Words of Strengthening from Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

Words of strengthening for our community from the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days)

The Days of Visitation

The Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria) says in Likutey Torah, "The days of visitation (accountability) have come, the days of recompense have come..." (Hosea 9:7). In this verse, all the exiles are hinted at! This verse also hints at the Ishmaelites! When the days of visitation arrive, when the days of recompense arrive, then Hashem sends some madmen, some lunatics, and they don't care about anything! Whether they succeed or not doesn't interest them! The main thing for them is to be recorded in the history books! The main thing is that they be recorded in history as having killed and murdered millions.

Fear in the Streets

A person must know that when he hears of such troubles, such alarms, such suffering, he must do teshuvah (repentance)! He must do teshuvah so that through this, no Jew will be harmed! The people of Israel are responsible for one another! Are Jews, Hashem have mercy, suffering because of me?! Are Jews suffering because of my transgressions?! The Rambam (Maimonides) says in the Laws of Fasts: A person hears sounds of trouble, the roars of madmen, fear in the streets! He cannot say, "This doesn't interest me!" He is obligated by Halacha (Jewish law) to conduct a self-accounting! This is a positive commandment from the Torah! And if he does not perform teshuvah, prayers, and actions to sweeten the decrees, he violates a positive commandment from the Torah which requires us to cry out and sound the alarm for every trouble that comes upon the community! The Rambam says this is all because of sins! Our sins caused this! It is my transgressions that cause all the troubles! I lack shmiras einayim (guarding of the eyes)! I lack shmiras habris (guarding the covenant/personal purity)! I am full of sinat chinam (baseless hatred)! The Rambam says that if they do not cry out and sound the alarm and do teshuvah, this is the way of cruelty! If a person is not moved by such a situation, if a person is not awakened by such a situation, it is a cruel path! People are suffering, terrified, not knowing what will happen in another moment; if people are not moved by this situation, it can bring even worse troubles, Heaven forbid.

One Must Tear the Heavens

When a person sees such troubles, such decrees, and people are terrified, he must only engage in prayer and Hisbodedus (secluded prayer). He also needs to study Torah! But the main thing is prayer! We see such murders every day! Jews are being abused! Jews are being killed! We must tear the heavens!! Rebbe Nachman said that if someone does not feel the pain of the public, it is a sign that something is missing in his Jewish root! Now we must engage in prayer and Hisbodedus; now we must believe only in prayer, to believe that only prayer can help.

He Helped You Until Today, He Will Help You All Your Life

And this is the meaning of "The man who is fearful and faint-hearted due to the transgressions in his hand"... Do you have transgressions?! Do teshuvah! Do not be afraid! Because everything depends on a person's Emunah (faith)! One must know—even though I am full of transgressions, Hashem is with me. And why? Because Hashem created me; He is my Father! For no matter how many problems a son causes, the father is always looking for how to save the son. Hashem is looking for ways to save us; He is constantly looking for how to help us. A person asks, "Is Hashem going with me? Am I worthy for Hashem to be with me?" What does it mean, "Am I worthy"? Hashem created you, so He cares for you! He goes with you! He has gone with you until today, He helped you until today, so He will continue to help you further throughout your life! Never be afraid! Because Hashem is with you! As long as a person has external fears and anxieties, he cannot pray with kavanah (intention), he cannot study; he has fear of this, and he has fear of that, he has fear of what will be with the children, what will be with the parnassah (livelihood). Therefore, Rebbe Nachman says that our entire point is to exit from fears!

The Hidden Light

Rebbe Nachman says (Likutei Moharan I, 15): "Whoever wants to taste the taste of the Ohr HaGanuz (the Hidden Light), which are the secrets of the Torah that will be revealed in the future, must elevate the attribute of fear to its root. And how does one elevate fear? Through the aspect of judgment, etc... That is, he should judge and evaluate all his affairs himself, and through this, he will remove all fears from himself, and elevate the aspect of fear to be pure and clean, and only the fear of Hashem will remain and no other fear. etc... But when he judges himself, and when there is judgment below, there is no judgment above, and fear does not clothe itself in anything to awaken the person, because he himself is awakened. etc... And this is why a person fears something, like a minister or thieves and other fears—it is because fear has clothed itself in that thing, for if fear had not clothed itself in that thing, that thing would have no power to frighten the person."

All the Time There is Something Inside Trembling and Afraid

A person wants to taste the taste of the "Hidden Light," meaning the secrets of the Torah that will be revealed in the future; he must elevate the attribute of fear to its root! That is, all the fears we have in the world, we must be released from them, and elevate all fears to Hashem—to elevate the entire attribute of fear within us to its root! So that we only fear Hashem, may He be blessed! A person is afraid all day. Afraid of this, afraid of that... what that person will do to me, what so-and-so will say about me, what criticism he will level against me. A person is surrounded by fears 24 hours a day without stop; he cannot study, he cannot pray with intention, he cannot do anything because of so many fears! Fear is a natural emotion that every person has; it comes from the soul, which feels the awe of Hashem, the fear of Hashem, for "the whole earth is full of His glory." The soul feels that Hashem is standing over it, and because of this, there is constantly something inside that trembles and fears! And from this, fears come to a person. But if the person judges himself and thinks—Hashem is standing over me, Hashem sees how I behave, how I speak, and how I think—through this, he nullifies all fears. And if he does not perform self-judgment, he turns the attribute of fear into external fears and fallen anxieties.

Alone Against the Whole World

The main work on the attribute of fear is in these times, as they tell a true story from the Holocaust: a Nazi stood ready to shoot a Jew, placed him against the wall, and said, "Now I am killing you!" That Jew said to him, "You cannot kill me! Only Hashem can kill me!" That Nazi became angry and said, "I am killing you! Here, I am shooting you!" That Jew said to him, "It is Hashem shooting me! It is not you!" The Nazi said, "I am shooting!! I decide!!" The Jew said, "No! It is only Hashem! Only Hashem can shoot!" Then that Nazi fell silent and fled for his life; he thought... if everything is Hashem, then I am not willing to be the messenger of Hashem, and that Jew was saved. So even if a Nazi murderer comes to a person with a gun to his chest and screams at him, "I am shooting you," and that person is not confused by his kefirah (heresy) and remains pure in his Emunah (faith), then nothing can be done to him.

Only One Who is Attached to a Truly True Tzaddik

Everything we go through for 120 years, everything we go through, is only tests. Tests with Nazis, with terrorists, with murderers, with harsh decrees, and one must reveal the Emunah hidden in the heart, to reveal the Emunah so that we do not fall in our minds because of any minister, any person, or any enemy. We must truly strengthen ourselves that there is only Hashem! And stand on the Emunah that Hashem is One and everything else is imagination, everything is null and void! And the main thing is to believe in the True Tzaddik! One must believe in such a Tzaddik who can influence such Emunah that there is only Hashem! To believe in a Tzaddik who can illuminate such Emunah! Who can reveal the point of Emunah! Because alone it is difficult to reach such Emunah! Only one who is attached to a truly true Tzaddik, then the Tzaddik can awaken him to this Emunah and develop it so that he can truly use this point of Emunah! Because the Tzaddik is entirely bitul (nullification) to Hashem! He has no independent existence! He has no ego! He exists in nullification to Hashem, may He be blessed; he has no fear of anything!! And whoever merits to reach such a Tzaddik and receive from the Tzaddik this bitul, this Emunah, which is a very high and awesome level, then everyone will bow and fall before him—all the enemies, all the Nazis, all the terrorists, they and their like will all bow and fall.

Rebbe Nachman says: "And truly, when a person departs from the world and lies on the ground with his feet toward the door, then he will have true yishuv hadaas (settled mind), and he will look at himself and see the truth—that all the fears and anxieties he had of certain people, of livelihood, and of other things, were all nonsense and vanity, and he had fears and anxieties of people for nothing, etc. For what can a person already do to him? And so regarding desires, he will see clearly that he wasted the vanity of his days on nonsense, confusion, and evil thoughts for nothing."

A person should do a cheshbon nefesh (soul-accounting): what am I afraid of, what do I fear, what do I care what they say about me? If I am uncertain about something, whether to do it or not, then I must contemplate and weigh truly if it is the will of Hashem. But if it is clear that this thing is the will of Hashem, then there is nothing to fear! Even if the whole world stands against me, I am ready to fall into the fiery furnace like Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father)! "Abraham was one"—alone against the whole world.

A Special Reality Created to Break Fears

Every generation has a stage, an event, a special reality that is created to break fears. In every generation, there is a reality that will always frighten a person! It could be fears of family, fears of friends, fears of livelihood, of illnesses, fears of all kinds of things! Once the fears were of the Russians, of the Nazis; today there are fears of the Arabs! Once our transgressions clothed themselves in the Russians; today our transgressions clothe themselves in the Arabs.

He Himself Created the Fear with His Transgressions and Sins

If a person does not break all fears, he has no Emunah! In every generation, there will always be realities of fear. And every few years it will change to a different reality. If the Arabs are calmed, then there will be something else that will frighten the person. Therefore, a person must break the fear! If a person does not break fears, he loses his Emunah! A person must break the fear! Because he himself created the fear with his transgressions and his sins! And only when a person breaks the fears does he show his Emunah, for the entire creation says "Hashem reigns, Hashem reigned, Hashem will reign forever and ever." There is nothing besides Hashem! There are no Arabs, no terrorists; besides Hashem, nothing exists.

You Are Never Lost

One must know that before every person comes into the world, Hashem already prepared for him all those who will help him, who will save him, who will support him. Wherever a person goes, at every step, a person stands ready to help him. Even if you are in the heart of the desert or the heart of the sea, someone is always standing next to you! You are never lost! There is nothing to fear! Hashem is found in every place! In every place, Hashem is with you! At every moment, a person's salvation is ready! He only needs Emunah! He only needs to give one cry to Hashem, one true cry, and he will already have salvation. If he only cries out "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad," "Please Hashem, save us now," "In the merit of Rebbe Nachman"... then he will be saved immediately.

Do Not Fear Anyone

The main purpose of the creation of the world was to reveal His fear and His kingship: "The fear of Hashem is pure, enduring forever." One must know that there is only the fear of Hashem! One must only fear Hashem! Only be afraid of Hashem! Do not fear anyone! No person! Not Haman, not Pharaoh, not Nazis. One needs only the fear of Hashem; there must not be any fear of a minister, a master, a thief, a robber, or a terrorist. The entire creation reveals the kingship of Hashem in the world.

They Are the Prime Ministers!

Rebbe Nachman says the first thing for the service of Hashem is that there should be no fear!! The main thing you should receive from me is that you should have no fear!! The Rebbe does not need cowards! The Rebbe cannot stand the faint-hearted! What are you afraid of? There is a Hashem in the world! Hashem lives and exists! There are Tzaddikim! There is Moshe Rabbeinu! There is Yehoshua bin Nun! They rule here in the world! They are the Prime Ministers! If a person wants to succeed in the service of Hashem, if a person wants to succeed in anything, then the first thing is that he should have no fear, not even a spark of fear. Rabbi Natan Shapira (author of Megaleh Amukot) says that fear is the greatest tumah (impurity) in the world! When a person fears, it means he has no Emunah! Therefore, when a person has fear, he must uproot it from the source.

He Was Not Confused by Anything

Rabbi Natan (of Breslov) says that at the time Daniel was cast into the lions' den, the king, who loved Daniel and did not want him to be killed, prayed that there would be some miracle! That the pit Daniel was in would be covered! And not be exposed! Because if the pit were exposed, there was a chance they would throw arrows at him. He feared that human beings would throw arrows at him. The king knew that lions would not harm him, they would not rule over him; he was certain the lions would not prey on him, but he feared that a person would shoot an arrow at him. But Daniel was not confused by anything! He kept his Emunah; Daniel said, "If Hashem protects me from a lion, then He will also protect me from an arrow."

He Cries Out to Hashem Even Louder

The king said, "Of a person who throws an arrow, I am afraid! Of a lion, I am not afraid!" And on this, Rabbi Natan asks: what is the difference between an arrow and a lion? Rabbi Natan explains that when a person sees a wild animal, he can maintain his Emunah; even if a lion pounces on him, he will cry out "Shema Yisrael" with all his Emunah! With all his strength! And through this, he will nullify the fear of the lion! Because a lion cannot cause a person to fall from his Emunah; on the contrary, when he sees the lion, he receives even more Emunah in Hashem! He cries out to Hashem even louder! And Hashem saves him from the lion. But if a person comes and aims an arrow at him, and this person is a murderer! A heretic! He is a person without Emunah! He is wicked! Then he is worse than a lion!! He is worse because he can cause him to fall from his Emunah!

He Transmits All the Heresy

Rabbi Natan explains that this murderer is a demon! He is not a human being at all! He is full of kefirah (heresy)! And when he comes to murder, he transmits all his heresy to the one in front of him! He projects his heresy onto the person he is going to murder, and the heresy sticks to him! And the person becomes confused by this heresy! By this projection! And says, "Why on earth are they killing me, what did I do?" He becomes filled with questions in his Emunah! And this is what causes the person to fall from his Emunah and from his cry to Hashem.