“There Are People Who Long Ago Already Lost Their World—All of Them Will Be

The satanic campaign of slander being waged against the tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, continues. After the persecutors of the tzaddik tried many times in the past to manipulate people of truth into speaking lies, these wicked ones have reached a new low. Not long ago, we published the words of the righteous Admor of Slonim, who warned these terrible persecutors to cease their actions—a call that joins many others. Now, it is the turn of Rabbi Yaakov Shekazi shlit"a, one of the great Sephardic leaders of the generation, to warn against the wickedness of these people.

The Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Shekazi, a posek for the Sephardic Eda Haredit and Rabbi of the Beit Yisrael neighborhood in the Holy City of Jerusalem, delivers his words after evil people used and distorted them in order to persecute and slander the honor of the Torah and its students. "I am very sorry for what I saw and heard, that in a very, very wicked manner, they recorded what I said, while I, in my innocence, was speaking to the heart of that same person (N.S.), who sounded to me like a miserable man who presented himself as someone being persecuted, and I tried to appease him in all sorts of ways." The picture that emerges from the words of Rabbi Shekazi shlit"a is astounding and evokes disgust and horror. We are dealing here with a satanic group that stops at nothing to besmirch the true tzaddik, even at the cost of losing their own souls and being uprooted from the Tree of Life.

"Heaven forbid that I said such things; they distorted my words. I have known the tzaddik Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a for many years. Every time I think of him, I am amazed by the magnitude of his knowledge in Torah and the depth of his teachings. I visited him twice, and each time he held me for two hours. For one question, he delayed me for two hours in his room while he opened books incessantly. The wonder is that he would open the book to the exact place needed, as if he had prepared it in advance, even though he did not know at all what I was going to ask him. Therefore, it is impossible to believe such things about a holy man of G-d. Especially his sensitive students who followed in his ways—he brought them out, 'precious from the vile,' and established a magnificent community. I know them."

"If I had known he was talking about the community of Rav Berland, I certainly would not have said even the smallest thing. Ultimately, that is how those wicked slanderers reached these headlines." Rabbi Yaakov Shekazi shlit"a now turns to explain the vile operating methods of the persecutors of the Rav shlit"a. "He told me (N.S.) that they beat him, and I said to him: 'What do you want, for them to beat me?' From these words, they made headlines—they are blood-spillers—Heaven forbid, I never said those things. The students of Rav Berland shlit"a are good and G-d-fearing; they sit and engage in Torah, and they have great knowledge of Torah."

"I am a public figure and a busy man, and recent problems often cause earlier ones to be forgotten. At the moment they asked me if I had signed a petition and letter of support for Rav Berland shlit"a along with other rabbis, I answered in the negative; I had forgotten that it had indeed happened. Now that the letter is before me, I remember, and I did indeed sign it alongside Rabbi Shalom Arush shlit"a. And it is true, firm, and correct: the Rambam rules that anyone who disparages Torah scholars has no share in the World to Come, and Jerusalem was only destroyed because Torah scholars were disparaged there. Therefore, anyone who speaks against the Rav enters the category of one who disparages Torah scholars; woe to him and woe to his soul."

"There are people who long ago lost their world and have nothing to lose; they slander and speak. Why did they turn to the secular courts? Why must the Rav shlit"a sit in prison?! All of them will be held to account, especially as we stand before Rosh Hashanah. And I want to ask for forgiveness, pardon, and atonement from all the students of Rav Berland shlit"a, and as I clarify—such things never happened; the words were taken out of their true context, and I hope they will say with a full mouth that they forgive me."

"This wicked trend of bringing down rabbis by recording them is forbidden according to the Torah. And that same person (N.S.) who recorded me without asking permission—about him it is written, 'Do not plot evil against your neighbor, while he dwells securely with you.' I spoke to him in innocence with the intent of reconciliation, and he, in his wickedness, distorts the words. Even that person who publishes on the internet published it in an incorrect and inaccurate manner, to put it mildly. And with Hashem's help, we will merit to see the coming of the true Redeemer, that the Rav will leave prison and continue to lead his community as in the days of old and as in ancient years."

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