A Lesson in the Home of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland for Shuvu

Our community members (Anshei Shlomeinu) and those drawing closer from the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo merited to enter the presence of our teacher, the Rav (Rabbi Berland) shlit"a (may he live long and good days). This refers to the community that prays at the 'Ichud Shivat Zion' synagogue at 86 Ben Yehuda Street, who gather every Wednesday to hear the fascinating lesson of the Chassidic Rabbi, Rav Ofer Erez shlit"a. Our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, delivered a lesson to the group for about forty minutes; before you is a summary of the lesson:

The Rav shlit"a began the lesson regarding the Torah portion of Korach and asked why his lineage is traced back to Izhar. He then moved on to discuss the matter of "a Moabite [man] but not a Moabite [woman]" (the law regarding conversion and marriage), citing the words of the Gemara (Talmud) regarding Doeg, who said to King Saul: "Before you check if he is from the house of Perez or the house of Zerah, check if he is even a Jew at all." This continued until Amasa ben Jether thrust a sword into the Beis Medrash (study hall) and declared: "This is the tradition I have received from the court of Samuel of Ramah—an Ammonite [man] but not an Ammonite [woman], a Moabite [man] but not a Moabite [woman]." Later, he spoke about the matter of the Spies, as mentioned in the Sefarim HaKedoshim (holy books), explaining that the Spies were from the foundation (Yesod) of Ima (the Mother/higher spiritual source)—Rachel—while Joshua and Caleb were from the foundation of Leah. Moving from one topic to another, the Rav shlit"a branched out in the lesson and spoke about the well-known question: why do we celebrate Pesach (Passover) and Succos (Tabernacles) at separate times, even though during the Exodus from Egypt they occurred at the same time? He answered that in order to enter the Succah, one needs Yom Kippur for the forgiveness of sins. He also spoke about the matter of Miriam the Prophetess speaking about Moses, and he offered encouragement regarding the importance of Torah study. He cited the Gemara in Taanit regarding the Amoraim (Talmudic sages) who would receive greetings of "Shalom" from Heaven. During this, he spoke about the holiness of the home. The Rav shlit"a concluded the lesson with the Gemara in Menachos on page 69—regarding the topic of an Egyptian basket that swallowed an elephant—and explained the entire subject in great detail.