Like this, there are thousands of stories, that the heads of the KGB used to circumcise their children. All of them were Jews. All of the KGB were Jews, all of the [text missing in original].
When they [the Soviet Army] conquered Berlin, it was Jews. There was one [man], Ben Baruch, his son was in Shuvu Banim for 10 years. So, he gave the hill to Ponevezh [that they built a yeshiva on].
He was rich, a millionaire. He built the whole of Bnei Brak – he built it. He was the second Einstein, he knew all the different formulas, all the atomic secrets. And he ran away [from Russia after the war].
He conquered Berlin, and he waved the red flag [of Russia] above the Reichstag.
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And after this, he escaped and ascended to Eretz Yisrael. A lot of generals were running away, then. And then, he made teshuva, and he bought the whole of Bnei Brak.
He gave to [words missing in original] on Yonatan ben Zakkai Street, at the corner of Jerusalem [St], he gave them that building, that hall.
And he gave to Rav Kahaneman the hill [to build the Ponevezh yeshiva on it]. In 5704, he started building the yeshiva – HaRav Kahaneman. At the beginning they [the Ponevezh yeshiva students] learned in Heligman [synagogue]. At the beginning, Rav Kahaneman taught in Heligman.
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The Rabbanit [Tehilla Berland] used to go there to pray, from the age of seven.
Her father used to look for her all night, it’s already 7pm, where are you?!
He thought that she was hanging out with a not-good group of friends. He found her in Heligman’s. Heligman is the corner of Sokolov and Jerusalem. They used to live on Sokolov, and she used to go [to pray], and to wait until R Nissim Karelitz would finish his shiur.
R’ Nissim Karelitz used to give the shiur on Mishneh Brurah. He used to give over a shiur, and only studied Mishneh Brurah.
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Me – the first year I just learned Mishneh Brurah.
The first year that I got to yeshiva, at 17 and a half, straight from tichon (high school). I only learnt Mishneh Brurah. Until the Rav Mashikovsky [the Rosh Yeshiva of Kfar Chassdim] said to me that I also needed to learn a bit of gemara. But I’d already learned through the whole of the Mishneh Brurah.
The first thing is to learn Mishneh Brurah, before anything else!
A person makes teshuva, the first thing is the Mishneh Brurah, to know the halachot of Shabbat, the halachot of brachot, the halachot of the morning blessings, the halachot of netilat yedayim.
The whole first year, the first thing is just the Mishneh Brurah. Afterwards, you can start to learn a bit of Gemara, a bit of Zohar. But first, you have to know all of the halachot! Sit down with the Mishneh Brurah from 8am to 8pm.
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Today, netz is 6.05am, so by 6.30am, we’re already finishing the prayers, and eating breakfast, relaxing a bit.
And then from 8am to 8pm, we sit and learn. This is [creating] exactly 576,000 angels.[1] We are missing another 24,000 [to get to 600,000 – the number of letters in the Torah, and ‘soul roots’ for Am Yisrael.]
So, we are lacking 24,000.
Because if we [read] 200 words a minute, so 60 minutes is 12,000 words an hour, times four letters on average [per word]. There are [words with] five letters, seven letters, eight – the most is 13 letters… Even 15.
And there [are words with just] two [letters]. So the average is four.
So, if we do 12,000 times four [letters a word] this is 48,000 [letters] an hour. Every 10 hours is 480,000. Another two hours is [another] 96,000. If it’s 48 [thousand] an hour, this is 96. So we add 96 to 480, this is 576,000.
We are missing 24,000 letters [to get to 600,000].
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Every letter [of Torah or prayer] is an angel! Every letter that you say!
In Breslov, we aren’t Chabad, who go and stand in Dizengoff, putting tefillin [on people] – and blemishing their eyes. There is no such thing!
We need to sit in a closed place, we can’t sit on the balcony, but just to sit in a sheltered place where we won’t see pritzut (immodest dress and behavior).
Putting tefillin on [people] doesn’t give you permission to blemish the eyes! This is a mitzvah that comes off the back of an aveira. It’s not possible to do this, under any circumstances, no.
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So, we are missing 24,000 letters, to get to 600,000.
We need to get to 60 ribua (myriads). Ribua is 600,000. Where are we going to get 24,000 letters from? Where are we going to get this? So, we add another half an hour, we pray ma’ariv (the evening prayers).
[After 12 hours of learning], from 8am to 8pm, we add another half an hour, we pray ma’ariv. So this is exactly 600,000 letters – 600,000 angels!
We don’t need to go to Dizengoff, to lay tefillin, or to go to places on the light rail to lay tefillin, and then blemish the eyes.[2]
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The Rebbe [Rebbe Nachman] said you sit [and learn].
In Lesson I:14[3], each letter [a person learns] someone else makes teshuva, every letter we say with kindness and mercy. We just sit and learn Torah 12 hours, and afterwards half an hour of ma’ariv.
Shacharit is an hour, mincha is quarter of an hour, so a person begins hodu at 5am, and then at 6.05am he gets to Shemoneh Esrei, 6.30am, already we’re going home, to eat something, breakfast, morning bread, and to relax for half an hour. And then, to go to yeshiva, or kollel, or some synagagogue hall, to learn 12 hours, from 8am to 8pm.
At 8pm, to go to ma’ariv, and 8.30pm we’ve already finished ma’ariv, and then we go home, to sleep.
Chatzot is already at 11pm. If it’s shkeia at twenty to five, so in [another] twenty minutes, the stars are already visible. Another six hours [after the stars come out] is 11pm. So at 11pm [we say the Tikkun Chatzot.
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{Skipping a detailed discussion about elu matziut in the Gemara, Bava Metzia 21a).
A person learns Gemara, starts with elu matziut – and he sees that it’s not at all the simple explanations of the Mishneh.
The Gemara turns over the ‘simple explanation’….
[The Rav starts to speak about kibbutznikim, and how they spend 12 hours picking fruit and vegetables from 8am to 8pm, until it’s time for ma’ariv.]
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Today, it’s permitted to pull in chilonim [to be the tenth man in a minyan]. Once upon a time, this was forbidden.
But today, it’s permitted, because everyone makes teshuva afterwards. So like this, you make a minyan there [on the kibbutz], and afterwards, learn some Mesillat Yesharim, something, for half an hour. And after this, ma’ariv.
Ma’ariv is finished y 9pm already.Now, he’s going to pick more. He says, whatever is left in the fields is hefker (ownerless)…..
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Once, I wanted to go to work.
I was in Kfar Chassidim, and the woman [the wife of the farmer] said no [it’s not suitable for me]. You’re a yeshiva bochur!
So, I told her that I wanted Torah AND work. I believed in this, that you also needed to work a little. So I went there, to some farm, to some farmer, who had goats and chickens. And I simply went there.
I told the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Mashikovsky, I want to fulfill the precept of ‘Torah and work’, together with the Gemara, I also want to work a little, to do some work with my hands, to settle Eretz Yisrael. This is the greatest mitzvah of all the mitzvot.
So, I’d already spoken with him [the farmer], to say that I was coming, and outside, it was pouring. And his wife said are you out of your mind?! You are going to sink down to your knees in mud. And you are a nice-looking boy, you go around wearing a beautiful suit, and all of a sudden you want to turn into some kibbutznik, some farmer. Get out of here!
She told me go back to yeshiva!
I could see that she by herself pushed me away, but I thought [to go and work] in all simplicity.
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After that, I went three times to the army, to enlist. I said to myself, all my friends are dying there.
This was the Yom Kippur war[4], and everything. But in the end, this also [didn’t succeed]. This is another story, that they didn’t accept me.
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In any case, we are talking now that when a person learn Gemara, so he sees that the Gemara is always the opposite from the Mishneh.
If a person learns Gemara, he understands that what he is learning is the opposite of the Mishneh. {I.e. The opposite of his initial understanding of what the Mishneh was saying.]
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[Skipping a discussion about Eliezer the servant of Abraham, and his trip to Haran to find Rivka, the bride of Yitzhak.]
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Today, they want to make an agreement with the Hezbollah [i.e. The ceasefire agreement with Lebanon.]
That they should fire 200 rockets, or 300 rockets. But your soldiers, it’s forbidden for them to respond, for as long as Biden rules. Even if they fire a rocket at your head, [it’s forbidden to react].
Just put a bandage on it, carry something with you in your pocket, some bandaid. Today, there is no permission to respond.
Now, did he already get here, that lunatic, Hochstein? He already arrives. So he wants that Bibi will agree to 300 rockets without responding.
So Bibi said I am prepared to accept 250, OK. So now, there’s an argument about 50 [rockets].
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After he was in Lebanon, every day they were firing 200 rockets.
He wanted to make peace. What ‘peace’?! On the day that they signed on the agreement, they fired 1,000 rockets. They have 150,000 rockets left.
Maybe, they had a million, but they already blew up most of them. [But they still have] 150,000 rockets. Every day if they fire 100, so this is 1500 days. They have enough rockets for three years.
If they fire 200, so then they have enough to last a year and a half. They need to empty their reserves, this is having mercy on them. And on top of this, if they stay in their storehouses, they’ll all just get exploded.
So, they have to fire them [at Israel]! You have to understand this!
Now, he came to explain this to Bibi. You can’t explode their rockets for them, you can’t fire back at them in return, let them finish their supplies, and afterwards, we’ll see what to do. But in the meantime, sign on the peace [agreement].
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“[I]t is impossible to bring proselytes and baalei teshuvas clsoer other than by way of the Torah….it is impossible to be inspired to make teshuva – whether Jewish sinners or converts – other than by way of the Torah, which shines upon them into the place they are at…..This is because the Torah contains 600,000 letters, corresponding to the 600,000 souls…” See there.
This plaque talks about the founding of Ponevezh in Bnei Brak, but ‘BEN BARUCH’ isn’t mentioned at all: