"I Will Be What I Will Be Has Sent Me" • Shabbat Parshat Shemos with the Gaon

After last Shabbat, when our teacher the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), did not feel well and did not come out for the Shabbat prayers, this Shabbat, Parshat Shemos, we merited to sit in the shadow of our teacher the Rav shlit"a.

On Friday night, we merited a prayer service of two and a half hours, including the Mincha (afternoon) prayer of Erev Shabbat, Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming the Sabbath) which lasted about half an hour, as well as the Maariv (evening) prayer and Shabbat songs—all with great vitality and melodies. The following morning, on the holy Shabbat day, we merited a Shacharit (morning) prayer service of nearly four hours (3:45). The Shacharit prayer itself lasted about two hours, and the Torah reading of Parshat Shemos lasted about an hour, accompanied by many celebrations within the community, b'siyata d'shmaya (with the help of Heaven). The prayer for the new month along with Musaf (the additional prayer) lasted about half an hour. After Musaf, the Rav delivered a lesson in which he spoke about Dathan and Abiram, who did not want to believe in Moses and Aaron and thought they were greater than them. Therefore, they were beaten in Egypt, and this is the secret of the verse "You have made our scent offensive" (Exodus 5:21)—that they were beaten so severely that a foul odor emanated from their flesh. He also spoke about the left-wing protests and said that the purpose of these protests is against the Tzaddikim (righteous ones). On Shabbat afternoon, the Rav came out for the Mincha prayer close to sunset, followed by Seudah Shlishit (the third meal), a lesson in the book Pele Yoetz (a classic work of Jewish ethics), Maariv, and Melaveh Malka (the post-Shabbat meal) with a lesson in Chayei Moharan (the biography of Rebbe Nachman). All of these lasted about three and a quarter hours. In total, we merited nine and a half hours of prayers this Shabbat with the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. How fortunate we are to have merited this!

Documentation from the conclusion of the holy Shabbat Photos courtesy of "Hitchadshut" Magazine (Yisrael Ben Ari):

During the Maariv (evening) prayer at the conclusion of Shabbat:

During Havdalah (the ceremony marking the end of Shabbat): During the distribution of shirayim (remnants of the Tzaddik's meal) at the Melaveh Malka: Writing a prayer during the Melaveh Malka: During the lesson on Chayei Moharan at the Melaveh Malka: Leading the Grace After Meals over a cup of wine at the Melaveh Malka: