The Holy Convoy - The Accident on the Way to Eilat

In every city and location that our teacher, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, visits, a respectful convoy of vehicles joins his journey, filled with Breslov Chassidim of all ages. This convoy of honor for the tzaddik has drawn considerable attention and outrage in the media. However, as long as government ministers and heads of state receive honorary convoys of security guards in the Holy Land, it seems impossible to prevent us from honoring the tzaddik of the generation with a convoy of vehicles and students who follow him everywhere, thirstily drinking in his words.

Beyond this, it also fulfills the words of the Mishnah, "Cover yourself in the dust of their feet." One of the explanations for this teaching is the merit of following the tzaddik, as implied by the phrase "the dust of their feet," for serving Torah scholars is even greater than studying Torah.

The members of the convoy, who pursue the tzaddik in the spirit of the verse, "Let us know, let us pursue to know Hashem," recount many fascinating miracles. Many passengers share that, more than once, they continued on long journeys even after their vehicles ran out of gas and the warning lights flashed incessantly. Furthermore, they traveled at speeds exceeding two hundred kilometers per hour—speeds more akin to airplanes than cars.

On one occasion, police cruisers set up a roadblock to stop the convoy of Rabbi Berland shlit"a. When the Rav instructed his driver to stop, thirty vehicles halted behind him. Over a hundred Chassidim swiftly jumped out and surrounded the Rav's car. The stunned police officers simply saluted, hurried back into their cruisers, and left the scene.

During another trip, the Rav instructed his driver to pull over for a police cruiser parked on the shoulder that was signaling them to stop. While the officers began debating with the Chassidim about the size of the fines each driver and passenger in the convoy would receive, Rabbi Berland shlit"a stepped out of his car holding a Ketzos HaChoshen (a classic Talmudic commentary). He calmly sat down in the driver's seat of the police cruiser and continued studying peacefully, as if he were sitting in his own living room.

In yet another instance, the Rav promised an officer who had stopped the convoy that from that point until Jerusalem, they would not exceed one hundred kilometers per hour. Following the Rav's promise, the officer let everyone go. Naturally, the promise was strictly kept all the way to Jerusalem. However, the very next day, the engines revved up again, climbing to speeds of two hundred and forty kilometers per hour.

People raise many questions about this conduct, and rightfully so. Indeed, we have no understanding of the Rav's ways. As one of the leading students of Rabbi Berland shlit"a once shared: A Litvish Torah scholar told him that he had ten questions regarding the Rav's conduct. The student pleasantly replied that he personally had over a thousand questions about the Rav's conduct! But the truth is, when the immense greatness of the tzaddik of the generation is beyond any doubt in your heart, you naturally become capable of understanding that you simply cannot understand. Only then do you begin to merit a drop of light from the spiritual trait of self-nullification before the tzaddikim.

Rebbe Nachman already taught in Likutey Moharan that just as people have questions about Hashem, they also have questions about the tzaddikim. Just as we believe in Hashem despite the questions and confusions that arise in our flawed intellect regarding Divine Providence in the world, so too must we believe in the true tzaddikim, despite the questions they deliberately provoke in order to conceal themselves.

Regarding the recurring question: What about the Torah commandment, "You shall exceedingly guard your lives"? What if, God forbid, a tragedy occurs? As mentioned, we cannot answer these questions. However, there is a recent story that, even if the questions remain, will help us realize that we have absolutely no comprehension of the tzaddik's actions.

At the end of the month of Cheshvan 5779 (2018), Rabbi Berland shlit"a left the holy city of Jerusalem for a special journey of spiritual strengthening to the southern city of Eilat. Dozens of vehicles joined this trip. Midway, the entire convoy stopped for Minchah and Maariv (afternoon and evening prayers) at the Kushi Rimon Inn alongside the Rav, singing the familiar melodies that awaken every heart and soul.

Midway through the journey to Eilat, while traveling on Route 90—notoriously known as a dangerous highway—one of the vehicles in the convoy swerved and overturned. An ambulance rushed to the scene but was unable to extricate the injured, prompting a helicopter to be called in to assist with the rescue. Three people were injured in the accident: two lightly and one moderately.

When Rabbi Berland shlit"a arrived in Eilat, his attendant (gabbai) reported the accident to him and handed him the names of the injured for a blessing. The Rav instructed them to find out if the driver had prayed Shacharis (the morning prayer) that day. The answer returned that, due to unavoidable circumstances, the driver had not managed to pray Shacharis. The Rav then asked them to check if the driver had at least put on tefillin that day. When the answer came back affirmative, the Rav smiled in relief and declared that now, in the merit of the driver putting on tefillin, everyone would be released from the hospital by morning.

To the absolute amazement of everyone who had witnessed the accident and the condition of the injured before their admission to the hospital, a wondrous miracle occurred. The very next morning, the three injured men appeared in a different vehicle, rejoining the convoy heading back to Jerusalem, following the tzaddik through fire and water. In their pockets were discharge papers from the hospital, explicitly stating that there was no medical reason to keep them hospitalized!

A national news website reported the incident as follows: "Rescue forces were dispatched this afternoon (Sunday) to the scene of an accident on Route 90, near the Dead Sea hotel junction, following a report of a vehicle that had overturned on the side of the road. Rescue teams provided medical treatment to five casualties: three in light condition and two in moderate condition. All five were evacuated to the hospital for further treatment."

"The vehicle was part of the convoy of the leader of the Shuvu Banim community, the righteous Rabbi Eliezer Berland, which was en route to the city of Eilat."

Magen David Adom (MDA) released a statement: "Four people were injured in an accident on Route 90 near the hotels in the Dead Sea area. Two young men, approximately 20 years old, are in moderate condition with upper body trauma. An MDA helicopter arrived at the scene to assist in evacuating the injured."

The police reported: "There are traffic disruptions on Route 90 from the Dead Sea hotels to the Masada junction in both directions due to an ongoing accident response."

It is worth noting that one of the Rav's students sent a picture of the crushed vehicle to the chairman of ZAKA, Rabbi Yehuda Meshi-Zahav. His response was immediate: "There is no chance in the world that anyone could come out of such an accident alive! If the injured are alive, I am starting to believe in the power of the tzaddik."

From the book "Pele Elyon, Part 3"