A Story of Equanimity: *Ketzos HaChoshen* Classes from Within Prison Walls and 3 More Stories

An amazing story about the power of our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, who continued to deliver deep classes on the sefer (holy book) Ketzos HaChoshen even from within prison, with immense joy as if they were being given at Mount Sinai.

A Story of Equanimity: Ketzos HaChoshen Classes from Within Prison Walls

The holy books explain that the verse, "I have set Hashem before me always," expresses the concept of hishtavus (equanimity). This means that one who constantly keeps Hashem before his eyes accepts everything the Creator does with him with perfect equanimity and love. Our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, the holy tzaddik who sees absolutely nothing other than Hashem and the holy Torah, lives this reality every single moment.

He declares this with a powerful and immense resonance that echoes from one end of the world to the other. Everyone knows and testifies that the tzaddik is constantly immersed in the study of the holy Torah, literally embodying the verse, "Unless Your Torah had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction."

The Fire of Torah Burns Even in the Darkness

The harsh reality could not extinguish the fire of Torah of the Rav shlit"a. Even from within the prison walls, under extremely difficult conditions, the voice of Torah continued to echo. Every single night, the listeners merited to receive a Torah class from the Rav shlit"a.

The classes were delivered with deep analytical insight and immense expertise in the sefer Ketzos HaChoshen. Everyone who merited to hear these classes felt an extraordinary spiritual elevation, testifying that "the words were as joyful as when they were given at Mount Sinai."

This wondrous story illustrates how true deveikus (attachment) to the Creator of the world and His Torah elevates a person above all limitations of time and space, enabling him to continue illuminating the world with the light of Torah even from within the deepest darkness.

A Story About the Love of Torah: The Huge Load of Books That Wandered with the Rav in His Exile

This is a tremendous wonder that cannot be grasped by the human intellect, testifying to how much Hashem loves the tzaddikim. It is widely known that our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, cannot bear to be separated from his holy books. The Rav's home contains a massive and rare treasure of holy books, as he never passes up the opportunity to acquire one. Every new holy book that is published, the Rav purchases immediately.

The Wandering Library

When the Rav was forced into exile, wandering from place to place and from country to country, a tremendous difficulty arose: how could he continue to learn without his library? However, Hashem arranged things with wondrous Divine Providence. A wealthy Jew spent lavishly from his own pocket, went to great lengths, and arranged for a massive shipment containing a multitude of books to be delivered to the Rav's location.

Thus, wherever the tzaddik was exiled, numerous heavy boxes of holy books went into exile alongside him. The books accompanied the Rav at every single stop on his journey, ensuring he could continue to delve into the Torah without interruption, exactly as he was accustomed to doing in his home in the Holy City.

The Holiness of the Written Letters

One of the wondrous aspects of the Rav shlit"a's conduct is his immense mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) to learn specifically from printed books. The Rav adamantly refuses to use computerized Torah databases, such as the "Otzar HaChochma" software. Even though it would have been incredibly easy to access every book in the world through a computer, the Rav refused to compromise.

He insists that the Torah must be learned with simplicity and earnestness, directly from the holy books themselves. He demands to see the holy letters printed on paper with his own eyes, exactly as Jews have learned throughout all previous generations. This conduct illustrates, more than anything else, the pure and burning love for Torah of our teacher, the Rav shlit"a—a love that is unconditional.

A Wondrous Story from Prison: The Heavy Gate Opened by Itself at Rabbi Berland's Command

There are countless stories of miracles and the suspension of the laws of nature from the period when our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, was incarcerated in the Holy Land. One of the most amazing stories was heard by a large crowd attending a special gathering at the Tamir Halls. It was the day of the hillula (anniversary of passing) of our brilliant strength, Moharnat zy"a (may his merit protect us all, amen), when the attorney Mr. Dimri took the stage to share his experiences with the audience.

The Attorney's Gripping Testimony

When the attorney Mr. Dimri began to speak, he expressed himself with great emotion. He declared to the attendees that even if he were to speak continuously until the morning light, he would not manage to recount even a fraction of what his own eyes had witnessed in the presence of the tzaddik. He then proceeded to describe one wondrous event out of the many that occurred during those days.

One day, the lawyer arrived at the prison to speak with Morinu HaRav shlit"a. He wanted to enter the room where the tzaddik was staying, but his path was blocked. As is known, the heavy doors and gates in the prison do not open except with special permission from the strict security system. Naturally, it was completely impossible to open the gate without the intervention of the guards.

"Everything is open, you can enter"

The lawyer reached the iron gate adjacent to the place where Rabbi Berland shlit"a was at that time. Suddenly, the Rav shlit"a turned to him and said simply: "Enter." The surprised lawyer replied to the Rav: "But the gate is closed and locked." However, the Rav shlit"a did not retract his words, and told him with absolute confidence: "Everything is open, you can enter."

Despite the lack of logic in the matter, the lawyer obeyed the words of the tzaddik. He tried to push the heavy gate, and to his immense surprise, the gate opened very easily as if it had never been locked.

The Commotion of the Guards and the Tzaddik's Reaction

Immediately upon the opening of the gate, a great panic broke out in the place. Police officers and guards began running around, having seen on their control monitors that a security gate had opened without any prior authorization. Everyone was completely confused and could not understand how this happened contrary to all security protocols.

The lawyer, seeing the commotion around him, turned to the Rav shlit"a and said to him: "Everyone is confused now." The tzaddik, who was immersed in deep tranquility, answered him with characteristic calmness: "Let them be confused." This story illustrates once again how for a true tzaddik, walls and iron doors do not constitute any barrier.

A Wondrous Story: The Disgrace in Court and the Sudden Wave of Fires in the North

This is an awe-inspiring story, a chilling event that many witnessed in real time. In one of the trials held for Morinu HaRav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, those involved went too far and crossed all red lines.

Disgrace Before the Eyes of the Entire World

During that trial, they disgraced the tzaddik in a terrible and unprecedented manner. This was done in front of all the media outlets, and the harsh scenes were published and echoed all over the world. It seemed that the honor of the Torah was trampled before everyone's eyes, and the pain among the students and lovers of the Rav was immense and profound.

Heaven's Response: Fire in the North

But Heaven did not remain silent over the disgrace of the tzaddik's honor. Immediately, while still in the midst of the trial, the telephones in the courtroom began to ring incessantly. The reports that began to flow in were terrifying and incomprehensible.

It became clear that at those exact moments, sudden outbreaks of massive fires had begun. Fire gripped extensive areas, and many forests in the northern region were completely burned down, may Hashem protect us. The chilling proximity between the affront to the tzaddik and the outbreak of the fires left everyone in absolute shock.

This event was etched in memory as living testimony that there is a Judge and there is justice. Reality proved once again that when one harms a Tzaddik Yesod Olam (a righteous one who is the foundation of the world), the entire creation reacts and trembles.

From Issue 79 — Parashas Masei

From the series "A Tzaddik Rules in the Fear of God" — "Shapir Amar Nachmani" publications