Before you is the full daily lesson as delivered by our teacher Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – last week, Thursday, Parshas Yitro, the night of the 23rd of Shevat, after the Maariv (evening) prayer:

"Today is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Reb Simcha Aryeh Halperin, the father of the entire Halperin family, who used to say Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals) for a full hour. And at the wedding of Yitzchak, who married Gul—at his wedding—there was a very wealthy man who wanted to give a hundred dollars, maybe a thousand. He called him, and he didn't answer; he called again, and he didn't answer. He asked, 'Why isn't he answering?' [They told him:] He is in the middle of Birkat HaMazon. Five times he called like this, and they just said 'Birkat HaMazon.' [The wealthy man said:] 'A full hour for Birkat HaMazon?! If that's the case, he receives [funding for] the entire wedding.' He paid for the whole wedding, in the merit of Birkat HaMazon, because it brings down the shefa (divine abundance). And now we are in the 'portion' of the hostages, just as Achinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite were among the captives. David turned to Biden, to Macron; they said they would make every effort to release them, and eventually said there was great progress. David waited a month, two months, and nothing moved. He went to Qatar; they told him, 'Return Jerusalem, release ten thousand terrorists.' David didn't agree to anything. He went in against the ten thousand—ten thousand 'innocents,' 'uninvolved'—they only found their DNA; they didn't find bodies or ashes anymore. Only through the DNA did they see it was ten thousand. Tomorrow there is a trial in The Hague; everyone is invited to come to the trial."