A Fiery Lesson for the Shuvu Banim Kollel in Olga

Our teacher, the holy Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), in a fiery lesson. The Rav shlit"a delivered the lesson in his holy home to the students of the 'Shuvu Banim' Kollel (institute for advanced Torah study) in Bnei Brak. These are his holy words.

"Why didn't Yaakov (Jacob) tell his sons not to quarrel? If Yosef (Joseph) offers to provide for them, would he then harm them? It is written, 'And Yosef fled,' meaning that Yosef did not want to come to the table. Because Yosef could not sit at the end or the head of the table, he stopped coming."

"All the 17 years that Yaakov was alive, he ate with them, but once he passed away, he [Yosef] stopped coming. After Yaakov passed away, the brothers stopped eating at Yosef's house."

"It is said that all the Bedouins descend from Yehonadav, and the Druze from Yitro (Jethro). The Torah tells us that Yaakov sought to reveal the 'Ketz' (the end of days/final redemption), but it was hidden from him. Why was this necessary? After all, the 'End of Days' will only occur in [the year] 5772 (תקע"ב), twenty-eight years before the end of the sixth millennium."

"When Yosef passed by the site of the pit, he recited a blessing: 'Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me in this place.' They passed by the pit into which he had been thrown, and he veered from the path. He went to the pit to say the blessing because he hadn't said it yet. They [the brothers] did not understand why he was veering from the path. They commanded Bilhah, who was still alive—she was the greatest righteous woman of all generations."

"Bilhah had two [of the Hebrew letter] 'Heis,' Leah had only one, and Rachel had none at all. It was necessary to take the 'Hei' from Bilhah. Rebbe Nachman says that a woman cannot give birth until she possesses the letter 'Hei.' Rachel took the 'Hei' from Bilhah."

"Devorah was a spark from Moshe (Moses), and Yael was from Tzipporah. Therefore, 'Smicha' (blanket/ordination) has the same Gematria (numerical value) as 'Tzipporah.' All of this is brought by the 'Megaleh Amukos' (a classic Kabbalistic work) in section 87—that Yael was a spark from Tzipporah. She was a tikkun (rectification) for Tzillah—for Tzillah was the most righteous, and her name has the Gematria of 125."

"The 21st of Adar is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Elimelech. Elimelech is the highest name. Elimelech did not open his eyes at all."

"The 'Bnei Yissaschar' was named Tzvi Elimelech. He asked his mother why he wasn't named just Elimelech. If he had been named only Elimelech, he would have become king over the whole world—the yahrtzeit is on the 19th of Teves."

"The author of the 'Ketzos HaChoshen' (a fundamental work of Jewish law) was a soul-root of Rebbe Nachman, because Rebbe Nachman said to study 'b'iyun' (in-depth analysis)—and only in this way can one escape negative thoughts. Only through the 'Ketzos HaChoshen' and in-depth study can one merit holy thoughts."

"Yaakov Avinu (our forefather Jacob) studied in-depth; therefore, 'the angels of G-d were ascending and descending upon him.' Yaakov saw angels of G-d ascending and descending upon him because he was studying in-depth. He saw the angels ascending in the Merkavah (Divine Chariot): Nuriel, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. This has the same Gematria as 'Rabbi Nachman ben Simcha ben Faiga'—this is the meaning of 'angels of G-d ascending and descending upon him'; he saw Rebbe Nachman."

"The Gematria of Mashiach (Messiah) indicates he will arrive on the Saturday night following Chanukah. Yaakov saw Rebbe Nachman, who will bring the Geulah (Redemption). As soon as Rebbe Nachman came into the world, the blood libels ceased—if people had said 'in the merit of Rebbe Nachman,' the Holocaust would not have happened at all."

"Yaakov saw Rebbe Nachman, who is included within the four angels; Rebbe Nachman himself is the four angels. Rebbe Nachman walks with us and accompanies us. By saying 'Rabbi Nachman ben Simcha and ben Faiga,' people merit all kinds of yeshuos (salvations). There will be children, there will be shidduchim (marriage matches), a person will have parnassah (livelihood), and will get out of debt."

"All the televisions and all the police said 10 years, but they told me 12 years. I hope this will be, that they will carry it out; there, I will be in Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) and study a bit. We will request 12 years in the Netanya detention center; you will also be able to come and study Torah there. We will make a large hall with Torah lessons 24 hours a day."

"When I was in prison, we studied 24 hours a day. There was a telephone there. You get a phone there for free."