Resurrection of the Dead After a Bullet to the Brain

The following wondrous story was told to the Pele Elyon editorial board by Rabbi Yosef Biton from the city of Ashdod. It happened 12 years ago, on a Friday night at the beginning of the spring month, in the city of Beit Shemesh. The city of Beit Shemesh is known for its diversity; it has Haredi neighborhoods alongside secular ones, moderate neighborhoods alongside extreme ones, with all of them being precious Jews who serve the same Creator in truth and sincerity, each in their own way. On that Friday night, a story occurred that sent shockwaves through all the city's residents from every stream and sector, and was publicized in all the media outlets at the time.

Three young men, struggling youth who had left their yeshivas and were wandering the city streets with nothing to do, were talking loudly among themselves in one of the city's public parks. The park was adjacent to residential buildings, and one of the residents of a nearby building, who made his living as a dentist until that incident, came out and asked them to be quiet. They responded disrespectfully, and then he began to threaten them. Apparently, his words did not sit well with them, and since respect for older people was their weak point at that time, they started to hit and push him.

The dentist did not lose his composure; he went back into his house and came out with a gun. He fired exactly three bullets, with each bullet hitting one of the youths. The three boys lay wounded and bleeding. Rescue personnel arrived at the scene, along with all the neighborhood residents, of course, who had woken up to the sound of the gunshots.

One of the youths took a bullet to the ear and was lightly injured. The second took a bullet to the chest and was moderately injured. As for the third young man, he took a bullet to the eye, which continued and penetrated his brain. According to the doctors' assessment, his condition was defined as critically injured.

The third boy, who was critically injured, lay in the intensive care unit as the doctors worked tirelessly to stabilize his condition, but without any success. They threw up their hands and said the situation was completely hopeless. However, as believing Jews, they refused to despair.

Rabbi Yosef Biton relates: I went to the residence of the tzaddik Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri zt"l in Jerusalem, and I told him about the incident and the boy's condition. However, the Rabbi said that it was a difficult case, and it was evident from his words that there was nothing to be done. The boy's parents arrived in Israel from France, and at the first opportunity, I brought them to Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

Rabbi Berland shlit"a heard about the tragic story from the parents and told them to give a thousand dollars for a Pidyon Nefesh (redemption of the soul), and the boy would get up and return to life, healthy and whole.

The boy's father left there in anger; he could not understand how the Rabbi could ask for money. He called several of his friends from France and spoke to them about the Rabbi asking for money for a Pidyon Nefesh. To his surprise, they all told him that they knew and had heard the name of the tzaddik Rabbi Berland shlit"a as a worker of salvations and miracles throughout the land. Therefore, they told him not to hesitate and to give the amount, and he would surely see salvations.

We, the friends, raised a sum of $500 among ourselves, and the father made up the remaining five hundred dollars. We then went back into the Rabbi's room with the full amount for the Pidyon Nefesh. Rabbi Berland shlit"a wrote a special prayer and said that we should read the prayer every day next to the wounded boy's bed, and by the holiday of Shavuot, he would be released from the hospital.

The doctors heard the story and laughed mockingly. They made sure to explain again to the parents and family members that there was no chance the boy would return to normal health after such severe brain damage. But they believed that the power of the tzaddik was greater than the power of the doctors, and they persisted in reciting the prayer that the Rabbi wrote, day after day. Meanwhile, the boy who was lightly injured in his ear was released from the hospital. He began coming to the hospital every single day, where he strictly made sure to regularly read the prayer that Rabbi Berland shlit"a wrote for the complete healing of his wounded friend.

A few days later, a surprising improvement occurred in the wounded boy's condition. However, the doctors calmed our excitement and explained that this was merely a stabilization they had managed to achieve in his condition, but there was no chance he would return to functioning. "He will live, but he will be a vegetable," the doctors said.

Meanwhile, the holiday of Pesach passed. Every day during Sefirat HaOmer, the Rabbi's prayer was recited by Yoni, the friend who had been lightly injured and had since been released. I am a witness that exactly as the Rabbi said, so it was: by the holiday of Shavuot, the critically injured friend left the hospital fully conscious and transferred to rehabilitation. Within a short time, he returned to functioning normally in a wondrous miracle of literal resurrection of the dead. This was all in the merit of the tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. Following this story, distant family members of the boy did teshuvah (repentance) and drew close to Breslov Chassidus, and today they are part of the holy Shuvu Banim community.

From the book "Pele Elyon Part 3"