A recording has surfaced in which Shuvu Bonim community leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland is heard boasting of receiving a donation for tens of thousands of dollars more than requested, Times of Israel reported.
Berland, who was released from prison last year after a sentence on charges of assaulting female followers, leads a Breslov-breakoff which focuses on outreach to secular Israelis. He has long been rumored to demand exorbitant donations in exchange for blessings and promises to heal the sick.
“We had a meeting, and in the middle of the meeting, a telephone call came that a woman donated NIS 300,000, $80,000,” Berland says in the recording, which is not dated.
“I had told her 18[,000] — that’s what I told her — and she heard 80,” Berland says, indicating that he had spoken to the woman in English.
After an indistinct murmur, he says he went on to ask for more money: “I told her now we need another 50,000 [unclear if dollars or shekels], so she said, ‘I don’t have any more.’ I said, ‘Then speak to your friends.’”
“So she made dozens of telephone calls, and didn’t manage to collect even one agura [cent], and then she remembered that she has a friend, here in Israel, who is having a wedding [in the family], so I told her, pick up the phone to your friend and ask if she can loan you [the money]…”
[Shocking Video Of Rabbi Berland Surfaces; Followers Defend It As ‘Miraculous Healing Technique’]
Contacted by The Times of Israel, Barak Barber, a current Berland aide, did not deny the authenticity of the recording.
Asked to comment, he wrote that “I don’t understand what there is to react to. What did you hear [in the recording] that isn’t okay?”
Barber said the recording “is very old. I’ve never heard the rabbi berating anyone, ever, but those who don’t understand his exaltedness will never understand any explanation, so it’s not worth the effort.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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17 Responses
What are you gaining by republishing this completely out of context story by the torah-hating liberal “slimes” of israel. and who cares what a few known machloikes-mongerers, the leftist israeli media and/or the corrupt israeli police says about Hatzadik Rav Berland. He has a chazaka and has long been established as a Tzadik by the gedoilim and known tzadikim of this and of the last generation. Not every piece of rechilus and loshon hora is true nor should be believed especially if its reffering to a known tzadik and porush. Showing what side you stand on in regards to this tzadik really shows what side you stand on in ruchnius as well.
those who donate money to him might as well look up the mailing address of the DEVIL and donate directly, cutting out his middleman
I’m torn between not understanding why we continue to read about the exploits of this rashah, convicted sexual abuser and felon versus hoping that at some point, the overwhleming evidence of his despicable acts would disuade the remaining hard core of followers from treating him as some kind of martyr. He should have been left to rot in jail for the remainder of his miserable life.
Erev rav and sitra achra in our days, no doubt.
Horrific moitzee shem ra.
@DrYidd if you really believe in the Motzei-Shem-ra of the wicked Tora-hating Israeli secular media against the Holy Rav Berland, Oy to you!
So every kindergartener knows lashon hara is wrong but you (ywn) don’tseem to get it.
A CURRENT SHABSEI TZVI
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY COMPARISONS THERE ARE??????????
AND seriously i feel bad for his stupid followers who in their right mind would consider him a leader?? someone who slaps ppl……and pls don’t come with you ridiotic response that when he slaps he is giving your neshama a tikkun.
Refuah Shleima to all!
The woman who donated her Tzedoko to Rav Berland shlita is so smart for not having donated her money to Lev Tahor.
frumshmurda718, I suggest you send your wife, daughters, and granddaughters to the holy roller to spend the night in holy ecstasy receiving what only he can provide
ocho sinco umm i think there is a toels here
the poor women was robbed money for a bracha
even if one where to think a bracha is worth money a righteous person would return the extra money gotten by accident
in fact this story is a great mathimatical proof that this man’s bracha is worthless
if he were truly righteous deserving to get money for brachos he would have given the extra money back as befitting his righteousness
seems thta nobody cares about gneva gezaila
arayos anymore
the flavor of the year is loshon hara
bury everything in the name of lashon hara
perhaps we need weekend conventions with speakers to talk about this as we have loshon hara conventions
My Rebe told me that R Berland is a massive Talmud chochom
The big question is why the Israeli authorities spent millions chasing him
Around the world on serious criminal charges and then he only spent a few months behind bars
Makes little sense
Unless the charges held little water ?????
147, may i ask why ????
they are equally bad, i would ventrue to say that berland is even worse yemcah sehmeo vezichro.
20 going on 724:
Ok I hear, but in general ywn has an obsession with reporting about him. It’s a little much. I’m not saying he’s a tzadikim or not I never met the man but why the obsession with reporting about him.
I don’t believe that normal people are following him, so what’s the big deal? those people following him are sick long before that and are prone to much other terrible things, the thing is left for us to be mispalal to HaShem for their rafua shlima.
As usual, ywn and its readers believe in the horrific accusations against the Rav, while pretending to be religious, השם ירחם