Morinu HaRav Berland shlit"a Enters the Tziyon of Rebbe Nachman in Uman After Five Years — "The Rebbe Chopped Off All the Tentacles of the Octopus"

Our holy master, Morinu HaRav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, arrived at the holy tziyon (gravesite) of Rebbe Nachman in Uman — after five years during which the path was closed to him, in his own words. On the 14th of Elul 5786, Morinu HaRav shlit"a entered the holy tziyon of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a. Within hours, the news reached Anash (the Breslov community) in Israel and around the world, and in Jerusalem, they immediately broke out in joyous dancing.

Eight days earlier, on the 6th of Elul, a mass prayer and crying out gathering was held at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron with the participation of Morinu HaRav shlit"a. Its entire purpose was a single request — that the gates should open and Morinu HaRav shlit"a should reach Uman. And the prayer was answered.

And for the first time — a recording also arrived from Morinu HaRav shlit"a himself, from Uman, in which he describes the miracle in his own words. The following is what he said.

"The Rebbe Chopped Off All the Tentacles of the Octopus"

Morinu HaRav shlit"a began with thanksgiving, and described the menios (spiritual obstacles) as an octopus with a million tentacles:

"To thank and praise for the great miracle that we merited to chop off the tentacles of the octopus that has a million tentacles. And the Rebbe chopped off all the tentacles of the octopus. And the Rav entered after five years that the Rav was not in Uman. They closed the holy tziyon to the Rav, all kinds of opposers, all kinds of wicked people — and now the Rebbe has defeated them all. And no one can be prevented from coming to the Rebbe."

The octopus with a million tentacles represents all those obstacles that closed the path for five years — the opposers, the hinderers, and all those hands that grabbed from every direction all at once. And just as an octopus is not stopped by the severing of a single tentacle, so too it was not enough to remove a single obstacle; and Morinu HaRav shlit"a attributes the miracle to Rebbe Nachman, who chopped them all off at once — and immediately after entering the tziyon, he sent this recording describing the miracle.

"The Mountains Leaped and Danced Like Rams"

Morinu HaRav shlit"a described the magnitude of the miracle with an image full of awe — Uman is situated between high mountains, and the miracle was that the mountains themselves moved from their place:

"And this is the greatness of the miracle — that all the mountains connected. Uman is located between great and high mountains, the mountains simply connected, as Rashi writes in Parshas Chukas that the mountains connected and became the slopes of the streams... At the Yam Suf (Red Sea) — the sea split, but it remained the same sea. Here the mountains moved, they danced like a groom toward a bride, a maidservant toward her mistress. The mountains leaped and danced like rams, they leaped toward the Jewish people entering the Land."

From here, he moved to the verse that Morinu HaRav shlit"a repeated twice:

"'The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is from Hashem; it is wondrous in our eyes.' Wondrous — it is impossible to understand this wonder."

The Directive: To Dance — In Uman and in Israel

Morinu HaRav shlit"a did not settle for describing the miracle, but gave an immediate directive to the public in both places alike:

"Everyone who can dance while you are dancing, everyone who arrived in Uman — should start dancing right now. And those in Israel — should start dancing there. Say Nishmas and Hallel HaGadol without a blessing; they should say Hallel HaGadol, just without a blessing."

He further added regarding the level of joy required at this time: "We need to dance twenty-four hours a day until the end of Yom Kippur", and "We need to rejoice on this day... dancing that does not stop for a single second".

"And the light pushes away all the darkness"

And alongside the joy — an instruction in avodas hamiddos (refining character traits):

"And it is forbidden to quarrel with anyone. If someone insults you — do not answer and do not explain, you do not need to explain anything. The dawn has broken, we see the day, we see the light — and the light pushes away all the darkness."

"We come to the Rebbe — not to the Rav"

A significant portion of the recording was dedicated to instructions on how to behave at the Tziyon, and they all revolve around one foundation: everything is with Rebbe Nachman.

"And do not stand on the benches to see the Rav, and do not shout 'HaRav, HaRav.' And do not submit any requests — the Rebbe sees everyone, all the requests are with the Rebbe... We do not replace the Rebbe with the Rav. The Rebbe is the Rebbe. We come to the Rebbe — not to the Rav."

And Morinu HaRav shlit"a added that no names should be mentioned before him at all — not of a woman giving birth, not of a woman having difficulty in labor, not of a bride, and not of a groom: "No name is mentioned, everything is with Rebbe Nachman. Rebbe Nachman sees everything, hears everything, knows everything."

He also attributed the protection of the Land of Israel to Rebbe Nachman: "Only Rebbe Nachman performs all the miracles and wonders, so that no missile will fall on any settlement in the Land of Israel."

Credits

Footage of the holy Tziyon in Uman: N. Yeshurun · Hischadshus. Footage of the dancing in the prayer hall: Shimon Shavi Acharei HaTzaddik — "Tzaddik HaDor" group. Our thanks are given to them for allowing us to share these moments with the public.