Wow: An Emotional Conversation During the Visit of Rav Badani shlit"a to the

The Gaon Rabbi Shimon Bedani, Rosh Kollel Torah VeChaim in Bnei Brak and member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, arrived yesterday for an emotional visit to the holy residence of the Tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a. Rav Bedani arrived with the stated purpose of receiving a blessing for shidduchim for his grandchildren. During the meeting, an interesting conversation developed between these holy luminaries, filled with words of Torah and insights, which we will now bring before you.

Rav Bedani and Rav Berland spoke about the Rav of Brisk, with Rav Berland saying, "The main thing is after the age of 20 (the difficulty in persevering in Torah study), because until the age of 20, everyone studies."

During the conversation, Rav Bedani told our teacher, Rav Berland, about the great sorrow he feels that in our generation there are hundreds of young men and women who are delayed in finding their soulmates and do not find their match until a late age. He expressed his strong desire to address this problem and requested the advice and blessing of Rav Berland to establish a shidduch office that would look after the young men and women of Israel.

"Rav Bedani wants to open a shidduch office," said the assistant of Rav Bedani shlit"a.

It is precisely the blessings of Bilaam that are accepted

Rav Berland answers: "This is the blessing of Bilaam; the blessings of Bilaam are fulfilled, while the blessings of Moshe were not fulfilled. The blessings of Bilaam were fulfilled because he is the Satan, he is the Angel of Death. Hashem arranged that the blessings for shidduchim and for the yeshivot should be spoken by Bilaam - so that if there is any accusation, they can say (to the accuser, to Bilaam, to the Satan), 'You yourself blessed them; you cannot retract it,' as it is written, 'Once he has spoken, he does not retract his words.'"

Rav Bedani was surprised by this, and Rav Berland continued to explain: "Hashem arranged for Bilaam to bless us, 'How good are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael' (Bamidbar 24:5); with this, the prayer begins."

Yaakov receives the blessings in the guise of Esav

Rav Berland says: "Why did Hashem not reveal to Yitzchak that it was Yaakov? Because He wanted Yaakov to receive the blessings in the guise of Esav. You received the blessings in the guise of Esav, what do you want? Yitzchak (so to speak) blessed Esav, not Yaakov. The simple interpretation is that Yitzchak did not know it was Yaakov who came to receive the blessings, as the verse says, 'And Yaakov approached Yitzchak his father, and he felt him, and he said, "The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Esav"' (Bereishit 27:22); in his mind, he was blessing Esav. There has been a debate among the commentators for three thousand years whether Yitzchak knew or did not know that he was blessing Yaakov."

Rav Bedani says: "Yitzchak knew immediately!"

The reality of Yisrael is heavenly

Rav Berland answers: "It is written, 'The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Esav.' And he continues, 'The difference between the blessings of Yaakov and those of Esav is that for Esav, he blessed, "And Yitzchak his father answered and said to him, 'Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be your dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above'" (ibid. 27:39). The dew is from the fatness of the earth; this is an earthly blessing. But for Yaakov, the reality is heavenly: "And may God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and an abundance of grain and wine" (ibid. 28). Even the physical is spiritual, because if a person eats a piece of cake in order to study Torah, then it is spiritual.'"

The holiness of thought is important for the birth of righteous children

Rav Berland continues: "Torah study builds the mind, and children come from the mind; Hashem wants there to be a mind of Torah. Rabbi Meir asks Elisha ben Avuyah how it is possible that this happened to him (one of the students, Rav Yosef by name, added that Elisha ben Avuyah, known as 'Acher', denied the fundamentals, Bavli Kiddushin 39b)? A person who knew the entire Pardes of Torah—Pshat, Remez, Drash, and Sod—there was nothing he did not know, so how did he become so confused? He answered him, 'Better is the end of a thing than its beginning' (Kohelet 7:8), meaning if the beginning is good, the end will be good, and with Elisha, the beginning was not good. Because Avuyah was the greatest merchant in Jerusalem, and he wanted his son to be a bank manager."

Why the Rav wears a tallit even at night

Rav Berland explains the matter of the tallit at night: "We must mention the exodus from Egypt even at night ('Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said, "I am like a man of seventy years, and I did not merit that the exodus from Egypt be mentioned at night, until Ben Zoma expounded it, as it is said: 'That you may remember the day you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life' (Devarim 16:3); 'the days of your life'—the days, 'all the days of your life'—the nights." Berachot 12b)."

Rav, when will Mashiach come?!

Rav Bedani with the question of all questions: "When is Mashiach? When, Rav?"

Rav Berland: "Immediately after the Seder night."

Rav Bedani: "This year? This year?"

Rav Berland: "Yes. 5779 (Tash"at) is exactly the gematria of 'u'veviat Mashiach' (and with the arrival of Mashiach)."

Rav Bedani: "Then we must prepare for it, we must prepare."

Rav Berland shows him the gematria calculation and says, '779 is the year!'

It is mandatory to mention the halachic ruling of Rav Bedani:

"Whoever speaks against Rav Berland will receive Gehenom."