Special: Maran Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky — “The Steipler”

The head and founder of 'Machon Mordechai,' the late Rabbi Mordechai Felberbaum zt"l, shared cherished memories several years ago in a special interview with the 'Shuvu Banim Information Line,' in which he spoke about his acquaintance with our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a and their time as chavrusa in Volozhin for about a year • On the special instruction of the Steipler zt"l • On the 'Shuvu Banim' yeshiva and the opening of the path to Uman by our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a • Cherished memories.

THE CHAVRUSA AND THE INSTRUCTION

"I was the chavrusa with Rav Berland in Volozhin on Nechemia Street in Bnei Brak. The head of the yeshiva and kollel at the time told me, 'There is a young man here with a great soul; study with him.' After a year of studying with him, he went to the Steipler and asked him what he should do regarding 'zikkui harabim' (meriting the public), saying, 'My soul yearns for Torah and to bring merit to the public.' The Kehillot Yaakov, the Steipler, told him, 'I am a Litvak, a Chazon Ish-nik, but you have the soul of a Breslover. Go to Jerusalem, be a leader there, and try to elevate Breslov.' And indeed, with self-sacrifice, he went and established a yeshiva, and with self-sacrifice, he opened the building in the Old City despite all the provocations from Teddy Kollek, who was the mayor at the time. He (Rav Berland) said, 'There will be a yeshiva here,' and thank Hashem, I hear that to this day there is a yeshiva, people are doing teshuvah (repentance), and performing great deeds. I have been there several times; there is a first floor, a second floor. At first, there were Arabs there, and Kollek caused them many problems, claiming they had taken property from Arabs. I personally spoke with the Arabs there several times and even gave them money, and afterwards, the Arabs either left or received compensation, but he restored the crown to its former glory; he returned the entire place to the Judaism that had been there."

OPENING THE PATH TO UMAN BY RAV BERLAND

"He opened the path to Uman; he was the first to open Uman. This came from his inner strength and his self-sacrifice. Today it has become free, thousands travel all the time, but back then they forbade everyone. Today they earn millions of dollars from the Jews, but as they say, the first step—that is what he did."

Regarding the controversy and the persecution against Rav Berland, R' Mordechai said: "Unfortunately, informers from within our own ranks is not a new thing. It was like this in Chabad as well; the Baal HaTanya was imprisoned because of Jews until they released him, and then they made the 'Chag HaGeulah' (Festival of Redemption), which was a sign of the breakthrough for Chabad."

"And so we hope that just as it happened then, 'and you shall spread out to the west and to the east,' so too today, the release of Rav Berland will be a 'Chag HaGeulah' for all of Breslov, for all his followers, and for all of the Jewish people..."