What Is Breslov Really? How Do You Merit to Truly Be a Breslov Chassid? The Daily Strengthening from our teacher, the holy Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

Tuesday, 10 Nissan 5785 — “Swift in His Work” — This Is the Study of Gemara

People come to Breslov, they come to Shuvu Banim, in order to know that the entire foundation of Rebbe Nachman is the study of Gemara.

Rebbe Nachman says in Torah 1 that through Torah, prayers and requests are accepted.

A person sees that he is praying for a shidduch, praying about this…, and he doesn’t understand: Why isn’t his prayer accepted immediately? Because he is not learning Gemara!!

For the prayer to be accepted right away, he needs to learn Gemara! He needs to learn with iyun—the Rebbe says—to understand what he is learning!

Rebbe Nachman says: a mind that is swift and sharp—not just any mind. You need a swift, sharp mind, and if not, then there is no point in coming.

If a person doesn’t have a swift and sharp mind…, Breslov is not about pampering yourself or going out on vacation. “It’s hard in yeshivah to learn Gemara, so I’ll go to Breslov—there they’re exempt from learning Gemara.” It’s exactly the opposite: he falls from the frying pan into the fire, thinking he has been freed from learning Gemara.

So here the Rebbe says you need a swift and sharp mind—not just any mind—because “Have you seen a man swift in his work,” a verse in Mishlei. “Swift in his work” means the study of Gemara. You came to Breslov—and you fell from the frying pan into the fire.

It truly pains me that such a disaster happened to you, but what can be done? And know that each and every person—according to the shining forth of his mochin (higher awareness)—and mochin come only through learning Gemara. The mind is built from learning Gemara.