Everyone who enters our Beit Midrash Shuvu Banim on Ido HaNavi 14, under the home of our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a, cannot ignore the voice of Torah and simchah which don’t stop for a single moment – 24 hours of Torah learning along with prayers and dancing. Sitting there are Torah scholars, avreichim (kollel students), from the young students who just recently completed their learning in yeshiva schools, to older ones who merited to see the establishment of Shuvu Banim – all of them involved in Torah. Not everyone knows, but behind those same avreichim is an on-site kollel which encourages the avreichim who sit with self-sacrifice, from Chatzot until the Maariv prayer together with the Rav shlit”a.
The avreichim merited to enter the home of the Rav shlit”a for a shiur on Wednesday, the night of 1 16 Marcheshvan, before the Maariv prayer. The Rav shlit”a began the shiur with the subject of the nullification to Avraham by Aner, Mamrei, and Eshkol, who agreed for him to circumcise them and didn’t fear the four kings, as is brought in Midrashim.
Afterwards, he spoke about Yocheved and Miriam who didn’t fear Pharaoh, and continued to deliver the children of the Jewish people. In spite of his sending people to kill them, they didn’t find them – “He made them houses” – that he turned them into houses themselves. Afterwards, he spoke about the might of Yosef HaTzaddik and his descendents, like Menashe who conquered Chavot Yair. Afterwards, he spoke about Shimshon, that the angel came to his mother to warn them to behave in holiness, saying that all the children’s education is dependent on the mother. He then said that Shimshon was supposed to be Mashiach ben David. He also spoke about the Tzaddik of the generation, who has the power to take a person out of impurity.
Afterwards, the Rav shlit”a spoke about the parashah, and the test of Avraham of listening to his wife by throwing Yishmael out of the house. He also spoke about a novelty that he heard, that Sarah died because of the word of the angel, that she thought that Yitzchak didn’t want to die in the binding, saying, “What? My child doesn’t want to die for the sanctification of Hashem’s name?” Therefore, she passed away.
Afterwards, the Rav spoke about Rabbi Akiva and his wife, the daughter of Kalba Savua, speaking about the greatness of Rabbi Akiva, that Moshe said that the Torah should be given through him. The Rav concluded with the story that Kalba Savua came to Rabbi Akiva to nullify his vow, and didn’t know that he was his son-in-law. After fifty minutes of words of Torah that were sweeter than honey, the Rav concluded with Kaddish and blessed the avreichim with everything good.
