The Daily Strengthening from Rabbi Berland, the Holy Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – "The Only Advice is Emunah (faith) and Bitachon (trust)"

Sunday, 17 Kislev 5786 – "One Must Study Gemara Every Day"

These are his holy words:

Like Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, where there was an argument between the shepherd and the owner.

The owner said to the shepherd, "Why did you run away? Why are you running? So what's the deal with the lion? What happened? Are you afraid of the lion? What?"

"I am praying, I am doing Hisbodedus (private prayer) for you so that you will have courage! So that you won't be afraid of lions!"

It would have been better if you had stayed there, you would have had a solution—it is forbidden to run away!!! You would have had a solution, you would have stumbled upon some advice on how to subdue the lion!!! To throw a stone at it, something... but you ran, so it's over, there's nothing to be done, it devoured 5 sheep.

It is written regarding Yaakov Avinu (Jacob our Father) that a lion would come out to devour 5 sheep every day, every morning and every evening.

Yaakov Avinu would perform a Bris Milah (circumcision) for them—for the lion, for the sheep—he would circumcise them, because all the sheep were later reincarnated as the grandchildren of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov—into the seventy souls; they all reincarnated into the seventy souls.

Therefore, Yaakov would study Gemara (Talmud) and Shas (the six orders of the Mishnah) with them; he studied the Ketzos HaChoshen (a classic work on Jewish civil law) with them.

One must study the Ketzos HaChoshen every day, even with the sheep; whoever has sheep should study with them.