The Righteous Kabbalist Rabbi Salmanowitz

R' Shimon Rubinstein in a special interview from the Gomel border, ahead of the second night in the restricted area without conditions:

One can clearly see here that the Rav’s words from two weeks ago regarding the trip to Belarus, that "the Russians will be as stubborn as a wall of steel," are being fulfilled literally, and all the forces standing before us are equipped with steel shields.

Initially, Rabbi Rubinstein relayed first-hand testimony from the Mekubal, the great Chassid Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Salmanovitz shlit"a, regarding the reason for the severe and difficult lockdown by the Ukrainian forces, who, despite all the suffering before them, will not open the roads.

He further added in an interview recorded on the Breslov line (02-587-5777) about the wonderful unity suddenly seen in Breslov, specifically from within the pressure and distress. "People who were my friends and stopped speaking to me in recent years due to the controversy, have returned here to speak with me and are showing a friendly face."

Words of the Mekubal R' Yaakov Moshe Salmanovitz and the full interview with R' Shimon Rubinstein

The difficult situation of those besieged on the Ukrainian border

"What is happening on the ground right now is that all the Breslov Chassidim from all over Belarus are gathering here. It started yesterday in the morning hours; by the afternoon, masses of people began to arrive. We arrived here yesterday toward sunset. They put us on buses, supposedly so we could cross the border to Uman, and then hundreds more Chassidim arrived who approached the border on foot."

"We saw that Ukrainian police were standing before us and blocking the passage; we understood that there was no plan and no agreement whatsoever. Everything they told us was empty talk, that there was some agreement regarding the entry of groups of Breslov Chassidim. In reality, last night there were no minimal conditions here for the people waiting to enter."

"They tried all day to work toward opening the border through all sorts of people and various factors. As everyone knows, Minister Aryeh Deri issued a letter of request to the President of Ukraine to approve the entry of the Chassidim. We thought some opening would be made here. Afterward, the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Mr. Joel Lion, arrived here. He stood on the Ukrainian side of the border and tried to speak."

"He began saying that it is possible to arrive in Israel and they would not receive 14 days of quarantine; there was laughter, and in front of everyone, they began calling out 'Boo,' 'Bibi go home,' 'Deri go home'—they didn't let him speak. It is a question in itself: if he says that there are now nearly a thousand people here together, and they will all be exempt from quarantine in Israel? The question of whether there is or isn't Corona is a question in itself. How do you take responsibility to say such a thing? But, the main thing is that we shouldn't enter Uman where there is a problem of Corona, while in Israel there is no problem."

Rabbi Salmanovitz and I hold that the clear reason for all the sorrow is the imprisonment of Rav Berland

"Certainly, there is measure for measure here; whoever does not see this is blind or a fool, I have no other word. I caught one of them today and told him this explicitly."

"R' Yaakov Moshe Salmanovitz is sitting here in Belarus and saying this all the time—that as long as they do not release Rav Berland, the border will not open. He said this to everyone he spoke with. Yesterday he was here at the border and did not want to cross. I understood that he said explicitly that he wants to first be updated on what is happening with Rav Berland, as we see that as long as the Rav is behind bars, then all the Breslov Chassidim..."

Suddenly, the love of friends and the drawing together of hearts is renewed

"And there are many interesting things happening here. People who haven't spoken to me for several years, not even asking after my welfare even though we were good friends in the past—but here, our Rebbe brought us to such a situation that we stay on the same bus, in the same four cubits, and they suddenly need help and the conversations awaken. You didn't want to be together; the Rebbe brought us to a situation by force and necessity of 'be together,' one will receive from the other and there will be an aspect of no separation."

The prophecy of the great Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a is being fulfilled

"Another important point to note. Rav Berland said last week that there is no point in traveling because the Russians will stand like a wall of steel, and one truly sees here vehicles armored like steel—perhaps they thought we would shoot at them... this vehicle is capable of absorbing shoulder-fired missiles. There are rows of soldiers standing with steel shields, a wall of steel in the literal sense."

"As soon as I came here and saw this, I understood that the Rav’s words were fulfilled in their entirety."

"We hope that just as Rav Berland in his time opened the walls (as is known and famous that the great Tzaddik Rav Berland was the one who sacrificed himself for the opening of the path to Uman and the establishment of the yoke of the holy Kibbutz on Rosh Hashanah), in his merit we will merit to reach Uman for Rosh Hashanah and will not need to hold the Kibbutz in Belarus, Heaven forbid."