A Lesson from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a for Bochurim from Lithuanian Yeshivot

About fifty bochurim from the leading Lithuanian yeshivot in central Eretz Yisrael entered for a special lesson, deep within the holy inner chambers ■ A fiery, blazing lesson on learning the Gemara in depth ■ Singing: “It is a great mitzvah to always sharpen the mind” with our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a

The number of bochurim from Lithuanian yeshivot who have drawn close in recent years to the light of our holy Rebbe—Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a—and in the path of our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, totals several hundred precious bochurim—may they increase. They continue to diligently labor in their learning in the very finest Lithuanian yeshivot in the Holy Land. About fifty of those yeshivah bochurim—among them many from the most elite yeshivot in the Lithuanian yeshivah world—merited to enter deep within the holy inner chambers for a fiery, blazing lesson in the home of our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a on the importance of learning the Gemara specifically in depth, as our holy Rebbe taught.

Our teacher shlit"a read from Likkutei Moharan in Torah 105, that everything depends on Torah study when one understands one matter from another and combines and connects the letters of the Torah. Our teacher also read to the bochurim who are drawing close from Torah 62, where Rebbe Nachman writes: “It is a great mitzvah to sharpen the mind, to understand the matter clearly.” Our teacher strengthened the bochurim that even though they merited to draw close to the light of our holy Rebbe and to Breslov, they must strengthen themselves even more, with greater intensity and greater might, and not miss the yeshivah schedules, and in his holy words: “A person thinks he came to Breslov to rest; he needs to know—the opposite: ‘He fell from the frying pan into the fire…’ Now he needs to learn twelve hours of Gemara…” He also spoke about the virtue of Torah study during bein hazmanim: “Specifically during bein hazmanim, alongside the fact that one needs to rest—because learning Gemara is the thing that strains the mind the most—but whoever merits to use the time can learn double the usual, as the Chazon Ish said. Because during the time there are the yeshivah schedules, but during bein hazmanim one can learn both by day and by night…”

[caption id="attachment_49674" align="alignleft" width="300"] Our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a in a lesson for bochurim from Lithuanian yeshivot[/caption]

After more than half an hour of fiery, blazing words about the greatness and the obligation of learning Torah in depth, our teacher shlit"a began to sing with the bochurim, “It is a great mitzvah to always sharpen the mind…” for several minutes, with enthusiasm and awakening, and concluded with Kaddish. Afterwards, he blessed the bochurim that they should rise higher and higher, and have success in all matters. Immediately at the end of the lesson, the strengthened bochurim went out straight to the Ma’ariv prayer, with a great crowd, together with our teacher in the courtyard of the prayer hall.