On Wednesday night, the 11th of Elul, a group of our community in the city of Modi'in Illit entered into the inner sanctum for a shiur from Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

The Rav shlit"a opened the shiur with the topic of Parshas Ki Savo, and asked: Is this really what we are meant to remember about Miriam—after she saved all of Am Yisrael and was not afraid of Pharaoh—that we should remember that Miriam spoke lashon hara? Afterward, he spoke about Calev and Yehoshua, who were saved from the counsel of the spies because they stood on a higher level in the Sefiros of Kabbalah. He then continued with the order of the Sefiros and their hidden secrets, and he strengthened everyone regarding the matter of kedushah, which is the Sefirah of Yesod. Later in the shiur, he spoke about Torah 85 in Likkutei Moharan Tinyana, from the secret of “Through Luz one enters the House of G-d.” He then discussed what is said about the “d”a”—“lo yagur,” and that this is exactly two hundred and thirty years during which Edom ruled over Israel.

In the midst of his words, the Rav shlit"a strengthened everyone about learning Gemara, and said that a person comes into the world to search for his mission, and this is only through learning Gemara. The Rav also spoke about how Pharaoh said to Moshe, “Who and who are going?”—and that this equals (in gematria) Calev and Bin Nun, who were the only ones who would enter the Land. He also spoke about the secret of Miriam’s rock: the moment it split open, all the rocks in the world split open, and water, honey, and oil flowed from them. Toward the end of the shiur, the Rav shlit"a strengthened everyone even more about learning Gemara—that through learning Gemara a person merits to elevate his prayer.