The Rav Asked for the Phone After It Fell Into the Water

The Rav's assistant accidentally dropped his cell phone into the water of the mikveh. At that exact moment, the Rav entered, asked for the wet device to make an urgent call, and turned it on without a problem. In the merit of this, the device continued to work normally as if it had never fallen into the water.

Between the years 5761 and 5762 (2000-2002), Rabbi Shai Negad was an assistant in the home of Rabbi Berland shlit"a. "On one occasion," Rabbi Shai recounts, "new dishes were brought, and I went into the mikveh in the Rav's house to immerse the dishes. While I was immersing the dishes, my cell phone fell out of my pocket and plunged into the mikveh. With no other choice, I went into the mikveh and took out the cell phone, which was completely full of water. I hoped it would return to use after I dried it properly and soaked it in rice for a few days."

In those very seconds, Rabbi Berland arrived.

In those very seconds, Rabbi Berland arrived at the mikveh, and when he saw me, he asked me for a phone since he wanted to call someone urgently. I gave the Rav my cell phone, hiding the fact that it had just been pulled from the depths of the mikveh and had been in the water for nearly a minute. Rabbi Berland took the device, turned it on, made the call, and spoke with whomever he spoke with, and afterward, he returned the phone to me.

To this day, I do not know whether Rabbi Berland entered the mikveh with the intention to immerse, or solely out of consideration for the distress that would be caused to me without a cell phone, meaning that Rabbi Berland actually came in to save my cell phone. As it indeed happened, my cell phone continued to work afterward as usual, as if it had never been in the water.

From the book "Pele Elyon, Part 3"