Wonderful Sweetness: Why Prayers Are Not Accepted - Torah 1 in Likutey Moharan - HaGaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

Our teacher, the holy Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), arrived this week, during the week of Parshas Va'eschanan 5779 (2019), for a home gathering in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Rav shlit"a delivered a wonderful lesson on Torah 1 in Likutey Moharan, reading from the book and explaining word by word with wonderful sweetness. In this article, we bring the main points of his words—the full lesson is available for viewing.

Prayer is Not Accepted Because One Does Not Study Gemara

"Torah 1 speaks about the sechel (intellect/wisdom) within everything; everything must be examined with the intellect. Rebbe Nachman is the purest intellect; Rebbe Nachman is entirely intellect. Everything a person does, they must think and understand with their intellect."

"Even though emunah (faith) is the highest thing, even emunah must be accompanied by intellect. One who follows faith without intellect is actually believing in demons and idolatry."

"One receives this intellect only through the study of Gemara (Talmud); a person must study Torah—at least eight hours of Gemara every day. One must say, 'My weight is upon me,'" the Rav said with the public, adding, "I hereby vow to bring 80 kilograms of gold to the Holy Temple."

"For now, due to our many sins, the true chen (grace) and importance of Israel has fallen, because now the main importance and grace are with them [the nations]; but through the Torah, the grace and importance of Israel are elevated, for the Torah is called (Proverbs 5:19): "A lovely hind and a graceful doe," and (Eruvin 54b): "[The Torah] bestows grace upon those who study it." And through this, all prayers and requests are accepted. (Likutey Moharan, Torah 1)."

"When a person sees that their prayer is not being accepted, they should know it is because they are not studying Gemara."

"Everything Must Be Examined and Checked with the Intellect"

"For a Jewish person must always look at the sechel (intellect/wisdom) of every thing, and connect themselves to the wisdom and intellect within every thing, so that the intellect within every thing may shine for them, to draw closer to Hashem, may He be blessed, through that thing. For the intellect is a great light and illuminates all of one's paths, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 8:1): "A man's wisdom illuminates his face" (ibid)."

"Everything the Rebbe merited was because he looked at everything with the intellect. The intellect is the greatest light, and it is wisdom that illuminates a person's face."

"Rebbe Nachman is the Beginning of Everything"

"And this is the aspect of Yaakov (Jacob). For Yaakov merited the birthright, which is the 'beginning' (reshis), which is the aspect of wisdom (chochmah), as it is written (Psalms 111:10): "The beginning of wisdom." And this is the aspect of (Genesis 27:36): "He has outwitted me (vaya'akveini) these two times," which Onkelos translates as "and he has out-wisened me." And this is the aspect of the sun, for the intellect illuminates all of one's paths like the sun. And this is the aspect of (Proverbs 4:18): "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full day." And this is the aspect of the letter Ches, an expression of chayus (vitality), for the wisdom and intellect are the vitality of everything, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 7:12): "Wisdom gives life" etc."

"Our father Yaakov, who is the 'beginning,' merited the Torah, which is the 'beginning.' "A land which Hashem your G-d seeks out; the eyes of Hashem your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year" (Deuteronomy 11:12). The Land of Israel is the beginning; the Tzaddik is the beginning."

"Rebbe Nachman is the beginning of everything; the main thing is the beginning. Mordechai was the beginning."