Listen: Rabbi Avraham Chananya shlit"a

Rabbi Avraham Chananya shlit"a, one of the veteran students of the tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, has been privileged for decades to be among his earliest students. Rabbi Avraham is known for his strengthening words of Torah and his great love for our teacher, the tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. Here are some of his words.

The tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, brought the words of Reb Noson, according to which the tzaddik is responsible for all the worlds, and certainly for this lowly world in which we find ourselves; however, in our lowliness of mind, the light of the tzaddik is hidden from us. We are always asking: 'What about the Rav?' We should be asking: 'What about us? How has the light of the tzaddik become hidden from us?' May we merit to listen to the voice of the tzaddik and understand that, in reality, the tzaddik suffers only for our sake.

Everything the tzaddik goes through is only to awaken us, so that we may truly begin to serve Hashem; therefore, one must pray for this a lot. Reb Noson writes that the Geulah (Redemption) and the coming of Mashiach ben David depend on faith in the tzaddik. Therefore, we must ask for this thousands of times a day. For our holy Rebbe says that out of the 48 ways to acquire Torah, faith in the Sages is the most important. And this is what the Rav wants—that we merit to listen to his words, not to move from them to the right or to the left. To believe that all the actions of the tzaddik are deep mysteries and great secrets. For example, once when the Rav traveled to the USA, he said that he had a thousand intentions in doing so. The tzaddik has a thousand intentions in every one of his actions. Therefore, Rebbe Nachman says that the sweetening of the collective intellect on Rosh Hashanah is through the faith that all the actions of the tzaddik are deep mysteries.

There is nothing the tzaddik cannot save us with: a proper shidduch (marriage match), children, and parnassah (livelihood). Reb Noson writes that the tzaddik is the fountain of salvation that never ceases. Rebbe Nachman says that the tzaddik is a treasury of fear of Heaven, but unfortunately, we have not yet taken anything from there. All lost items are with the tzaddik, but one must truly reveal that everything is with the tzaddik. For Hashem is infinite, but the revelation of Hashem to the world is through the tzaddik. And our role is to pray for this, that this light may shine for us.

Say the Tikkun HaKlali for the Rav, and give a pidyon nefesh for his success. Because the tzaddik gives; he does not take. And where we show self-sacrifice and give, there he can influence us, and the good within a person is revealed. I have a friend to whom the Rav said: 'For every thousand dollars you give me, you will receive ten thousand dollars.' Indeed, he gave five thousand and merited to receive fifty thousand dollars. Because the tzaddik is more of a giver than a taker. We must pray that we do not become stingy.

May Hashem grant us the merit to have faith in the tzaddikim, that the tzaddik may be revealed to us and to all of the people of Israel, and may we merit the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, amen.