Watch: Words of Rabbi Grossman shlit"a

Immediately upon the conclusion of the Passover holiday and with the difficult rumors regarding the severe suffering endured by our teacher, the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, Rabbi Grossman shlit"a packed his belongings and flew to Johannesburg. "I left the Land of Israel immediately the day after Passover together with the Rav's grandson, Rabbi Chaim Reicher, who requested and spoke with me. We had already taken action before the holiday to bring the Matzot to the Rav; it was a major operation even before the holiday," begins Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman shlit"a, Rabbi of Migdal HaEmek and President of 'Migdal Ohr'.

"It is a terrible thing that such a tzaddik is in detention. Today, they did not allow us to bring him food. Such a holy person, a servant of Hashem—this is a spiritual matter; it is our punishment, not his. It is something for which we have no explanation. May it be the will of Hashem that he emerges from there, and with the help of Hashem, we will hold a great celebration for him here." These are the words of the Gaon Rabbi Grossman shlit"a as delivered during a Torah lecture he gave in Johannesburg, in which he reveals another glimpse into the greatness of the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. The love of Rabbi Grossman for our teacher Rav Berland shlit"a is well-known, and the joint lecture they delivered during the period before our teacher the Rav went into exile is remembered. At that event, we all became aware of the special bond between these two holy fires. Rabbi Grossman even testified that his connection with the Rav approaches fifty years. "From Monday until this moment, we have not rested for a minute; everything is to help the Rav, to ease his burden both in the long term and the short term," continues the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Grossman shlit"a in a phone call from Johannesburg, describing his self-sacrifice for Rav Berland shlit"a.

"Yesterday I saw the Rav; he was in a difficult situation because they brought him to court in the morning for no reason—there was no trial. Mistake or not, they took him from 7:30 in the morning and returned him at 7:30 in the evening, so I had the opportunity to enter the pit below to see the Rav. The Rav shlit"a saw me and there was a joy that cannot be described. Today I was with the Rav for two hours; it is impossible to describe what happened there in tears and joy. We studied together the essay in Tanya, 'Lehaskilcha Bina,' which speaks about the fact that no evil descends from Hashem, who sustains us at every single moment. We are created anew every moment from nothing, and He sustains us and is with us, and from Him, no evil descends. Consequently, this is the strength we must bolster, and this is the central point I studied together with the Rav."

"One must know that the Rav needs a great salvation. We must get him out. For two days he did not eat; they did not want to let him have food, and thank Hashem, I succeeded today—I went to the prison director, turned the world upside down, and gave the food to the Rav by hand. But this is a daily problem, this issue of food, and the very fact that the Rav is in a pit is terrifying. It reminds one of Joseph the Tzaddik in the pit, and we must do everything to get the Rav out of this pit so that he can increase and glorify Torah."

"...I cannot go into details about the plans and what we are doing; you understand for yourselves that it is impossible and not good to talk about it, but one thing—the Rav asked to strengthen the entire public, and he told me that when he hears that people are studying, praying, and strengthening themselves in complete faith that everything will work out, it gives him the strength and vitality to continue. However, when he hears that there are young people who, because of what happened to him, are entering into doubts and there is disintegration, it destroys him. If we love Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, the only thing we must do is to strengthen ourselves in prayer, in Torah study, and in faith in the tzaddikim. I hope we will continue to act and work on his behalf."

Following the holy words of the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, we come to remind everyone how settled the mind of our teacher, the Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, is. Even when Interpol arrested him, the Rav studied Ketzot HaChoshen in depth inside the police vehicle and did not leave the book for a moment. Everywhere, the Rav studies, even during court hearings; this can be seen in the photos. The Rav is rectifying the world, and this is a process in which the tzaddik includes us all. We must strengthen ourselves and help the tzaddik to be victorious.