“I said: This Purim, I must reveal who the Tzaddik is!!!”

Sixty years since our light and guide, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, drew close to the Light of Lights—our holy master, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a—14 Adar II 5722 – 14 Adar II 5782

Rabbi Berland shlit"a tells the story of how he drew close to Breslov sixty years ago, from a lesson delivered to our community in the city of Ramat Gan:

“And then I went to Vizhnitz, because they said there was a performance there in honor of Purim. But the bus came from Lelov—so first I went to Lelov. I said: This Purim, I must reveal who the Tzaddik is! That was Purim 5722, and through that she was remembered (the Rebbetzin shlit"a), because the doctor said I wouldn’t have children—the doctor promised me…

We went to Lelov, and from Lelov we traveled to Vizhnitz. And then we came to Lelov. Some guys hadn’t read the Megillah, so they read the Megillah—it was at eleven at night that they read it. They were completely drunk, and they were making mockery in the middle of the Megillah reading. I said: If they’re making mockery, then here it isn’t the truth. So I got back on the bus. I had to go from South Tel Aviv, Shmuel HaMohliver Street 35—that’s where it was. We had to walk through all of South Tel Aviv, to the Egged station, to catch the last bus to Bnei Brak at twelve at night—line 54.

We reached the corner of Chazon Ish and Rabbi Akiva, and after that we walked the entire Chazon Ish Street and passed through Nechemiah—Nechemiah Street. And at Nechemiah and Breslov—there was the Breslov yeshivah. I had never gone in there in my life. Suddenly I was already exhausted, so I said: I’ll go in for a moment to rest. I thought I’d find drunk people, I’d find… but there were no drunk people—nothing. Where are the drunk people? It really pained me… I was looking for drunk people; I went through all the rooms—there were no drunk people. The rooms were empty; not a single drunk person. I said: Maybe they’re hiding under the beds; maybe there’s some bunker; maybe they’re afraid of the Nazis, of Putin—I don’t know… I went… there are no drunk people!

Suddenly, R’ Nachman Rosenthal came over to me. I asked: Where are all the drunk people? What—by you it’s not Purim? He said: ‘No. Everyone is out in the field now, crying out to Hashem—“Save me from the kelipah of Haman-Amalek.”’ We said: This is it—this is the truth here! If such a thing exists in the world, then Hashem has revealed the truth to me—there’s no need to go to Vizhnitz anymore. I stayed there. I wanted to stay there also for Vasikin, but I had been awake the whole night. And it was Purim on Tuesday, and on Friday I went to Chazon Ish Street. You said you’d come for Vasikin—you said you’d come—so I said: Now I’m coming. He didn’t believe me; he didn’t believe that I was coming now. I told him: Here, I’m coming now. Now I’m going into the mikveh, and I’m coming. It was already three in the afternoon—it was Purim. Sunset is only at five-thirty. And then we came and prayed there Kabbalas Shabbos. Suddenly there was… and Natan Liebermensch—he didn’t use electricity; he used only kerosene lamps.”

R’ Yitzchak Witzhandler shlit"a: “Lux.”

Rabbi Berland: “Yes, it was those kinds of lux lamps. Suddenly the lamp flared up, and everyone ran away—because the whole room went up in flames. I stayed; I didn’t care about anything. Maybe fire came down from Heaven, I said—I don’t know… I don’t know where this fire came from. Until we went to bring a Shabbos goy and everything, it was about a quarter of an hour. Almost everything—the Aron Kodesh nearly went up in flames, by miracles… So I said: This is like a revelation of Godliness—this is ‘And the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.’ And from then on, when we finished, I began coming there to pray. So it’s all in the merit of R’ Nachman Rosenthal: he merited one son, Yechezkel—he has seven sons and a daughter; he has another son—eight sons… another son—nine… after seven sons he merited a daughter. Just as the Rebbe says in the Stories of the Tzaddikim, that there are seven sons and after that a daughter.”