The Esteemed Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a Sings in Kfar Shalem "When You Pass

"When you pass through the waters, I am with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be scorched, and the flame shall not burn you" (Isaiah 43:2). Over the years, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a has spoken much about the importance and power of reciting this verse. Here are words that Rav Berland said (Sunday, 18 Tishrei, 3rd day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot 5765 - Yahrtzeit of our holy Rebbe) regarding the virtue of the verse.

"'When you pass through the waters, I am with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be scorched, and the flame shall not burn you.' When a person believes in the true tzaddik, then he can pass through waters, through bullets, through shells, through an atom. Our holy Rebbe said this verse; our Rebbe crossed the sea, he traveled during the Napoleonic wars amidst the shells of Napoleon, he was in Akko when the cannons thundered, and the whole way he walked with the verse. From the moment he left the house until he returned in peace with the verse - 'When you pass through the waters, I am with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be scorched, and the flame shall not burn you.'"

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The Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a in Kfar Shalem singing the verse with the students in the special melody (thanks to Rabbi Yaakov Salma for the filming).

"The moment a person says this verse, immediately Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob descend; all seven shepherds descend. The Rebbe revealed that in this verse, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alluded to. The Rebbe traveled alone on warships on his way to Israel; they wanted to sell him as a slave. Our Rebbe said, 'I have such a level of attainment that even if they sell me as a slave, I will be able to fulfill all the mitzvot.' The Rebbe took into account that they would sell him as a slave. It is written in Chesed LeAvraham that once, when they traveled to the Land of Israel, 60% or 50% would be thrown into the sea; they would throw away all their money, they would not ask for bribes, and there were no police, no telephones, no cell phones; it was impossible to know if a person disappeared. People would disappear on the roads, they would not return home and would not arrive in the Land of Israel. All the ship captains were pirates, so the Rebbe prepared himself to be sold as a slave."

"The Rebbe said, 'I already prepared myself for the fact that they would sell me as a slave and I would not have a calendar, everything would be forgotten by me, and nevertheless, I would have the strength to fulfill all 613 mitzvot, with Shabbat, with Passover, with Yom Kippur.' The Rebbe said, 'Before I came to the Land of Israel, I fulfilled them in every way, because I attained the fulfillment of the entire Torah.' The ship captain heard the thunder and became afraid; he heard the shells and moved away a bit. Suddenly there was a storm wind, some hurricane blew him all the way to Rhodes - the hurricane is our Rebbe, our Rebbe, this is the strongest hurricane in the world, this is the strongest storm wind in the world that can blow away all the ships in the world."