The Night of Zichor Brit and the Last Shacharit Prayer of 5778 in Uman with the

The night of Zachor Brit, the Selichot of the final night of the year 5778, the great gathering in the Kloiz hall in Uman is filled to capacity, and the holy atmosphere is palpable in the air. It is only 3:00 AM, yet the hearts of the worshippers are humming with holy awe; soon the day of Rosh Hashanah will be sanctified, and in the meantime, it is an almost final opportunity to pour out prayers before the Master of All. The holy Tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, has already taken his holy place in the Mizrach, right on the left side before the wall, and all eyes are turned toward the tzaddik.

The entire crowd is happy to unite around the tzaddik in this most important prayer, passing pidyonot nefesh (redemption of the soul) to the Rav shlit"a, as is customary in Israel before Rosh Hashanah. Immediately afterward, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a continued to the Shacharit prayer with the crowd of thousands, while adorned in tallit and tefillin.

Photography courtesy of Aharon Solomonovich