Rav Michael Gol shlit"a - The Moving Story of His Closeness to the Esteemed Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a Part 3

The third part of the story of the moving closeness of the esteemed Rav Michael Gol shlit"a, head of the 'Mageney Eretz' Yeshiva in Jerusalem and one of the veteran and famous students of the esteemed Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

Rav Shalom Arush Draws My Brother to 'Shuvu Banim'

"This entire occurrence caused cracks in my brother, and the family took advantage of it to draw him to a lesson by Rav Cheshin zt"l. Immediately after the lesson, my brother approached Rav Cheshin and told him everything that happened. Rav Cheshin said, 'Stay away from fire, stay away from fire'. That evening, Rav Shalom Arush (then still Shalom Arush) arrived there, and after hearing Rav Cheshin's words to my brother, he approached to inquire. A conversation developed between them, and he took my brother to 'Shuvu Banim' that very night. They went out to the field for hitbodedut, and when they returned, he learned with my brother the Torah that the Rav had studied with them."

"During that time, Dror Tzanani (today – Rav Moshe Tzanani) also drew close, and our teacher Rav Berland learned with him Torah 65 from Likutei Moharan – 'My daughter, do not go to glean in another field', the Torah that speaks about the importance of drawing close to the tzaddik, the owner of the field. And Rav Shalom, remembering that this Torah captured Tzanani, therefore learned this Torah with my brother. They studied all night, afterward my brother prayed Shacharit there and stayed with them all day."

Until here is the end of the words we brought in the previous part, from here continues the words of Rav Gol.

Awareness of the True Tzaddik

"In the evening, when my brother returned home, he entered with a kippah on his head and Likutei Moharan in hand, he had a point of truth that if he believed in something, he was ready to fight for it against the whole world. He told me he was at a Breslov Chassidut yeshiva and there they spoke with him about what we have been talking about for years - 'that there is one who is unique, a tzaddik who controls all the worlds'. I asked my brother for his name, he replied - 'They told me Rebbe Nachman of Breslov'."

"I studied in a religious school and there I had a grade of 100 in history. I knew the Chassidic lineage from the Baal Shem Tov well, but I had never heard the name of Rebbe Nachman. Apparently, I was protected from above so that my first acquaintance with Rebbe Nachman would not come from school. When my brother told me the name of the tzaddik, I got goosebumps all over my body, I went to the closet, took out a large kippah, and put it on my head."

"Elevated the Rank of the Tzaddik to Second to Hashem"

"I told my brother, Aryeh, we need to look in the encyclopedia and find out who this tzaddik is. There were good words about Rebbe Nachman there (in the children's encyclopedia), I remember to this day it was written that he elevated the rank of the tzaddik to second to Hashem."

"We sat down to study Likutei Moharan, I remember that at three in the morning, my mother got up and saw us sitting bent over the book with a kippah on our heads. She was surprised, after all, just yesterday it was impossible to talk to us about Judaism, for example, the rebbetzin of the neighborhood, the wife of the esteemed Rav Yehuda Zerachia Segal zt"l, came to persuade us. When she left, she told our parents that there was no point in talking to us, but Rav Segal told my mother, 'Don't worry, you will yet derive much nachas from your children'."

"The Sergeant Asked About the Stubble"

"When my mother saw us learning, she burst into tears, and in excitement, she went back to sleep. Already in the morning, I asked her to buy me tzitzit, and in addition to that, I didn't shave, even though I went to the base. In the morning lineup, I told the sergeant that I was returning to faith. For him, it sounded like a joke, after all, just yesterday during the lunch break we played soccer together, and now I was telling him I'm returning to faith. I removed my beret, and he saw a large kippah on my head. He said, 'Soon you'll tell me you'll grow peyot too'. I will grow peyot too!"

Arriving at the Shuvu Banim Yeshiva

"By noon, I had already taken a bus to Bnei Brak, and according to my brother's explanation, I began to search for the Shuvu Banim Yeshiva. I remember it was a Thursday, and when I entered, Rav Shimon Teichner was in the middle of the lesson between Mincha and Maariv in Sichot HaRan. When I entered, he was exactly at the words discussing, 'Yochanan the High Priest - do not believe in yourself until the day of your death'. I remember that at my Sheva Brachot, I said the things I heard from him on my first day at the yeshiva."

"They went to sleep after Maariv (since they would wake up at midnight), and I went home, but already that day I told whoever met me that I was studying at the Shuvu Banim Yeshiva. Until then, I was in an environment where my school principal would pray the Amidah for three-quarters of a minute, and the counselors for a minute and a half."

To be continued, with Hashem's help