“Sisu V’Simchu B’Simchat HaTorah” – Full Coverage from Tu B’Av Torah Scroll Dedication with R’ Berland Shlit”a

August 17, 2022

Torah Scroll written especially at the request of Rav Berland shlit”a
Writing of final letters of Torah
Torah scroll procession through streets of Jerusalem
Ma’ariv, singing and dancing along with Admor of Spinka in honor of Torah
Photo gallery

“There never were such good days for Israel like the fifteenth of Av,” the Mishnah in Taanit says, and how fitting it is that when our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a gave instructions to dedicate to the Beit Midrash Shuvu Banim on Tu B’Av evening a new Torah scroll in honor of the souls of the Ten Martyrs and for the elevation of the holy souls of those murdered during the Holocaust between the years 5699-5705 (1939-1945), thousands from the Shuvu Banim community merited to fulfill the Rav’s instruction.

On Tu B’Av evening, the Rabbis of the community entered Rav Berland’s holy dwelling with a new Torah scroll in their hands for the event of finishing the writing of the final letters of the Torah scroll. In the living room of his home, the Rav shlit”a wrote the last letter of “in the eyes of all Israel,” and afterwards the Rabbis of the community continued and finished additional letters.

At the conclusion of the writing of the letters in the holy home of Rav Berland shlit”a on Rechov HaHoma HaShlishit, the procession set out at 7:30 pm with great beauty and splendor while thousands of men, women and children escorted the new Torah scroll with singing and dancing. The procession passed through HaHoma HaShlishit, Shivtey Yisrael, Shomrei Emunim, Meah Shearim, and Ido HaNavi streets. Meanwhile, many Jews not associated with the community also stopped their affairs to come and rejoice with the Torah, to dance with all their strength before the new Torah scroll which entered our Beit Midrash.

Torah scroll procession in the streets of Jerusalem

Only at 9:30 pm did the procession reach the street of our Beit Midrash, and after several minutes of joyful dancing in honor of the Torah, the Rav shlit”a came out on the balcony of his home for the Maariv prayer at 9:40 and began with the song “Or Zaruah L’Tzaddik” as is his custom before Maariv. Afterwards was Maariv with vitality and fervor. After Maariv, the Rav began to give over a shiur about the greatness of the day – Tu B’Av. Below is a short excerpt from the shiur:

“So today is the fifteenth of Av, the greatest day of the year, greater than Yom Kippur, in which the daughters of Israel would go out and dance in the vineyards, like on Yom Kippur. Then how on Yom Kippur are they dancing in vineyards? [On] Yom Kippur, we need to sit on the ground and cry and request forgiveness for all our sins. Rather, says the Yerushalmi, also in chapter six of Yoma, also in chapter nine of Shabbat, that every woman would hang her red scarf, and immediately it would turn white. When she lit the candles, it already became white. Everyone put their red garment on the window, and already everything turned to white as snow – “If your sins will be like crimson, they will turn white like snow…”

The Rav continued to talk about the greatness of the day, connected this to additional words of Torah and Aggadah, words of the Living G-d.

Rav Berland shlit”a receives the new Torah scroll in his holy hands and begins dancing after Maariv

After the shiur which continued for almost 15 minutes with fiery fervor, they began with the song “Sisu v’simchu b’simchat haTorah (Rejoice with the joy of the Torah)” with dancing in honor of the Torah with Rav Berland shlit”a, who stood on his balcony, grasping the new Torah scroll, skipping and dancing with all his strength in honor of the Torah like a young man and like King David in his time before the Ark of Hashem. And the community – more than a thousand people who came from all ends of Israel to take part in the Torah scroll dedication especially on this great and holy day – were dancing and skipping and circling in honor of the Torah. The joy filled the heart and no one could remain indifferent to not dance and skip together with the Rav in front of the new Torah scroll.

In the middle of the dancing, the Rav’s close friend and colleague, the Admor of Spinka Donalow, arrived from Bnei Brak especially to dance with the Rav shlit”a in honor of the Torah. For a long time, the Admor danced together with the Rav, showing the great friendship between these two great Tzaddikim.

Rav Berland shlit”a dances with Admor of Spinka shlit”a

We merited to over an hour of fiery and lively dancing together with the Rav shlit”a, concluding with the song “Becha Rabbeinu Nagila… (In you Rabbeinu, we will rejoice…).” Rav Berland shlit”a concluded the Torah dedication with “Yehallelu…” and put the new Torah scroll in the holy ark, followed by Kaddish with niggunim, entering his house at 11:30 pm with the song “Becha Rabbeinu Nagila…”