A Shiur for a Group of Bochurim from a Chassidic Yeshivah at the Home of the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

On Monday, the 9th of Teves, a group of bochurim from a Chassidic yeshivah came to the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a for a special shiur in his holy residence.

At the beginning of the shiur, The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, spoke in depth from the Torah, drawing from several sugyos in Shas. Afterwards, he spoke about the culture of Yavan (Greece) that darkened the entire world—and that the fact that the world today is steeped in darkness, even without electricity, is because the culture of Yavan is spreading in the world today. He then spoke with fiery passion about the importance of learning Gemara specifically with iyun (deep analysis). He cited Rabbi Nosson, whose yahrtzeit is being marked, from Likutey Halachos, where he teaches that in our times books have multiplied—so there is no excuse not to learn today. After that, he spoke about rising early: bochurim must not get up after 6:00 in the morning. A person must strengthen himself like a lion in the service of the Creator. He also spoke about how in earlier generations, writing sefarim required literal self-sacrifice—for example, the Ketzos HaChoshen, who warmed the quill and the ink in his lap in order to write his chiddushim. He then spoke about the greatness of the day, the Tenth of Teves, and how it was then that the siege began. Later in the shiur, he told one of the stories of the Holocaust—about a wondrous miracle, of someone who managed to be saved from the Nazis’ jaws at the very last second. Toward the end of the shiur, he spoke about the blessings that Yitzchak gave to Yaakov—blessings that came from the World of Atzilus. After fifty minutes of shiur, he concluded with Kaddish and blessed the bochurim that they should merit to rise higher and higher in Torah and yiras Shamayim.