Ha’azinu: The Holy Service of the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

"Thirty years ago, they traveled with the Rav shlit"a to observe Yom Kippur in Meron. There, they coordinated among themselves to hold shifts at the holy gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, with the first shift remaining there immediately after prayer until midnight, while the next shift would replace them at midnight and continue into the holy services of Yom Kippur."

"They began the Ma'ariv prayer, with the Rav shlit"a asking them not to wait for him. Afterward, they continued with all the piyyutim and selichot, while all that time the Rav shlit"a stood in prayer with a tallit over his head. They were certain that the Rav shlit"a was about to finish his prayer, and in the meantime, they began to split into shifts at the holy gravesite—the Rav shlit"a was still standing in the corner with a tallit over his head."

"Midnight arrived, and the first shift went to sleep, yet the Rav was still standing in the corner praying. This continued until the morning, when they subsequently continued the entire long order of Yom Kippur prayers, which includes, among other things, Shacharit with Musaf, Mincha, and Ne'ilah—all that time the Rav stood to the side with a tallit over his head, praying."

"The time for Ma'ariv of Motzaei Yom Kippur arrived; more than 25 hours had passed without food, drink, or sleep, and the Rav shlit"a continued to stand and pray. The holy day ended, everyone boarded the bus, and the driver urged them that he had no time to wait and that they should go call the Rav shlit"a because he was starting to drive and did not care if he remained in Meron. With holy trepidation, several people approached the Rav shlit"a and hinted to him that it was time to return; the Rav shlit"a shook off his prayer, boarded the bus, and performed Havdalah."

"The entire way back, for about four hours, the Rav shlit"a spoke to the people words of encouragement, and when they arrived in Jerusalem, the Rav shlit"a wondered: 'You are going to sleep? We haven't done hitbodedut for almost a whole day!' Therefore, they organized cars and drove to the field, where they did hitbodedut until the morning, followed by the mikvah and Shacharit prayer. When the prayer ended, the Rav shlit"a said that one must go from mitzvah to mitzvah, and therefore he began to study Masechet Sukkah. Only after all of this did they see that the Rav shlit"a rested a little."

"How holy and awesome the Rav shlit"a was back then! These are the services he performed thirty years ago. We cannot fathom the spiritual attainments the Rav shlit"a is at today—only to strengthen ourselves in faith in the greatness of the tzaddik."