Which Tzaddik Pays Money to His Pursuers? A Personal Story of Rav Mordechai

There are tzaddikim who have reached a spiritual level of not retaliating against those who persecute them.

But, who has ever seen a tzaddik who pays large sums of money to his greatest persecutors?!

The illustrious Rav Mordechai Soferin shlit"a shares a wondrous testimony regarding the great tzaddik, Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

"One must know how to behave with opponents, exactly as Rav Berland says: do every kindness for them, do not fight back, do not cause them trouble."

"My son was in Holland, and he asked for a salvation from Rav Berland. The Rav told him to give 5,000 for a pidyon (redemption). My son asked, 'Where should I transfer the pidyon?'"

"Rav Berland told him to give the pidyon to one of his two greatest antagonists, saying these words: 'Go, take it to his house.'"

"Rav Berland did not take the money for himself; he told him: 'Go, bring it to his house.'"

"My son went to the house of one of the Rav's greatest antagonists. The antagonist's wife opened the door, and my son said: 'The Rav sent this with me.' She took it and closed the door."

"She was not surprised at all—after all, he is one in a thousand; people are always coming and giving them thousands of shekels!"

"I do not know what the matter is with giving money to opponents, but there is a Torah in Likutey Moharan, Torah 277," Rav Soferin answers the questioner, and in the meantime, turns to recount a story that testifies to this behavior by Rav Berland from decades ago.

"There was an incident with Rav Berland, an old story from 40-45 years ago. The Rav brought a Jew from Pardes Katz closer to Torah, from a family of criminals. That person began to do teshuvah, but his family was a crime family. They said to Rav Berland: 'What are you doing? You took our soldier.'"

"They decided to teach Rav Berland a lesson. They knew he would go to the fields for his hitbodedut (secluded prayer). In Givat Shmuel, there were orchards where he would do hitbodedut. Rav Berland would go out there, and a few guys waited for him. When he came out for his hitbodedut, they grabbed him and beat him well."

"Rav Berland fell, lying on the ground, and as they began to leave, he pulled out a 100-lira note, gave it to them, and said: 'Tomorrow, come again and I will give you more.'"

"The messengers returned to those who sent them and said: 'Is this the kind of man you tell us to beat? Have you lost your minds?!'"

"Did two of them do teshuvah? Of course! Such behavior is not common."

"They asked Rav Scheinfeld, the student of 'The Milkman,' about this behavior where Rav Berland says to do favors for all opponents. He said: 'This is the work of Rav Berland; you should not do them favors! You should not approach them or talk to them. There is no need to speak evil, no need to fight with them, but to do them favors—that is for Rav Berland to do.'"

"Rebbe Nachman says in Torah 277: Know that when there is a dispute against a person, one should not stand against the enemies, saying: 'As he does to me, so I will do to him.' Rebbe Nachman says this to everyone—not to say, 'He does this to me, so I will do the same to him,' because this causes the enemy to achieve his goal; it will cause him to succeed in seeing in you what he wants to see. Rather, on the contrary, it is fitting to judge them favorably and to do every kindness for them."

Do you hear what he is saying? To do every kindness for them.

"It is written in Likutey Moharan, so Rav Berland does it."