Listen: Grandpa, What Are They Doing to You Up There?! Miracles of the Holy

We all love Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, believe in his mission and his great power, and are certain that for any problem we bring to him, he will act to bring us salvation. Indeed, many who have turned to the Rav shlit"a have seen great salvations, even to the point of changing the laws of nature. Suitable shidduch (marriage match) for those who have been waiting for many long years. Viable offspring for couples who had almost lost all hope, and there are even those who testify firsthand to the actual resurrection of the dead. However, what happens when we come to the Rav and things do not happen exactly as we expected?!

A moment before we continue, we must remember that we have no grasp of the essence of the tzaddik. We can tell stories of miracles, even those we have experienced ourselves. Nevertheless, the grasp and the work of the tzaddik are far, far above our understanding.

On the 26th of the month of Adar II, the G-d-fearing woman, Lilach Leah bat Tzila z"l, passed away after much suffering, at only 37 years of age. Lilach z"l was fortunate, and on her deathbed, her family transferred a pidyon nefesh (redemption of the soul) for her, something that will surely help her in the place where her soul is now. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov opens for us a small window into the hidden world of the tzaddik, the foundation of the world: "Sometimes, even when this tzaddik performs a pidyon, nevertheless it does not help, and this is because even above, they are very desirous of such a pidyon, for it does not always come to them from below—a pidyon that can sweeten all twenty-four courts of law at once. And therefore, when this sweetening comes to them, they use it for the need of something else." (Likutey Moharan 215).

The holy Moharan of Breslov teaches us that not only did the pidyon work wonders, but that up in Heaven, they use it to do even more wonderful things. And we are surely happy for the tremendous merit that a pidyon nefesh we transferred to the tzaddik accomplished such great things, ones that we do not always understand. However, if we admit a little bit of the truth, deep inside, the question gnaws at us—but what about us? What about the righteous woman whose family transferred a pidyon and left behind three orphans? True, the situation was critical, but still, what about her?!

The following story is one of many. Of course, we only know the outcome and not the way the tzaddik, the foundation of the world, worked it out internally; nevertheless, the soul is certainly moved. Tomer Carmon, who at the time the story occurred was still a young avrech in Shuvu Banim, tells us about a collection of dreams that visited him during that period. "My grandfather, who had passed away, came to me time after time in a dream, appearing terrible in his external appearance. Even though he seemed to be crying out for help, I did not know what to do with it. Only after he came for the third time did I have the wisdom to accept the advice of Rabbi Shimshon Wallach, a student of the Rav, and turn to our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, regarding the matter. The Rav did indeed say what to do, but with the burdens of the time, the matter was forgotten by me, until my grandfather z"l came for the fourth time. 'I am in the garbage, deep inside the garbage, get me out of here! Give, give the pidyon that the Rav is asking for, what are you waiting for?!' I arrived at the Rav shlit"a with my uncle Meir z"l (he has since passed away), the Rav shlit"a raised his hands upward and said—'Now I am taking him out of there.' Two weeks later, my mother tichyeh (may she live) tells me about a dream she had about her father, my grandfather. My father z"l came to me in a dream; he looked young, as he was at the age of twenty, clean, polished, and looked happy. His clothes were new and his hair was combed nicely, and he had a new car. I asked him, 'Father, can I come with you?' And he answered no, he smiled at me and drove away... I told my mother that this was surely a sign from Heaven that the pidyon helped. Indeed, the pidyon of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a works great salvations.

With the help of Hashem, may these words be for the success of our teacher Rabbi Eliezer ben Atiya shlit"a and for the elevation of the soul of Lilach Leah bat Tzila z"l and the grandfather Peretz ben Nechama z"l.