I have decided that I need to stop writing ‘from myself’ at the moment, and just bring you words of wisdom from the Rav and Rebbe Nachman.

This is a translated snippet of a shiur given by Rav Eliezer Berland, on the evening of the 25th Av 5783, the week of Parshat Shoftim.

Enjoy!

==

Evening of 25th Av 5783, Parshat Shoftim

So it’s written: “The place which Hashem will choose to reveal” (i.e. The place of the Beit HaMikdash), “in the direction of the sunset.”[1]

Har Gerizim and Har Eival.

And who is the first, Shimon. Reuven on Har Klala (the Mount of the Curses) and Shimon on Har Bracha (the Mount of the blessings). Only Shimon made teshuva so quickly.

It’s a sign that Shimon did real, sincere teshuva, because 24,000 died.

Because everyone who touched a girl, died on the spot.

==

A man touches a girl [in an intimate way, that he’s not permitted to touch] – he’s liable to death on the spot.

It was like this for 50 years in Boston. There was a law that whoever touched a girl, they stoned him, like it’s written in the Torah: “and you shall pelt them with stones, so that they will die.”[2]

==

[The first settlers in America] They went against Christianity.

They were called Puritans – these are people who were against Christianity. They desecrated the festival of xmas, because he [i.e. Yoshki] wasn’t born – he had no birthday to celebrate.[3]

They stam invented a date, they didn’t find his birth certificate, they didn’t find anything. Maybe they’ll manage to wring one out [of somewhere] in due course, from the excavations next to the Kotel.

Maybe, they’ll manage to find his birth certificate…

In any case, he didn’t have a birth certificate – no!

So they announced that they need to set some date.

All of this he brings in ‘Dvar B’Ito’

==

So, in the year 333, which is called Tz”G, it was called the years of the 4th millenium, Tz”G. Yes, so they announced that they had to set a date – the 25th of December, the date that from then, the day starts to lengthen out (i.e. The winter solstice).

They call this ‘the Festival of Fire’ around the whole world.

By the followers of avoda zara (idol worshippers), this is the ‘Festival of Fire’, because then is when the dusk starts to extend out again….

==

And so, Adam HaRishon saw that the day was starting to lengthen out.

Because he fasted from the time when he ate from the Etz HaDaat (the Tree of Knowledge, which was on the first of Tishrei. The first of Tishrei – the Sixth Day of Creation. He fasted until ‘Zot Chanuka’ (the eighth day of Chanuka). He fasted until then.

On Zot Chanuka, he stopped fasting. Because he saw that the [time of the] sunset was starting to lengthen out.

Up until then, he thought that this [i.e. That the days were getting shorter] was called ‘die, you will die.’[4]

==

Because if it was just written ‘you will die’ – this means immediately.

But ‘die, you will die’ – this could also mean in another 1,000 years.

Hashem gave him a thousand years. Hashem saw that he wasn’t doing anything. The generation started to worship avoda zara, and he didn’t managed to prevent it’s decline.

So, Hashem said, Leave 20 [70] years to King David, and he will stop the [spiritual] decline.

====

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Devarim 11:30.

[2] Devarim 17:5.

[3] The Rav is making a play on words. In Hebrew, xmas is called ‘Chag HaMolad’ – the festival of the birthday.

[4] Bereishit 2:16