Harsh Words of Rabbi Nachman Berland about the Awful Conditions His Father is

RABBI NACHMAN BERLAND, SON OF OUR REBBE RAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A, IN A HARSH SPEECH ABOUT THE TERRIBLE CONDITIONS HIS FATHER IS FOUND IN.  RABBI NACHMAN SPOKE IN FRONT OF THE LARGE CROWD WHO CAME TO THE PRAYER GATHERING AT THE BAR ILAN INTERCHANGE IN JERUSALEM FOR THE RELEASE OF RAV BERLAND SHLIT”A.  ALTHOUGH SINCE THEN THE DECISION WAS MADE TO MOVE THE RAV TO AN ALTERNATIVE PLACE, THE SITUATION IS STILL FAR FROM CALMING ONE’S MIND AND THE HANDLING OF THE RAV IS STILL WITH ITS USUALLY SEVERITY, AROUSING ASTONISHMENT AND OUTRAGE.

“What can we say? What can we speak of?  The Rav is completely isolated.  I spoke this week to the attorney, and she says that the isolation of the Rav is very, very harsh.  It’s hard to see this.  Things are disgraceful there – he has no opportunity to recuperate.”

“WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF STRENGTH IS DEMANDED OF THE RAV SHLIT”A.”

“The Rav is found in Hadassa Hospital for two months, in a little while three months, from Chol HaMoed Succos.  In a little while we’re at the end of Teves.  In actuality, three months, and the Rav hasn’t recovered completely, from the standpoint of the isolation, from the standpoint of health.  It’s impossible to heal him in any form.

“They don’t let him see people, mood isn’t relevant at all…this is very hard.  I don’t want to say what the attorney says at all – it’s very, very hard.  The family that’s by the Rav… with difficulty they allow us to see him once a week.  Most of the time, they refuse this because of various excuses.

“The Rav shlit”a doesn’t see anyone.  He has a telephone over the course of the day maybe for a half-hour, speaks here a word, here a word.  As much as we know our Rav, really we have no idea at all what kind of strength we’re talking about, what kind of might we’re talking about, but we’re obligated to do everything that’s possible, primarily in prayer, primarily what the Rav shlit”a talks about.

“Here, we are turning to all responsible parties.  The hardest shock was that they already succeeded in, Bezras Hashem Yisbarach, to convince those who pull the [police] files.  They saw that there was nothing at all, and really they wanted to release the Rav shlit”a already, they wanted to release him – the Rav was already supposed to be out.  The Rav said to me several times, ‘Tomorrow I’m at home.’  He said he’ll light Chanukah candles.  Afterwards, he said on Asarah B’Teves, ‘I’ll be with you at the great gathering.’”

“THE RAV’S ATTORNEY SAYS: THERE’S THE LAW FOR EVERYONE, AND THERE’S THE ‘BERLAND LAW’.

“To our grief, with no justification they’re holding him, with no reason.  He who is familiar with the [police] file, we’re talking here with great difficulty how it’s possible to do something like this at all.  The attorney says, we have here the ‘Berland File’ – everything is permissible.  They totally breached all ways of things.

“We’re turning here in the name of the holy community – to the entire holy community, anyone who has the possibility, anyone who has friends – the scream is until the heart of the heavens.  Today is the birthday of the Rav shlit”a, at the age of 83, already entering the age of 84, and he already has many more years to lead the entire holy community.

“We are all praying all the time, that really Hashem will give to the people who need to decide, that they reveal some type of humanity, the most simple [type].  For the biggest murderers, for the biggest terrorists, they don’t have isolation like this.  There’s more [restrictive] conditions than what the Rav went through in Ramla, than what he went through in Tzalmon.

“The Rav is going through very difficult things, very difficult.  Our obligation is always to continue to pray, to continue to scream.  Anyone who has a certain connection, anyone who has influence in some place, is obligated to act, as is written about Yaakov, that he came before Esav with a gift, prayer, and war.  Mamash, we need to act in all ways.

“War – meaning the primary war is prayer.  This is the main war.  War means prayer.  Not, God forbid, war in its simple meaning.  War has two meanings – prayer from the depth of the heart, to arouse great Heavenly mercy.  Bezras Hashem, we should merit to see the Rav shlit”a released…Bezras Hashem.”

The video of Rav Nachman Berland speaking (in Hebrew):