(VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)
Shuvu Bonim community leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland played with his “Draidel” during Maariv tonight.
Berland – who is always wearing his Taalis – can be seen at the “Bima” of his Shul surrounded by young children as he repeatedly spins his Draidel. The Minyan is heard Davening in the background.
Rabbi Berland was released from house arrest just before Rosh Hashana, the result of a conviction for assault. Berland pleaded guilty to his actions against multiple victims. he had first fled Israel and traveled from country to country, thus avoiding extradition to Israel, where a warrant for his arrest had been issued. He spent time in the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Morocco, Egypt, Zimbabwe, and Johannesburg before being arrested and extradited to Israel where he faced the law.
His followers claim that Berland willingly took upon himself this disgrace, suffering, and exile, “which spiritually protects the Jewish People from heavenly decrees of annihilation”. It should be noted that audio footage was released where Berland was talking to his attorney about the details of one of his assaults.
Despite the charges and the guilty plea, he continues to be a celebrity-rabbi with many well known Jewish music stars flocking to his Simchas Bais Hashoeva which hosted thousands of people.
He was recently given the honors of being Mesader Kedushin at the wedding of a son of prominent Breslov Mashpia Rabbi Mota Frank.
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21 Responses
Ywn. I’m just wondering what he did to you that you hate him so much.
Nu, what do we anashim pshutim understand . I’m certain he’s מיחד ייחודים נוראים with that spin…
Do you really believe that this article will help you to bring in more business?
I guess that maybe since the situation in the Koreas is quiet as of right now, so there isn’t that much news.
Hes the epitome of OCD. Nebach!
Even if it was “true”..
According to the “YESHIVA” world news, one can NOT do tshuva!!!
This is the YESHIVA News we need to read.
More like the NY Post!
what on earth?!
What is the point?? Is the article suggesting that by playing dreidel in the middle of davening and wearing a tallis at maariv the Rav is losing it? Otherwise, I see no reason to give continuing attention to a convicted abuser.
What is YWN’s obsession with this lunatic? Leave us alone!
“What is YWN’s obsession with this lunatic? ”
To remind us that he is a lunatic, so we don’t think otherwise or be influenced otherwise.
Gadolhadorah, you are wrong and you are right. Wrong to imagine he may be losing it; he lost it a long time ago. Right to ask why the continued obsession, not just on YWN, with a self admitted predator and abuser.
What is the obsession of the one who took and disseminated the video to begin with. I highly doubt ywn has someone follow him around all day.
I’ve been criticized (rightfully) for sometimes being too glib with respect to certain “rabbonim” featured in stories here for whom I have both limited respect and disagree with virulently . At the same time, YWN works hard to provide a fairly broad and unrestricted platform for stories that might not otherwise appear on a “yeshivish” news site. Its a case by case call but at a certain point we individually can choose not to click on a certain link and move on although there may be a subset of readers who can’t get enough news about Rav X or Rav Y.
There is a simple reason to question why YWN carries this story. This site is praiseworthy for publicizing a growing number of video clips addressing the problem of talking in shul during davening. It is truly a problem. It disturbs others, and it is also a disgrace to the tefiloh by displaying that one is distracted to something that is “more important”. To both push the halachic agenda against talking during davening to displaying someone in a leadership position, supposedly a great talmid chochom, playing during davening is contradictory. That it isn’t even Chanukah yet, and there is no minhag to play dreidel (which can be purported to have Kabbalistic significance) before Chanukah, I find this distasteful. perhaps it shows us all what R’ Berland really is.
How do we know they were in middle of maariv – the words can be sung at a chanuka gathering just as well. Maybe it was a chanuka gathering?
ly, it’s not yet Chanukah, at least by the calendar that most of us use.
I wonder if he knows anything about the missing cash from the wedding he officiated at?
No minds will be changed….if he was shown in the same photo with a lulav/esrog doing hakofos around the bimah while the rest of the tzibur was davening maariv, the very small segment of the Breslover who followed this convicted felon and abuser around the world would say its “normal”
Moderator: @hml’s comment is rechilus. Please remove it. Thank you!
To all those people that made negative comments:
Did you know that if you were to pray to Hashem for a good job, a raise or maybe a family member is not feeling well, your prayers might go unanswered due to your comments.
thank you avraham, it seems that youre the only one with his head on straight. keep it up!
Brilliant reporting on this crucial news item. What would the world do without Yeshiva World?