Rabbi Eliezer Berland, who remains jailed in Johannesburg awaiting extradition to Israel has instructed chassidim not to work to have him released from jail explaining this process is required to receive the “Orot” (אורות).
The rav explains this is part of the אורות אין סוף, and this is the necessary process. Rav Berland further explained we read in the haggadah
‘כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם ועבדום ועינו אותם ארבע מאות שנה’
(Your descendants will be strangers in the land which is not theirs and you will be afflicted 400 hundreds years), adding the Ashlag questions why Avraham Avinu did not argue. What is this 400 years? Why not ask to reduce this time like with Efron. Why does he accept this with such love and in a good spirit?
He responds that Avraham understood he could not receive the Orot Ein Sof without this ‘במה אדע כי אירשנה’ and without yisurim, such a gift cannot be received from HKBH.
Rav Berland added that when a person endures such hardships it provides the tools for Orot Ein Sof and when is in such a position, he doesn’t have to get rid of the pain like Yosef HaTzaddik.
“כשאדם נמצא בצרה תעשה צהר, ‘צהר תעשה לתיבה’, כל צרה זה צהר לאורות אינסוף ולכן בכלל לא צריך לבקש מהצרה, אסור לבקש בכלל שיהיה פחות, כמה שיותר יהיה צרה על ידי זה עושים כלים לעוד אינסוף, כי השם הוא אינסוף ממש, החסד של השם זה מעל לשמיים, מעל כל דמיון, מעל כל רעיון”.
The above report was disseminated via the Shuvu Banim information line.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Why not simply get on the next flight to Tel Aviv, appear in court under oath and testify as to the allegations made by these women who accuse him of abuse and assault. He could end this circus tomorrow if he wanted without all the millions of NIS wasted in running from country to country, creating a big chilul hashem by showing up in court dressed in talis teffilin etc. He is making life for yidden more difficult throughout the world by perpetuating all the vile sterotypes that goyim have of yidden.
He can’t end the process because he has a group of haters ( past chasidin) that are using every tool available to them together with a compliant anti religious judicial system that are intent on bringing this 80 yr old man down.
You would not want to be in the crosshairs of these gangsters. I am no follower of Rabbi Berland but the evidence against him is very weak and his detractors are many so I go with INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
I was always taught that often Hashem gives tzaros to a Yiddish to prompt them to Daven for it to go away. We daven “Vihasair mimenu yagon va’anachah.”
And all these ruchniyisdika gymnastics do nothing to change the fact that a dozen women accuse him of moral terpitude.
All of the persons who have accused him have signed affidavits that their claims were made up, except for two sisters, whos father is mentally ill.
To bash a talmid chochum is in itself a chilul Hashem & when the readers above reach the level of a Rav Shach, then they can criticize others like Rav Shach did.
Unfortunately bashing a Talmid Chochom in public reflects very poorly on the middos of those doing so. As chazal say, כל הפוסל, במומו פוסל
For 3 years he has been running away from being arrested. Now that he has been caught, he says that being arrested is a good thing. Well, which one is it?
#1- I believe that he has not yet been indicted and is currently only wanted for questioning by the police. So no need to appear in court yet, though it may very well come to that.
#5- If what you write is true then he should have a fairly easy time demonstrating that he has been unjustly accused and that the prosecution would be hard pressed to make a case against him beyond all reasonable doubt. Add his advanced age and – again, if what you write is factual and not fantasy – the prosecution would be unlikely to bring the case to trial. But as the police have made a significant effort to bring him back to Israel for questioning (and as the suspect has made a very considerable effort to evade being questioned by the police) I suspect that the narrative that you presented is not entirely factual.