Gathering at the King's Courtyard "House of Prisoners - Tzalmon" on Yom Kippur

"One can explain the existence of the Yom Kippur minyanim at Tzalmon near our teacher, the holy Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, as a miracle within a miracle... things worked out in a truly miraculous and wondrous way. I personally counted a total of 150 people; it was a truly beautiful minyan. This entire minyan was based on a protest event that was intended to take place on Erev Yom Kippur at 4:00 PM. We ordered a bus to take us back to Jerusalem immediately, but unfortunately, the bus driver refused to drive, claiming he would not be able to reach Jerusalem before the start of Yom Kippur."

Rabbi Aharon Schwartz shares in a wonderful interview his impressions of the Yom Kippur prayers near Tzalmon prison, where our teacher, the holy Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, is located.

"One could say that the gathering was truly underground; the police spent all of Yom Kippur searching for us in the guest houses of Moshav Kalanit. They wanted to remove us, and there was a very tense atmosphere on Erev Yom Kippur. Therefore, we could not publicize it in order to have a large gathering. The police arrived at a large guest house we had booked to serve as a prayer hall opposite the prison. The police forced the owner of the guest house to cancel the deal, but in the end, everything turned for the better, and we held the prayers in a large courtyard. When we realized we were going to be stuck there, we quickly brought a shade net and rented several coolers; thanks to this, the public was able to hold on."

"A large crowd arrived; there was electricity, there was lighting, and it was in a courtyard within a guest house complex outside of Moshav Kalanit. Finally, Hashem softened their hearts, and they agreed to let us stay on the condition that we would not reach the prison area and would not enter Kalanit. And thank Hashem, Yom Kippur passed in an orderly fashion without fines and without disturbances."

"The prayers were conducted in the special style of Breslov Chassidim, as is customary from the 'Tish'."

Kol Nidre and Maariv - Led by the esteemed Rabbi Nachman Fuchs shlit"a

Shacharit prayer - The esteemed Rabbi Aharon Konigsberg shlit"a

Torah reading for Shacharit - The esteemed Rabbi Aharon Schwartz shlit"a

Musaf prayer and 'Seder HaAvodah' - The esteemed Rabbi Nachman Fuchs shlit"a

Torah reading for Mincha and Haftarah 'Yonah' - The esteemed Rabbi Chaikin shlit"a

Mincha prayer - The esteemed Rabbi Grant shlit"a

Ne'ilah prayer - The esteemed Rabbi Nachman Fuchs shlit"a

Maariv, the 'sealing' of the conclusion of Yom Kippur - The esteemed Rabbi Natan Shamai shlit"a.

"The fast passed very pleasantly; there was a light of prayer. Despite all the difficulty of the fast, the public sang and played the prayer. People from the other end of Kalanit testified that they heard the Shema we recited during Ne'ilah."

"I must share a great miracle we experienced. We prepared ourselves with double permits in case we needed them during the lockdown, but we did not need them. From every place in the country that people came from for the gathering, no one had to present permits. The roads were completely open, even from Jerusalem to Tzalmon. One can see how the tzaddik controls this entire lockdown; he struck them with blindness."

"Rabbi Natan Shamai, with whom our teacher Rav Berland speaks often on the phone, prayed with us. He said that the Rav sent him to be in Tzalmon on Yom Kippur together with his family, and also told him to tell other friends to come. He further said that he spoke with the Rav before the prayers, and our teacher Rav Berland told him that he was truly happy about these prayers. The Rav knows that we are here; he received great vitality from this, and this is something we have known for all these years. Our teacher Rav Berland always wants there to be a gathering near him, no matter the conditions. In the end, just like on Rosh Hashanah, all the obstacles and barriers were removed and broken; suddenly, one feels the sweetness."