(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)
The fighting between the pro and anti Rabbi Eliezer Berland factions in Breslov escalated shortly after candle lighting on Friday.
The level of violence is evident from the damage to the main Breslov Beis Medrash on Meah Shearim Street in the Meah Shearim area of the capital.
Berland arrived on erev Shabbos escorted by hundreds of chassidim and it did not take long for a brawl to begin.
A large police force responded to bring the situation under control.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem / Photo Credit מחאות החרדים הקיצונים)
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4 Responses
Berland the Rasha has his own shul and yeshiva, why is he trying to take over other Breslov yeshivas?
To docelisheva: His followers claim that he is THE gadol hador, THE leader of Breslov, THE tzaddik hador and that anyone who opposes him is from the erev rav or some other similar category. They think they are entitled to claim the main Breslov shul for themselves and crown this menuval as king. A nice proportion of them are also convinced he’s Moshiach, unsurprisingly.
This isn’t the first time they’ve used violence against people protesting an admitted, convicted menuval, abuser of women etc. being escorted with great fanfare into a shul that is maintained by the subscriptions and efforts of people who vehemently oppose him. The violence comes from just one side in case anyone was in doubt. They don’t hesitate to use violence against women either, as on Yom Kippur when they took over the shul, pulled off headscarves from women, and at least one woman was injured in the face when one of them threw a stender at her.
One Breslover chossid had all – and I mean all – his ribs broken when a bunch of them stomped on him, in shul. He almost lost his life. He’s still lying in bed, trying to recover – this was on Yom Kippur. Obviously, Shuvu Banim are extremely holy people.
@ YWN adjudicator
With the utmost respect, and with genuine interest,
Please explain how this
Article and the comments
Fit into your ethos as I think I understand it
Furthermore is it in line with halocho?
I am neither a supporter of the Rabbi in question or Breslev however I have under very reliable authority that he is a bid Talmud chochom whatever he might have done
The Israeli authorities spent millions chasing him around the world for serious crimes and then only giving him a relatively short sentence something is not quite right
If telling people what shuvu banim is all about keeps even one additional person from joining that cult, it’s worth it. Would you rather continue to believe that he’s a “bid Talmud chochom” and not know exactly what goes on there? If your son wanted to join up with his cult, would you not prefer to know that it is a cult and not part of Torah Judaism? I think informing people of what shuvu banim is really all about is quite within the parameters of YWN’s ethos. Perhaps you explain why you think it isn’t?
Yes, the Israeli authorities really messed this one up, but if you understand more of the internal politics of the people who run shuvu banim, then you’ll find out why. Money (squeezed out of impoverished cult members) has a lot to do with it, unsurprisingly.