Our Rebbe Rav Eliezer Berland shlit”a talks about how they would do Hitbodedut in negative 40 degree weather while sweating from devekut (clinging to Hashem; devotion).
Monday, 10 Nisan 5782
These are his holy words:
These were the first fields, there we would do a lot of hitbodedut.
We would go out at 2 at night until the light of day. There was blue in the sky.
Here in Israel, it’s not Uman — Uman is negative 40 — we would go and scream to Hashem.
And there’s no watches — don’t know when the morning arrives. When there is blue in the sky, we go to shul.
In shul, there’s no heating. It’s negative 40 and everyone is dripping sweat — in negative 40 dripping sweat.
Screaming such screams, and the body warms up. Everyone is dripping water mamash. Drips of sweat are coming down from everyone, and everyone is screaming.
We begin prayer at five in the morning and finish at 12 noon, the entire prayer.
Like they tell about Rabbi Hirsh Leib Leipel, that he was in the Caucasus. They walked on foot to the Land of Israel, from Caucasus they walked on foot. He walked to the Land of Israel three times on foot.
And they said that there’s no such thing as not going to the mikveh — every day, [we must go to] the mikveh.
