"I felt as if the Rav was saying to the heavens, lift this plane"

During a chizuk (strengthening) trip to Eilat, the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a visited various addresses in the city and met with people who had accompanied him throughout his many years of serving Hashem. One of the individuals who came to meet the Rav shlit"a is R' Don Roberto, who accompanied the Rav extensively in the past. R' Don Roberto shared many strengthening accounts that he experienced personally during the time he was with the Rav. We at the website will endeavor to bring these things in parts and as they occurred.

R' Don Roberto relates, "This was about 30 years ago, around the years 5748 or 5749, during the period when I was with Rav Berland almost every day. One day, I happened to speak with the CEO of the Aerosvit travel company and inquired about a trip to Ukraine to the gravesite of Rebbe Nachman. He told me it would cost $60,000. I called the bank, and after I received approval, I gave him a check for the amount. I arrived at Rav Berland shlit"a and told him that I wanted him to fly with me on the plane. The Rav said, 'I will come along with another 35 people.' And so it was; in a plane with 164 seats, we fit 241 passengers, so the children who were with us sat on the floor. Our Rebbe saved us; luckily, at that time, we were still landing in Odessa and not in Kiev, because they were stricter in Kiev."

During the return flight, the authorities suspect there are more people on the plane than allowed.

"We arrived in Uman, stayed there, and began our journey back to the Land. On the way back, as we were coming to close the plane door, suddenly they came and told me, 'We understand you are responsible for the flight, and we heard there are too many people here.' I was panicked and immediately went to tell this to the Rav, who in turn told me, 'Tell the people that after they check their ticket, they should pass it to those coming after them; do not worry, "They have eyes, but they cannot see" (Psalms 115:5).' And so it was, but after they finished the whole plane, one of the inspectors says to me, 'No, no, I want to check again, but this time we will check the match between the tickets and the passports.'"

Suddenly the inspector starts to feel unwell.

"I returned again to Rav Berland shlit"a, who repeated and told me not to worry and to do what they asked of me. And so, the inspector returns and starts matching tickets to passports, but after two passengers, I see him swaying in a strange manner. I asked him what happened to him, and he answered me that he suddenly felt unwell. I took advantage of the situation and slipped them $5, which indeed got them off the plane. It was simply a huge miracle; for something like this, one goes to prison."

"The plane is warming up its engines, running on the runway, but it cannot take off. I arrive for the third time to Rav Berland shlit"a, but this time I see the Rav crying and gathered within himself. I felt as if the Rav was saying to the Heavens, 'Lift this plane up.' The plane had already reached the end of the runway, and suddenly it lifted off. Immediately, the Rav turned to me from afar and called me to him. Assulin, the gabbai, did not see that the Rav called me and therefore blocked me, but the Rav told him to let me pass. Rav Berland began to tell me about the first trips to Uman, how they would immerse in the snow, and how they opened the way to (Soviet) Uman."