Watch: Bringing a Soul Down from the World of Truth

It was not simple, but finally, we merited to catch Rabbi Mordechai Deri and bring him up for a poignant conversation regarding the stormy events he experienced on his path from Rabbi Yoram Abergel zt"l to our Teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. The story is fascinating; there is no need to elaborate further.

"I was connected to Rabbi Yoram Abergel zt"l and therefore would consult with him on various matters. One day, I joined a friend who went up to Rabbi Berland shlit"a from Kfar Saba to Jerusalem for a Pidyon (redemption of the soul). The friend told Rabbi Berland shlit"a that his sister had passed away. The Rav shlit"a was shaken, covered his face with his Tallis, and said that he is now bringing her soul down to the room. Suddenly, we began to feel pressure in the room, a feeling I had never felt the likes of. The Rav shlit"a asked him if he wanted to speak with her, but he, entering a state of stress, refused."

"'In the merit of your Pidyon, I am placing her in a good place and elevating her to Gan Eden (Paradise),' added the Rav shlit"a. 'You no longer have anything to worry about regarding her.'" Suddenly, the Rav started talking to him about his leg pain and told him to come to the Yeshiva and dance there on Simchat Torah. 'What leg pain?' my friend wondered. After all, until then he was healthy and felt no pain—why would the Rav shlit"a speak about this?"

"'Where do you live?' The Rav shlit"a turned to me with a question. 'In Kfar Saba,' I answered, surprised by his addressing me, as I was only an escort. 'You are moving to Jerusalem and not raising the children in Kfar Saba,' the Rav shlit"a ruled firmly while banging on the table strongly. I didn't understand how the Rav shlit"a even knew that I was married and that I had children; this was, after all, the first time I was seeing him."

"Meanwhile, that friend did not arrive for the dancing on Simchat Torah. Afterward, intense pains visited his legs. In hindsight, he understood what the Rav shlit"a meant; the Rav could have sweetened this for him through the dancing."

"The meeting with Rabbi Berland shlit"a was on Wednesday, and on Friday, as was my habit, I traveled to the class of Rabbi Yoram zt"l. After the class, I spoke with Rabbi Yoram, when suddenly he turned to me and said that I need to move to Jerusalem. 'What...?' My surprise only grew. 'Why?' I asked. 'You were by a Tzaddik Emes (True Tzaddik) of the generation whom I love with a soul-love.' In hindsight, the connection and great love that dwelled between these Tzaddikim became clear to me. Rabbi Yoram zt"l told me himself that two hours that he studied with the Rav shlit"a were equal to tens and hundreds of hours of study."

"It was hard for me to come to terms with the decree. Each time, I came to Rabbi Yoram with a different suggestion for a place of residence. 'Maybe to Safed? Maybe to Yavne'el?' I tried to evade the decree. Finally, a thought flashed in my mind and I suggested: 'Rabbi Yoram, maybe I will move to you in Netivot?'"

"'You can live wherever you want, but a tikkun (rectification) you will not have. Rabbi Berland decreed upon you in Heaven to live in Jerusalem.'" Baruch Hashem, we finally moved, and for eight years now I have been a regular avreich (Torah student) in the Yeshiva of the Rav shlit"a. Life in Jerusalem in the shadow of the Rav shlit"a is above nature; we live within miracles."

"During a bus ride, a man approached me who heard my story and wanted me to strengthen his friend. It turns out that these two were by the Rav shlit"a, who told them as well to move to Jerusalem. One of them nullified himself to the words of the Tzaddik and moved, while the other did not move. One day, they went to receive a blessing from a hidden Tzaddik in Hod HaSharon, their intention being for the sake of their children and their Talmud Torahs. But no, to their surprise, the hidden Tzaddik told them that the friend needs to move to Jerusalem because Rabbi Berland shlit"a decreed upon them in Heaven."

"Why specifically the Rav shlit"a? Now more than ever, one sees that with all the difficulty the Rav shlit"a is going through, he does not speak or worry for himself, but only Torah, strengthening others, and concern for Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people). The fire and light one receives here in Jerusalem cannot be received anywhere else. This is the Moshe Rabbeinu of the generation. If Rabbi Yoram Abergel—who was afraid of nothing, and once during a Bris Milah (circumcision) waved the knife and said that anyone who looks at the knife, he takes away all their blemishes of the covenant—that same Rabbi Yoram zt"l who did not give titles to just anyone, told me that Rabbi Berland shlit"a is the Tzaddik Emes of the generation. True Tzaddikim like Rabbi Yoram zt"l know who the Tzaddik Emes is."

"I have a friend who is connected to Rabbi Yitzchaki from Porat. Not long ago, a certain individual began to speak insolently against our Teacher, the Rav shlit"a, in his presence. Rabbi Yitzchaki turned to him and said: 'Do you dare to speak against a Tzaddik to whom belongs the entire The Tikkun HaKlali that is recited at the Holy Zion in Uman, and every drawing close and every strengthening that exists through Rebbe Nachman in this generation? That he is the only one who can enter into the maw of the S.M. (the Evil Inclination) and play with him there. Against him you dare to speak?!' When I turned personally to Rabbi Yitzchaki from Porat, he said to me: 'Do not worry, the Rav shlit"a controls everything. May it be His will that everything ends in a great Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of God's Name).'"

Amen.