A historic meeting of the great elders of Breslov together with The Rav, the holy gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a ○ In honor of the yahrzeit of our teacher Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender zt"l ○ Unpublished talks, stories from the early years of drawing close, and the true Breslov path

A historic gathering took place on the 33rd yahrzeit of the elder of our community and the leader of our chaburah—who rebuilt the yoke of Breslov in the last generation and faithfully transmitted the tradition—the holy and righteous tzaddik, our teacher Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender zy"a.

The meeting was held in the home of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s greatest disciple, the one who carries and passes on the received Breslov path in our own generation—The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. Participating in the gathering were faithful bearers of the tradition and mashpi’im of Anash, the rabbanim and geonim: the chassid Rabbi Yehoshua Dov Rubinstein shlit"a, the chassid Rabbi Gavriel Grossman shlit"a, and the chassid Rabbi Yitzchak Vitzhandler shlit"a. During the meeting they brought up memories and traditions—stories and words of strengthening—as well as talks that have not yet been published, from the mouth of the one who transmitted and revived Breslov Chassidus after the Holocaust, as he received it from his teacher—Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Nachman zy"a—our teacher Rabbi Levi Yitzchak zt"l.

The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, spoke about the years when he was drawing close to Breslov, and how he turned nights into days searching for the true path in Breslov—until he finally came to rest and to his portion, to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak zt"l. There he sat and did not let go, until he merited to know the mind of Rebbe Nachman and the true Breslov way. He described how Rabbi Berland shlit"a would sit by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak day and night, drinking in his words with thirst—every statement, every story, every strengthening, every awakening—engraving it all upon the tablet of his heart, in order to pass it on to the last generation—our generation.

The Rav, Rabbi Berland shlit"a, also spoke about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s wondrous avodah: his exact guarding of time, his immense Torah learning, and extraordinary stories about those “Garden of Eden” days when Rabbi Levi Yitzchak drank with thirst the true Breslov path from his teacher, Rabbi Avraham Chazan ben Rabbi Nachman of Toltshin—words the ear has never yet heard.

Alongside all this, the participants—faithful bearers of the tradition—added their own illuminating memories and awakenings: Rabbi Yehoshua Dov Rubinstein, who contributed stories with fine taste and understanding; Rabbi Gavriel Grossman, who added talks and insights about the times; and the mashpia Rabbi Yitzchak Vitzhandler, who merited to serve Rabbi Levi Yitzchak as a “lad who would not depart from the tent…” and merited to sit under his vine, gathering every word in order to pass on talks and stories to the generations to come.

With Hashem’s help, later this week the special and historic meeting will be published in full. Follow the articles and updates on the homepage of the “Shuvu Banim” website.

Before you is a photo gallery from the historic gathering: