How Do We Identify in Our Generation Who is the True Tzaddik?! Rabbi Ofer Erez

There have always been confusions and wonderings regarding the true tzaddik who can bring me closer to the service of Hashem. Already in the time of Noah, the people of his generation did not believe him, and these wonderings have only increased from generation to generation. The true tzaddikim have been persecuted, scorned, and thrown into prisons throughout history. Abraham was persecuted by Nimrod; Korach incited the entire multitude of the people against Moses our teacher—yes, Moses, that is not a mistake. The Ramchal was forced into exile and his books were burned; anyone identified with the holy Baal Shem Tov was forced to suffer endless humiliations. And this is just a small drop in the history of the persecutions against the true tzaddikim.

Therefore, the great and important question today is - how do we identify in our generation who is the true tzaddik?!

How is it possible to recognize and draw close to the tzaddik who will bring me to my true purpose and take me out of all the vanities of the world?!

Rabbi Ofer Erez shlit"a answers this question with sweet words. These are his holy words, wonderful pieces of advice that are essential in this difficult time.

"It is written in the holy Zohar in Parshat Metzora, there is no one as great in the tribe of Levi as Korach. He was the head of the Levites, not only in an external role, but on the contrary, in his inwardness. In his spiritual level, he was the greatest in the entire tribe of Levi."

"Another thing: Korach was also a possessor of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration). It is written in the Midrash that Korach was from the family of Kehat, from the bearers of the Ark. Everyone who carried the Ark in the journeys of the desert merited Ruach HaKodesh, and Korach saw that a tzaddik was destined to come from him who would be equal to Moses and Aaron, which is Samuel the Prophet. In this, too, Korach was correct—this was true Ruach HaKodesh; Samuel the Prophet came from the descendants of Korach."

"Korach was also one of the richest men in the world; he found part of the treasures of Joseph the Tzaddik, and from that, he became one of the richest men in the world."

"With all this, as Rashi says: What did Korach see to commit such folly as to argue with Moses our teacher?"

"The act of Korach was not simple: he succeeded in misleading most of the people of Israel to follow his opinions. The Midrash says: among others, 250 heads of the Sanhedrin, 250 of the greatest sages of Israel, he succeeded in misleading them and moving them to his side so that they would think that Moses our teacher was wrong in all his ways."

"The holy Ari says on the verse: 'The tzaddik will flourish like a date palm' (Tzaddik KaTamar Yifrach) — the first letters spell Korach; Korach is destined to be a High Priest. After all, Korach argued about the priesthood; he wanted to be a High Priest. The holy Ari says that this was not imaginary; the destiny of Korach to be a High Priest is for the time to come."

"If so, the question arises: In what did Korach err?"

"Korach caused all of the people of Israel to argue with Moses our teacher, and he was punished that the earth opened its mouth and swallowed Korach and all his congregation."

"There is a well-known story about the first Admor of the Satmar Chassidic dynasty, the Yismach Moshe (Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, 1758–1841), and he writes that from Heaven they showed him all his incarnations. He was a very holy and awesome tzaddik; he writes that they showed him that he was also in the generation of the desert."

"His students asked him: 'Our holy and awesome master, what did you do during the time of Korach's dispute against Moses?'"

"The Yismach Moshe answered: 'I refrained; I was not in favor of Korach and not in favor of Moses.' They asked: 'How can it be that you were not in favor of Moses our teacher?'"

"The Yismach Moshe: 'Do you know how hard it was not to agree with Korach? That I refrained was my merit! Whoever refrains in the dispute of Korach and his congregation will be an Admor in the next incarnation,' we said this a bit jokingly."

"We see what a holy soul the Yismach Moshe had, and how hard it was for him to clarify the truth. Because there are situations in life, and as we get closer to the Geulah, they only intensify; the fog of the imagination (koach hamedameh) is the thinnest of the thin, and the confusion in it is great."

"If we cannot clarify with our intellect what the truth is, then what shall we do?"

"Reb Noson says in Likutey Halachot: There is no advice and no understanding except to run to Hashem, to know that we are in a reality where every moment we can make the greatest mistakes and fall into the greatest falls, until the evil inclination truly shows us that the lie is the truth and the truth is a lie."

"Only if a person goes to Hashem in prayer, in hitbodedut, says the Tikkun HaKlali every day, and asks Hashem: 'Teach me, Hashem, Your way, I will walk in Your truth.' This is the prayer of King David who asks Hashem to show me Your truth—this world is so misleading and confusing that it is easy to turn the lie into truth and the truth into a lie."

"This is one of the interpretations of the words of our Rebbe that before the Geulah there will be great confusion, but whoever has an hour of hitbodedut every day, through this he will clarify all the confusion before the Geulah. We see the reality around us, everything that is happening in the world, in the world at large, in the people of Israel, in the State of Israel, within the Haredi society. There is so much confusion of mind in our reality."

"We must ask Hashem every day to help us not to be confused, not to start throwing stones at the gardener, as our Rebbe says in the Tales of the Wise and the Simple. That there was a gardener, who is the true tzaddik, and they threw stones at him because they thought he was crazy. We must know that there is great confusion in this and ask Hashem every day—help me not to be confused and not to err."

"If we still do not know what the truth is? Be silent! Do not speak, do not join any dispute against any Jew. Is this what the people of Israel need now? That we speak about each other?"

"Hashem is waiting for unity, He is waiting for us to rectify; Chazal say that the whole reason for the exile of the Second Temple was because of baseless hatred. Brothers would fall into baseless hatred; it is easiest to fall into this. We must not speak about anyone; sometimes there is a halacha that one must speak, but most of the claims today in the world are imaginary, coming from the power of the imagination."

"Ask Hashem: Help me not to err, not to be confused; this world is so misleading, especially now—that we all believe that we are on the eve of the Geulah, the confusions are only growing."

"One of the points here is to look for the true tzaddik—there is a very great deception in this. We see stories about many tzaddikim; what deception there was about our Rebbe and about Reb Noson, about all the students of our Rebbe. The more the students were from the point of the true tzaddik and illuminated this point in the world, the more deception there was about them."

"As we see in our generation what deceptions there are about Rav Berland shlit"a."

"All the talk and confusion in the world, the Rav also helps them in this point. At what point can we connect with the true tzaddik?"

"There is a Midrash called Pesikta d'Rav Kahana, there is a baraita there that is the words of the Tannaim, it was composed into a well-known song: 'At the time when King Mashiach comes, he stands on the roof of the Holy Temple and announces to Israel: Humble ones, humble ones, the time of your redemption has arrived, and if you do not believe, see my light that shines.'"

"It is not understood, what reality is being spoken about in the Pesikta? That the Mashiach stands on the roof of the Holy Temple and announces to Israel that the time of the Geulah has arrived—how is it possible not to believe? There is Mashiach, there is the Holy Temple, how can we not believe in this?!"

"Are Mashiach and the Holy Temple not enough for us to know that the Geulah has arrived? From this Midrash we see that no, there is still confusion in the world!"

"However, the Pesikta immediately says a very great thing—how is it possible to know that he is the Mashiach? How is it possible to know that this is a true tzaddik, what is the sign?"

"He does not tell them wonderful Torah innovations, he does not show them wonderful miracles, but says: 'See my light that shines,' the meaning is that you will see, the moment you connect and join with me, you feel that you want to draw closer to Hashem, to return in teshuvah."

"There is not always a sign, and especially in our generation, who is the true tzaddik—the true tzaddik is the one who truly awakens within us love, longing, and desires to draw closer to Hashem, to repent for everything that is necessary, and who does not need to repent in our generation?"

"Who does not need to return in teshuvah? We all need to, except for the true tzaddik, and we want to, because all the souls of Israel want to return in teshuvah, we all want to draw closer to Hashem! This Pesikta says a very wonderful thing—know this, you want to know what the sign of the true tzaddik is? If you receive thoughts of teshuvah, if you receive longings and desires to draw closer to Hashem, this is the sign that this is the true tzaddik!"

"Thank Hashem, how many wars, how many disputes, how many claims, entire books were written against Rav Berland, but nevertheless more and more are drawing close. Why? Because after all the claims, after a person draws close to the Rav, he feels that he wants to draw closer to Hashem."

"The Pesikta says that the sign of the true tzaddik: 'See my light that shines,' this is the light of the love of Hashem, the light of teshuvah, the light of longing. Prayers for hours upon hours, dances and songs, yearning for the study of Torah."

"Anyone who is going through confusion, anyone who is asking questions, only one thing: 'See my light that shines,' to look for the true tzaddik who illuminates within us the love of Hashem, longing for Hashem, awakens within us that we want to return in teshuvah and throw everything away."

"Because Korach does not bring us closer to Hashem, Korach only makes us fall, puts all the desires in holiness to sleep—and the rest go and learn how far a person can fall."

"Let us tell in conclusion: On the night of Shavuot, I prayed in the prayer hall of Rav Berland. It was a great wonder; the whole world is speaking against the Rav, the community, and there is endless humiliation, and on the other hand, about 700 people were there in awakening?"

"Even from the prison—'See my light that shines,' even from a phone call, that everyone knows in what difficult conditions the Rav speaks, in conditions that are not conditions, in such difficulties—and one only sees the awakening, the vitality of—'See my light that shines.'"

"And may it be the will that we merit the complete Geulah with mercy and kindness."