On Wednesday, the night of the 17th of Iyar, Parshas Emor, a lesson was held at the home of our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days). The lesson was given to a group of yeshiva students from the elite of the Lithuanian yeshiva world.

Before you is a summary of the topics our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, spoke about during the lesson:

The Mei HaShiloach (the Izhbitzer Rebbe) explains that the sin of Er and Onan occurred because "Jacob sought to dwell in tranquility." A person does not realize that all abundance (shefa) comes from children; every child is another apartment. Every letter in the Shemoneh Esrei (the standing prayer) depends on these souls. The Ten Martyrs of the Monarchy came to rectify each one in a gilgul (reincarnation); Rabbi Ishmael was a reincarnation of Palti ben Laish, and Rabbi Hanina ben Teradion was a reincarnation of Shechem. The entire battalion of Idan Alexander wants Gemaras (Talmudic volumes) to study the Daf Yomi (daily page of Talmud) and wants to wear tzitzis (ritual fringes) in the merit of the great miracle that happened to him. A person must study a minimum of eight hours a day; King David only studied all day and all night. Rechavam said, "If you choose me, I will give you 'scorpions,'" and the intention of "scorpions" is that one must wake up at five o'clock at the latest. It is written that the sun stopped several times for Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Teacher), who wrote 400 Torah scrolls; for Joshua bin Nun, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon"; and also for Abba Tachina the Pious. "V'Hu Rachum" (And He is Merciful prayer) was composed by a Jew during an event where he dreamed of "When you pass through water" and was able to enter Gan Eden (Paradise). For seven days from Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover), all the gates of heaven are open, and this includes Lag BaOmer when people travel to Meron, and everything they request, they receive! Shidduchim (marriage matches), children—they receive everything! The daughter raises up all the prayers; therefore, the Ezrat Nashim (women's section) is located in the gallery above. The angel came to Tzelelponit, the mother of Samson, and entered into the fire. Now on Lag BaOmer, we are entering into the fire. The Idra (a holy assembly of the Zohar) was entirely full of fire! Just as it began earlier with the story of that Jew who dreamed "When you pass through," they threw him into the fire and he emerged alive, and inside the fire were three other people: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deborah was surrounded by fire; she is the soul of Moshe, and Yael is the soul of Tzipporah. Yael subdued Sisera and sent a female demon in her place—"Smicha" (blanket) is "Shemi Koh" (My name is G-d), so that the wicked one would not touch her. Yael is higher than Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah in Gematria (numerical value), "the wife of Heber the Kenite." "Blessed shall she be above women in the tent"—this refers to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and David, for David was also impregnated (as a soul) within her. "And the fugitive came"—this is Michael, who escaped from the sword of the Samael (the angel of evil). Eliezer had questions for Abraham as to why he was sending him for a bride who "and her pitcher on her shoulder" (v'cadah al sh'chemah)—the acronym is Esau—implying she was meant to bring someone like Esau. Abraham said to Eliezer, "You are a donkey! Do you not see the fire?" When a person comes to Shuvu Banim, he must see the fire! Every prayer, every Maariv (evening prayer), one must see the fire! Rabbi Eliezer traveled to Rabbi Akiva because Rabbi Akiva saw foxes and danced, for he said, "Now the Temple will be built!" The story of the Baal Shem Tov on the way to the Land of Israel, who was saved in the merit of the cry of Reb Hirsch "Aleph-Beis." Only the Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman), who descended to the "smallness of smallness" (katnut d'katnut), merited to reach the Land of Israel.