Give Me Yavneh and Its Sages • A Lesson at the Holy Residence of Rabbi Eliezer

Shuvu Banim Activity in Yavneh — A Minyan with Niggunim — The Minyan Every Friday at the Grave of Rabban Gamliel in Yavneh ○ A Summary from the Lesson in the Home of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

“Give me Yavneh and its sages,” Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai requested. Today, in the city of Yavneh as well, the students of the Tzaddik are found—breathing new life into the city of the sages with a great light. A group of more than fifty men gathers together every Shabbos for prayers with niggunim. Even though there is not yet an established place for prayer, and the minyan moves from one Shabbos to the next, they do not let up. They continue praying with niggunim, following the path of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

Likewise, every Friday, our friends from the city of Yavneh and the surrounding area gather for a minyan with niggunim at the grave of Rabban Gamliel in Yavneh, followed by a light breakfast after the prayer. At times, the special tefillah is even joined by the esteemed chassid R’ Ofer Erez shlit"a, who sweetens the gathering with uplifting words from the Torah of Rebbe Nachman.

[caption id="attachment_54398" align="alignnone" width="1080"] R’ Ofer Erez delivering a lesson after the prayer at the grave of Rabban Gamliel in Yavneh on Fridays[/caption]

That group of residents of Yavneh merited to enter last night—Monday night, the eve of 2 Shevat—into the inner holiness, for a special lesson for this group, from The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

[caption id="attachment_54399" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, delivering a lesson to Shuvu Banim Yavneh[/caption]

The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, opened the lesson with the sugya of mustard and bees, and spoke at length about the great obligation to learn Gemara specifically with iyun (in-depth study), and to connect one’s learning to the Tzaddik. He opened to Torah 101, which speaks about learning Gemara with iyun. Along the way, he spoke about the care required in guarding one’s speech, and brought the calculation of the Chafetz Chaim—how many words a person speaks in a minute, and what that adds up to in a day. And conversely, how much a person can merit if he uses all those words for words of holiness—Torah and tefillah—thereby creating angels; and when he says “Shalom Aleichem,” he escorts all those angels.

After that, he returned to the matter of learning Gemara and said that a person was created only to take delight in Hashem, and that the purpose of all learning is to take delight in Hashem. He then spoke about the greatness of the day—1 Shevat—when all the gates of wisdom are opened, and about the abundance that will be in the time when Moshiach comes, as brought in the Midrashim of Chazal. At the conclusion of the lesson, he strengthened everyone again regarding learning Gemara with iyun, and said that a person does not understand why the yetzer hara does not weaken after he has been at the tziyun and has been by the Tzaddik. The answer is that the only thing that saves a person from the yetzer hara is learning Gemara. Even Esav, who saw miracles in the tent of his mother Rivkah, did not do teshuvah—because desires are stronger than all the miracles in the world. The only thing that weakens the yetzer hara is learning Gemara with iyun.

[caption id="attachment_54401" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, delivering a lesson to Shuvu Banim Yavneh[/caption]

After a lesson of more than half an hour, filled with powerful chizuk, The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, concluded with Kaddish and went out to Maariv with a great crowd.