Tzaddikim and Torah Scholars Continue to Awaken in Protest Against the Disgrace of Rav Berland shlit"a - Words of Rav Yisrael Sheret shlit"a

The eternity of Israel will not lie, a great Kiddush Hashem occurs when the tzaddikim of the generation begin to awaken and protest from every platform for the honor of the esteemed Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a. We have known in the past about great rabbis who spoke of the greatness of Rav Berland shlit"a and the prohibition of speaking ill of him, but we are witnessing a fascinating phenomenon recently. Many tzaddikim, rabbis, and those who bring merit to the public, great and hidden tzaddikim, who were not previously known to be associated with Rav Berland and his community, are suddenly rising with a great voice and leading many to protest against the disgrace of the tzaddik.

"We must protest against the disgrace of the tzaddik, all the more so if there are not many who will protest, because 'a covenant is made with evil speech to be accepted.' Additionally, people feel that whoever protests and speaks against the persecution of Rav Berland, it is as if they are associating themselves with something specific, and people do not like to label themselves. Especially when there is controversy, people are afraid they will be dragged into the controversy, especially since everything comes with threats, 'if you speak against the persecution of the Rav, we will make your life bitter, we will not distribute your books and will burn them.'"

"I speak against the controversy over the esteemed Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a who is among the foundational tzaddikim of this generation, if not the greatest of them, and unfortunately, the state here, as it has done to many, does the same to Rav Berland. The state asks where the money from the redemptions goes while they are thieves in broad daylight, robbers in the dark, doing everything, and they come to question a tzaddik about what he does."

Rav Yisrael Sheret shlit"a began to protest before a large crowd of the reverent at the Musayof synagogue in Jerusalem.

"They stole children, the children of Yemen, it would have been better if they had perished this magnificent Judaism, which passed down a pure tradition since the days of the Second Temple, in the gas chambers, rather than the death the state inflicted upon them. This is the killing of souls, in the Holocaust they died as holy martyrs and ascended straight to Gan Eden, here they killed generations. My father-in-law, to this day, does not know where his brother is, and another one from the family, they sold them. Their mothers have been crying for them for 60 years, they sold them to non-Jews, to seculars, is this allowed! Rav Uzi Meshulam, who was a hidden tzaddik, they killed him because he revealed the truth."

"You are liars, and you will ask what a true tzaddik does, this is a disgrace and shame. They did this also to Rav Yaakov Yosef zt"l, they called him for investigation, shibad"l Rav Mutzafi was also called for investigation, Rav Avraham Yosef was called for investigation, this is not for free - there is a trend here to humiliate the honor of the Torah and its learners to the dust."

"They can come and ask the wise man in his home, but no, we will bring a patrol car, put on handcuffs, take him out to the street, make noise, film - so that everyone will see as if the rabbis are thieves. You are the thieves, not the rabbis, and if you would let the rabbis speak all that is on their hearts, there would be no thieves in the state, there would be no need for prisons. But, they do not want, they want there to be prisons and people to die."

"Why does Rav Berland perform a redemption of the soul? People come to ask for salvation, sometimes Rav Berland performs a redemption without money, but sometimes he asks for a certain amount for redemption. It is his full right, you don't want to bring it, don't! He knows what has been decreed upon you and he knows what your redemption is. No, when exorbitant prices are set for medicines without including them in the health basket it's okay, a doctor takes 180,000 for a transplant. The doctor kills him in surgery, but with the Rav the salvation is guaranteed and he is not allowed to take redemption? Whoever knows Rav Berland knows he does not enjoy it, he gives everything to charity."

(The lesson courtesy of Rav Yaakov Salma from 'Yeshivat 'Netzach Netzachim')

"Whoever knows him knows how much he despises money, despises gold, despises food and drink, not for a day or two, for over forty years. My father has known him for decades, told me - 'From his youth I said that Rav Berland would be great, he has terrible exertions in the service of Hashem'. Corrupt people will come and judge and give on Rav Berland? What is your problem, the drops he gives for healing? And did not Baba Sali give bottles of water and arak?"

"This is the oil of a tzaddik, people in Morocco would go with oil to the graves of tzaddikim and heal the sick with it. But their goal is to destroy the emunah in the sages and to disgrace the Torah learners."

"If another person were at Rav Berland's age and in his health condition, no one would dare to take him into custody. But the Rav, although elderly, donated a kidney, had several tumors removed from his body, is sick in his leg and barely walks - on him, one must not have mercy. This is the honor of Hashem and for this, we must protest, as Shmuel the prophet said, 'for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me' (Shmuel I 8:7). They are not judging Shmuel, they are judging Hashem, and the excuse - on His anointed."

"Show me one lawyer who does not take money for his 10 minutes, and the rabbis give their days and nights to others. Rav Berland, at the age of 82, barely sleeps, he wanders all night in the land to bring more Jews closer in homes. Let's see them invest like this in their child, not in someone else's child."

"According to the Chafetz Chaim and according to the Torah, there is no permission for a person to listen to evil speech, all the more so to accept it, and all the more so if he has not heard both sides. Whom will you believe, the wicked? The liars? How can you believe them?!"

"'Shuvu Banim', do you know how many people have returned there in teshuvah over decades and become complete tzaddikim? This is what pains them. After all, they will not defend Shabbat, not the yeshiva students, nor the daughters of Israel."

"Redemption of the soul - can a person judge the redemption of the soul when he does not understand what a soul is at all? And he does not believe there is a soul at all! The tzaddik knows the illness of the soul and its healing. There was the tzaddik from Ra'anana, Rabbi Yitzchak HaKohen Huberman al"h, it's good he has already passed away, because if he were alive they would go to arrest him after hearing these things. Once they came to him with a case of a woman in her ninth month that the doctors said was a great danger, either her or the child. It was Erev Shabbat, he told them nothing will happen on Shabbat, come on Sunday after the brit I participate in, I will ask Eliyahu the prophet and tell you what he said. On Sunday he said that Eliyahu the prophet said nothing will happen to the newborn or the mother, not to operate."

"They asked Rav Steinman what the tzaddik from Ra'anana merited? He answered,

I remember him from his youth as a great diligent Torah scholar who toiled in it out of poverty and hardship. Once he was invited to be a sandek, he said he would not enter because of the immodesty, Eliyahu the prophet does not enter, will I enter? And he would ask for large sums for the redemption of the soul, someone came to him whose mother was in a difficult situation. He asked for 20,000 liras for redemption, the son insisted and only asked for a blessing. The Rav, Huberman said, I will bless, but if you want her to live, the money is needed for redemption. He would study Torah out of poverty, the money did not stay with him even one night. The son did not agree, left, but returned after two days, the tzaddik from Ra'anana told him - that's it, the time has passed."

"I have experienced this myself, my child was very sick and the doctor was afraid to deal with him. I went to Rav Berland and he told me nothing is needed and no doctor. I asked, nothing at all? In the morning the child woke up healthy and whole, without a sign or anything, nothing. Already with Shaul who sought the donkeys we learned that they would bring money to the wise man."

"This is unparalleled audacity, you don't want to bring, don't bring. The tzaddik gives you advice on how to heal, you don't want? Please, there are doctors."

"The Gemara says that Jerusalem was not destroyed until they disgraced Torah scholars. When Rav Berland was in exile, the government asked the government there to put him in detention. Rav Berland did not ask for anything there, only for the tefillin. They told him, either tefillin or food, he said tefillin. They brought him tefillin, they did not bring him food until he fainted on the fourth day. Then they feared public noise and brought him food."

"Whoever believes in evil speech should think if he would wait four days without food to merit tefillin. In his synagogue at the third meal, someone naturally opened a can of tuna and pressed it, there is a problem of selecting, Rav Berland jumped from his place, grabbed the oil in his hand and drank it so that the Jew would not transgress the prohibition of selecting. This is called a tzaddik, who is willing to swallow this repulsive thing to save a Jew from sin."

"All the tzaddikim were pursued, the fact that they are pursued and despised does not mean the person is not a tzaddik, from here no proof is brought. Avraham Avinu was in prison for 10 years, Moshe Rabbeinu for 10 years, Yosef the Tzaddik for 12 years. The Ben Ish Chai was, the Ramchal was pursued, the Rebbe of Ruzhin, the Rayatz, the Baal HaTanya, many great tzaddikim were pursued."

Testimonies representing all segments of the public about people who were saved by the blessing and redemption of the soul of Rav Berland shlit"a