The daily strengthening from The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a — “Mesillas Yesharim is the ABCs of how a person must conduct himself: a person is forbidden to take his mind off the Gemara for even a second”

“Then you will delight in Hashem” (Isaiah 58:14) “Behold, in iniquity I was formed, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:7) “They saw their bundles of money—they and their father—and they were afraid” (Genesis 42:35)

Wednesday, 1 Adar 5783 — “Wherever I go, the Gemara is in my hand”

These are his holy words:

The whole point is that a person should have pleasure from learning—this is the meaning of “Then you will delight in Hashem” (Isaiah 58:14): a person was created to delight in Hashem. Rabbi Nosson brings this in Likkutei Halachos; it is the first chapter of Mesillas Yesharim (by the Ramchal).

The Beis Yisrael (Rabbi Yisrael Alter; 24 Tishrei 5655, October 24, 1894 – 2 Adar 5737, February 20, 1977; the fourth Rebbe of Gur) would learn Mesillas Yesharim while traveling to Bnei Brak. He would say: even though I am the Rebbe of Gur, I still must learn Mesillas Yesharim.

A person needs to open Mesillas Yesharim and learn it. It is the ABCs of conduct—of mussar—which says: a person is forbidden to take his mind off the Gemara for even a second. From age 13 he already does not take his mind off the Gemara; he walks with the Gemara in his hand.

Everywhere—with the Gemara in hand. Wherever I go—today it’s Ketzos HaChoshen, but then (before the Ketzos was published) it was the Gemara. You don’t move without the Gemara: another sugya and another sugya.

When you learn while on the road, the mind opens more. In learning on the road, every second you are in a new world. Every second you are already in new worlds; with every step you enter a new accumulation.

Moshe received the entire Torah together with all the chiddushim. In Torah 101, Rebbe Nachman says that one must learn with iyun (deep study). There are those who say that Breslov is about just “girsah” (racing through learning)—that is not true. Rabbi Shik said to do girsah, but that is not true; Rebbe Nachman says that Breslov is only through learning with iyun.

This is a complete teaching in Likkutei Moharan 101, besides other places. Rebbe Nachman says there are “three hollow chambers of the brain”—three brain-circuits—through learning Gemara. And if it is not learning Gemara, then the mind cannot stand up against desires; the desires are stronger.

Even Esav, who saw that his mother’s candle never went out—Esav from age zero saw that his mother’s candle never went out. His mother married at age 3; at age 23 she gave birth to him; and she lived until age 133 like Kehat. So for 110 years he saw by his mother that her candle never went out. He saw miracles and wonders; he saw a cloud over the tent.

He sees that she makes a meal for 10 people—suddenly 100 people arrive and the food is enough for 100. Even the dough makes bread for 100; a thousand arrive and it is enough for a thousand—Esav sees miracles and it doesn’t help. Miracles do not subdue the yetzer hara—only learning Gemara does.

People ask: But we were in Uman, we were in this and that—so why didn’t the yetzer hara weaken? Because “Behold, in iniquity I was formed, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:7).

Now we need 120 years to fight the yetzer hara: “They saw their bundles of money—they and their father—and they were afraid” (Genesis 42:35). Because the impurity at birth clings to the child for his entire life; therefore he cannot learn, he cannot pray—because the impurity is stuck to him.