A Lesson for the Students of 'Nachalei Netzach' Yeshiva for Ba'alei Teshuvah at

On Wednesday night, the 7th of Kislev, Parshas Vayetzei, a lesson was held at the holy residence of the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, for a group of students from the 'Nachalei Netzach' Yeshiva for Ba'alei Teshuvah (returnees to the faith). The group was led by the Chassid and Sage, Rabbi Yaakov Amsalem shlit"a, and under the presidency of the Chassid and Sage, Rabbi Shmuel Stern shlit"a.

The lesson lasted approximately 57 minutes. Below is a summary of the topics mentioned by the Rav shlit"a during the lesson:

1. The argument between Esau and the sons of Jacob at the burial of Jacob Avinu (our forefather) at the entrance to Me'aras HaMachpelah (the Cave of the Patriarchs). Esau claimed he did not sell the burial plot in the cave along with the birthright. Naphtali ran to Hebron to find the deed; Naphtali jumped three times until he found it.
2. Jacob experienced Kefitzas HaDerech (a miraculous shortening of the way) – from Beersheba to Haran, and from Haran to Jerusalem – in a miraculous manner, until the sun suddenly set before its time.
3. Anyone who is religious, they are not willing for him to serve; now the head of the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) said, how is it possible that he has ten children and he will oversee the state? But in truth, it is because he wears a kippah (skullcap).
4. The atomic bomb that was destroyed in Iran. They are now building a new bomb, but everything will turn into candies. Uranium enrichment, how radium works, what nuclear fission is, the power of neutrons, and an explanation of atomic bombs.
5. Comparison to Hiroshima and Nagasaki – how the bomb worked. Before they bombed Nagasaki, they were supposed to bomb Kokura, but apparently, there was a Jew there who cried out "Ana Hashem Hoshia Na" (Please Hashem, save us) during Hallel (prayers of praise) – it was Rosh Chodesh (the New Month).
6. Gemara (Talmud) in Shekalim 17. How was the Mediterranean Sea created? Because of the two times the ocean flooded the world: in the generation of Enosh, and after 1,400 years, there was the Mabul (the Great Flood).
7. Enosh became confused in his Emunah (faith) and said he was a god at the age of 695. For eight years, and afterward, he recanted. But by then, the whole world had already become confused.
8. The American story: A man who was asked to invite all the wedding guests to the divorce as well, but in the end, he took his wife back.
9. "Vayifga BaMakom" (And he encountered the place): Jacob arrives at the Temple Mount; Rashi explains – "He reached the place" hints at the 18 blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei (the standing prayer).
10. The Ramban asks why it was necessary to send Hagar to the desert of Paran where there is no water, rather than just expelling her from the house.
11. The five times "Vayomer" (And he said) is used by the angel to Hagar – a hint to the five times the angel appeared to Hagar. Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) wept over the fact that he did not merit to see an angel but rather a demon in the story of "Ben Talmion" on the way to Rome.
12. Gibraltar: A travel route in Spain; the source of the name; the story of the Islamic conquests from the year 711.
13. The story of the rescue of 14 Jewish children by a priest in Poland who was caught, and afterward, his grandson became the Pope. A description of the Nazi atrocities in churches and the preservation of survivors' testimonies; the grandson's visit to the church and the covering of the statues.
14. Returning to the Gemara (Talmud): The order of the sinking of the continents – from Kippah to Barbaria, from Sicily to Akko-Jaffa.
15. The source of oil according to the Sages – the fat of the Mabul (the Great Flood); why oil wells do not run out.
16. The story of a gentile's sword that he thought was tin and it turned out to be gold – and the dispute between the Brisker Rav and the 'Ketzos' (Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller), whether he must pay for it as tin or as gold.
17. “Oso Imo Elav” (Him with him to him): The secret that Rashi brings regarding the dispute between the brothers and Joseph – the dispute of the angels and the angel Metatron whether to create the world.
18. There is no need for weapons; if there is Emunah (faith), then one throws dust and it becomes "swords and arrows."
19. One who eats a k'zayis (an olive-sized portion) of bread during the Seudah Revi'is (the fourth meal/Melaveh Malkah) merits all the secrets of the Torah. The entire Gemara (Talmud) is stories about a tiger – the Arieh D'bei Ilai (the Lion of the Upper Forest) that the Emperor asked to see and which eventually knocked him off his chair. Judah the son of Jacob roared and knocked down the walls of Egypt.
20. The seven-headed snake that stood before Rav Acha bar Yaakov; every head that fell represented the fall of a klipah (shell/impurity). The Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) did not burn; what burned was lime and stones. The real Beis HaMikdash ascended to Heaven and is built there. The Zohar writes that the Tzaddikim put puch (eye paint) on their eyes and can see it standing in its full structure.