It Is Possible to Learn Only When the Prayer Is Accepted

On the night of Wednesday, Parshat Eikev 5778, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a arrived at the home of the Buchbut family on Adani Street in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Rav shlit"a held a public reception there, as crowds arrived in the neighborhood to welcome the tzaddik.

The holy words of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

"They were inside the desire, therefore they died"

"And it shall come to pass, because (eikev) you hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Hashem your G-d shall keep with you the covenant" (Deuteronomy 7:12) – One must emerge from the blemishes of the covenant, to overcome this desire. Everyone died in the graves of desire – because they were inside the desire, therefore they died; all the six hundred thousand died. Reb Noson says that they were inside the desire; consequently, they failed with the spies, they failed with the golden calf, because everything starts with a person not eradicating this desire, he does not repel it, he does not fight against it. If he does not fight against it, he will inevitably fall with the spies, with the golden calf, and now we are repeating all of history, "And at Tav'erah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah" (Deuteronomy 9:22)."

"Only if he screams the prayer and dances with all his might can he emerge from the blemishes of the covenant"

"The Rebbe says, 'And it shall come to pass, because (eikev) you hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Hashem your G-d shall keep with you the covenant,' that only if a person jumps will he emerge from the blemishes of the covenant – one must jump in dance. 'And they cried out to G-d with might' (Jonah 3:8). If he is quiet, he cannot emerge from the blemishes of the covenant; only if he screams the prayer and dances with all his might, with all 248 limbs and 365 sinews, with his entire stature. The Rebbe says, 'And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads' (Isaiah 35:10), 'You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their corn and their wine increased' (Psalms 4:8), that the joy should be in the heart, in the head, in the limbs, in the hands, in the feet, in the fingers, in every place."

"It is only possible to learn when the prayer is accepted"

"A person needs to dance every day for several hours until the joy enters all 248 limbs and 365 sinews, and then 'And it shall come to pass, because (eikev),' that he makes his heels (akevayim) jump, he jumps up to the roof; one must break through the ceiling with dances. The main thing is the screams and the melodies, 'And He saw their distress, when He heard their cry' (Psalms 106:44). If a person does not sing the prayer, it is not accepted; in the end, he also cannot learn, because it is only possible to learn when the prayer is accepted. Therefore, the entire Torah is alluded to in the verse 'And it shall come to pass, because (eikev) you hearken'."

The words of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a were edited from the 'Shavei Or' pamphlet.

Photo gallery of the home gathering at the Buchbut family home

The photos are courtesy of Shachar Eliyahu