“My name is Chai Kampo and I’m from Tel Aviv. My mother is from the Philippines and my father is from Thailand. I was born in Israel,” Chai Kampo begins, sharing with us the incredible story of how he drew close to Judaism and to our teacher, the holy gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

“In the army, when I was in an officers’ course, I became stronger. I saw what Judaism is, and I feel Jewish. I’m in the process of conversion now. When I come to prayer and I tell people that I can’t complete a minyan, my heart hurts—I cry. Truly, I cry. I cry that I’m not Jewish. Sometimes they remind me: ‘Chai, you’re not Jewish, you can’t keep Shabbos.’ Sometimes I cry.”

“At first, when I tried to say Krias Shema, I couldn’t manage. I would cry and cry: ‘Master of the World, give me strength to pray, so I can say the words properly.’”

The interviewer: “With Hashem’s help, the conversion process will be quick.”

Chai: “However long it needs.”

“I was far from Judaism. My mother is a Catholic Christian, my father is actually Buddhist, and my two brothers are atheists—far from Judaism!”

How did you start drawing close to Judaism?

“I always felt that I’m Jewish in my soul. I enlisted in the army, and there I saw for the first time what Judaism is—holidays, songs. I said, ‘Wow, how beautiful!’ And then they brought me close. They told me, ‘Come with us. Come pray with us. See what it is. Look—these are the holidays. This is how we pray, this is how we make blessings. Look, we bless Hashem for the small things; we bless Him for the fact that you woke up in the morning.’”

“I said, ‘Wow, how beautiful!’ Then I started a conversion process in the army. I got all the way to the end of the process—that was when I was 18. Now I’m 26.”

“I’m standing now outside the home of the holy Rabbi Berland.”

How did I get here?

“One day I was praying Shacharis in Tel Aviv at sunrise. After Birchas Kohanim, I remembered Rabbi Berland and I began praying for him with a true, pure intention—one more second and I would have cried. Then I see Rabbi Berland right in front of my eyes—and he’s shouting at me and telling me, ‘Come, come, come… come.’ And I’m trembling; my soul is trembling.”

“I got up from prayer—I couldn’t continue. I said, ‘Wow, wow—who is this?’ I started asking about him: Who is this Rav? I understood that he is a Tzaddik, holy of holies. That same day I went to sleep, and again I dreamed about Rabbi Berland and he told me, ‘Come—come here.’”

“The next day I dreamed about him again, but it was a longer dream. I see Rabbi Berland in a very large, bright room, and there are many people there, like a Torah class, but the Rav is sitting in the middle. He tells me to come to him, I come to Rabbi Berland and he asks me, ‘What do you want?’”

“I tell him, and he starts shouting at me: ‘What do you want? What do you want?’ I tell him, and he keeps asking: ‘What do you want? What do you want?’ And I tell him with all my heart.”

“Then my alarm clock starts beeping. I tell my alarm clock, ‘Wait a second—I’m with Rabbi Berland.’ Inside the dream I’m telling the alarm clock, ‘Wait a second,’ and the Rav keeps asking me, ‘What do you want? What do you want?’ I tell him, and then I wake up.”

“The next day I dream about Rabbi Berland again, and he tells me the same thing: ‘What do you want? What do you want?’ I said: That’s it—three times, this is from Hashem. Rabbi Berland is calling me.”

“I said: If Hashem, may He be blessed, wants it, I will meet him. I went to the kiosk where I always buy things and I told myself: Let’s ask the person—here in Tel Aviv—let’s ask a random person, maybe he’ll bring me to Rabbi Berland.”

“I asked him, ‘Do you know Rabbi Berland?’ ‘Yes—he’s holy!’ I kept asking him, ‘So how do I get to him? Do you know how?’”

“He answered: ‘Yes, I have the number of someone—I think he’ll help you.’”

“I took the number and called. The person didn’t answer. At night he called me back and asked me what I wanted?” “I want to meet Rabbi Berland!”

“He asked me, ‘What’s your reason? Why do you want to?’ I started telling him the story, and he got really excited—moved by the story—and he gave me the address and the time.”

“Now I’m here—I came to pray with Rabbi Berland!”

Was this the first time you saw Rabbi Berland?

“Yes!”

The obstacles on the way to the Tzaddik don’t end when you leave for Jerusalem

“Then I got here to the central bus station in Jerusalem. I tried to catch a taxi and couldn’t. For half an hour no one would take me—they said they didn’t want to drive there. After half an hour, I didn’t give up; I fought and fought. In the end someone took me, and I arrived here.”

“Here, by Rabbi Berland, I met Rabbi Nachman Horowitz. I told him the story. He helped me—we walked around here, and he brought me to eat lunch. We set a table there, and I started telling everyone, the way I’m telling you here—I told everyone the story. Everyone was lit up, everyone was happy.”

“It was fun, it was light. Just the fact that I got here—I feel that I drew closer. I feel at home!”

You don’t want to leave this place and go back to Tel Aviv?

“No!”

So you’re coming tomorrow to see the Rav—are you staying here?

“Yes. I prayed so strongly that I would meet him!”

Chai goes back to speak about the conversion process he began at age 18, but did not complete—and now he is finishing it:

“So I did the conversion process, but I didn’t finish it all the way. I was missing the beis din—apparently my Emunah wasn’t 100%.”

“I’m a Thai boxing coach, and I always relied on my hands. Then, after five years, I had an accident. I’m walking in the street and I get hit—they throw me. I can’t move my hand or my shoulder—nothing. And then the Master of the World revealed Himself to me: He placed religious people in front of me; everyone around me was religious.”

“I said, ‘Wow, what is this?’ I started drawing close to the Creator. I’m walking around at night and suddenly I see a synagogue. I said, ‘What is this? How beautiful!’”

“I came to pray, and suddenly I found a synagogue and everyone helped me—strengthened me. The rabbis helped me: ‘Come to Torah classes.’ Now, thank God, I go to Torah classes every day. I want to, though I still don’t put on tefillin, but I pray three prayers a day.”

How do you feel that Rabbi Berland brought you close from afar and prayed for you?

“Amazing! Unbelievable. I can’t believe I managed to come here—you saw me. I prayed strongly so that I would meet him!”

Can you describe what you saw when the Rav was giving the class? What room was it in? How did it look in the dream?

“A room exactly like it is here!”

The Rav’s house?

“Like the Rav’s synagogue—in the prayer hall, exactly! And he was sitting in the middle.”