Bring the Rav to you
Over the years, Rav Eliezer Berland, shlita, has spent a great deal of his time going from house to house, sharing Torah with the public. Long before the whole idea of reaching out to ‘ba’al teshuvas’ – returnees to a Torah-observant lifestyle – really became acceptable in the Torah world, Rav Berland had already established a path that included giving many Torah classes to the public at houses up and down the country.
There are so many stories that have already been told about this magical period, and so many first-hand accounts of the people that came back to observant Judaism as a result of the Rav’s efforts, most notably including Rav Shalom Arush, shlita, the head of the Chut Shel Chesed yeshiva and institutions.
Rav Shalom Arush’s motorbike
For example, 40 years ago, Rav Arush gave Rav Berland a lift to Eilat on the back of his motorbike, where the Rav was headed in order to try to bring some of the Jews there back to their Father in shemayim (heaven).
From that time on, many tens of thousands of Jews have returned to the path of their forefathers in Rav Berland’s merit, shlita. Over the years, the Rav has established a number of Torah institutions to meet the needs of the growing Shuvu Banim community, including kollels, yeshivas, Talmud Torah schools for boys, and seminaries for girls.
But despite all these achievements, the Rav hasn’t rested on his laurels. From the moment he returned to his home in Jerusalem, the Rav has returned to his outreach work with a vengeance, visiting homes all over the country to give over Torah lessons, and encourage more and more Jews to return to their roots – regardless of how many decades have passed since he first began this holy work!
And the Rav, shlita, doesn’t approach his fellow Jew as though he’s some ‘big rabbi’, let alone the Gadol HaDor. Rather, he treats each and every single person with such kindness and love, as the following story demonstrates.
Rav Berland’s tallit
“There’s a Jew called Tzion Levy, who sells luxury cars for a living,” explains Rav Berland’s gabbay, Natan Solomon. “He was in touch with another Jew who was interested in living a more observant lifestyle. This person asked [Levy] if he would be able to get him one of Rav Berland’s tallits (prayer shawls), and he promised that if this was possible, he would donate a large sum of money to Rav Berland’s institutions.
“We’re talking about a chiloni (secular Jew) here, who never even went to the synagogue. He just used to quickly put on his tefillin in his house in the morning, and even this he found hard to do. Recently, [while the Rav was giving a Torah lesson in a different part of the country], this man came to see the Rav to get some advice, and while he was there he gave the Rav a sum of money to do a pidyon Nefesh (redemption of the soul).
“He asked the Rav what he should do about his business, and the Rav, shlita, advised him what he should be doing and which course of action to take. This Jew told the Rav that if the advice worked out, he’d come back and do another pidyon with the Rav.
“We went out to the car,” continues the Rav’s gabbay, “when suddenly Tzion Levy told me this Jew had forgotten to ask for one of Rav Berland’s tallisim, so he asked Tzion to run over and ask for it.”
Tzion himself takes up the story: “So, I ran over and brought him the tallit, and sure enough, the next day this Jew wrapped himself up in the tallit, and this is what he told me: ‘When I unfolded that tallit, I could feel more kedusha (holiness) coming off it than I could feel coming off my tefillin. But that’s not all.
“‘As soon as I wore it, I started having all these strong feelings of teshuva and repentance, and I said that from this moment on, I’m going to go and pray in the synagogue every morning.’”
This is the sort of things that happens all the time when Rav Berland, shlita, goes from city to city, speaking words of Torah in people’s homes and distributing tallisim, kippot, and even wedding rings to the unmarried men in the crowds He gets people to return to Hashem and mitzvah observance, with all their hearts.
Bring the Rav to you!
And now, you can invite Rav Berland, shlita, to come to your neighborhood, too!
If you’d like to invite the Rav to give a Torah class in your neighborhood, wherever you live in Israel, please get in touch with Rav Berland’s gabbay, Natan Solomon, on: 052-677-5148.
And yes, it’s possible to request a shiur from Rav Berland, shlita, in English.
- To arrange a shiur with Rav Berland in your neighborhood, please call: 052-677-5148.
Watch video of one of the Ravs house visits in the city of Bat Yam this past week:
Photo Gallery of the Ravs recent visit in Tel Aviv and Bat Yam:
