The Secret of Building the Beis HaMikdash: The Power of Gemara Study and Humility

Lesson No. 257 | Cassette Archive No. 257 Thursday Morning, Parashas Eikev, 16 Menachem Av 5760 - In the Yeshiva Friday Morning, Parashas Eikev, 17 Menachem Av 5760 - In the Yeshiva, Lesson 1

Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a explains that a person's purpose is to refine their body and expand their da'as (spiritual awareness) through intensive Gemara study, which is the true foundation for building the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) and for Chassidus. Through this da'as, one attains true humility and lowliness, just as Mishael and Eltzafan did, through whom the portion of Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover) was revealed.

A person descends into this world and must spend one hundred and twenty years refining their body, so that perhaps their soul will be revealed. The body is something that is hard to imagine, even in one's wildest imagination, the situations it can reach. Therefore, a person must constantly engage in expanding their mind and da'as. The way to do this is to immerse one's mind in the study of Gemara.

The Sole Purpose: Gemara Study

There are people who open all sorts of groups, invent methods, dance, and hug all day, but they abandon the main thing. This yeshiva was opened solely to study Torah. There is no method here, no flag, and no special agenda—simply to learn Gemara.

Some mistakenly think that studying Gemara contradicts the path of Breslov Chassidus. This is an absolute mistake! Before one studies and knows the entire Shas (Talmud) thoroughly, there is simply no Chassidus. It is impossible to be humble and possess lowliness if one lacks intellect. How can a person be humble if they have no da'as? A person must learn Gemara, Rashi, Tosafos, Ramban, Rashba, and Rambam.

My role is not to be an askan (community activist), a politician, a shidduch (marriage match) maker, or a real estate agent. My role is only to bring people to learn Gemara for eight hours a day, and to strive to reach sixteen hours as well. Every letter in the Gemara draws another person. Only the letters of the Gemara draw people, not activism or advertisements.

Building the Beis HaMikdash Depends on Da'as

The Gemara illuminates a person like the sun. The moment a person learns Gemara, their intellect shines from one end of the world to the other. This is how the Beis HaMikdash is built! The building of the Beis HaMikdash is not constructed by opponents or loyalists, but rather through the study of Gemara.

Everyone, according to how much they engage in expanding their mind and da'as through study, is correspondingly engaged in building the Beis HaMikdash. Because the main aspect of building the Beis HaMikdash is da'as. A person who does not learn Gemara simply degenerates; they speak nonsense, become jealous, persecute others, all their words are irrelevant, and they also lack Siyata Dishmaya (Heavenly assistance).

In contrast, one who learns merits a quick and sharp mind, about which it is said:

"Do you see a man quick in his work? He will stand before kings" (Proverbs 22:29).

"Quick in his work"—this refers to Gemara study, which grants a person a quick and sharp mind in building the Beis HaMikdash, and in the merit of this, they attain greatness and royalty, corresponding to the illumination of their mind.

The Secret of Mishael and Eltzafan's Humility

When we speak about humility, the Agra D'Kallah explains a wondrous novel insight on the verse:

"And there were men who were ritually impure from a human corpse, and they could not perform the Passover offering on that day" (Numbers 9:6).

Who were these men? They were Mishael and Eltzafan, the sons of Uzziel, the cousins of Aharon HaKohen. They burned like a flaming fire for Hashem, just like Nadav and Avihu. When Nadav and Avihu passed away on the first of Nissan, Hashem commanded Moshe to call specifically upon Mishael and Eltzafan to carry the bodies of their brethren outside the camp.

At that moment, Mishael and Eltzafan realized that they were about to become ritually impure and would not be able to offer the Passover sacrifice. They asked themselves: "Why should we be deprived? Why did Hashem reject us and command specifically us to take them? It must be that we are truly impure people, the most impure in the entire camp of Israel, and therefore we are the only ones unworthy of offering the Passover sacrifice."

Specifically because they reached such a state of soul-crushing despair, such absolute lowliness and self-nullification—they merited that the halachah (Jewish law) of Pesach Sheni would be revealed through them. At that moment, they reached a level of humility even greater than that of Moshe Rabbeinu, and this was the cause of the revelation.

May we truly merit the Passover sacrifice and the building of the Beis HaMikdash speedily in our days in the blink of an eye, Amen.

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