Shuvu Banim in the Ramat Neighborhoods ○ Summary from the Lesson

In the Ramat neighborhood of Jerusalem as well, there is a large group of students of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. In the past, there were even minyanim there with the melodies of The Rav shlit"a. And every Shabbos, there are those who make the entire long journey—about forty-five minutes of walking and more—in order to pray the Shabbos prayers together with The Rav shlit"a.

On Monday night, the eve of the 15th of Tammuz, about forty of our people who live in the Ramat neighborhood entered further inside, into the holy place, for a special lesson from The Rav shlit"a. We will present to you a summary of these “words of the Living G-d”—the teachings of The Rav shlit"a that were said during the lesson:

The Rav shlit"a opened the lesson with an idea from Parshas Pinchas: How could it be that a halachah was hidden from Moshe, after he knew everything that even the most veteran student would one day innovate? So how could that halachah have disappeared from him? The Rav explained that since twenty-four thousand people died in a single moment, Moshe became confused for an instant—and in that instant, Pinchas seized this mitzvah: to kill the wicked.

The Rav also spoke about the bris of Avraham, who circumcised all of Chevron publicly. The simple meaning of the verse that Mamre “gave him advice” about circumcision is that after Eshkol and Aner withdrew from the bris, everyone was afraid to do it. This was Mamre’s advice: he stood with courage and said to Avraham, “Circumcise me—I am not afraid.”

The Rav also spoke about Parshas Korach, and how On ben Peles was saved through the merit of his wife. He brought Rabbi Nosson in Likutey Halachos: Korach was not swallowed by the earth as a punishment, but because of a spiritual reality—when a person sins, he becomes so “heavy” that the earth cannot bear him. But when a person believes in the Tzaddik, the Tzaddik carries him above the earth so that he will not be swallowed. Yet the moment a person argues against the Tzaddik, the Tzaddik no longer carries him; then, from the sheer weight of his sins, he is swallowed into the earth.