An Emotional Evening at the Distribution of 'Chanukah Gelt' with the Esteemed

The eighth night of Chanukah opened with a great light that only continues to increase within the holy Breslov Shuvu Banim community. Even before the central candle lighting in the prayer hall, our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, continued the tradition of the 'Chanukah Gelt' distribution, as a large crowd arrived at the home of Rav Berland to be blessed by the tzaddik.

With personal and warm attention, and a tender smile on his face, our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a received each and every person who came to him. Our teacher Rav Berland distributed the coins and refreshments to them, and also answered their questions.

A fresh and wonderful story that occurred during the reception, which reached us from one of the community members, sheds some light on the wondrous vision of our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a and his holy spirit.

The member recounts, "For a week now, my wife and I have not been in good health—fever, aches, etc.—an unpleasant situation. We very much wanted to come and be blessed by our teacher Rav Berland, but due to the situation, it was impossible for us. To our joy, we were able to send our eldest son, who also served as an emissary for the entire family."

"Our son, very excited by the occasion, was unable to open his mouth to tell our teacher Rav Berland about the situation at home, but behold the wonder. Our teacher truly saw the whole picture, and he kept our son by his side for almost the entire duration of the reception."

"Despite all the pressure caused by the large number of people arriving, the Rav continued to treat our son in an extraordinary way. Suddenly, our teacher Rav Berland turned to him and said, 'Take these two ointments; one ointment is for the mouth, and the second for the joint pain.'"

"Needless to say, our teacher Rav Berland was completely accurate in the treatment he sent us, and again, this was without our son saying a single word to him."

"The story did not end there. When our son returned home and recounted what had happened with our teacher Rav Berland, great excitement gripped the family members - we all felt that beyond the healing sent to us by the tzaddik, a greeting and fatherly warmth were bestowed upon us. We felt that our teacher Rav Berland was truly saying to us—I know everything you are going through, and I am with you."

Photography: Shimon Shavi, and Shuvu Banim International

A photo gallery of the holy scenes of the 'Chanukah Gelt' distribution with our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a