A Special Lesson for ‘Shuvu Banim Be’er Sheva’ at the Home of the Gaon HaTzaddik

Shuvu Banim Activity in Be'er Sheva ○ Summary of the Lesson

An eye-catching sign greets those arriving at Bloch St. in Be'er Sheva: "Synagogue of the Breslov Chassidim Community of Be'er Sheva for the salvation and success of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a." Indeed, even in the capital of the south, there is a special minyan every Shabbat of Breslov Chassidim that illuminates the entire area. While there is no regular weekday activity other than occasional lessons by prominent members of our community, students of our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a, the place is bustling on Shabbat. Forty worshippers, thank Hashem, arrive every Shabbat to the synagogue named after our holy Rebbe, and they pray with vitality and melodies, a combination of the prayer melodies of our teacher the Rav shlit"a along with traditional melodies practiced in the place. On Shabbat morning after the prayer, a Kiddush and a lesson on the Tales of the Rebbe are held by the esteemed Rabbi Avraham HaLevi, one of the local rabbis, and Seudah Shlishit is also held there every Shabbat with melodies by our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a, songs, and dances.

The place does not rest on its laurels; the miraculous phenomenon in every branch of Shuvu Banim in the country repeats itself also in the synagogue in Be'er Sheva; there are always new people drawing close and new people interested in the outreach project, as from time to time students of our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a—the esteemed Rabbi Shalom Arush, the esteemed Rabbi Moshe Tzanani, the esteemed Rabbi Ofer Erez, and others—arrive to deliver Torah lessons here.

Our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a at a lesson for Shuvu Banim Be'er Sheva

The members of the 'Shuvu Banim Be'er Sheva' community and those drawing close were privileged to enter the inner sanctum for a special lesson by Rav Berland shlit"a.

In the lesson, our teacher the Rav spoke about the matter of the burial of Rachel Imeinu, who was buried on the roadside. And about the fact that Yosef the Tzaddik asked his father, "Why did you bury her in the middle of the road? Could you not have buried her within the settlement?" However, Yaakov Avinu told him, "Do not think that I could not have buried her within the settlement; I could have, but I buried her at this point 'by the word' [of Hashem] literally." And our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a explained that today we see that if Yaakov Avinu had buried her inside Bethlehem, and not on the roadside, the People of Israel would not have been able to come in their masses as they do today.