh Amukos' zy"a (may his merit protect us), occurs. Our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), frequently mentions the holy book Megaleh Amukos in his lessons on many subjects. Before you is a special, first-of-its-kind collection from the lessons of our teacher the Rav shlit"a, according to the order of the Ofanim (sections/modes) in the Megaleh Amukos:

46: Therefore Moses said "Va'eschanan" (and I implored)—reveal to me the secret of the Leviathan, and then I will live forever. For through the secret of the Leviathan, it is possible to nullify every decree in the world, to achieve equality, everything. Hashem said to him, "Can you draw out the Leviathan with a fishhook?" (Job 40:25), "Will he speak soft words to you? Will he make many supplications to you?" (ibid. 27). For seven days, Moses requested to know the secrets of the Leviathan, and he said to Hashem: You are standing with me in the month of Adar, the sign of Pisces (fish); in the month of Adar, Hashem [reveals?] the secret of the Leviathan. Therefore, it is written in Megaleh Amukos, Ofan 46, that the entire debate between Hashem and Moses was regarding the Leviathan. Over this, Moses argued with Hashem for seven days and seven nights, and over this, he poured out five hundred and fifteen prayers—that Hashem should reveal to him the secrets of the Leviathan. Now it is the month of Adar, the sign of Pisces, reveal to me the secrets of the Leviathan. There are those who say that on Purim they hanged Haman; I cannot enter into old disputes, but during the Sefirah (counting of the Omer) it is certainly auspicious to hang Haman, because during the Sefirah, all secrets are certainly revealed, all the secrets of the Leviathan. Today, Saturday night, the 12th day of the Omer, we are already in Hod (Splendor), Hod within Gevurah (Strength).

47: Just like Saul—if he had waited for Samuel for one more minute, he would have merited eternal kingship. You would have merited eternal kingship! If you had waited one more minute for the Tzaddik, for Samuel, you would have merited eternal kingship. But afterward, he told him in the second test, which was Amalek, and in the second test he also did not stand: "And he strove in the valley." "Jerubbaal"—one who strives with Baal; he strove with Hashem. He said, "But why the infants?" But these are snakes, this is a "Nachash Adam" (Man-Snake). If you say that Amalek is a Man-Snake, as written in Megaleh Amukos 47, there is a Man-Snake which is "And he sojourned in Gerar"—to subdue the Man-Snake. Abimelech was a Man-Snake; that is Gerar. Therefore, in the Tefillin (phylacteries), there are four hundred and three words, which is the gematria (numerical value) of "B'Gerar" (in Gerar). He would walk all day with the Tefillin, which is Gerar; this is the secret of Gerar, four hundred and three. "Avos" (Patriarchs) is four hundred and nine. "Nachash" (snake) and "Adam" (man), "Adam" and "Nachash," is four hundred and nine. The Megaleh Amukos explains that the entire war—and this is brought in the book Toras Shalom on Parshas Toldos—it is all here in Megaleh Amukos, that the entire war is only against the Man-Snake.

68: And in 68, it is written in Megaleh Amukos that the Birurim (spiritual refinements) will last 50,000 years. "He commanded a word to a thousand generations," and a generation is 50 years—this is the Great Jubilee. So the Birurim are not simple! People think there is no judgment and no Judge, Heaven forbid, that they can do whatever they please. One cannot know how many more Birurim will need to be passed! There will already be Tzaddikim who have risen for the Resurrection, and there will still be tens of thousands of souls, a million souls, who will need to undergo terrible Birurim that cannot be understood, to know how to solve them—all kinds of terrible sufferings.

87: "And Moses is Tiferet (Beauty/Harmony) and Deborah was Tiferet—along the way she jumped into Tiferet-Tiferet—Jael, for Jael was a spark from Zipporah." This is the gematria of Zipporah; all this is Megaleh Amukos 87. He says this is a Man-Snake. What is a Man-Snake? To subdue the Man-Snake, therefore there is the letter Vav, which is exactly four hundred and three words—this is four hundred and three because he walks all day with Tefillin. It is written in Toras Shalom that he would walk all day with Tefillin; he would not remove the Tefillin from his head for a single second, which is four hundred and six letters, and this is the gematria of Man-Snake—four hundred and nine, because the snake and man, man and snake, because man—the desires of the Patriarchs came to subdue the Man-Snake. All the gentiles—Hitler, all the gentiles, Arafat, Hamas—this is a Man-Snake. These are not human beings, this is a Man-Snake. He turned them into human beings because this is madness; if he does Teshuvah (repentance), then he is a Man-Snake. There are people who eat man—that is not a man, that is a Man-Snake. All this is brought in Megaleh Amukos 47 and Toras Shalom in Toldos. And Gerar—Gerar is Man-Snake, four hundred and three. So man came, and therefore Jael—since Sisera was a Man-Snake, only she could subdue him because she had the spark from Zipporah. Zipporah (צפורה) is gematria three hundred and thirty-five. And Deborah was a spark from Moses. This is the connection between Jael and Zipporah, this is the connection between Moses—this is a spark from Moses, this is a spark from Zipporah. And therefore he did not take Zipporah on the way, because at the moment of a Brit Milah (circumcision), one must act immediately; it is forbidden to hesitate, forbidden to think twice. One must immediately jump into the fire to fight Sisera. This is jumping into the fire. "Take ten thousand [men]"—from where will I take them? Who will go? A woman is going crazy, she has nothing in her hand, give her some tranquilizers—she suddenly goes out to the streets now and says Mashiach has arrived, let's go to war with Syria, with Russia—a war against Russia! An ordinary person, and he goes to make war with Russia? You'd need to give him something to calm down. So even a woman cries out, "Go out to war! This is the thing which Hashem commanded." Like Moses, she says, "This is the thing which Hashem commanded." Rashi says Hashem did not command; she said it in the name of Hashem. But she also says in the name of Hashem. Rashi says Hashem did not command; she said if you fulfill the Peri'ah (uncovering the crown during circumcision), then you can go out to war. For they were circumcising like the Arabs. Deborah was two hundred and thirty years [after the entry to the land], says the Baal HaTurim—this is Joshua and the Elders, plus eighty-two, plus three times two years which is eight years, that's thirty-eight, plus forty is seventy-eight, plus eighteen of Eglon which is ninety-six, plus eighty of Ehud ben Gera is one hundred and seventy-six, plus thirty years is one hundred and ninety-six. So after two hundred years, Deborah arrives. They forgot how to circumcise; there weren't Mohels (circumcisers), lessons, and ordination like today. Slowly but surely, they circumcised like the Arabs. Deborah came and told them: This is not how you circumcise! You are circumcising like the Ishmaelites, you don't know how to circumcise. And immediately she taught them the laws of Milah. He said, if so, now we can go out to war. Who will believe you? He says, go to Zebulun and Naphtali. Zebulun and Naphtali jump into the fire. They are "Zebulun, a people that jeopardized its life to the death, and Naphtali, on the high places of the field." A person's entire work is to jump into the fire. From the day he is born, let him jump into the fire. The Tzaddik says to go out to war—we go out to war with Russia, Syria, it doesn't matter with whom. Sisera (סיסרא) can be the letters of Russia (רוסיא) and Syria (סוריא). Go out to war! Sisera—the Eshel (tamarisk tree) in Beersheba. What is Eshel (אשל)? Gematria Sisera, three hundred and thirty-one. Already Abraham prayed that Deborah would defeat Sisera. The Patriarchs prayed for us that we should win all the wars. Everything is prepared from the creation of the world; all the miracles—Hashem made a condition with the sea to return to its strength, on the condition that it would split. Esther says, "How shall I go? If I perish, I perish." How shall I go? Let's wait a day or two, let's wait a week, let's wait. Amen, Amen.

71: When the Rebbe [Nachman] arrived back in the Land [of Israel], the Sage asked him: With which aspect of Tefillin did you enter the Land? The aspect of 4 Parshiyos (sections of the Torah), each aspect is a letter, a letter in the Tefillin. He asked our Rebbe in Sichos HaRan (Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom) about the aspect of Tefillin. Tefillin is the head. Moses saw only the knot [of the Tefillin], our Rebbe saw the Shin. It is written in Megaleh Amukos, Ofan 71, that Jacob our forefather merited the 'Shin'. And the secret of Tefillin in Adam Kadmon (Primordial Man) of Adam Kadmon—that a person should merit to be in Adam Kadmon, that a person should know that there is no world at all, that the world does not exist. "Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance" (Isaiah 40:15). All the nations are like a drop from a bucket, all the nations are like the dust of the scales. They never were and were never created. So it will be revealed in the future to come when Mashiach comes—that all the nations were not created, they were not created at all. They are only like the dust of the scales. What is dust? That a person cleans the scales every second, and the dust that accumulates in those seconds between cleanings— that is the nations. "All the nations are accounted as the small dust of the balance."

73: Every Tzaddik comes to do something new in the world. Every Tzaddik comes to do a completely new thing. One does not approach the other, and one does not touch the border of the other, and no one can protect another Tzaddik. Every Tzaddik is a completely new creation. Every Tzaddik, even if he doesn't know the Aleph-Bet, is a completely, completely new creation; he comes to innovate a new thing in the world that never existed before. And this is Parshas Re'eh (רְאֵ"ה)—it is the initials of Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol (ר' אליעזר הגדול). "Ekev" (עקב) is Rabbi Akiva (רבי עקיבא), for Rabbi Akiva came to innovate things that never existed before, and in that merit, they combed his flesh with iron combs. Only by being combed with iron combs is it possible to hear the Ten Commandments, for "Light is sown (או'ר זָרֻ'עַ) for the Tzaddik (לַצַּדִּי'ק) and for the upright (וְלְיִשְׁרֵ'י) of heart (לֵ'ב) joy (שִׂמְחָ'ה)"—this is the final letters of Akiva (עקיבה). But Simcha (joy) is with the letter Hey; how did he receive the Aleph? When they combed him with iron combs, says Megaleh Amukos 73, at the moment they combed him with iron combs, then he received the letter Aleph.

"His eye saw every precious thing" (Midrash Rabbah, Bamidbar Chukat 19:6)—that what Moses did not merit, Rabbi Akiva merited. It is written in Megaleh Amukos, Ofan 73, that he merited the Shin of the Tefillin, for Moses merited the knot of the Tefillin and the knot of the hand, and he merited the Shin of the Tefillin. And the main thing is to reach the Shin of three heads and the Shin of four heads, which is all Halacha L'Moshe MiSinai (a law given to Moses at Sinai), for it is a Shin of three and a Shin of four corresponding to the seven shepherds.

74: And therefore, "And for all the mighty hand (הַיָּד הַחֲזָקָה) and for all the great terror (הַמּוֹרָא הַגָּדוֹל) which Moses (מֹשֶׁ'ה) performed in the sight (לְעֵינֵ'י) of all (כָּ'ל) Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵ'ל)"—the final letters are Hillel (הילל). As written in Megaleh Amukos, Ofan 74, Moses prayed for Hillel, for Hillel is the body of Moses. And Rabbi Akiva is the left hand, and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai is the right hand. Therefore, one must let blood on the left hand—Rabbi Akiva—because Hashem did not reveal to Moses that he would return in Rabbi Akiva, and this is "Be silent, so it arose in Thought." And a person needs, at the end of his hundred and twenty years, to have his blood let—that he should die for Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of God's Name). And if a person rises every night for Chatzos (Midnight Lamentations), he is already exempt. It seems the intention is that by rising every night for Chatzos, he will achieve what is achieved by one killed for Kiddush Hashem. If Rabbi Akiva had gone all the time to Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol, he would have been exempt from dying for Kiddush Hashem.

92: When there is a groom and bride, then we go to dance the dance of the Resurrection of the Dead, because during the seven days [of celebration], a groom and bride can revive the dead. During these seven days, "As You gladdened Your creation in the Garden of Eden of old." Now everyone is in the Garden of Eden of old; the groom and bride are not in this world at all. They are above the Aravos (the highest heaven), above the seven firmaments. For we bless with the Name and Kingship: "Gladden, yes gladden, the beloved friends, as You gladdened Your creation in the Garden of Eden of old." Now we gladden them like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, for it is the same aspect. And this entire world is in the Garden of Eden, it is in Aravos. "Let me pass over, I pray You, and see" (Deuteronomy 3:25). And all of us, says the Megaleh Amukos, need to be in Aravos. Moses descended until Ma'on (Dwelling). "The eternal God is a dwelling place (מְעֹנָה)" (Deuteronomy 33:27). There is Shechakim (Heavens); Shechakim is the gematria of Chatan (groom). The Megaleh Amukos writes in Ofan 92: Chatan (חתן) is the gematria of Shechakim (שחקים). For the letter Kaf is 500 and Mem is 600 [in final forms], so Shechakim—if we calculate that the final Mem is 600 and Shin-Kuf is 400, then it comes to 1,000. With the Yud and Chet together it is 1,018. There are 1,018 myriads of camps of angels that surround the groom and the bride, because the groom is now in Shechakim. He is not here in the world at all; he is in Shechakim. And from Shechakim we ascend to Zevul. There is Ma'on, Machon, Zevul. Zebulun in Chagigah 12b—that Zevul is where the Holy Temple in Jerusalem is located. And the moment they called it Zevul, the sun and moon ascended to Zevul.

192: Hashem cares for a person. Forty days before his formation, it is already decided in Heaven: he will have an apartment, he will have a penthouse with ten rooms, two Mercedes, he will have a yacht, a cruise ship, a private plane—everything is decided before he is born. Suddenly he opens his eyes and everything is lost, everything went to the Sitra Achra (the Other Side/Evil). It is written in Megaleh Amukos, Ofan 191: a person opens his eyes and everything went to the Sitra Achra. It becomes "Andralamusia" (chaos). "Ander" is a man and "Musia" is a woman. Every opening of the eyes becomes murders, buses are blown up; in Armon HaNetziv a bus runs people over, two female soldiers are killed.

If one sees, Heaven forbid, a woman, then there becomes Andralamusia [—revolution/chaos] in the world; there becomes the destruction of the world. The destruction of the world comes from this—that there becomes a connection between man and woman; "Ander" is man, "Lemusia" is woman. It is written in Megaleh Amukos (Ofan 192): every [forbidden] looking brings destruction to the world, brings road accidents, brings wars, brings killings. Every [forbidden] connection immediately creates a connection between the male demon and the female demon, and they cross and jump across the whole world in a single second, destroying the whole world in a single second.

194: All suffering (Yissurim) is the most wonderful thing in the world, and one should not diminish the suffering. A person should go and pray that he should always have suffering, like Rabbi Akiva, who at the time they combed his flesh with iron combs said, "When will this come to my hand that I may fulfill it?" They combed him with iron combs, for through suffering one merits Dveikus (cleaving to God). Through suffering, he merited the Shin of the Tefillin. It is written in Megaleh Amukos in 73 and 192 that Rabbi Akiva merited the Shin of the Tefillin, which Moses did not merit. "He showed the knot of the Tefillin to the humble one [Moses]." The more suffering a person has, the more he merits Dveikus to Hashem, for suffering refines the body. It is like salt on meat—it sweetens the meat. And all suffering is nothing compared to one moment of Dveikus, one moment of prayer, one moment of thinking about Hashem, knowing that Hashem is alive and exists.

Who received the Amazon? Esau. Why does Esau hate Jacob? Are you jealous of the piece of land Jacob received—how many dunams did Jacob receive? It's all sand, and if there is some forest, the Arabs burn the forest. And of this piece of land Esau is jealous—why? The Megaleh Amukos says: because here everything is spiritual. The Land of Israel is not soil, it's not the dunams. The Land of Israel is already in the World of Yetzirah (Formation). The Chesed L'Avraham says that in the Land of Israel we are in the World of Yetzirah. Therefore, those who descend and go abroad descend from Yetzirah to Assiyah (Action), and the soul changes. When a person leaves the Land, they change his soul; when he returns to the Land, they return his soul. Esau says: "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" (Genesis 27:36). I want a blessing from the World of Atzilus (Emanation)—says the Megaleh Amukos—not a blessing from the World of Assiyah, not a physical blessing. To Jacob you give the "Blessing of Abraham"; Isaac keeps the true blessing for Jacob.

252: Therefore, Chanukah is Joseph the Tzaddik. Antiochus (אנטיוכוס) is the gematria of Joseph (יוסף), 156. Because they blemished Joseph, Antiochus came to be (Megaleh Amukos, Ofan 252). For the entire Holocaust and everything that happens is only because of the sale of Joseph. This is a decree that can never be forgiven. Such a thing—even though Joseph said, "Am I in the place of God?" (Genesis 50:19) and "God sent me before you" (ibid. 45:5)—but this is something that cannot be forgiven. Even at the Resurrection of the Dead, it can never be forgiven. The Zohar says that all the times on Shabbat we have to sit a bit in the dark—suddenly the electricity goes out and cannot be turned on, suddenly in one room the light goes on—this is all to atone for the sale of Joseph. Joseph sat for twenty-two years in total darkness, twelve years in prison, and even in Pharaoh's house he was in darkness. Therefore, they throw living children into pits just as they threw Joseph into the pit in Dothan. And everything that the People of Israel undergo, physically, individually, and collectively—it is all because we have not yet atoned for the sale of Joseph. Therefore, everyone must find the Tzaddik, search for the Tzaddik, follow the Tzaddik through fire and water!

With Sennacherib, everyone crossed the Jordan, and an angel of Hashem came and struck them in one night (Sanhedrin 95b). In one night, it is possible to strike them all—two billion six hundred million, a third of the world. And after that, there was another third of the world. With Abraham, there was a third of the world; with Hezekiah, a third of the world. Just a dance—do one dance, one song, one melody! The Megaleh Amukos says: they would fight with another two billion, and they would eliminate all the ISIS, all the Nazis, all the terrorists, they would eliminate them all. "Not even one remained" (Judges 4:16) it is written regarding Jael. "Not even one," "Not even one remained," "And you shall say, there is none" (ibid. 20). Jael knew how to bring out the soul of Rabbi Akiva. Jael was a prophetess. Once, every girl was a prophetess; once, every girl knew how to prophesy. Every girl saw from one end of the world to the other, just as Hannah saw: "The bows of the mighty are broken" (I Samuel 2:4). She saw that all the bows are broken. "Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken" (Psalms 37:15).

Joshua is double—Joshua had a revelation of Godliness more than what Moses our teacher had. Moses says, "Let me pass over, I pray You, and see" (Deuteronomy 3:25). I want to enter, I want to see the miracle of Chanukah. In Megaleh Amukos he writes that half of the prayers were that Moses wanted to be in Chanukah. Moses wants to defeat Antiochus, he wants to defeat Sisera. Ten prayers just that he wants to defeat Sisera—let me enter, I want to see the miracles.

Please note: We did not merit to collect all the words of the Rav shlit"a from all the lessons given over the course of decades. They are mainly from recent years. There is more to come in the future! May these words be for the merit of the pure soul of the author of Megaleh Amukos, Rabbi Natan Nata son of Solomon Shapiro zy"a.