"I Used to Learn with the Steipler…" — from 'Megillas Esther – Breslov'

Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a recounts the chavrusa he had with Maran, the author of Kehillos Yaakov zt"l

The long-standing, many-year bond between The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, and Maran, the author of Kehillos Yaakov—the Steipler zt"l—is well known. In a shiur delivered years ago in honor of the festival of Purim, The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, speaks about those days in the home of the Gadol HaDor. “I used to learn with the Steipler every day from one o’clock until three. During the break I had nothing to do, so I would sit with him and actually learn real sugyos. I would ask him questions in Choshen Mishpat, in halachah, and we would learn from the beginning of the sugya all the way to the poskim—clarifying the matter according to the final halachah. I bought his apartment on Rashbam Street, and he wanted me to move in on Rosh Chodesh Nissan so I would have time to prepare for Pesach. But his apartment still wasn’t ready, so he went to live by his daughter, Barzan—she was a widow. I also used to learn with Rabbi Barzan every Friday night. During bein hazmanim a person needs to learn double what he learns during the regular time. The whole point of bein hazmanim is so that a person will learn double. Because in yeshivah there is a mashgiach: if a bochur was awake at night, he was obligated to come to yeshivah—he doesn’t go to sleep. So he’s tired all day, and then he starts fighting with the mashgiach. You don’t say to a mashgiach, ‘Who are you? You won’t tell us what to do…!’ That’s chutzpah—and it’s the worst thing! Everything that Achashverosh killed Vashti for was because she spoke to him with chutzpah, saying that he doesn’t know how to drink. A person needs to learn b’iyun with Ketzos HaChoshen. On Purim we rectify Haman. Through learning Ketzos HaChoshen, a Choshen Mishpat kollel will yet be opened here, where they will sit and learn b’iyun.”

The shiur was delivered from “Megillas Esther Breslov.” It can be obtained at the bookstand of R’ Aharon Shoshan outside the prayer hall, 14 Ido HaNavi Street, and also at the Ein Yaakov bookstore.