In what way is a daughter higher than a man? And how do we subdue the foreskin of the heart? And the secret of "It has all turned white, he is pure." Insights and pearls for the weekly Torah portion of Tazria from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

The daughter brings a spirit of purity to the world:

Parshat Tazria: "If she gives birth to a female... sixty-six days she shall remain in the blood of her purity." If a daughter is born, then the woman is pure for 66 days, which is two months and six days—twice as long as for a male. This is because the daughter brings a spirit of purity to the world. Everyone needs to merit having a daughter. Like Devorah the Prophetess, who would prophesy and people would see fire descending from heaven onto her tent. Every daughter has fire; she has only longings for Hashem. For the daughter represents Malchus d'Atzilus (the Kingdom of the World of Emanation) and she only longs for Hashem. We need to bring the Asiyah d'Asiyah (the lowest level of the World of Action) to Malchus d'Atzilus. When Mashiach (the Messiah) comes, even if it won't be until the Resurrection of the Dead, there will only be Rachel and Leah. For now, the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) is called "the two daughters of Lot," but in the future, there will only be Rachel and Leah.

"And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised":

The whole of Tazria is "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised," for there is a foreskin of the ear and a foreskin of the heart. A person needs to circumcise the foreskin of the heart and the foreskin of the ear. It is forbidden to sleep at night; it is forbidden to sleep! Yesterday we finished at nine; until five in the morning, it is forbidden to sleep. After that, there is the mikveh (ritual bath), songs, dancing, Chatzos (midnight lamentations), and all this for 24 hours. For 24 hours, a person should not sleep at all; there is no need to sleep. Today we don't sleep at all. I don't know what sleep is; there is no such concept as sleep. There is no such concept that they should remain asleep at all. I don't know what sleep is. There is no such concept as sleep. There is no such concept that they should remain asleep at all. And the main thing is to conquer the Yesod (foundation/sexual purity)—this is the main thing. For the Yesod is the Nachash Hakadmoni (the Primordial Snake), and the Primordial Snake clings to the Yesod; therefore, we must circumcise immediately. Scientists have proven that only at the age of eight days is it possible to circumcise—not a day before and not a day after—because then the blood clots in a thousandth of a second. And the baby doesn't cry at all, contrary to what they say. On the contrary, the baby doesn't cry at all—he is waiting! "From the womb they are circumcised for Your Name"—already from the womb, from the moment he is formed after forty days when the male is formed, he is already waiting for his Bris Milah (circumcision). "For Your Name they are circumcised" in order to escape the Snake. Because the Snake clings to the Yesod, therefore we now have a whole week, and especially in Netzach she'be'Yesod (Victory within Foundation), when we defeat the Snake completely! "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised"—one must perform the Bris Milah even on Shabbat. If it is a son, then she is pure for thirty-three days after the Bris, and if it is a daughter, then she becomes pure for 66 days, because the daughter brings blessing. A daughter is a blessing in general if sons come after her; if sons come after her, then it is a blessing.

"It has all turned white, he is pure":

A person turns into a metzora (leper); once "it has all turned white," then "he is pure." He is pure. A person has already turned completely white; he has already reached such dichducha shel nefesh (crushing of the soul). For we are not talking about the wicked, G-d forbid; we are talking about poor, unfortunate young men, holy and pure, who want all the holiness and all the purity but do not succeed. And "it has all turned white"—the leprosy has already covered us from the sole of the foot to the head, and we are already crushed to the ultimate degree of crushing, and already broken to the ultimate degree of being broken. And then the Keren Yeshuah (horn of salvation) begins. Then, "it has all turned white, he is pure." And everything that passes over a young man, even over an avrech (married Torah student) and over every person in the world—if he is broken by it, if he regrets it, and if he is crushed by it, then on the contrary, "it has all turned white, he is pure." Then, specifically then, the Divine light sparkles upon him; the light of Hashem, the light of Atika (the Ancient One/highest level of Keter) sparkles upon him. He ascends to Atika. Every investigator asks: how is it possible that "it has all turned white, he is pure"? If a spot the size of a gris (a bean-sized measure) of leprosy makes one impure, then "it has all turned white" is already a million impurities, a million measures! But on the contrary, if there are already a million measures, then you have already reached such crushing of the soul. For all the young men here are holy and pure; everyone here is a wonderful young man. And even the young men who are going through the most terrible things in the world—they are the most broken to the ultimate degree of crushing. Then "it has all turned white, he is pure." Then, on the contrary, specifically then Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One) is revealed upon them. Then they go to the Kotel (Western Wall) to pray.

The lesson was edited, and if an error occurred, it should not be attributed, G-d forbid, to our teacher Rabbi Berland shlit"a, but to the writer, and "may our error remain with us." Drawing courtesy of the artist R' Yehoshua Wiseman. To purchase: www.yehoshuawiseman.com

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