She was the Only One who Kept Shabbat in All of Haifa

ON MONDAY, 11 SIVAN WAS THE 32ND YAHRZEIT OF THE MOTHER OF ROYALTY – ETYA (ESTHER) BERLAND BAT RABBI MOSHE FROM THE STRULOVITCH FAMILY, THE MOTHER WHO BROUGHT TO THE WORLD THE SOUL OF THE GREAT LIGHT, THE TZADDIK, MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A.

HERE IS PART OF A SHIUR THAT WAS GIVEN IN THE LAST YEAR BY THE RAV SHLIT”A, IN WHICH HE GIVES RARE TESTIMONY ABOUT HOW HIS MOTHER ASCENDED TO THE HOLY LAND, AND HOW SHE KEPT SHABBAT IN SPITE OF THE CHALLENGES:

The Imrei Emet [Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Altar, the fourth Rebbe of Ger], there is a book on the Imrei Emet – sayings from all the Admorim.  He wanted to bring here 500 people, because whoever would come to Israel would automatically become Hiloni (non-religious).  So they forbade coming to Israel.  When my mother came to Israel, they excommunicated her father.  Why is your daughter going to Israel?!  In the merit of this, she remained alive.  I don’t know how…  She said, “Here, I will not have shidduchim (marriage matches).  I want to get married; I will go up to Israel.”  I asked, “Why did you suddenly go to Israel.  What connection do you have to Israel?”  They were Satmars.  Everything was Satmar.  In Siget, everything was Satmar.  Tash was all Satmar.  Now we were already twice in Siget.  She said: “My father did not have money for a dowry.  We were ten daughters, two sons, [ten daughters], Chaim and Yechezkel.  And I saw that here, I would never get married.  I said, “I’ll join Bnei Akiva, I’ll come to Israel.’”  And she was the only one who kept Shabbat in all Haifa.  All the children had already become Hiloni.  We were the only family that still remained religious.  She fought for every point of religion.  They said to me: “[If] they see you on the street with a kippah, they’ll break your bones.”  Fine, so to this day, they’re waiting to break my bones.  All of them are no longer alive.

So [I asked my mother], “Why did you suddenly go up to Israel?”  So she went up in 5696 (1936), got married in 5697 (1937).  In 5768 (1938), “I was already married [the Rav’s mother], four years before the Holocaust.”  If she had remained another year, she already would not have been able to leave.  She had already managed to arrange a visa certificate for her father.  Then they said to him, “Now in a little while, the war begins.  You already cannot [leave].”  Hitler would proclaim every day that he was going to kill all the Jews.  Every day, he proclaimed.  People were making fun of it.  Then, when my mother [came to Israel], we were the only religious family in all Haifa -- meaning the sons.  There were still some parents who kept Shabbat, but we were the only religious sons.  All the sons abandoned everything.  Whoever arrived in Israel tossed away everything within a second, because everyone has a yetzer hara (evil urge).  One sees that everyone is tossing away, so he also tosses away.

Imrei Emet said, “I want to bring here 500 families.”  I have the book from the Imrei Emet [that said], “I will bring here 500 families.”  He was here five times.  On the last time, he already didn’t make Yom Tom Sheni [for people living in the diaspora, because he apparently intended to stay in Israel] Pesach.  This was already 5699 (1939).  I think that this was Passover of 5699, because in 5698, the war started.  Then he said, “I am now going to bring several families,” and then he got stuck there [in burning Europe].

He said, “I will bring 500 from Lodz.”  In Lodz, everyone was millionaires, wealthy, billionaires.  “I’m going to turn the entire Land [of Israel] around here; we need only 500 families, with children, each one with ten children.  Then there will be yeshivot here, there will be chederim here; there will be everything here.”  There were no chederim; there was nothing, nothing at all.  He wanted to turn the Land around, but the war already began.  This was in 5699 (1939), [Shevi’i] shel Pesach.