Exorcising a Dybbuk

"I was a witness to this terrible story from its beginning to its end. At the end of the winter of 5778 (2018), I was invited to an azkara (memorial service) in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of Jerusalem by Shmulik Gabbai, the manager of a security company in Jerusalem. It was a memorial service for the grandfather of one of the employees in the security company named Lidor. I arrived at their home and saw people who were seemingly far from Torah and mitzvot (commandments). While I was sharing words of Torah, my eyes met a young man who was looking at me with interest. This young man, who appeared quite secular, with several earrings and a tattoo on one of his hands, approached me after the memorial service and thanked me for coming. I felt that there was great potential hidden within this young man, and I even told him so."

"In my conversation with him, it became clear to me that his name was Asi M., a women's hair stylist and one of the more famous figures in Jerusalem. He went on to tell me that he had been working in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood for over four years and occasionally sings at events. We exchanged phone numbers, and since then we met several times; mainly, we traveled together to the Kotel (Western Wall) and to the tomb of Shmuel HaNavi (Samuel the Prophet)."

"Toward the end of the month of Tammuz, I received an urgent phone call from Asi in which he told me about one of his female relatives, a completely normative girl, who suddenly began speaking delusional words that were not characteristic of her. Additionally, the family was worried because she had stopped eating and drinking. From the things Asi described, it was clear that this was a dybbuk (spirit possession), as there was no reality in which such talk was related to her—after all, she was a girl with no connection to religion, yet the sentences she spoke were about the World to Come and Hashem Yisbarach (the Blessed Creator)."

"It is important to note that she spoke in her own voice, but a spirit had entered her, controlling and threatening her. Her fear of the spirit was terrible and awesome, and Asi asked me what to do with her. I told him that in matters of this kind, not just anyone can handle it, and that Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a could certainly help with this. It turned out they had never heard of Rabbi Berland in particular or other rabbis in general, and until now, they had shown no interest in Judaism."

"The story about the dybbuk spread through the family, and one of the relatives recommended a certain rabbi as someone who could help. They contacted him, and he said he would arrive at their home in the coming days. The family waited impatiently for his arrival; the days passed in indescribable suffering, as the entire household ceased to function."

"After a few days, that rabbi arrived and tried to do something with the dybbuk, but nothing changed. In their distress, they tried to reach Rabbi Berland, but on that day, the Rav was giving a lesson to the masses. At a loss, they returned to me in the morning hours and asked me what to do, mentioning the name of someone else they had heard could help. Again, I emphasized that in such problems, not everyone can handle it and it is very worthwhile to reach Rabbi Berland, but they wanted immediate help. I gave them the name of an important rabbi, one of the great famous Kabbalists of our generation who is known to deal with such things. They made every effort and reached his yeshiva with the girl. The Kabbalist rabbi immediately identified that it was a dybbuk and began a tikkun (rectification) with shofars (ram's horns) to remove the dybbuk, while shouting at it, 'Get out of her!' He repeated this several times while striking his hand on the bimah (podium)."

"After the conclusion of the tikkun, they went home, and although she calmed down a bit that day, the very next day everything returned to her. Apparently, the spirit within her had hidden that day because of the tikkun. During these days, besides the fact that the entire family hardly slept due to worry for the girl, she also lost weight in a concerning manner. They decided to seek medical help at the hospital, where they hospitalized the girl over the Shabbat, but even there her condition did not improve at all. For it is well known and famous that medicine has no ability to deal with matters such as these."

"On Sunday, there was again no reception with Rabbi Berland shlit"a, but on Monday, Asi, Lidor, and I were privileged to enter the inner sanctum. I told Rabbi Berland about what had happened to the girl suddenly and went on to describe the previous attempts to remove the dybbuk. The Rav immediately said, 'I will remove the dybbuk; come tomorrow, Tuesday, with a pidyon (redemption of the soul)."

"The next day we arrived with a pidyon. The Rav said he needed to change her name and visit their home three times in order to remove the dybbuk from her. Asi asked with a broken voice, 'Rabbi, will you remove this from her?' and the Rav answered, 'I swear that I will remove it from her. I will arrive at your place around five in the morning after I return to Jerusalem.'"

"As is known, every night Rabbi Berland gives lessons and home gatherings throughout the country. The Rav leaves immediately after the Maariv (evening) prayer and finishes around five o'clock; after that, they begin to pray Shacharit (morning prayer) with the public with songs and melodies, while the Rav looks as if he just woke up from a good night's sleep."

"The Rav gave Asi a kamea (amulet) to place on the girl without her knowledge and arrived to visit them on Wednesday at five, entering their home with only his close attendants. The family members were awestruck by the Rav's appearance of majesty and holiness, as the last hope nested in their hearts. The Rav sat down and began reading from Likutey Moharan (the primary work of Rebbe Nachman), Part One, Lesson 74, regarding Dina D'misavuta (the law of impurity). This means that there is a judgment of a spirit of impurity, which Rebbe Nachman explains at length how to transform into Dina Kadisha (holy law)."

"The Rav asked for a glass of water, made a blessing, drank a little, poured some on his clothes, and asked that they give the girl some to drink, but she refused. The Rav began to take deep breaths and his face was like a flame of fire; then the girl agreed to drink. The Rav stayed in their home for about half an hour, during which time he told a story and read from Likutey Moharan. Already the next day, the family informed us that a significant improvement had begun in her condition, and she said, 'I feel that this Rabbi is bringing me back to life. This is not a rabbi; this is an angel that Hashem sent to return me to myself.'"

"The next day, Rabbi Berland arrived again toward five in the morning, told a story, and stayed for about half an hour. Baruch Hashem (Thank God), the girl began to eat and drink a little, and a further improvement occurred in her condition. She said, 'I feel that every time this Rabbi arrives, he brings me back to life.'"

"Another day passed, and again, the Rav arrived for the third time. This was on Friday before dawn. The Rav spoke words of Torah, and after he finished, the girl said, 'I feel that he has brought me back to life.' Rabbi Berland arrived two more times at their home to strengthen the family in the fulfillment of mitzvot, even though by the third time, the girl's condition had completely returned to its strength."

"On the fourth visit, one of the family members who had been trying for over eight months to sell his house without success approached the Rav and asked that he succeed in finding a buyer. The Rav said to him, 'Tomorrow I am sending you a buyer, and you will make a contract with him.' The next day a buyer arrived, and they made a contract."

"It is important to note that Lidor, Asi's cousin, was present at all four of the Rav's visits, and as a result, he was strengthened and took upon himself the keeping of Shabbat, a kippah, and tzitzit. Along with him, several other family members took upon themselves the keeping of Shabbat and additional mitzvot. Asi signed up for the trip to Uman after the Rav told him to do so."

"Toward the month of Elul, we traveled to the Rav's lesson in Givat Olga together with Asi and Lidor to ask the Rav about matters related to their teshuvah (repentance). The Rav said to them, 'I have two last places on the train, and I am giving them to you.'"

"I spoke with Rabbi Berland shlit"a about the dybbuk, and the Rav referred to it in the lesson in Givat Olga. He said that he has a Megillat Setarim (hidden scroll) from one of the greatest Tzaddikim of recent generations, and there a holy name is written by which it is possible to remove dybbuks."

"On Thursday evening, the 13th of Elul, a seudat hodayah (thanksgiving meal) was held with the family with the participation of Rabbi Berland shlit"a. For an hour and a half, everyone sang and chanted in gratitude to Hashem for all the good and the miracles He bestowed upon us. During the meal, the Rav was asked about the removal of the dybbuk and said that by saying the Torah from Likutey Moharan, he removed the dybbuk."

"The story of the spiritual strengthening of all the family members is only the beginning of a great and powerful light of teshuvah; with Hashem's help, there is yet more to come.

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