"And I have commanded the ravens to sustain you" – From the newsletter Knishta Chada, 5774

In the recording "Emunah and Bitachon" (Faith and Trust) by the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, the Rav says: It is written concerning Elijah the Prophet that when he fled from Jezebel—who wanted to kill him because he had killed the prophets of Baal—he cursed the Nation of Israel that rain would not fall for three years. Then he fled to a cave and felt hungry. Hashem said to him, "Do not worry—'And I have commanded the ravens to sustain you.'" The ravens brought him bread and meat every day. Furthermore, they brought it from the house of Ahab and Jezebel, because the cook there was Obadiah the Prophet, and therefore the food there was kosher. So our teacher, the Rav, asks: Where is it written that Hashem commanded the ravens to sustain Elijah? There is no verse where Hashem actually says this to them! Rather, in truth, even before the creation of the world, Hashem knew that a day would come when Elijah the Prophet would need to eat, and already then, He arranged for the ravens to come and bring him food. In this way, Hashem provides for every person even before the creation of the world—what he will eat and who will bring him food—and a person has nothing to worry about at all. We see this similarly with the Rav, that in all his journeys and affairs, Hashem is with him. When he was in Morocco, Hashem brought it about that his student, S.B., went to live in Morocco five years prior. People heard many good stories about the Rav from him and were already waiting for when they, too, would merit to see the Rav and receive his blessing; immediately upon the Rav's arrival there, they received him with great honor. And also now, when the Rav has been forced to go into exile again, the Holy One, Blessed is He, has already arranged someone to help him there. About 10 years ago, a certain Jew came to the Rav and said to him: "I am on the verge of bankruptcy and I have a final $10,000 left. What should I do with it?" The Rav took an atlas, showed him the country of Zimbabwe, which is adjacent to Johannesburg in South Africa, and told him to buy land there in an area where no one thought there was anything. Truly, when they began to dig there, a huge diamond mine was discovered, where even the simplest diamond there is worth 100,000 NIS. Not only that, but exactly when he bought this plot, there was a gentile who also wanted to buy it, but the owner of the land, who was also Jewish, said he preferred to sell to a Jew. Thus, that specific person merited this mine. Now, he gives the Rav his home and also a private jet with which he travels to Johannesburg and returns to Zimbabwe. In this, we also see how the verse "And I have commanded the ravens to sustain you" is fulfilled in the Rav.