The Synagogue “Heichal HaGvanim HaMishtanim” ○ An Excerpted Summary from the Lesson

In the Chassidic city of Beitar Illit—where The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, lived in the past—there is a “Shuvu Banim” community whose heart beats with a blazing fire. In the synagogue “Heichal HaGvanim HaMishtanim,” every worshipper knows that if he wants to revive his soul each morning, he should come through the gates of the Beis Midrash and “awaken the dawn” with prayers, accompanied by the melodies of The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a.

From time to time, great mashpi’im from among our people—students of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a—also come to the synagogue, arriving to pour forth influence from the ever-flowing spring into the Chassidic city. True to its name, “Heichal HaGvanim HaMishtanim” is a powerful magnet: while the longtime members merit to persevere in prayer, quite a few new seekers are drawing close to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a, through the path of The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a.

Some of those worshippers merited to enter inward, into a holy lesson, last night—Wednesday night, the eve of the 15th of Tammuz. In the lesson, The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, spoke about several topics, including Hisbodedus, the greatness of melodies and songs, and honoring one’s father and mother. He also mentioned the Gemara in Kiddushin: the nations of the world said that if Hashem included the commandment of honoring father and mother, it is a sign that the Torah is true. The Rav explained that this is the greatness—to be able to say that a Jew does kindness. He also told several stories of miracles that occurred during the Holocaust.

Here is a short excerpt from the lesson:

“Because the main thing is the niggun—by playing after Ma’ariv for ten minutes, and ten minutes before Ma’ariv. That is the main thing: the main thing is the niggun. ‘And He saw their distress when He heard their song’ (Tehillim 106:44)—‘their distress’: the Rebbe says in Torah 51 that the main thing is ‘when He heard their song’—that a person sings the prayer, that he gives the prayer a melody. Like R’ Menachem Mendel of Rimanov—he would sing the prayer. He would dance; he would see two people and dance with them. The entire prayer he would say with dancing—for several hours—through dancing. Because the main thing is song and niggun. He says that when a person sees that song and niggun, he becomes nullified with complete yearning of the soul—because of the tremendous, wondrous delight: all the delights of seeing Torah together with its melody and its dance… The Rebbe says: when I say Torah, I say it with the niggun, with the dance [Chayei Moharan 340].”

After the lesson—which lasted more than an hour—The Rav shlit"a blessed the worshippers and strengthened them. The participants then went out, as on every evening, to Ma’ariv with a great crowd, with melodies and songs, in the courtyard of the prayer hall together with The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

[caption id="attachment_51839" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, delivering a lesson to the residents of Beitar Illit[/caption]