Chapters of Heichalot: "Thus They Will Disgrace the King Mashiach"

A wondrous testimony from a veteran student of Yeshivat Kisse Rahamim, from the mouth of Rabbi Lugasi shlit"a. These are his words.

"I studied at Yeshivat Kisse Rahamim about 30 years ago. I met Rabbi Lugasi and asked him: 'Did you know that Mashiach will sit in prison?'"

Rabbi Lugasi: "Are you referring to Rav Berland?"

I answered: "Did you know that there is a Midrash called Pirkei Heichalot that says Mashiach will sit in prison?"

Rabbi Lugasi: "I am not saying whether Rav Berland is Mashiach, but it certainly pains me that he is in prison, a Jew of his advanced age. I will tell you something about Mashiach that I heard from Rav Berland himself in 5775. Rav Berland said in a lecture: 'Pray hard that in 5775 there will be the Geulah, because if not, it will only arrive in 5781'. Rabbi Lugasi continued to tell me, I am admittedly not a Chassid like you, but that I heard from Rav Berland."

I asked: "Could it be that everything happening now with Corona is hastening us toward Mashiach in 5781?"

Rabbi Lugasi: "Certainly these are processes of the Geulah."

It is written about the humility of Mashiach as being like the humility of Moshe Rabbeinu; what was, will be. That as much as they argued against Moshe, he only prayed for them; on the contrary, as much as Datan and Aviram embittered his life, he still parted the sea for them. And so it is with Rav Berland - Abba Turotzky asked Rav Berland to release a recording against those who degrade him and issue rulings against him, that punishments should befall them so that they would be afraid. How can people not be afraid to persecute the tzaddik?

Rav Berland answered him: 'I want to release a recording that I forgive them and pray for them that they should only have good things."

Natan Salmanovitz, the son of the Kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Salmanovitz from Bnei Brak, said: "One must publicize the Midrash Pirkei Heichalot that speaks about Mashiach. People who read what is written there automatically say that it is similar to what Rav Berland is going through. Therefore, one only needs to publicize Pirkei Heichalot and everyone will be amazed at how similar it is to what Rav Berland is going through."

I conducted an experiment: "Next to me live several avreichim from the Ponevezh Yeshiva. I asked one of them, if I tell you that Mashiach is sitting in prison and they say about him that he is an adulterer, a thief, a murderer, etc., would you say I am crazy?"

The Ponevezh avreich answered: "Of course, what kind of thing is that to say about Mashiach!"

I said to him: "Tzaddik, you study Gemara all day and you do not know that there are ancient, explicit Midrashim that tell exactly these things that they will say about Mashiach, that they will degrade him, and put him in prison. People do not understand that the entire reality that Rav Berland is going through is written, and this is not an invention of some student or foolish follower."

In the Midrash Pirkei Heichalot, it is written that the people of Israel will say about Mashiach: "At that hour, Israel will return to a different mindset and degrade Mashiach, saying Woe to us that we were led astray after this madman. Hashem said to them, you call him a madman? Now you will see his light that was walking around him, as it is said (Psalms 50:3) 'and around Him it is very stormy.' And whoever believed in him will not be erased from the Book of Life (Pirkei Heichalot, Chapter 35). It is hard to understand how the words of the Midrash are literally coming to pass, how the people of Israel will strike their chests for their sin, for having abandoned Mashiach and murmured against him!"

"In the final lectures before the exile, Rav Berland said about himself, once every 200 years a soul descends to the world that has never sinned. Rav Berland took a pen and highlighted this text in the Rambam's book. And Rav Berland answered one of the questioners and said: From the age of 3, I did not even have a thought of sin."