Thursday, Parshas Pekudei 5782

Secrets from the inner room—from the first attendant who served in holiness for our teacher, the holy gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

The Rosh Yeshivah of “Maginei Eretz,” Rabbi Michael Gol shlit"a, drew close to The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, more than forty years ago. He merited to serve as Rabbi Berland’s attendant and trusted confidant, and he was exposed to Rabbi Berland’s awe-inspiring greatness. Over the years he gathered countless stories; now, in light of the baseless persecutions, he is stepping beyond his usual bounds and telling what his own eyes saw.

These are his holy words:

Rabbi Berland’s Approach to Breslov Chassidus and Learning Gemara

“I drew close at the beginning of the year 5740,” Rabbi Gol begins. “It was at the start of Cheshvan. I came from a Religious-Zionist home, and I grew up with the understanding that Gemara is the center. When I began drawing close, I heard all kinds of voices saying there’s no need to learn Gemara—one should invest only in learning halachah, because halachah clarifies good from evil, and so on. And also: there’s no need to learn Likkutei Moharan and Likkutei Halachos—only the Stories (Sippurei Ma’asiyos). These kinds of rumors were going around among various Breslov Chassidim.

I was astonished. I knew Gemara is a foundational tool in Judaism, and I couldn’t understand how it could be otherwise. I had already been in the yeshivah for a few weeks, but I didn’t dare approach Rabbi Berland—I had an overwhelming awe of him. At a certain point I overcame the embarrassment and went over to The Rav, and I told him about the rumors I had heard regarding learning Gemara. Our teacher Rabbi Berland told me: ‘Know this: you must learn fourteen hours of Gemara every day! A Breslov Chassid who doesn’t learn Gemara either goes out of his mind or slips off the path.’”

The In-Depth Shiurim of Our Teacher Rabbi Berland

“When I arrived at the yeshivah,” Rabbi Gol continues, “I heard there was a small, select shiur of Rabbi Berland for a small group. It was an in-depth shiur not everyone was suited for. At first I didn’t enter that shiur—I was a ‘rookie’ then. Later I, too, merited to enter these shiurim. I remember a general shiur Rabbi Berland gave to all the students. It was the first shiur I merited to hear from The Rav, and it was suited to everyone in the yeshivah. It was truly wondrous how The Rav analyzed every detail. It was in the chapter ‘Eilu Metzi’os.’ The Rav asked a question no one had even thought of, and then he began moving swiftly through the words of the Rishonim, analyzing them. It was a real delight. We saw an uncommon way of thinking.

“In the small shiur there was something truly special. I remember when we learned the first chapter of Pesachim; at the end it deals with the laws of tumah and taharah. Rabbi Berland ‘sailed’ through it in an astonishing way—he had mastery of everything. We had to prepare extremely well in order to keep up.”

“Rabbi Berland’s own learning was so orderly and clear that, in order to understand what might be difficult for us, The Rav needed to prepare the shiur beforehand with one of the students. Based on what he saw that student struggle with, he knew what we would struggle with more. And even so, we still had to prepare a great deal to keep up. The Rav would open many sefarim—he had the entire Torah spread out before him. We knew we had to prepare many Rishonim and Acharonim, and with all that, there were always surprises. Everyone there had a strong mind and invested effort, yet they still had to prepare a lot and keep their heads in it. We knew that if we didn’t prepare the shiur, there was no point in entering. It was such sweetness. It’s hard for me to define how long the shiurim took. We didn’t feel time passing, but it seems to me it was between an hour and two hours.”

[caption id="attachment_7545" align="alignnone" width="629"] Rabbi Michael Gol next to Rabbi Meir Shlomo[/caption]

“In later years, when he would give a Chassidus shiur—for example, on the book Sippurei Ma’asiyos (it seems to me at the instruction of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak zt"l)—he would give a shiur of about twenty minutes to half an hour. The shiur was so condensed that it would take two hours to review it afterward in order to decipher and analyze all the material. Once someone remarked to The Rav that he should bring the source for everything. From then on, Rabbi Berland began opening sefarim during every shiur. Every insight from the Rishonim and Acharonim he would open up inside the sefer itself. But we lost out, because we lost the flow of the shiur—since when The Rav would open a sefer, he would linger on additional matters that came up as he turned the pages.”

Rabbi Berland’s Simplicity and Genius in Torah Learning

Rabbi Gol drifts back in memory to those sweet days, recalling many anecdotes in which he saw the uniqueness of our teacher Rabbi Berland shlit"a’s learning. “The Rav’s shiurim were fiery shiurim—tremendous genius, and unconventional thinking combined with astonishing simplicity. It was something incredible. I’ll give you a few examples specifically of The Rav’s simplicity; his genius doesn’t need anyone’s approval. There is a Tosafos in Megillah (12b) that writes that the idea of ‘that every man should be ruler in his own home’ was Daniel’s idea, because he was married to Saris (or Sarisah) who was greater than him, and he could not compel her to speak his language—so he advised that they do so.”

This always bothered me: who could be more important than Daniel, who was a descendant of King David from the royal family? It must be that his wife was Jewish, and if so, in what way was she more important than him? And why wouldn’t she want to speak Lashon HaKodesh? Once, in one of the shiurim, Rabbi Berland spoke about this Tosafos, and in the course of his words he said that Daniel’s wife was a convert. That’s it. With that one sentence The Rav answered my entire question. It’s a simple answer—but brilliant. That was The Rav: explaining everything with a straight, unique clarity. The first attendant of Rabbi Berland

Rabbi Gol now goes back many years, to 5743, to the day he began serving as Rabbi Berland’s attendant: “Until then, there wasn’t really a concept of a ‘gabbai’ for our teacher, even though he had already been involved for about fifteen years in bringing those far away close and spreading Torah with self-sacrifice in Bnei Brak, and afterward with the move to Jerusalem in 5742.

“In 5743 the change happened,” Rabbi Gol recalls. “For several days our teacher did not come to the yeshivah, and when we asked, the Rebbetzin shlit"a—who also gave her life and all her time for the yeshivah—explained that changes needed to be made in a number of matters that were not to our teacher’s liking. Among other things, the need arose to appoint a gabbai and escort for our teacher. Our teacher agreed to the move, and by his counsel I was chosen to serve as gabbai. I would accompany The Rav from his home to our beis midrash and from our beis midrash back to his home, and also on his travels for the sake of the community and the individual. In his home as well, I would bring in the people who came to receive blessings and guidance.

For three and a half years I merited to carry this role—years in which I merited to see astonishing and unique things…”

Rabbi Berland’s Love of Torah

If we grasp the point of Torah learning, it was truly awe-inspiring. I would go in and out of our teacher Rabbi Berland’s home, and I never saw him without holy sefarim. There were always dozens of sefarim open before him—piles upon piles on the large table. And it was the same whenever I accompanied him anywhere: there wasn’t a single moment—not one second—without a sefer. Today our teacher Rabbi Berland is not in full health, and sometimes he leans back on the chair, but then, when he still had his strength, I never saw him leaning back. He always sat on the edge of the chair, completely alert, bent over the sefarim.

[caption id="attachment_6143" align="alignnone" width="668"] From right: Rabbi Moshe Tzanani, Rabbi Ofer Erez, Rabbi Yehoshua Dov Rubenstein, Rabbi Michael Gol, Rabbi Nachman Berland[/caption]

No Secret Was Hidden from Him

Rabbi Gol recalls a special anecdote that shows how Torah love burned within our teacher Rabbi Berland constantly: “Once I entered our teacher’s room and told him a certain insight of the Chasam Sofer. Until then, I had never told The Rav something he didn’t already know. Even lesser-known Chassidic sefarim—he knew everything. The only exceptions were things I myself had innovated; sometimes he accepted them and sometimes not. But anything written in the holy sefarim—he always knew. In general, I and all the other students received from The Rav such love of Torah, such sweetness. For example, The Rav would mention in shiurim insights from the Bnei Yissaschar, from the Me’or VaShemesh, Me’or Einayim, Pri Tzaddik, Sefas Emes, Megaleh Amukos, Asarah Ma’amaros—he would bring everything in such a special and sweet way that after the shiur I would run to buy the sefer The Rav mentioned.

“But when I would buy and open them, it was darkness before my eyes. The books were old editions—broken words, faded letters. Just to decipher the print required all my strength, and then there was no strength left to understand the meaning. That’s how it was when I bought Megaleh Amukos or Me’or VaShemesh—it was like a cryptic script. And Rabbi Berland, nevertheless, would truly delight in it and present the ideas to us with such light and sweetness. Once The Rav mentioned Me’or Einayim. I ran to the store and mistakenly bought a new edition of Me’or VaShemesh—which I already had at home. When I got home I realized the mistake, but I enjoyed it because it was a new edition, a beautiful publication. I began reading and simply delighted in it—suddenly I saw all the teachings The Rav had mentioned from the sefer.

Rabbi Berland gave me such love of Torah that I began buying all kinds of obscure, lesser-known sefarim from the great ones of the generations and from Chassidus. I remember once I mentioned to The Rav an insight from Bris Avraham, which isn’t such a well-known sefer, and The Rav immediately told me where it is written.

Let’s return to the story I began. I mentioned to Rabbi Berland the insight of the Chasam Sofer. And that was the only time I ever told The Rav something new. The Rav became so excited—he jumped up like a child and asked me whether it was in ‘Chasam Sofer’ or in ‘Toras Moshe’ (since the Chasam Sofer has two sefarim on the Torah: Chasam Sofer and Toras Moshe). I answered The Rav that I didn’t remember. The Rav immediately ran to the library and, with excitement, pulled out the Chasam Sofer (or Toras Moshe), then ran right away to the other room and brought the second sefer—and in the meantime I had already found the teaching. The Rav enjoyed it so much and was so enthusiastic. It was a heartwarming sight: Torah love burning in The Rav. There are many people whose heads are overloaded with chiddushim, and a new chiddush doesn’t move them one way or another. But with The Rav, every new chiddush was received with rare, unique excitement…”

By the way, once I asked someone who learned with one who is considered among the greatest mekubalim—and who also learned Kabbalah sefarim with our teacher Rabbi Berland—and I asked him: who is greater in Kabbalah? He told me that greatness and righteousness are hard to measure among the Tzaddikim, but regarding clarity of understanding: with our teacher, you leave with far more clarity.

Rabbi Berland’s Avodah of Prayer

“Once,” Rabbi Gol tells, to give us a small glimpse into our teacher’s avodah of prayer, “I was with The Rav in someone’s home and it was time for Minchah. The Rav said to me: ‘We’ll pray Minchah for a few minutes, and afterward we’ll continue to a certain urgent matter.’ The Rav began Minchah, and for four consecutive hours he stood in Shemoneh Esrei… Another time I was with The Rav in a field, and The Rav said to me: ‘I’m debating whether to return now to the yeshivah and pray Minchah there—one or two [minutes]—or to stay here and pray like a Jew.’ I was astonished, because in the yeshivah they pray Minchah close to an hour, and about that The Rav says ‘one or two.’ That gave me a window into his avodah of prayer… Even at home he would pray for hours upon hours—each Shemoneh Esrei—far more than he would pray in public, where he would shorten greatly (relative to what he did at home). And it was all with melodies and songs, again and again…

So too on Shabbos. On Shabbos morning, the tefillah with Rabbi Berland in the yeshivah was with tremendous, awesome vitality—hours upon hours. Afterward there was also Minchah and Seudah Shlishis, and when they asked our teacher if it was possible for him to remain there also for Melaveh Malkah, he would stay with us. The seudah with zemiros and words of Torah would continue for many hours.

He Prayed as If Nothing Had Happened

One of the special events in the yeshivah was the bringing in of a Sefer Torah. Along the way in the Old City there was a unique spiritual presence. Rabbi Gol, who was the first to raise funds for a Sefer Torah for our beis midrash, was also the one who managed the entire procession and all the logistics of the exalted event.

So too it was at the הכנסת ספר תורה in memory of the holy Eliyahu Omdi hy"d in the year 5748. “At that הכנסת ספר תורה the situation was tense; the Arab neighbors were causing a lot of trouble. When we reached the street of the yeshivah (Ma’aleh Chaldiyah) and began climbing the stairs, suddenly a rain of stones was thrown at us. And precisely there, Rabbi Berland signaled to us to dance… We formed circles, packed tightly together, and a rain of stones poured down on us. And behold, a פלא: not even one stone hit us! They fell into the narrow gaps between us. It was something beyond nature. The police panicked, and when they saw we continued dancing, they began spraying us with tear gas. And I saw a tear-gas canister fall exactly between Rabbi Berland’s legs. Everyone scattered, and I ran with The Rav’s students to Saria Street to escape the tear gas.

A few minutes passed; we assumed the tear gas had weakened, and we began climbing back up toward the yeshivah. But we misjudged—the place was full of gas and we nearly choked. We ran quickly up to the yeshivah, where they poured quantities of milk on us. In the beis midrash I saw everyone coughing and groaning—except our teacher Rabbi Berland, who stood at the amud and prayed Maariv at the peak of enthusiasm and calm. No coughing, no tear gas. The Rav was entirely in holy rapture, praying with fiery sanctity—while the gas canister had fallen closest to him…”

Sleeping at Midnight?

Rabbi Berland almost never slept at night; it was almost not a concept for him at all (his sleep was a few hours in the morning). “I remember once I traveled with The Rav to one of the Breslov Chassidim; it was at midnight. When we arrived, they told us he was sleeping. The Rav was stunned. Is it possible that a Breslov Chassid sleeps at midnight? Such an idea simply did not enter his mind… By the way, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak praised The Rav to his son-in-law regarding the greatness of The Rav’s simplicity.”

Rabbi Berland’s Tzedakah and Kindness

Regarding the tzedakah and kindness of our teacher Rabbi Berland, Rabbi Gol has dozens of stories. From them he chooses two: “One day I brought The Rav an envelope that arrived from abroad, and inside it seemed there was a respectable sum. The Rav was immersed in his learning and pushed the envelope aside with his fingers. A few minutes later, someone knocked on The Rav’s door to ask for salvation. I brought him in, and he apparently told The Rav about a financial problem and so on. Rabbi Berland took the entire envelope and placed it into his hands without checking how much it contained. I saw from this how kindness for another burned within Rabbi Berland. What amazed me was how The Rav had no curiosity at all—at least to know what sum it was.”

To Give Everything to Another

Once I went with him to the mikveh in the Old City. The attendant was the chassid Rabbi Mordechai (Shabtai) Horowitz zt"l. When The Rav arrived, Rabbi Mordechai told The Rav that he deserved a mazal tov, because he had just become engaged to marry off his son. The Rav immediately took out and emptied all his pockets of all the money he had. A pile of crumpled bills accumulated on the table and all of it passed to the father of the groom… Later I discovered it was an especially large sum.

To Give Another Person a Good Feeling

“One day Rabbi Berland was eating supper, and a childhood friend came to visit him. The Rav began persuading him to wash his hands and eat something, but the friend didn’t feel comfortable sitting down to eat and tried to evade it by saying he wasn’t hungry. The Rav urged him again, and he agreed, saying that if our teacher would eat, then he too would eat. The Rav, who had just finished eating, told his friend: ‘Yes, I was also thinking exactly now to eat.’ And The Rav washed his hands and sat down to eat supper again, in order to make the other feel comfortable, so he could join with a good heart…”

To Eat and Say Nothing

Once it happened that the amount of salt was doubled by mistake by the cook, and the food came out extremely salty—hard to eat. The Rav, not wanting the one who cooked to feel bad, ate it, and asked for more and more of the soup in the hope of finishing it. But the Rebbetzin, surprised that The Rav wanted more—when usually he suffices with the bare minimum—thought perhaps this time it came out especially good. She tasted the soup the cook had made and understood our teacher’s special sensitivity… “This is also the place to mention,” Rabbi Gol tells us, “what the Rebbetzin told me more than once: that The Rav never opened the refrigerator. He never looked for food. If food was placed before him, he ate; and if not, he was satisfied with his learning and his avodas Hashem. He could return from hours in the field or hours in the kollel and be content with a small cup of coffee and nothing more…”

Salvations with Rabbi Berland

Rabbi Gol saw hundreds and thousands of miracles and Ruach HaKodesh with our teacher Rabbi Berland, and he shares some of them with us.

There was one young man in the yeshivah who would sometimes suffer from various outbursts. It truly made things difficult for him. One day he approached The Rav and cried to him. That night Rabbi Berland slept in the yeshivah. One of the bochurim slept with The Rav in the room and heard how our teacher prayed with tears for that young man—it was a trembling sight. When The Rav noticed the bochur was not sleeping and was hearing him, The Rav approached him, pulled the blanket over his head, and the bochur immediately fell asleep… Needless to say, that young man who suffered from outbursts was helped!

Likewise, there was an avreich whose wife suddenly lost her sanity and could not function. The avreich was broken and crushed, and each time he asked Rabbi Berland for a blessing, The Rav told him: ‘Don’t worry, it will pass.’ Once, when he could no longer bear the situation, I brought him in to our teacher, and he told The Rav that he would not leave the room until The Rav did something. The Rav took a page and drew various lines on it, and asked the avreich to place it under his wife’s pillow. He did so, and the next day everything passed as if it had never been…

Answers to All the Questions

Once I was at a bris with our teacher Rabbi Berland. During the dancing, The Rav threw a sentence toward me about a certain matter, and I didn’t fully understand what The Rav meant. I would usually write down questions for myself when I had something to ask Rabbi Berland, and I would ask them only after I finished learning with The Rav in his home—because immediately The Rav would begin learning with me. So it was that day as well. I had a list of nine questions, and the tenth question was what The Rav had meant to tell me during the dancing. During the learning with The Rav, I received answers from him to all nine questions—without my presenting even one of them. Then I debated regarding the tenth question, because surely Rabbi Berland knew the question, since he answered me on all nine… So I hesitated, and I began walking toward the exit. The Rav accompanied me to the doorway, and I walked facing The Rav out of respect, and also to merit catching one more glimpse of The Rav. All the while the doubt ate at me—ask or don’t ask. I was embarrassed to ask. When I stood at the door, The Rav suddenly turned to me and said: ‘And regarding what I told you during the dancing, I meant that you should do such-and-such…’”

“Every Delay Is for the Good”—Why Rabbi Berland Delayed

One day we needed to go to a lawyer to sign some contract. Rabbi Berland delayed our departure, and when we left, there was someone who kept complaining that we weren’t on schedule. When we arrived at the lawyer, he came out of his home barefoot, in an unusual way that made us understand the man was not stable. Our delay caused him to get angry and reveal his true face, and we were left only to see the miracle and understand that the entire delay was for the good…

When the matter of ‘every delay is for the good’ is mentioned, I remember the first הכנסת ספר תורה into the yeshivah building in the Old City. Rabbi Berland arrived two hours late. A few days later an avreich approached me and innocently told me that at that exact time The Rav had been with him to comfort him over the passing of his son. And he told me: ‘What can I tell you? The only one who truly succeeded in comforting me was The Rav.’ Then I understood why The Rav had been so late.

Before we part, Rabbi Gol wants to add one sentence: “I want to conclude that my love for the great ones of Israel—in our generation and in previous generations, in Breslov and outside it, across all communities—this is all in the merit of Rabbi Berland. I saw his love for every person, and he taught us that. And regarding the matter of the ‘famous ones of falsehood,’ the man of G-d Rabbi Avraham b”r Nachman says that each person should apply that to himself—but all the great ones of Israel must be honored and cherished… May Hashem merit us with the coming of the redeemer, with the revelation of the light of the Tzaddik, and may we merit to always strengthen ourselves in Emunah and love of all the Tzaddikim, amen…”