Rabbi Nosson Shines Like the Sun! • The Thousands’ Hillula Led by Rabbi Eliezer

Thousands at the Hillula of Moharanat, the 179th ○ A Thanksgiving Feast for the Second Day of Liberation ○ Words of the Rabbis shlit"a ○ A Musical Production with the Greats of Chassidic Song, with the Participation of the ‘Malchus’ Choir and the Children’s Choir ‘Chasidimle’kh’ ○ Songs of Deep Feeling and Melodies of Awakening ○ The Central Address from The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a ○ “Shir Yedidus” ○ Singing and Dancing in Honor of the Hillula and Thanksgiving for the Day of Liberation ○ An Initial Photo Gallery ○ In Breslov a Fire Is Burning!!

One hundred and seventy-nine years have passed since the great disciple left this world—but his spirit and soul are still within us. His sefarim, his counsel, and his writings—gathered and recorded with the very blood of his heart from his great teacher, the “Nahal Novea Mekor Chochmah”—remain forever in our hearts, preserved in writing for all eternity.

We were privileged that this year as well, the greatest hillula on earth took place for the glory of our strength and the crown of our splendor—Rabbi Nosson of Breslov zy"a, the faithful disciple of the hidden light, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a—led by and with the participation of the holy Tzaddik, the luminary of our generation, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. As last year, this year too the hillula was marked by a Seudas Hoda’ah, a thanksgiving feast, in honor of the second miraculous Day of Liberation of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

The hillula opened with Ma’ariv in the courtyard of our Beis Midrash, with The Rav shlit"a participating—as every evening—with singing, dancing, and niggunim. After the prayer, The Rav shlit"a shared a few words of chizuk about the greatness of tznius and kedushah, through which soldiers are protected as they fight in the terrible inferno in Gaza.

“And for everything, Hashem our G-d, we thank You” • The Hillula Feast Together with the Thanksgiving Feast

After the hillula, the crowds marched toward a massive convoy of buses that filled the entire length of Shivtei Yisrael Street, and the “train” set out for the Pavilion Halls. Thousands upon thousands—of every type and from every community—men, women, and children, all gathered and came, streaming in great waves to the entrance gates of the hall. Waiting for the thousands was the Seudas Hoda’ah for the tremendous miracle we merited about two years ago, on the night following the hillula of Moharanat, when The Rav shlit"a returned to his home—his holy dwelling—after two years in which the light of the Tzaddik was concealed, held captive by the wicked kingdom. It is a duty of gratitude to note the devotion of R’ Binyamin Dapan (may he live), who arranged this feast for our chaverim, with delicacies fit for a king.

“And it was, when the musician played…” • The Greats of Chassidic Song in an Unprecedented Musical Production

With Hashem’s help, we merited at this hillula an unprecedented musical production—of the kind seen only at the greatest events in the Torah world. The evening was accompanied by the Malchus Choir and the children’s choir Chasidimle’kh; alongside them stood R’ Ahar’le Smet with his pleasant voice; and above all was the wonder-child whose voice makes every Jewish heart tremble—Bentsi Klatskin (may he be well). With them stood some of the finest musicians in the world of music—well-known names—who appeared on the central stage of the hillula of Moharanat organized by “Ihud Chassidei Breslov Shuvu Banim”: R’ Avraham Balti on clarinet, R’ Nachman Zucker on saxophone, R’ Dovid Frank on violin strings, R’ Nachman Porat on drums, and on guitar—bringing joy—R’ Levi Yitzchak Maurer and R’ Dani Maman. These giants of song accompanied the event with astonishing singing—stirring and moving on the one hand, and on the other hand, electrifying, stormy joy that soared to the heavens.

“He is the Rav and the disciple” • Words from the Rabbis of the Shuvu Banim Community at the Gathering

At the gathering, leading and veteran talmidim of The Rav shlit"a delivered words of chizuk about the greatness of the day of the hillula and the greatness of our glory and splendor. Among other points, they spoke about the matter of hafatzah—effort and money—which Rabbi Nosson commanded, through which Anash should strengthen themselves with even greater resolve.

“My soul is sick with Your love” • Songs of Feeling and Awakening

In the moments before The Rav shlit"a entered the hillula gathering, the musicians aroused the hearts of the thousands of participants. These were mainly Shabbos songs—for as our holy Rebbe brings, and as Moharanat zy"a explains at length in Likutey Halachos, Shabbos is the aspect of the true Tzaddik. In those elevated moments, the orchestra burst into the song: “Tzaddik, tzaddik—like a date palm he will flourish; like a cedar in Lebanon he will grow.” The thousands rose to their feet in honor of The Rav shlit"a as he appeared, ascended the stage, and sat upon his holy chair. Afterward, he lit the candle in honor of the soul of Rabbi Nosson of Breslov zy"a. A few more minutes of singing in honor of the Tzaddik—and then the melodies of deep feeling took their place. This time the awakening was doubled and redoubled: The Rav shlit"a, “Your eyes shall behold the King in His beauty,” sitting upon his royal seat, swaying in dveikus to the sounds of heart-melodies that poured forth from the pure mouth of Bentsi Klatskin (may he be well) and the children’s choir Chasidimle’kh. Ah… it is impossible to measure those awesome moments of spiritual ascent.

“Rabbi Nosson is alive and enduring—the Tzaddik does not depart; he creates a new world” • The Holy Address of The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

A hush fell over the thousands. The Rav shlit"a, in his pure and refined voice, opened with the prayer recited before learning, and within the order of hiskashrus before the learning, The Rav shlit"a mentioned Rabbi Nosson.

“On the Tenth of Teves we receive the Luchos anew. This year it falls with Parshas Vayigash—this is the secret of ‘and on the crown of the nazir among his brothers,’ for the Tzaddik is the crown!” With these words The Rav shlit"a began his holy address, like a “Nahal Novea Mekor Chochmah,” from a spring that has no end. For close to an hour, in the hall filled with thousands, the words of the living G-d thundered forth from his holy mouth. And as is his holy way, throughout the shiur he “leaps over mountains and skips over hills”—from Mishnah to Aggadah, from one chidush to the next—depths that no mind in the world can truly grasp. We will bring before the readers only a small sampling of the themes, chizuk, and chidushim he said in his shiur:

After these opening words, he naturally spoke about Parshas Vayigash—this is the parshah of the revelation of the Tzaddik who cries out, “I am Yosef.” He explained that the month of Teves is the month of song and niggun, a month in which the worlds are renewed and created anew. For in the year 5784 a new world was created, as brought in the holy sefer Or LaMeir—that this year is especially suited for Geulah, hinted in the verse “He declared the power of His deeds to His people,” for when you multiply ko’ach by ko’ach, the number equals 5784. He said that through tefillah one creates new heavens and a new earth—and this is specifically when one prays vasikin. He added that even when a person merits to pray Ma’ariv with the Tzaddik, he creates sun and moon and opens the gates. Afterward he returned to the matter of the Tenth of Teves, when a Beis HaMikdash of fire was meant to descend—but it was overturned, and Nevuchadnetzar laid siege to Yerushalayim (may it be rebuilt). He said: if a person believes in the Tzaddik, he can revive the dead. He spoke of the secret of the duda’im that Reuven brought, through whose merit Yissachar came into the world.

He continued by strengthening the learning of Gemara. He said: dancing and singing are good—but only if one learns Gemara. If not, the dancing is not real; within two days a person will stop dancing. Only Torah—Gemara—is what builds the vessels to truly dance and sing. From topic to topic he spoke about the greatness of Shabbos zemiros.

After this, he spoke about how before the Churban all women were nevi’os, and even Yael was a nevi’ah, and she knew how to draw out the soul of Rabbi Akiva from Sisra through the secret of the “peg.” He said that a person needs an “ishah maskeles,” as it is written: “House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but from Hashem—a wise wife.” If the wife is wise, then the child also comes out wise. He said a person must examine three things in a wife: tznius, wisdom, and chesed—this is what Eliezer found in Rivkah. From there he moved to the matter of Shimon and Levi, and brought the Ramban’s question: why did Yaakov curse Shimon and Levi, saying, “You have troubled me, to make me odious…”—after all, they freed his daughter from captivity? He answered that since they were already on the path to conversion, it was forbidden to kill them, because in truth every non-Jew, in the hidden depths of his heart, wants to be a Jew. He returned to the day of the hillula, on which it is forbidden to sleep, and through this Rabbi Nosson becomes “impregnated” within each and every person.

In the final part of the shiur, The Rav shlit"a spoke about the “song of the cows” and about his journey from Gaza to Beit Shemesh, and returned again to the idea that Teves is the month of song and niggun. He also spoke about the greatness of bizyonos (humiliations), and brought the Gemara that they threw stones at the tribe of Binyamin because they jumped into the sea first; and that when the goblet was found in his bag, he suffered blows from his brothers who suspected him of being a thief and of bringing disaster upon them forever. Through the blows he received, he merited the Beis HaMikdash—except for one amah of the foundation; and if he had received one more blow with joy, he would have merited the entire Beis HaMikdash. He also spoke about Serach bas Asher, and about the rains that Eliyahu stopped in the days of Achav—saying that the Tzaddik rules over all of nature.

And here The Rav shlit"a spoke with fiery flames about the greatness of the Baal HaHillula, and said that Rabbi Nosson does not depart—the Tzaddik does not “pass away”; he is alive and enduring. He creates anew each day the sun and the moon. He brought the chidush of Ma’ayanah Shel Torah on Parshas Vayigash: why does Yosef speak with Pharaoh about bad or good stalks, when on Pesach we are judged regarding grain? He brought the answer: Rosh Hashanah is when a person is judged regarding his rise to greatness, and that is what Yosef meant with the matter of the stalks—not about grain itself, but about elevating a person to greatness: “Let Pharaoh see to appoint a discerning and wise man.” He concluded the shiur with the matter of the burial of Rachel Imeinu, who was buried “by the word” (by Divine instruction). Today we see that this is the boundary of Yerushalayim. If Yaakov had buried her within the city, the multitudes of Beis Yisrael would not have been able to visit her kever, as happens today with the graves of tzaddikim in Palestinian cities. He said that now everyone will go to Kever Rachel and to the Me’aras HaMachpelah—and through this we will merit the complete Geulah speedily in our days, amen!

“The world will walk by his light, through Rabbi Nosson his disciple” • Shir Yedidus

After the uplifting shiur, The Rav shlit"a began the niggun of “Shir Yedidus” of the chassid Rabbi Yitzchak Breiter hy"d. For long minutes the stirring melody was sung, and the orchestra introduced an interesting touch: at the end of each section of “Nahal Novea Mekor Chochmah,” they played a lively, joyful chord that lifted the heart.

“For it is good to thank You” • Singing and Dancing—Joy Bursting to the Heavens

After Shir Yedidus ended, they began to sing “You have brought us until here,” and then—as if on its own—the joy burst heavenward. Heels lifted by themselves. Thousands rose from their places, and with the power of great joy they danced, leapt, and jumped in honor of the Tzaddik, to thank and praise Hashem for the miraculous Day of Liberation. The joy cannot be described—song chasing song—for more than twenty minutes of tremendous rejoicing. Hearts surged as The Rav shlit"a himself rose from his holy chair and began to dance and clap for long minutes, together with all the rabbis of the community. It is impossible to measure, describe, or commit to writing the blazing flame of awesome joy that filled those dances. After about twenty minutes, The Rav shlit"a concluded with Kaddish, repeated his instruction that everyone should travel to Kever Rachel and to Chevron, and departed to the singing of thousands: “Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart!”

Before you is a stunning initial photo gallery from last night’s hillula of Moharanat, with the participation of thousands, led by Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a: