Shuvu Banim Activity in Or Akiva ○ A Summary from the Lesson

In Or Akiva as well—just like in all the Shuvu Banim branches throughout the country, tucked among the apartment blocks—there is a place for prayer and Torah in the light of Rebbe Nachman, with vitality and melodies, following the unique path as charted by The Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. In the past, the synagogue was inside two kindergartens that were joined together, and there the members of the Shuvu Banim community in Or Akiva would pray. Today, with great Divine assistance, there is a more suitable building for the synagogue, named for Rebbe Nachman: “Breslov – Shuvu Banim.” The place is active on weekdays and on Shabbos, with prayers, melodies, and tremendous vitality. A Chatzos kollel also takes place there. In addition, every Thursday night there is a Kabbalah class delivered by the chassidic scholar R’ Shlomo Almaliach shlit"a, one of the students of The Rav Rabbi Berland shlit"a.

[caption id="attachment_52464" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The “Shuvu Banim Givat Olga” community at a lesson in the home of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a[/caption]

The residents of Or Akiva merited to enter this evening—on the night of the 10th of Elul—into the home of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a for a special lesson. In the lesson, The Rav Rabbi Berland shlit"a first mentioned the story of Shimshon and his revenge against the Philistines, along with several additional teachings from Aggadah. After that, he added words of encouragement about learning Torah. Here is a passage from his words:

A person comes to learn Torah twenty-four hours a day, like “Yaakov was a wholesome man, dwelling in tents” (Bereishis 25:27). Esav is the opposite—an “outdoorsman,” (ibid.) not an outdoorsman who does an hour of Hisbodedus, but a man who goes around with a bow and arrows… A person comes to see Hashem face to face, like Moshe Rabbeinu—to see Hashem face to face! A person is obligated to see Hashem face to face, as if Hashem is standing right before him. To see Hashem face to face—this is his avodah. “No prophet arose in Israel like Moshe” (Devarim 34:10)—for he saw Hashem face to face. “Yehoshua bin Nun, a youth, would not depart from within the tent” (Shemos 33:11). So to see Hashem face to face—this is the entire goal. This is the entire goal of Breslov Shuvu Banim. If they ask you, “What is Shuvu Banim? What is it…?”—it is to see Hashem face to face! We see Hashem face to face! We see Hashem’s Divine Providence; we see Hashem’s Divine Providence in every single detail—such Providence as has not existed since the creation of the world. Every generation comes to reveal a new level of Divine Providence!

Afterward, he continued speaking and sharing new insights on the parashah—Ki Seitzei. Then he spoke about the self-sacrifice of Yael when she killed Sisera. After that, The Rav again returned to the parashah and expanded on the question of how it says, “Remember what Hashem your G-d did to Miriam”—is that what we remember about Miriam, after she gave her life for the sake of the Jewish people, for the sake of Moshe Rabbeinu? He then spoke about Chanah’s prayer, and also about the next parashah—Ki Savo—regarding the first fruits. After that he moved to the Megillah of Esther, and how she did not give up on her people and her birthplace with true self-sacrifice. The Rav then began singing, “And Esther continued and spoke…” for several minutes, and with that he concluded the lesson, which lasted more than fifty minutes.

[caption id="attachment_52453" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a delivering a lesson to the residents of Or Akiva[/caption]