As a part of the set of shiurim for supporters of the Beit HaMidrash, on last Monday, Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan the first group of supporters who will enter in the coming weeks merited to come to the home of Rav Berland shlit”a for a special shiur.
In the shiur, which lasted for more than forty minutes, our Rebbe Rav Berland shlit”a first spoke about the subject of Miriam’s well and afterwards gave a shiur from the holy book “Etz Chaim” about the “Shin,” that Rabbi Akiva expounded the crowns on the letters in Tefilin. Amongst his words, he spoke about the zodiac of Cheshvan – Akrav/Scorpio, that to this King Rechavam alluded when he said, “I will chastise you with scorpions,” that he wanted to bring down a Temple of fire in the zodiac of Scorpio. Afterwards, he spoke about the sugya “Yakir” in Baba Batra, and likewise about the subject of a dying man, if a person can, in spite of having both his simanim cut, write a bill of divorce and engage a woman in his situation, the Rav bringing the different interpretations of this. Afterwards, he returned to the subject of Rabbi Akiva, that he revealed the secret of the Shin in Tefilin. The Rav also spoke about why sometimes “Akiva” is written with an alef at the end and sometimes with a heh. Here is an excerpt from the shiur:
“Therefore, it’s written “Vayikra” – a small alef, that only if a person is a small alef, then it’s “Vayikra,” then it’s a small alef. Alef is 111, “small – zeira” is 288. 288 and 111 (alef) is 399 – this is the numerical value of “Rabbi Akiva” with a heh. We write Rabbi Akiva with an alef. The alef he received when they scraped him with iron combs – he went up a level. Before they called him Rabbi Akiva – he was “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the straight of heart” – this is the numerical value of Rabbi Akiva with a heh, but we write Akiva with an alef. Rabbi Akiva went up a level from heh to alef after they scraped him with iron combs. Then he revealed such secrets that no man – even Moshe Rabbeinu – didn’t reveal!”
Afterwards, the Rav continued with words of kabbalah and the secrets of the Torah from “Etz Chaim” and concluded with that Hashem said to Moshe that he would come in reincarnation in Rabbi Akiva, and through iron combs merit to ascend above the Heichal Ahava (Chamber of Love), to the Heichal Ratzon (Chamber of Divine Favor), which is the matter of the third Shabbat meal, that then Moshe Rabbeinu passed away.
