On last Monday, the night of 20 Marcheshvan, a group of residents of the city of Holon merited to enter the home of our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a for a shiur. The group are students of Rav Berland shlit”a who merited to draw close through his talmid, Rav Ofer Erez shlit”a, who strengthens them and gives over to them shiurim in the great teshuva revolution in the city of Holon.
In the shiur, Rav Berland shlit”a spoke about how a new Daf Yomi cycle of the Talmud Yerushalmi has begun, and about the inner significance that there is in learning Yerushalmi, and about learning Gemara in depth. Below is an excerpt from his words:
“Now, they are beginning Yerushalmi, on the story of Rabbi Akiva — combs of iron. The whole story of the Yerushalmi is combs of iron, that Rabbi Akiva merited to combs of iron. Because the whole Yerushalmi joins together the Tablets. Therefore, we learn the Yerushalmi to join together the Tablets. A person comes into the world to learn Yerushalmi. Now they’re beginning to learn the Yerushalmi. The Lev Simchah [Rebbe Simcha Bunim Alter of Gur] instituted the [Daf-Yomi in] Yerushalmi. We are obligated to learn Yerushalmi every day, one daf, then we finish this in four and a half years. Eight daf of Gemara [Bavli] is a year. Then there is ‘In the beginning [G-d] created,’ but the first thing is Gemara learning. The Rebbe says this is the Rishonim and Achronim. It’s written in Yoreh Deah [that] you need to learn Rishonim and Achronim, the Rosh, the Rif. There is a complete list, that people don’t about this. Outside of Shuvu Banim, no one knows this halacha…”
The Rav shlit”a explained from Likutey Halachot in Yoreh Deah the matter of Yosef HaTzaddik. The Rav also spoke about the matter of the day — the elections, and about the great victory that was with Hashem’s kindness. Afterwards, he spoke about the parashah and connected this to the discussion of whether a brother can marry off (betroth) his minor sister, and what is the effectiveness of this betrothal, like in the case of Lavan with Rivka. Afterwards, he spoke about how Yosef had in his heart resentment towards Yaakov, that he didn’t bury Rachel in the city, rather on the main road. The Rav shlit”a explained in his way that everything was according to G-d’s command, because if it had been another 100 meters, within the city, to enter would require self-sacrifice, like Yosef’s grave in Shechem. Afterwards, he spoke about the death of Yaakov and the miracles that the Chashmonaim had during Chanukah.
At the end of the shiur, the Rav shlit”a returned to the subject of the minor sister who was betrothed without her father’s approval, and when her father protested after she was already married, and he explained from Nofet Tzufim from the Teshuvot of the Ranach the conclusion of the sugya according to halacha. After nearly fifty minutes of a fiery shiur, the Rav concluded with Kaddish and the participants went out to the courtyard of the Prayer Hall for the Maariv prayer with the Rav shlit”a.
