Story: One of the Greatest Tzaddikim of Our Generation shlit"a: "Already Fifty Years Ago, I Saw That This Jew..."

Story: One of the greatest tzaddikim of our generation shlit"a related: "Already fifty years ago, I saw that this Jew was seeking bizyonos (humiliation)."

An awesome story was told by one of the tzaddikim of the generation shlit"a (whose name is not being publicized so that he will not be disturbed), that fifty years ago,

he was in one of the study halls in the city of Monsey. Suddenly, a young Torah scholar entered—this was Rabbi Berland shlit"a—and began to speak before the congregation,

delivering words of Torah with wondrous depth, full of vitality and holy enthusiasm. The entire congregation listened with tremendous yearning to his words.

His holy words pierced their hearts, and the teachings were as joyous as when they were given at Mount Sinai. This made a tremendous impression, and everyone was amazed by this righteous

and holy young scholar. When Rabbi Berland shlit"a noticed the honor that was being directed toward him, he immediately began to do strange things. First, he took

his shoe and threw it on top of the Holy Ark. Afterward, he made all sorts of faces and strange hand movements. In short, everyone there said

that this young scholar was not right in the head, etc. "He truly speaks beautifully, but he is not in his right mind," and so on. This tzaddik concluded, "But I realized

that we are dealing here with a holy tzaddik who flees from honor like from a fire."

A Shaking Story: When Rabbi Berland Declared, "I Broke Into the Safe"

A dear Jew from Jerusalem shared a shaking testimony of something he experienced himself while staying at the gravesite of the Godly Tanna, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a, in Meron. At that time, a man was walking around there, laughing and mocking various rabbis, may Hashem protect us. The people present, hearing these words of blasphemy, wanted to challenge him and asked, "And what do you say about Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a?" They were certain that he would now open his mouth and continue his mockery, but to everyone's surprise, his reaction was completely different.

"Do Not Dare Speak About Him"

The man's face instantly grew serious, and he said in a firm voice: "Do not dare speak about him! I know very well who he is." Immediately afterward, he began to unfold an awe-inspiring story that his own eyes had witnessed, from the time when Rabbi Berland shlit"a was a young Torah scholar. One Shabbos, the Rav was staying in one of the settlements in the Holy Land. On Shabbos morning, the local residents discovered that unknown individuals had broken into the local safe and stolen all the property inside it.

This involved a massive sum of money and valuable items that belonged to all the members of the community. The entire town was in an uproar, and the residents tried to figure out how to catch the thief. The sorrow and panic that took place there were indescribable. Suddenly, Rabbi Berland shlit"a appeared and declared loudly before everyone: "I ask for forgiveness, I stole it! I broke into the safe, and I promise that immediately after the holy Shabbos departs, I will return everything."

Mesirus Nefesh (Self-Sacrifice) for the Sake of Bizyonos (Humiliation)

Even before he finished speaking, the people present pounced on him with vicious blows and terrible screams: "Thief!", "Murderer!" The tzaddik remained silent and suffered it all with love, giving his back to the strikers and his cheeks to those who plucked his beard. This continued throughout the entire Shabbos, as he absorbed endless screams, insults, and curses. Everyone waited eagerly for the stars to come out, to see how he would return the money.

Immediately upon the departure of Shabbos, Rabbi Berland shlit"a left the synagogue and went, as it were, to bring back the stolen goods. The man who told the story in Meron continued his testimony: "I followed him, approached him, and asked: 'Can you explain to me what you did? Why did you say that you stole and broke in?' The Rav answered me with pure innocence: 'Because it is the truth, I stole it.' I told him: 'You did not steal!' But he stood his ground, insisting that he was the thief."

"He asked me: 'How are you so sure that I didn't steal?'" the storyteller continued. "And then I told him: 'Because I stole it! I myself am the thief! I wanted to keep quiet and run away, but you, with your strange actions, completely confused me. Therefore, I am bringing everything to you, and you go give it to them.' After seeing such a thing, how is it possible to speak against such a tzaddik?"

Anyone who contemplates this story even a little will have his hair stand on end when he understands the awesome spiritual levels this tzaddik reached. This is not merely suffering insults and remaining silent before abusers, but rather a supreme mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) for the spiritual work of lowliness and humility, the likes of which has never been heard. After all, Rabbi Berland shlit"a was ready to go to prison, since he had nowhere to return the money from, yet he did not care about any of that. The main thing for him was the immense profit of the golden opportunity that Hashem, may He be blessed, had arranged for him—accepting bizyonos (humiliation) with love and great beautification.

From Issue 79 — Parashas Behaaloscha

From the series "Tzaddik Moshel Yiras Elokim" — "Shapir Amar Nachmani" publications