Completion of Tractate Bava Kamma in the Daily Lesson from the Gaon and Tzaddik

Last night, the masses of the House of Israel completed Tractate Bava Kamma in the cycle of the Daf Yomi (daily page of Talmud). Our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), finished the tractate together with the masses of the House of Israel through the Torah project of the holy community 'Shuvu Banim'. Before you is the Siyum (completion ceremony) and the full lesson from yesterday after the Maariv (evening prayer), Thursday, Parshas Ki Sisa, the night of the 21st of Adar I:

Today they finished Tractate Bava Kamma, page 119; that is 118 pages [of text], they finished today. Tomorrow we begin Bava Metzia; Bava Metzia begins tomorrow. "These findings are his," "Two are holding a garment"—we begin tomorrow morning; it is possible to start already tonight at twelve o'clock.

[The Siyum of the Tractate]: Now we have finished [the discussion] regarding a thread and the full measure of a thread, that even a tiny bit of thread [belongs to the owner]. In the past, there were no [factory-made] threads; everything was handmade. So even a tiny bit of thread belongs to the homeowner. "Rather, learn from this: the full measure of a needle and outside the needle like the full measure of a needle—learn from this."

And the deaf-mute... now we are speaking about the large axe and the small adze. So what the large axe produces belongs to the homeowner, and the small adze produces thin wood or sawdust through the drill. The drill—if there is a drill that makes holes to join the table or the chair—then the sawdust is fit to light a fire with. In the past, there were no matches; that is just a new invention. In Rebbe Nachman's time, there were no matches.

Rebbe Nachman said to Reb Yudel: "You want to light a cigarette? You don't know how much suffering you go through for one cigarette." I smoke ten packs a day, but I've gone down to nine and a half; every week I go down by half a pack. So he explained to him, to Reb Yudel, that now it is five in the morning, you wake up from sleep, you want a cigarette. The first thing is a cigarette... You go into the neighbor's house, the neighbor has already gone to the Vasikin (sunrise) prayer. At five in the morning, no one [is home], only Shuvu Banim are in their beds. The neighbor has already gone to Vasikin, so his wife is there; you are transgressing the prohibition of Yichud (forbidden seclusion). It is the darkness of night. Sunrise is only at six-thirty, so you are transgressing the prohibition of Yichud! For a cigarette, you would transgress the prohibition of Yichud?! He [Reb Yudel] said [to Rebbe Nachman]: "If so, I will stop smoking." So he stopped smoking. Now, I am also stopping smoking, and everyone should take it upon themselves to stop smoking!

So even a drop of sawdust is important. Because in the past there were no matches, there were stones. They would take two stones, rub them together, a spark would come out, they took wood sawdust or cotton, and that is how they would perform Havdalah (ceremony marking the end of the Sabbath). And someone who doesn't have this cannot perform Havdalah; he has no Havdalah. It's not like today where there is a lighter, there is a lighter with a long handle, all sorts of patents. In Rebbe Nachman's time, there were no such things; that's all for modern people, it's not for Shuvu Banim at all.

"And if he was working for etc.": Our Sages taught: Stonecutters... Stonecutters refers to the Tablets of the Covenant. The [author of the book] Smichas Chachamim, Rabbi Naftali Hertz [Katz], says—now the 24th of Teves was his yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing). Whoever travels to Lizhensk should travel via Istanbul. His [Rabbi Naftali Katz's] grave is located under the bridge. It is five minutes from the airport. So he said "stonecutters" refers to the Tablets of the Covenant—that "the hewings shall be yours."

Because after Moses broke the Tablets, he broke the Tablets. I don't know why he broke them; he is liable for Nezikin (damages). This isn't just "grama" (indirect causation); it is actual damages. These were expensive Tablets; they were sapphire stone, they were diamonds. Each one was six handbreadths by six handbreadths. It's worth billions! Where would he get billions? He has [money] in the Caribbean, I know, so let him take it out of the Caribbean, from his account. This refers to the Tablets—"stonecutters"—this is about the Tablets. "The hewings shall be yours," the Rebbe [Nachman] says; the waste shall be yours. The second Tablets were already the work of Moses. The first Tablets were the work of Hashem. This is called "stonecutters," that Moses carved the sapphire so there would be Tablets. And "two are holding"—Moses held two handbreadths and Hashem held two handbreadths. In the middle... the first two handbreadths are the Nigleh (revealed Torah), the middle two handbreadths are the Nistar (hidden Torah), and the last two handbreadths are for the future to come, which is already Atika Kadisha (the Ancient Holy One/highest level of Keter).

[Returning to the matter of the Gemara: "Our Sages taught: Stonecutters are not subject to the laws of theft, [likewise] those who prune trees, those who prune vines, those who clear thorns, those who weed seeds, and those who hoe vegetables], as long as the homeowner is not particular about them, they are not subject to the laws of theft." Because a homeowner is particular even about something small, like hops, a thread, or sawdust.

["Rav Yehuda said:] Hops." The first thing is to grow hops; here there is a lot of space, we need to grow a lot of hops. Hops are good for beer, for soda, for apple juice. "And young grain" as well, "are not subject to the laws of theft." But ["in a place where they are particular, they are subject to the laws of theft. Ravina said:] and Mata Mechasya [is a place where they are particular"], so it is indeed theft.

We shall return to you, "The Last Robber" [the name of the final chapter], and Tractate Bava Kamma is concluded!