A Person Who Distributes Charity Can Bless More Than Moshe Rabbeinu

THE DAILY CHIZZUK BY MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A – THE MODESTY OF THE NON-JEWS IS AN ACCUSATION AGAINST AM YISRAEL • THE REBBE SAID THAT A GENERATION WILL COME WHEN A SIMPLE JEW WILL BE LIKE THE BAAL SHEM TOV

TUESDAY, 17 NISAN 5785 – MOREINU HARAV BERLAND SHLIT”A TESTIFIES ABOUT HIMSELF: “SINCE THE AGE OF FIFTEEN AND A HALF, I HAVEN’T TRAVELLED ON A BUS – I HAVE ONLY WALKED ON FOOT.”

YOAV SAYS, “LIKE THESE AND LIKE THESE A HUNDRED TIMES” (II SHMUEL 24:3).  WHAT DOES “LIKE THESE AND LIKE THESE A HUNDRED TIMES” MEAN?

All the sorcerers in the world, all the priests, all the scientists cannot make the calculation of “Like these and like these a hundred times.”

What does Rashi say about this?

“Like these and like these” is two.  2 times 100 = 200, but Rashi disagrees with me.  Rashi says that this is completely wrong – it is written 800,000.  In Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles), it is written a million and one hundred thousand.  These were those who died in the plague during the time of King David.  Immediately, there was a plague.  David went to Gad, because Gad were zealots, the “Neturei Karta.”  In the past, Neturei Karta was Gad.  Eliyahu HaNavi came from Gad.  He went and screamed at the prophets and slaughtered 400 prophets of the Asherah (I Melachim 19) and the 450 prophets of Baal (ibid. 18).  This was near Yagur junction.  I checked the location.  I would walk on foot – I never travelled on buses.  Since fifteen and a half, I don’t ride on buses.

I WOULD WALK ON FOOT.  WHAT COULD HAPPEN?!  TWO HOURS ON FOOT, PASSING THROUGH CHECK POST.  CHECK POST IS THE MOST WONDERFUL, MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE.  EVERYONE SHOULD GO DO HITBODEDUT AT CHECK POST.  I WOULD WALK FROM HERZL STREET – THE END OF HERZL – AND GO THROUGH WADI RUSHMIYA AND DO HITBODEDUT UNTIL YAGUR.  IN YAGUR, I WOULD IMMERSE IN THE KISHON RIVER.  THAT’S WHAT I DID FOR TWO YEARS UNTIL IT BECAME FULL OF SEWAGE.  I WOULD IMMERSE IN THE KISHON, AND AFTERWARDS I WOULD GO TO THE YESHIVA IN REKHASIM.  REKHASIM DIDN’T EVEN EXIST YET – THERE WAS ONLY THE YESHIVA.  IT WAS ALL FORESTS AND FORESTS UNTIL TIVON.

He went to the tribe of Gad.  They were zealots, and from them came Eliyahu HaNavi, who slaughtered 850 [prophets of Baal and Asherah].  It all came from Gad – Eliyahu HaGiladi, Eliyahu HaTishbi.

“Like these and like these a hundred times” – in the end, it is written a million and one hundred thousand.  Here it is written 800,000; 300,000 are missing -- all of these died on the spot (II Shmuel 24; I Divrei HaYamim 21).  From Gad, he went to Dan.  He said, “Now everyone from Dan will die, because I counted Am Yisrael, and it’s forbidden to count.”  In Dan was the story with Michah and they made calves.  Therefore, Yeravam put the calf in Dan.  He said that they would die from Dan.  If there will be a plague and 300,000 will die, they will die from Dan.

YOAV WOULD DISTRIBUTE ENDLESS CHARITY (TZEDAKA).  A PERSON WHO DISTRIBUTES CHARITY CAN BLESS MORE THAN MOSHE RABBEINU.  HE CANNOT BE GREATER THAN MOSHE RABBEINU, BUT HE CAN BLESS MORE THAN MOSHE RABBEINU.  HE CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN MORE THAN MOSHE RABBEINU.  HE CAN DO MORE THAN MOSHE RABBEINU, AS IT IS WRITTEN AFTER THE HAGADAH, “HE WILL DO GOOD TO YOU AND MAKE YOU MORE NUMEROUS THAN YOUR FOREFATHERS” (DEVARIM 30:5).  YOU WILL BE MORE (“YOTER”) THAN AVRAHAM, MORE THAN YITZCHAK.  WHAT YOU WILL BE “MORE” IN?  IN YOUR BLESSINGS!

FOLLOW THE PATH OF TORAH.  THE REBBE SAID THAT A GENERATION WOULD COME WHEN A SIMPLE JEW WOULD BE LIKE THE BAAL SHEM TOV.  TODAY, A SIMPLE JEW CAN BE LIKE THE BAAL SHEM TOV.  THE SIMPLEST JEW CAN BLESS, BRING CHILDREN TO THE BARREN, PERFORM MIRACLES, AND HEAL THE SICK.  ALL IN ALL, YOAV WAS A SIMPLE JEW, THE HEAD OF THE ARMY, AND HE IS A BILLIONS TIMES MORE THAN MOSHE RABBEINU.  A PERSON CAN GIVE BLESSINGS.  IF A PERSON GUARDS HIS EYES IN THE STREET, HE IS MORE THAN THE BAAL SHEM TOV.  DURING THE TIMES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV, THERE WASN’T IMMODESTY.  EVERYONE WALKED COVERED – GENTILES, JEWS.  EVERYONE WENT COVERED FROM HEAD TO TOE.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender recounted: I was in Tashkent and I saw the modesty with which the gentiles went – this was an accusation against Am Yisrael.  Every Arab is an accusation.  You go to the hospital – Ein Kerem, and not one Arab woman shows a hair.  I was with Yusuf and he told me, “By us, if [a woman] lets a hair out, they break her bones.  There are no games.”  Oy vavoy if a woman should expose a hair.

So how did Yoav merit to deliver such powerful blows, a billion trillion time more than Moshe Rabbeinu?

It was all in the merit of the charity that he would give out!

He would distribute endless charity that we would bring from the Amalekites, from the Geshurites, and from the Ma’acathites (Yehoshua 13:13).  There was not a single hungry family.  He distributed all the spoils.  They would distribute everything to charity.

https://vimeo.com/1075672181