A Lesson for the Group of Married Men and Young Men Who Volunteered to Build the

Volunteering in the building of the giant sukkah that hosted the thousands who came for the Tishrei holidays in the shadow of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a ○ A fiery, flame-like lesson for the devoted volunteers within the inner sanctum

The thousands who arrived at the giant sukkah of the greatest hillula in the world on HaChayim Street—on the night of the hillula of Rebbe Nachman zy"a and on Simchas Torah—Hakafos Shniyos—surely never imagined that only a few days earlier, this place had been a parking lot, filled with dirt, garbage, and stones. Then a number of married men and young men came—who volunteered with good hearts, for the honor of Rebbe Nachman zy"a and Rabbi Berland shlit"a—to transform the site from a parking lot into the sukkah of the greatest hillula across the world, able to receive the thousands who would come both for the hillula and for Simchas Torah and Hakafos Shniyos.

So for days and nights, the young men and the married men worked with true mesirus nefesh, paying attention down to the smallest details—not to mention the tremendous hospitality that was arranged throughout the night of the hillula, and likewise on Simchas Torah and Hakafos Shniyos.

As a token of appreciation for the great mesirus nefesh of these devoted volunteers, they merited to enter into the inner sanctum for a lesson that took place on Wednesday— the night of the 25th of Tishrei—at the home of Rabbi Berland shlit"a. In the lesson, The Rav shlit"a spoke about matters of the festival of Sukkos, and spoke from Koheles. He also spoke about the matter of Tzelafchonis and Manoach as brought in Shoftim. And The Rav said in the lesson that when Manoach asked the angel, “What will be the law of the child who will be born?” the angel answered him that everything depends on how the mother will conduct herself. From there, he went on for many long minutes about educating children, and that the essence of chinuch is personal example—especially the mother’s example. He also brought that the concept of the ben sorer u’moreh is measure for measure: since that person brought a non-Jewish woman (a captive woman of beautiful form) into the home and caused his parents pain through it, so from Heaven they repay him for this with a ben sorer u’moreh.

After a lesson of more than forty minutes, The Rav shlit"a concluded with Kaddish and blessed all those engaged in the work that they should have nachas from all their descendants, and merit abundant shefa without limit, in the merit of the mitzvah of sukkah for which they toiled in its building.