Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a's First Seder Night in Israel After a Prolonged

After more than four years during which The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, did not conduct the Seder night in the Land [of Israel], and especially after the Rav shlit"a held the Seder behind bars this past year, we present to you an interview conducted with Rabbi Berland shlit"a's grandson, containing impressions from the first Seder night back in the Land.

This refers to the Seder night held in the recovery hotel near Hadassah Hospital, where the Rav shlit"a is staying following his recovery from the surgeries he underwent. Approximately 12 family members participated in this yearned-for occasion, spending the entire holiday in the presence of our Teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. Here are the impressions from this incredibly moving and important event.

"What can I tell you, it was truly wonderful, I was really moved," thus opens the testimony of Rabbi Berland shlit"a's grandson.

"This Seder night was very similar to the one we conducted with the Rav shlit"a four years ago in Israel; I hardly saw any difference. It is true that we saw the Rav suffering from pain during the Seder, but beyond that, The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, continues to serve Hashem as usual and with strenuous effort."

[audio mp3="https://www.shuvubanimint.com/audio/nechedseder.mp3" autoplay="true"][/audio]

"The doctors told the Rav shlit"a that he is absolutely forbidden to eat matzah, but The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, ate them with mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice). I remember that throughout the years, the Rav would eat almost only matzah and not touch other foods; this year, too, he did not give up on this mitzvah. It seems that during the rest of the holiday days, The Rav, Rabbi Berland, will refrain from eating more matzah, but on the Seder night, he simply acted with self-sacrifice for the fulfillment of this important mitzvah."

"The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, conducted the Seder from 21:00 until approximately 3:30, during which time the Rav constantly revealed chiddushim (new Torah insights) on the Haggadah. For example, we asked the Rav about the recitation of 'Dayenu': What would it have helped us if Hashem had split the sea for us, but we had not passed through it? The Rav, Rabbi Berland, answered, 'For every miracle performed for a person, he must give thanks for it his entire life. Once a person sees a miracle, even if he supposedly gains nothing in the result, the very fact that Hashem is revealed to him—he must give thanks for this his entire life.'"

Additional words from the grandson of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, can be heard in the interview we have presented to you, as delivered on the information line:

02-800-8-800 from the USA 1-845-640-0007 from Europe 4420-380-7-3333.

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