A Window into the World of the Tzaddikim

At the amazing gathering held in the city of Eilat, the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a slapped one of his students. Anyone familiar with the ways of the tzaddikim knows that this is an act behind which lie hidden mysteries and secrets. With their holy eyes, the tzaddikim see things that are not clear to us, and they spend their entire lives working to annul decrees, sweeten judgments, and bring the souls of Israel closer to their purpose. Rabbi Yaakov Salma shlit"a, head of the 'Netzach Netzachim' Kollel in Bnei Brak, has gathered holy words that open a window into the world of the tzaddikim; these are his words.

"I heard from Rabbi Reuven Elbaz shlit"a that the wicked man does not look for answers; the wicked man comes only to provoke. One must not answer such a person because he is not looking for answers, but only for contradictions. He will finish with this contradiction and look to challenge Judaism with another. My words now are not for those who have hatred and resentment in their hearts for the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a; these people are not looking for answers anyway and come with preconceived notions. My words are for those who are truly looking for answers."

There were tzaddikim who behaved as the Rav behaved toward that Jew at the gathering in Eilat. There was Shammai, who pushed that person away with a building tool, and there are tzaddikim in our generation. Just as happened with Rabbi Chaim Cohen shlit"a, the 'Chalbani' (the Milkman), when one day a student came to his class and the Chalbani actually rebuked him harshly and sent him away. However, that student understood that the Chalbani was not just shaming him, but had the intention of bringing him salvations through it. Therefore, he went outside with a bowed head and waited outside the door until the Chalbani finally told him that he had tried to annul a harsh decree from him; although he did not succeed, as he put it, he did succeed in delaying it. Time passed, and his 10-month-old baby died of SIDS. On the day it happened, he went to the Chalbani, who told him that he had known it in advance, but he had only managed to delay the decree. We see that tzaddikim perform actions to sweeten judgments from upon the people of Israel and to save them.

"One Jew came to the Rav on his 21st birthday to receive a blessing. Our teacher, Rav Berland, sent him to bring a sum of money for a pidyon nefesh (redemption of the soul). Immediately after that Jew brought the pidyon, the Rav took the envelope and threw it on the table while shouting, 'Do you think I need your money? Get out of here!' And then, with both hands, the Rav pushed him out of the house forcefully and slammed the door. That young man, who is not a Breslov chassid and is not familiar with such behavior among tzaddikim, was hurt by this, but the Rav sent his attendant to run after him and ask him to bring a pidyon again. That Jew, even though he was secular, returned to Rav Berland again with a pidyon, but to his astonishment, the same story repeated itself, including the attendant returning and asking him to come back with a pidyon, this time for the third time."

"The last time, the Rav revealed to that young man that a death decree had been hovering over his head, and the humiliation he had caused him was effectively a 'spilling of blood' that came in place of his death. The young man, who was moved by this, returned home and told his mother, who was beside herself, and this is what his mother told him: '21 years ago, when we still lived in Georgia, there was a fortune teller who told me that I would be blessed with a male child, but he would not pass the age of 21.' Now, someone who does not understand the whole picture can enter into doubts and contradictions. Since then, that young man has returned in teshuvah (repentance) and is today a student of the Rav."

"Rabbi Moshe Tzanani shlit"a related that many years ago, we arrived from the yeshiva with the Rav in Hebron. The Rav wanted to immerse himself, but the mikvah was locked. One of the students told him that he had a key with which he could open everything. The Rav, as if waiting for this, began to shout loudly, 'What a community of thieves!' while the students were walking behind him and the Rav was shaming them. When they reached the Cave (of the Patriarchs), the Rav began reciting the Tikkun HaKlali with such pleasure, as if nothing had happened. Immediately after the recitation of the Tikkun was finished, the Rav said to all those present, 'When there is judgment, the tzaddik acts with judgment, and know that 500 terrorists were waiting for us to leave Hebron.'"

"Rabbi Tzanani continued to relate that everyone thought Rav Berland was speaking in hyperbole—after all, when have we heard of 500 terrorists together? But immediately upon their exit, the army stopped them, telling them that there had been a very serious incident. It turned out that the Arabs of the surrounding villages had received information about a bus of Breslov chassidim on its way to the Cave of the Patriarchs and planned to wait for them at the exit and lynch them. 'Suddenly the soldier says to us,' continues Rabbi Tzanani, '500 Arab terrorists are waiting for you at the exit, and the army is dealing with it now.'"

"A Jew told me that during his stay with the Rav in Johannesburg, the Rav gave him slaps exactly like in the case that happened in Eilat, and he felt that the Rav was sweetening decrees from him. The next day, he was passing through a desolate area when suddenly ten large black men jumped on him, seeking to rob him and murder him. 'I have no idea how I got out of it,' that Jew told me. 'It is clear to me that I was saved from murder, and it is even clearer to me that everything is in the merit of the slaps of our teacher, Rav Berland shlit"a.' 'I later told the Rav about the miracle, and the Rav was truly happy and smiled.'"