13 Years Old for Mitzvos • The Bar Mitzvah Celebration for the Great-Grandson of

The Bar Mitzvah celebration for the great-grandson of our teacher, the Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, in his holy residence ○ A Torah lesson at the seudah (festive meal) ○ The grammen (rhyming verses) and the Bar Mitzvah speech ○ Soulful songs and dancing to songs of joy

This past Monday, the 19th of Shevat, the Bar Mitzvah celebration for the great-grandson of our teacher, the Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, took place in the Rav's residence. The Bar Mitzvah boy, Natan n"y (may his light shine), is the son of the Rav's grandson, the mashgiach (spiritual supervisor) of the 'Breslov Chochma V'Daat' Yeshiva, the chassid Rabbi Nachman Goldblum shlit"a, who is the son-in-law of the chassid Rabbi Shmuel Stern shlit"a and the son of the Rav's son-in-law, the chassid Rabbi Yehuda Asher Goldblum shlit"a. The celebration was attended by the Bar Mitzvah boy's classmates from the 'Nechamat Zion' Talmud Torah pre-yeshiva program, along with the staff and administrators of the institutions.

The celebration began with washing hands for the seudah (festive meal) and soulful songs of awakening in honor of the Bar Mitzvah. After some time, our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, entered to participate in the joy and delivered a Torah lesson for about half an hour. Below is a summary of the topics mentioned by the Rav shlit"a in his lesson:

The Rav began by strengthening the study of Gemara (Talmud), the Ktzos HaChoshen, and the Rambam (Maimonides), delving into various issues highlighted by the Rambam in his Mishneh Torah. These included the disputes between the brothers and Joseph regarding ever min hachai (a limb from a living animal) and a ben pekuah (an embryo found alive in a slaughtered animal), as well as the dispute with the Ramban (Nachmanides) regarding the reason the people of Shechem were liable for the death penalty. He then continued to discuss the concept of mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), like Abraham our forefather and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who entered the fire in order to die al kiddush Hashem (for the sanctification of God's Name), and were actually distressed that a miracle was ultimately performed for them and they were not burned. He also dealt with the matter of the megadef (blasphemer), speaking about the inner meaning of these things.

In the second part of the lesson, the Rav spoke about Moses' desire to enter Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) and how he was initially punished because he said, "Listen now, you rebels." He explained the inner dimension—that Moses wanted to enter Eretz Yisrael in the aspect of Leah, while Eretz Yisrael itself is the aspect of Rachel, as brought in Likutey Halachos (the collected laws of Reb Noson) that the spies were on a higher level than Eretz Yisrael. Moving from one topic to another, he discussed the secret of Luz (the mystical city/bone) and the greatness of dwelling in Eretz Yisrael, which is the "Land of Life." He returned to the matter of the spies who wanted to kill Joshua, referencing the phrase "When Moses saw the humility of Joshua," explaining that they actually wanted Moses our teacher not to die. However, the truth is that one must fulfill the words of the Tzaddik exactly as they are stated! During his words, he brought up the humility of Moses our teacher, who requested that the Torah be given through Rabbi Akiva, as brought in the Gemara Menachos and the entire account there.

After the lesson, the young boys began singing grammen (rhyming verses) in honor of the Bar Mitzvah boy. During the grammen, the boy delivered his Bar Mitzvah speech on the greatness of Tefillin (phylacteries) based on the holy book Likutey Halachos. As is customary, after the grammen, they continued with other Bar Mitzvah songs, such as "The Rabbis taught in a Baraita... one who digs a pit and a cave..." The Bar Mitzvah boy was then honored with leading the zimmun (invitation to grace after meals) over a cup of wine, and at the conclusion of Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals), our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, recited the blessing Al HaGefen (blessing over wine) and drank a L'chaim in honor of the celebration.

The Rav shlit"a concluded the Bar Mitzvah event with a joyful dance with the Bar Mitzvah boy, family members, and friends around the table, before returning to his holy residence.

Below is a magnificent gallery from the Bar Mitzvah celebration: