Rabbi David Abuchatzera: “He Brings Prisoners Out in Triumph” — Astonishing Impressions from the Visit with the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

“There is a very strange situation. On the surface, we who come to visit The Rav shlit"a should be happy, while he—who is inside—should be depressed. But in truth it is the opposite. The Rav shlit"a always comes with tallis and tefillin, until you forget you are even in a prison. The Rav shlit"a is surrounded by sefarim that 99.9% of this generation don’t even know exist. He knows them by heart as if they were simple stories. Even brand-new sefarim that were published and that we brought him are already fluent on his lips—he quotes them and reveals fresh insights in them.” Experiences from the meeting of the grandson Chaim Reicher with the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

[audio mp3="https://www.shuvubanimint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/מפעל-הפורמטיםחיים-ריכל-מבקר-את-הרב-בכלא-צלמון.mp3" autoplay="true"][/audio] “You sit facing The Rav shlit"a, already 80 years old, trembling with awe and fear. You see his holiness, the light he radiates, and you hear from him that everything is fine—without a single complaint: ‘I’m only learning here. No one bothers me.’” “What truly strengthens The Rav shlit"a is that people outside are praying for his success and continuing their own avodas Hashem. They keep learning, keep praying, and the community grows and flourishes from day to day. I described to The Rav shlit"a at length the state of the community and the students outside—thousands of people who only recently came close, joining the veterans who remained loyal to The Rav shlit"a. More than that: I thank The Rav shlit"a for having filtered out many people who were not worthy to be in this holy community, and for sending them out.” “Thousands are drawing close—Litvaks, rabbanim, admorim—people I speak with and remain in steady contact with. A new world has opened for them: expanded mind, song and niggunim, real Breslov—not a Breslov that talks about others, not a Breslov that says, ‘We are the good ones.’ Rebbe Nachman is tefillos, it is Torah, it is niggunim and zemiros, it is accepting ביזיונות with love, and so on. All of this is clearly fulfilled in The Rav shlit"a. I don’t know if anything like The Rav shlit"a was seen in earlier generations—there is nothing like it: the peak of vitality and holiness. When I was alone with him, I asked if we could help in any way, and The Rav shlit"a answered that I should add another hour of learning each day—no other request.” “We sat with The Rav shlit"a, and for 25 minutes we sang the very same song—crying with deveikus and joy. The prison commander says he doesn’t understand what is happening there: the moment The Rav shlit"a begins to pray, the entire prison becomes silent. Five in the morning—the Rav sings, and no one complains that he is disturbing them. I heard that all the prisons are asking that The Rav shlit"a come to them and bring the prisoners back in teshuvah.” “We were there—ten together with The Rav shlit"a and the other grandsons—and I said to The Rav that there are ten Jews here together. But The Rav answered me: ‘There are always ten here. You don’t know what souls are here—souls that for years upon years have been waiting for their tikkun.’ These words must awaken and shake us, we who are so immersed in this world—because The Rav is entirely immersed in avodas Hashem.” “You can never ‘lock up’ a Tzaddik—like Yosef HaTzaddik, who reached his greatest attainments specifically in prison. We are standing near a holy and awesome Tzaddik who is willing to accept such ביזיונות upon himself. Great rabbanim speak to me personally—those who have explicit instructions not to go out for him publicly, except for a few whom they permitted because of chilul Hashem. These ביזיונות are something The Rav shlit"a must accept in order to sweeten judgments and draw all of Am Yisrael close.” “I told The Rav shlit"a that people are talking about him, and I asked whether we should act against it. But The Rav shlit"a answered: nothing—only that we should pray, learn, dance, and rejoice. The Rav shlit"a already told me part of the secrets that are forbidden to be revealed—why things happened, and how The Rav filtered the type of people who draw close to him, separating them from those who were seeking money, pride, status, and honor. What Rav or Admor has students like these—who after five years of suffering still give their lives with mesirus nefesh? You can see there are people here who absorbed and learned the path from The Rav shlit"a. And whoever it doesn’t suit—and whoever it won’t suit—is invited to leave. There are enough close followers, thousands of new ones, and there are hidden matters that we do not understand.” “In the half hour I spoke with The Rav shlit"a, he quoted eighty different sources. Talmidei chachamim feel like nothing next to him. I have no doubt that Avigdor Feldman—one of the greatest lawyers in the country—felt beside him like an ignoramus. The Rav shlit"a has mastery over everything: how airplanes are built; he even sat with Druze and told them about their holiday. Everything comes from his holiness, from his love of Israel, from the fact that he forgives everyone with a whole heart.” “The Rav shlit"a has a very severe herniated disc, and his leg—with plates as well—is also in serious condition. Yet when we sang with him and began to dance, The Rav—an 80-year-old—made a bridge with his body in front of us, and the grandsons passed underneath him. You see that he is revived by Torah and holiness, and that he recoils from any talk of money and matters of this world.” “Fourteen years ago I entered The Rav’s home alone, when no one besides him was there. I heard the tape playing with niggunim, and The Rav was dancing for hours. Afterwards I asked the Rebbetzin, and she told me she had gone to the Kosel two hours earlier—and since then The Rav had only been dancing.” “Dozens of times I found The Rav with arms and legs spread out, crying to Hashem. I would stand near him for four and five hours and hear his weeping during Minchah. It is impossible to speak about these things, because it only diminishes his greatness. You see The Rav’s people—how they pray, how they taste sweetness in avodas Hashem. Breslov doesn’t want to be like everyone else; they want to be with Rebbe Nachman, with the attainments, to pass it to the next generation—at least to speak about it. The thing that makes The Rav shlit"a happiest is that another Jew becomes stronger, learns, and guards his eyes.”

“Afterwards we were in Meron and met the Admor Rabbi David Abuchatzera, who said to me about The Rav shlit"a: ‘He brings prisoners out in triumph.’ With Hashem’s help, soon he will be released—literally now, he is going out.”

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