Parshas B'Shalach By Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit"a

Rabbi Eliezer Berland Parshas Beshalach english

BS"D BR"H

Tzama Nafshi in English  - Parshas Beshalach ה’’תשע

Transcribed and translated from previous recordings of

HaRav Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

“And Moshe took along with him the bones of Yosef.” (13:19)

Moshe Rabenu knew the secret that without Yosef Hatzadik there can be no Redemption. He knew that the essence of the Redemption would come about through Yosef, as it says, “And Moshe took along with him the bones of Yosef.” Yosef is the foundation! Yosef is called “Yosef the Tzaddik” for a reason! When Moshe went to redeem Am Yisrael from Mitzrayim, he took with him the bones of Yosef. Moshe knew that there could not be Redemption without Yosef! Even though he is now the Tzaddik of the generation and even though he was well aware of the fact that he would soon bring the Torah down [from Shamayim], he knew that he must first connect to the previous Tzaddik [of the generation]. Even though Moshe Rabbenu was the greatest Tzaddik of that generation and was kodesh kodashim (holiest of holies); he was the one who would bring down the Torah and deliver the ten makos (plagues), nevertheless, he knew that without Yosef there would be no Redemption. He knew that all of the miracles that were about to take place could only come about by means of the bones of Yosef. Moshe could not split apart the sea without the bones of Yosef! Even the greatest Tzaddik in the world, such as Moshe Rabbenu himself, must connect to the Tzaddik previous to him.

People think that they don’t need the tzaddik. Why do they need the Tzaadik? We have everything we need, Tahini salad, some ‘Baba ghanoush’… what do we need the Tzaddik for? We have plenty of beetroot, plenty of potatoes, baruch Hashem, enough to last us our lifetime, till 120 years! Till Techiyas Hameisim (the Revival of the Deceased)! People simply do not realize that everything they have in this world is by merit of the Tzaddik. Everything happens by the influence of the Tzaddik! People think they get their abundance on their own. They have no idea that there is a Tzaddik making an impression on the world and that the Tzaddik is alive here with us, praying for us. They don’t realize that everything that happens in the world is by merit of the Tzaddik and his prayers. If the Tzaddik were not in the world, we would have nothing! There would not even be grass to eat! Moshe was the only one who knew that secret.

“And Moshe took along with him the bones of Yosef.” At the time that Am Yisrael was taking the loot [of the Egyptians], Moshe was seeking out the Tzaddik. He sought out the bones of Yosef because he knew that all of the wealth comes by merit of Yosef. He took with him the bones of Yosef in order to draw chessed - kindness down into the world. He knew that the world is satiated via Yosef, as he was the one who sustained the world at the time of the famine. If a person would have faith in the Tzaddik, he could attain all the wealth in the world, since all the salvations and all of the abundance, everything we eat and drink, etc., everything we have in the world is only by merit of the Tzaddikim.

What is the meaning of the verse, “From the end of the earth we heard songs, ‘The righteous shall be praised’”? What do those words mean? The Zohar Hakadosh says, in Parshas Vayelech (284 pg.2), “The whole world sings and praises the Tzaddik.” The world sings, literally! From every corner of the world there shall be singing! The whole world sings to the Tzaddik and praises him, “We heard songs; the righteous shall be praised.” The whole world sings about the Tzaddik who supports all of the worlds; the whole world sings to the Tzaddik who is on the level of Moshe Rabbenu. As Am Yisrael were entering Eretz Yisrael they heard singing from every corner of the world; from every corner, every side, every grain of sand, every stone, from the mountains and the hills they heard the singing, it came from all over the land. The entire land was singing, ‘the righteous shall be praised.’ “The praises of Moshe”, everyone was singing to the Tzaddik called, “Moshe”. Everyone is singing to the Tzaddikim that are the aspect of Moshe. No thought or idea can take control over such Tzaddikim. All of the worlds look forward to the revelation of these Tzaddikim; everyone is singing “praises of Moshe”. Everything is by merit of Moshe! Everything is by merit of the Tzaddik! The whole world sings and praises the Tzaddik, literally!

The first thing a Jew must know is in whose merit the world exists and in whose merit the world is sustained. The world exists by merit of the “Tzaddik Yesod Olam” (the Tzaddik who is the foundation of the world). People must seek out the true Tzaddikim in whose merit the world exists. One must search the world over to find out who is the real Tzaddik by whose merit the world is sustained. This is the first thing people must learn; it is the foundation for the observance of the whole Torah, because people usually say, “Well, there are many Tzaddikim, of course everyone are Tzaddikim!” However, there are Tzaddikim who are outstanding in their time, a one of a kind and they are the ones who have an influence on the water, the manna and the Clouds of Glory. They are the ones who protect Am Yisrael from all harm; they are protecting us, and no one else! This is the first foundation which is the foundation of all foundations. One must not have self pride and think that he does everything by himself; rather, he should know that there are Tzaddikim that are the causes of everything! The world exists because of them and by their merit the world is sustained, and this is the foundation and observance of the whole Torah.         Good Shobbas!

Dedicated in loving memory of the young tzaddekes, Feige Chana bas Daniella, (may her parents find peace after their grieving, amen.) 

To the refuah shleima of Shimon Machluf ben Miriam Varda, Daniella bas Zehava, Nachman ben Daniella, Miriam bas Daniella.

שיזכו לחיים טובים ארוכים ולשלום, אמן   

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The courts still can't figure out what the State of Israel wants from this Rabbi.

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Trip to Uman for Women with english speaking guide

Parshas Bo By HaRav Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

Rabbi Eliezer Berland Parshas Bo english

Tzama Nafshi in English  - Parshas Bo ה’’תשע

By HaRav Eliezer Berland, shlit”a

It says in the Parsha: “And you shall take a bundle of Ezov - Hyssop.” (12:22)

The Midrash Raba comments on this and says: “Specifically through the Ezov, which is the lowliest tree of all trees, he redeemed Israel (parsha 17).”

A person’s greatness derives from his humbleness and humility. Only one who lowers himself to dust will be revived in Techiyas Ha’meisim and will merit eternal life: “And He fulfills his faith to those who dwell in the earth”, “Awaken and rejoice, dust dwellers”, meaning, the lowlier one holds himself to be, the more he humbles himself before others and Hashem, the more likely he is to merit techiyas Ha’meisim, a life of all eternity. The more points we gain in our daily quest for humility the better are our chances to merit an eternal life; the pleasure of the Olam Haba. With every insult, the person attains greater humility. No matter how often a person is humiliated and disgraced, he should rejoice. If you are certain that someone in the street is going to insult you, you should run and immerse in the mikveh beforehand, because when a person is disgraced, he receives such a tremendous light. That’s why I reiterate that you should immerse yourself in the mikveh first, so that you will have the appropriate “tools” with which to receive that light. When a person is disgraced, a powerful light comes into the world, the likes of which cannot be received through any other mitzvah in the world. The Bizzayon- disgrace – turns the person into ‘non-existent’ and he merits such a Divine light, a wondrously bright light, an eternal light, a light which is brighter than the surrounding light of all of the worlds – it surrounds all of the worlds. The more points of humility we collect for ourselves the more we will merit the Divine light; the light of eternity.

David HaMelech said, “Purify me with Ezov and I will become pure, wash me and I will become whiter than snow.” – purify me with Ezov! I want to be Ezov, I want to be humiliated, I want everyone to step on me, laugh at me and humiliate me; that is the only way for one to do teshuva! I need to know that I am worse than everyone else, I sinned more than anyone else, I caused more trouble than anyone else, I am nothing more than, “Purify me and I will become pure, wash me and I will become whiter than snow.” I want to be Ezov like the Ezov that grows along the walls, the one everyone steps on, humiliate and disgrace; I want to be an Ezov my whole life!

There are two levels of teshuva. There is one level where the person is disgraced by another but remains silent, and this is called in the Torah, “they are insulted but do not insult back, they hear their disgrace but do not respond.” The person is humiliated but he remains silent, he does not retort or respond, as it says in the Torah, “And Aharon kept quiet.” There is a higher level, though, which is as it says, “They do it out of love and rejoice in their suffering.” This refers to a person who merits a higher spiritual level because even though people are humiliating and disgracing him, [not only does he remain silent,] he is happy. He sings and plays music and accepts all of the humiliation with joy, with love and with song. Every insult he receives is like an ointment for his wounds, it heals them. Every bizzayon is like purifying water, as it says, “And I shall cast upon you purified water, and you shall be purified.”

There is no limit to humility and humbleness. When someone gives a person a bizzayon, he has showered him with eternity, made him limitless, now he has no limits, he is nullified. He can sense the Divine light. About such a person people say, “This person is nothing, he is worthless, and he is a liar and a hypocrite!” The more they say about him the more nullified he becomes and then he is awarded all the success and abundance in the world. He gets one insult and suddenly merits a million successes. After being disgraced he will have endless success and abundance. He becomes the provider of the land, he receives endless abundance as it says, “And Yosef was the provider to all the people of the land.” Yosef became the provider of the land; he merited infinite abundance, because after he had been sold and humiliated he became nullified and then all of the abundance was transferred directle through him. We learn from this that the more a person is disgraced, the more abundance and success he will have.

Sometimes, when a person is disgraced, he thinks, “Ah! I am being disgraced because I am a Tzaddik! Because I am a servant of Hashem!” This is self pride. One should not come to self pride through his disgrace; he should think to himself, “I am being disgraced and humiliated because I deserve it, because I am neither Tzaddik nor Chassid; I don’t learn Torah properly, don’t guard my eyes, I really am a rasha (wicked person)!” People have to face the truth. If someone says to you, “You’re a rasha!”, your thoughts should be: “Baruch Hashem that he told me the truth.” A person must admit the truth. When someone comes along and reminds me just who I am, I should kiss that person; kiss his feet for telling me the truth. It says, “Hate the ones who love [you] and love the one who hates [you].” This means you should love your haters. The more people talk badly about a person and humiliate him the more beneficial. Those who love you mean nothing! You should hate those who adore you, they are just flattering you and confusing you, they give you the illusion that you are a Tzaddik, that everything you do is good. ‘Hate the ones who love you’, that’s what it says! Love the one who rebukes you, who disgraces you, that’s who you should love! He’s the one you should embrace. What’s the problem? Somebody comes along and tells you the truth about yourself - what do you get out of having your other friends who respect you and flatter you?

Rebbe Nachman says in Tora 260, that when one does a messirus nefesh, yichudim  (Divine unifications) are established. When tzaddikim themselves are not able to do those same yichudim, there is no one to rise at chatzos and weep [over Beis Hamikdash], no one else serving Hashem with a real messirus nefesh, than there is no choice but to make these yichudim via people who have been killed, i.e., via death. There is, however, one other way to make those yichudim and that is through the acceptance of bizzyonos with love. A person who accepts his bizzyonos with love saves the entire generation form death. Whenever a person accepts a bizzayon with love he should know that he has just saved a Jew from being killed. Moreover, the more important and famous the person is, if he accepts the insults he gets from others with love, the more he merits saving the generation from death. There are those who intentionally go out seeking abuse; they look for all sorts of ideas and plots to cause people to speak badly about them and insult them, as Rabbenu said, “he does this of his own accord and of his own free will.” By doing so, the person makes the loftiest, most elevated yichudim; it is considered as though he gave his life to sanctify Hashem. He sacrifices his reputation, his good name; for the name is the nefesh, and everyone says things about him that never really happened. Through this he saves Klal Yisrael from death, by the fact that his own ‘blood’ is being spilled moment by moment, and yet he accepts it all with joy and love. He saves Am Yisrael from all of the harsh decrees and troubles that were supposed to befall them, chas veshalom! Therefore, every person undergoing humiliation should simply accept it all with love because who knows how many decrees he is saving Am Yisrael from by his acceptance? Rabbenu said (Siach Sarfei Kodesh 2:65), “He who makes dispute – I cannot hate him” – I cannot hate any person who fights me, any person who hates me; how can anyone hate a disputer? They are doing me such a favor; I really am able to see the good they are bringing me, by arguing against me and speaking about me. Their dispute sheds upon me such a radiant light, all I want to do is kiss them and hug them.

When a person is disgraced, at that very moment he has been awarded a million dollars. There is a story about Reb Zusha and Reb Elimelech from Lidzensk who happened to come to a certain inn. Upon entering they saw that the men there, were drunk and had begun kicking each other. No sooner had they laid their eyes upon Reb Zusha, who was closer to them than his brother, than the drunks began kicking him. They kicked him so hard, they nearly broke his bones. Reb Elimelech saw this and said, “My brother, you are getting everything. You’re taking all the beatings and humiliation for yourself! I also want some! I also want an Olam Haba. What about me? What am I, Swiss cheese?! Don’t I deserve some too? I also want to merit, let me have some! What do you think? You get it all for yourself??? For a whole hour he tried convincing his brother to let him share in the merits of the disgrace until Reb Zusha was finally persuaded to “share”. The “Noam Elimelech” then switched places with Reb Zusha in order to ‘treat’ himself to some of the beatings. No sooner had they switched places, than the goyim suddenly decided that it was now the turn of “the guy in the back” and thus returned to beating Reb Zusha once more. Reb Zusha said to Reb Elimelech, “You see? I deserve all the beatings. “No person can touch what is destined for his friend.”

With just one insult, a person’s sins from thousands of reincarnations are atoned. All it takes is one insult to atone for an endless amount of sins. With even one insult the person can merit what he could not through thousands of good deeds. Every insult is equivalent to thousands upon thousands of fasts, thousands upon thousands of sigufim (self affliction of pain and suffering); it’s an alternative to being thrown into fire, into the ovens of fire. People don’t understand the greatness of such rectifications – “No eye has seen it, aside from You, Hashem.”                       Good Shobbas!

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Live Broadcast from Holland today Jan 14, 2015 at around 3:00pm EST

Parshas Va’eira By HaRav Eliezer Berland, shlit”a

Rabbi Eliezer Berland Tzama'a Nafshi Parshas Vaera

Parshas Va’eira

By HaRav Eliezer Berland, shlit”a

“And they did not listen to Moshe because of [their] shortness of breath and harsh labor.” (Shmos 6:9)

The whole world is mistaken; people think that in order to merit salvation and sweeten the judgment, they must fast and do strenuous labor…

When Moshe Rabenu came to Mitzrayim, he announced to the people, “My friends! Hashem has revealed Himself to me! There is soon going to be redemption. Be happy, rejoice, sing and play music, this is a time for dancing and singing, bring a band, bring some violins and start singing about the news of the upcoming redemption!” Yet, “And the people did not listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and harsh labor.” Rabbenu says (Tora 86), “They had very little emunah (faith), in the aspect of ‘from shortness of breath’… Since the Jews were in the aspect of “from shortness of breath” and had very little emunah, they had to fast and work hard. Those that are in the aspect of “shortness of breath”, who lack the shleimus (completeness) of emunah have a tendency to take upon themselves sigufim (self affliction of suffering) and fasting. The Noam Elimelech said that this was the argument Moshe had with the tzadikim of that generation; Moshe said, ‘Stop with the fasting and sigufim, stop with all the arduous labor! Start rejoicing, play music, sing!” Indeed, since they were sent into slavery, Am Yisrael and the tzadikim did not remain silent for even one moment; they fasted, wept and sat upon the ground [in mourning]. Day by day, they watched how children were being thrown into the Nile, how babies were being slaughtered; the Egyptians used them to build their walls. Paroh bathed in the blood of the babies! Not one person remained silent; they fasted, mourned and wept in order to bring about the redemption. Moshe came and said to them, “Rabosay! This is not the way! This is a mistake! You want to fast? So fast! But that will not bring the redemption. You cannot bring about the redemption via sigufim and fasting. The redemption can only be brought through simcha! They replied, “What?! You are suggesting to us a different way of serving Hashem? You want to take away our fasting and sigufim after we have been doing this for years upon years?” They did not pay attention to Moshe ‘from a shortness of breath’ and ‘from their harsh labor’ –i.e. from despair and frustration. They were so involved in their harsh labor, they could not release their feelings of despair and gain emunah that there was hope and that they may be redeemed. Moshe declared, ‘it is time to start serving Hashem with simcha, from tremendous joy! Only simcha can surrender the klipa (outer spiritual peel of impurity and depression); only simcha can bring about the redemption.’ The  Noam Elimelech explains that the tzaddikim who take upon themselves fasting and harsh labor have a very high neshama, not just any simple neshama, but they don’t see what greater tzaddikim, the likes of Moshe Rabenu see; because the tzadik ha’emes (the True Tzaddik) easily nullifies judgment and harsh decrees. He doesn’t require any effort at all; no sigufim, no fasting, he nullifies the decrees with pure simcha, with music and song. The world is mistaken; people think that in order to merit salvation and to sweeten the harsh judgment they must work strenuously and fast, etc. As a matter of fact, the Baal Shem Tov already cancelled the whole matter of fasting and harsh labor and this is what Rabbenu is referring to when he says that “the world doesn’t believe that one can merit salvation and mitigate the harsh judgment purely through simcha”.

There are several levels of Tzelem Elokim (the Image of Hashem). There is the first level, where the person lives in the present and is happy with the present. He’s always happy. That is the first level of Tzelem Elokim. Then there is a higher level, where one must know Torah and mitzvos and laws. First the person must attain the first level – he must start understanding what is the present; start learning how to live in the now, how to rejoice now, how to be happy every minute and every second, to sense the present and only the present and not think about anything else beyond. He shouldn’t worry himself at all with the future. You are here, now, alive, breathing and well, so be happy! Don’t worry yourself about what was or what will be. That is the aspect of “Who is wealthy? He who is happy with his portion.” The person must be happy every moment and every second. No one is beating you; you have a nice cup of tea, what more do you need? What do you lack? You’re thirsty? Go drink! You’re hungry? Go make yourself a sandwich and you’ll feel better! Feel happy, rejoice! Don’t fret about what was in the past or what will be in the future; be as happy as you possibly can! That’s how you should see everything – with joy. When a person focuses on living the present, he is fulfilling, “Who is wealthy? He who is happy with his portion.” Through this simcha, man can achieve everything; every kind of salvation he needs. He can reach the highest levels in the world.  

The nissayon (test) of a Jew is to always remain happy. That is the biggest test because every single person must go through nissyonos, ups and downs, throughout his entire lifetime. The most important time to strengthen ourselves in simcha is when we have fallen. In the midst of the nissayon, he must strengthen himself in simcha and have faith that this, too, will pass. There is a remarkable story in “Kochvei Or” about a man who was digging in the ground when he suddenly discovered a diamond worth a million dollars. He thought it was just a piece of glass, at first, but when he showed it to another man, the latter confirmed that that it was most certainly a real diamond! “It’s worth a fortune,” he said, “but you won’t find anyone in this village, or even in this land that can afford to buy it.” So he decided to travel to London. He sold his house and everything he owned; his broken furniture and torn clothes, but the money he earned afforded him only the ride to the harbor. At the harbor he ran into the captain of a boat who inquired what he was his business there? The man pulled the diamond out of his pocket and showed it to the captain. “I have a precious diamond,” he replied. The captain’s eyes popped out greedily. “With such a diamond you may come aboard my ship. You don’t have to pay me for the ride now.” The captain set him up in a comfortable room and gave him three good meals a day. One day, the man was sitting at his table, eating his meal when he suddenly decided to examine his precious diamond. He took it out and looked it over with glee. Feeling very tired then, he placed the diamond on the table and soon fell fast asleep. Meanwhile, the waiter entered into his room to clean up after the meal. Without paying any attention to the contents on the table, the waiter picked up the cloth with all the leftovers and diamond inside and shook it out of the window, into the sea. When the man awoke, you can imagine his horrible shock when he saw that the diamond was missing. He nearly fainted, his heart almost stopped beating. He knew that if the captain were to discover what had happened he would surely throw him into the sea to join his long lost diamond. The man decided that he had no choice but to be strong and remain happy. Using supernatural powers, he put a smile on his face and forced himself to appear happy. A few minutes later the captain came by to visit. The Yid gave him such a warm smile and began to dance about the room, laughing and rejoicing. The captain had never seen him so happy. Truthfully, though, the Yid knew that this burst of joy would not last long; soon his heart would start beating furiously once more. When the captain saw what a happy man he was, he said to him, “Let’s make a deal, you and I. Everyone thinks I am a pirate. When I arrive in London, everyone will inquire from where I have received the merchandise aboard my ship. You are a merciful Jew, please have mercy on me. Let’s sign a deal and put this entire ship, including all of the gold and diamonds in your name. I trust you. You are a great merchant, you are very successful, and you’ve got that huge diamond…” The captain then signed everything over to the Yid. Then, as the boat approached the harbor, the captain suddenly got a stroke and died. Now, the entire ship, with all of its priceless merchandise belonged to the Jew.  

Rabbenu introduced the world to a completely new revelation: ‘You should know that there is no despair in the world at all.’ There is no such a thing as despair, even in the most difficult times, even with the greatest disasters. If the person would hold on to simcha for even five minutes, dance and sing, he would see how everything would turn around for the best. One must always come home with a smile on his face, always come home happy! At home, your family doesn’t need to know about your troubles and that you are going through hard times. If you can’t bring yourself to smiling and being happy, sit outside in the stairwell and practice forcefully smiling. Practice all sorts of gestures of happiness and when you’re ready, go inside with a happy face. If the person would remain strong and stay happy he could merit the most wondrous miracles in the world. The entire avodah (work) of a person is to remain happy, no matter what. He must constantly say, “Everything is for the best”. That is the main nissayon. If the person would say, “everything is for the best” about everything, he would find his way out of every type of suffering and difficulty in the world. He’ll see wonders and miracles. A person must be happy, sing and thank Hashem at all times, before the troubles befall him. Don’t wait around for the troubles to come and then have to work hard to get out of them. Then, when your troubles are over you’ll be forced to give thanks, sing and offer a korban Todah. We should just always be happy, always sing to Hashem and recognize the greatness of Hashem. “Every neshama shall praise Hashem”, with every breath we should praise Hashem. You’re breathing? Be happy! One must sing for every breath he breathes. Don’t wait around for the troubles to come. If you’ll be happy, sing to Hashem and thank Him constantly, the troubles won’t need to come at all.

The main avodah is to not be sad for even one second, because there is no reason at all to be sad or depressed. We must believe that every person has the chance to have everything good, materialistically and spiritually, to succeed in every aspect of his life. We should be happy that Hashem did not make us goyim, that he made us Jews: Baruch Hashem I merited keeping Shabbos, I merited putting on Tefillin… Be happy that you merited praying; it’s as though you found a diamond worth millions! One must constantly draw upon himself simcha, endless simcha. If you don’t know what to be happy about then be happy that Hashem created us as G-dly creations; that is the greatest joy! “Yisrael shall be happy with He who made them, the children of Tzion shall rejoice in their King.” We should be happy with Hashem, that He created us; “We are His nation and the sheep of His flock.” Hashem created us for His honor: “Blessed is He, our G-d, Who created us for His honor, and separated us from the wrongdoers.” We should rejoice in the fact that Hashem created us for His honor; so that we should learn and daven, so that the whole world will see - all the nations will see that the greatest weapon of the Jewish people is Torah and Tefilla, since Hashem sees that we have true simcha. He sees that we are happy with Him and will therefore nullify all the decrees and all the troubles. So, what is left for you to do? Start rejoicing in Hashem, be happy with Hashem, only Hashem, with Him you can be happy! He is the Omnipotent, Hashem is for all eternity, He loves you, He created you, Hashem believes in you, Hashem believes in your teshuva. He will never ever leave you and He will give you everything you need.       

R' Chaim Knievsky "Go to Rav Berland, he's a holy man"

This morning a litvish man who Rav Berland invited to him walked into Reb Chaim Knievsky and asked if he should go. Reb Chaim answered "Go to him, he's a holy man". (heard from source)

Torah lesson on Parshas Shemos by Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit"a

Parshas Shemos

By Rav Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

“And he led the sheep after the desert.” (Shmos 3:1)

There is a diamond and the diamond is inside of a box. There is a man who spends his entire day renovating the box, polishing it and caring for it. But what about the diamond itself? The main thing is the diamond! The main thing is the neshama!

The Torah says that Moshe Rabbenu used to herd his sheep after the desert. What does this mean, “after the desert?” What does it mean, “And he went after the dessert”? What, Moshe went to look for better grass for the sheep to graze? Rabbi Avraham, son of the Rambam says, “Moshe went in search for a desert beyond the desert.” He was not satisfied with just any desert; he was seeking a desert far from all other deserts, one that no one ever travels through, one that no foot ever treads upon. Only there could he come to his shleimus – completeness, to truly cling to Hashem, to know that “ein od milvado” – there is none other than Him, to know that he has no ties to this world – the Olam Hazeh – to anything materialistic. He wanted to come to self nullification before the Supreme.  

A person must strip himself from all gashmius – materialism, and know that there is no gashmius, there is no world – this world is a dream, it is no more than imagination. The Zohar Hakadosh (in Parshas Shlach) says that in the future, there will be nothing left of this world – nothing at all! Not one hair will remain! No houses, no assets, no troubles, nothing will remain of this world! As long as a person has even one memory left of this world, he cannot complete his tikkun (rectification), unless he is given troubles and sufferings to purify him from the lusts of this world, from the hallucinations of the Olam Hazeh, until he forgets it all, until he has not one memory left of this world (no connections or ties to this world). A person cannot enter the Olam Haba (World to Come) if he has anything left from his body and from this world in general. In the Olam Haba there are no houses, there is no food, nothing! Everything is going to be completely different. The body will turn into a neshama and nothing else will remain of this world.

A story was told about “Rabbi Shimshon of the forest”, a Breslover Chassid who served Hashem day and night with such passion and strength to the point that he suddenly fell and passed away. One night, he came to Reb Avraham Berenyu, a grandson of Rabbenu, in a dream and told him the story of his passing. “Reb Nosson came and took me to Rabenu Hakadosh. The Rebbe said to me, ‘who says you are a Breslover Chassid? You were in Uman, you went to my gravesite, you did a messirus nefesh, it’s all true! But to be a Breslover Chassid is not so simple, it doesn’t come so easily. I have a notepad here, let’s look into it and see.’ The Rebbe looked into his notepad and said, ‘it’s okay, you’re in my notepad, so you are a Breslover Chassid. But you still smell of the Olam Hazeh!’ So long as a person has something left from the Olam Hazeh, some point that binds him to this world, a smell of gashmius, of ta’avas for this world (lusts and desires), he cannot come to his place in Heaven. Two angels came along then and took me to the river “Dinor”, a river of fire and immersed me. What can I say? How can I describe the extent of the suffering and pain I experienced in that river? Unimaginable and unthinkable. There is no such pain in this world. However, the extent of the pleasure one feels after being cleansed in that river is also beyond description. After immersing in the river, Reb Nosson took me back to Rabbenu. The Rebbe replied, “You still have a smell of the Olam Hazeh. Go immerse once more! One must have no faith at all in the Olam Hazeh, no connection whatsoever to this world! Until the person rids himself from all the impurities and contaminations of this world, he cannot enter the Olam Haba. Reb Nosson took me to immerse once again in the river of fire. Upon returning to Rabbenu, he declared, “indeed, you are now purified.”

We all want a life of eternity. The body is just a box; the body is a box for the neshama. Why did Hashem create for us a body? This is only to prevent the neshama from going up (to Heaven) before its time. The neshama has no desire at all to be in this world, it always wants to return to Shamayim, to its source. It has no connection to this world at all. Again it is forced to eat, again it is forced to drink – it is fed up! The person must eat because if he doesn’t, his neshama will escape and return up above to its source. The neshama has no desire at all to be down here! 120 years is all too much, as far as the neshama is concerned. It can’t take anymore down here, it wants to leave. It will last until 120 years but only through eating. This is why we must look after the needs of our body. Yet the body is really just a box for the neshama. It’s like a diamond inside of a box and there is a person who spends his days looking after the box, fixing it up, caring for it, that’s all very nice, but what will be with the diamond?! The most important thing is the diamond! The main thing is the neshama! Fix up the diamond! Polish it! You are a G-dly creation! Why are you polishing up the box? Why? So that it will shine? You waste your life polishing it, in the end it won’t shine anymore because you’ll have polished it too much. Nothing will remain from the body – from the box. That box serves as a cover; it is the cover for the diamond!

You must seek out that diamond. Every person has two ways to go, as it says in the Torah, “See that I have given to you life and goodness, death and evil… and you shall choose life.” Does man really need to be told not to choose death?! Who chooses death?! Rather, this is to show us that here in this world, everything is confused, everything is topsy turvey. Death appears to be life. Materialism and lusts appear to a person to be a good life, where as life – prayer and the Torah Hakedosha appear to people as death! This is why the Torah warns us to beware: What you may think is life is actually death – beware! You could die! “And you shall choose life” – choose the Torah, kedusha and purity. Every person is fighting long and difficult battles. So many people have entered kedusha and avodas Hashem and many could not withstand the nissyonos (trials); they couldn’t hold on. As soon as the evil thoughts and desires enter the person’s mind, the person breaks and thinks, “Perhaps this way is not really for me?”

What, you have another way?! “And you shall choose life”, there is good and there is bad. There is no middle. There is no such thing as, “This is not right for me.” If you are not choosing life then you are choosing death! You might fall and leave the Torah way, see forbidden sights, etc. That is why you must choose life.

Truthfully, if a person wants to come close to Hashem, if he would just want this, nothing stands in the way of true desire. Nothing can stand in the way of a G-dly desire. Whatever the person desires, he will achieve, as Reb Nosson says in Likutei Halachos, “People who wanted to get rich traveled to diamond mines; they travel across distances, through jungles, facing Indians, across deserts… most of these people were killed along the way. They gave their lives to travel far in order to earn a kilo of gold or a kilo of diamonds. So a person won’t go through such a messirus nefesh for the sake of Hashem? For the sake of kedusha?’ We can learn a lesson from the Sitra Achra (the Evil Side). Look how hard people work for the Sitra Achra! University students sit day and night learning, barely sleeping for the sake of nonsense, for a temporary world. So we can’t sit and learn Torah for the sake of Hakadosh Baruch Hu? We can’t make an effort? 

Hachnasas Sefer Torah in the main Etz Chaim synagogue in Amsterdam

Rabbi Berland is currently being honored by the local Rabbi's with the writing of the final letters. And the hachnasas sefer torah is beginning.

Listen to the Rav speaking live from the event on the information line +972-58-328-7777 ext 11 After the event: Interview with the Gabai of the Etz Chaim synagogue "We are very happy that the Rabbi is here and that the chassidim learn by us" Listen to the full interview in Hebrew on the information line +972-58-328-7777 ext 41

New and Exclusive!!! Live video broadcast of the Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit"a in Holland

stay tuned for details...

Shobbas Chanukah with the Rav!

Shobbas Chanukah is going to be big!

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From anywhere else just get on a plane, bus, train, or car and go!

Live shiur now!

Extension 13

Listen to the lesson of Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a December 5th 2014 from Holland given by telephone

Milave Malka live

Listen to the live broadcast of milave malka with the Rav in Amsterdam

058-328-7777 ext 11
From outside Israel +972-58-328-7777 ext 11

Live phone broadcast now

Live broadcast now at 058-328-7777 ext 31
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LIVE PHONE BROADCAST NOW!

Rabbi Berland is speaking now on the information line
From Israel 058-328-7777 ext. 11
From outside Israel +972-58-328-7777 ext. 11

After the shiur it can be heard on ext 21

"May my soul be like dirt to everyone"

During the nine minutes of the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth Jewish month, a time which according to Kabalah is auspicious for bringing down spiritual sustenance to the world, the Judges in Amsterdam issued their decision regarding Israel's extradition request of the Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains the meaning of our three time daily prayer "May my soul be like dirt to everyone", that just as the dirt on the ground everyone tramples on it yet it provides for the world all sources of sustenance and good things, all food and livelihood, gold and precious stones come from the ground, so too the Tzaddik who has fully integrated this prayer becomes the stamping ground for all to trample on and in that way he is able to provide sustenance both spiritual and physical for the entire world. For a Tzaddik pays no attention at all to his own needs or his own honor only to the needs and honor of the world around him, and he is willing to lower himself for all to step on in order to accomplish this.

Rebbe Nachman goes on and explains "May my soul be like dirt to everyone", that just like the earth has a gravitational force and everyone is naturally pulled towards it, so too the Tzaddik has a gravitational force and all are pulled towards him. Some understand that it is in order to recieve teaching and guidance from him, while others don't understand and are convinced that there must be something strangely wrong here and therefore make it thier business to speak evil about him, cause him harm and constantly chase him for nothing. Either way there is a gravitational force and it is up to each individual to use it for good or for bad.

Update: The Courts Decision regarding extradition of Rabbi Berland

The Rabbi will not be extradited. Further reasoning is needed by Israel and if given, the court will reopen the case.

See also Yeshivah World News

The courts decision

The judges decision will be given in 2 weeks, Dec. 1st. The request of Israel that the Rabbi be placed behind bars until the courts decision was rejected by the Judges and the Rabbi remains free. Additionally the Rabbi is no longer required to sign daily at the police to prove his presence.

Mass Prayer Rally this coming Sunday

This coming Sunday November 16th there will be a prayer rally for the success of Rabbi Berland in the court appearance scheduled for Monday. Attending will be Rabbi Shalom Arush, Rabbi Yaakov Ades, Rabbi Eldad Shmueli and other leading Rabbis. The event will take place at 6:30pm outside the Rav's house 14 Hachoma Hashlishit street Jerusalem. The event will take place in an orderly fashion with full police accommodation and security. Men women and children are welcome.

To hear various speakers speak about the importance of the event (in Hebrew) call the information line 058-328-7777 (outside of Israel +972-58-328-7777) extension 41.

See you there.

Watch: Rabbi Eliezer Berland at Peace Rally!!! Winter Stadium Tel Aviv Israel June 28th 2012

Note: This event really ticked off the Israeli government and immediately following the event they sought to silence the Rabbi by publishing false accusations in the Israeli media and then seeking to "question" him which in Israel means guilty until proven innocent, and like many before him he can sit in jail for years until and if through the tough bureaucracy his innocence is allowed to be proven. Smartly he chose to leave the country before this could happen. But Israel does not give up quickly and they are chasing him around the world as if this peace supporter is the most dangerous person in the world. This is as King David writes in psalms "I am Peace, but when I speak they are for war". Just as they chased King David they are chasing his successor, and so will be with the Messiah who is from the house of David. In the words of the Ramban (Nahmanides)

 "כי בבואו בתחילה עני ורוכב על חמור, יבואו עליו נוגשי כל עיר ושוטריו ויענו אותו בחירופין וגידופין וכו'"

See here for Hebrew text https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0IwzOFg1KSha29BTWtOQ0JGa1U/edit?usp=sharing

The news article about the event can be seen here http://www.haaretz.com/mobile/yeshiva-head-calls-for-intervention-in-syria-to-save-ishmaelites-1.448289?v=937F982AF162CF37A331868CF92681D1

Here is more text from the speech: 

"The Talmud teaches us that we need to do acts of kindness to Arabs, it does not matter what kind of Arab it is! Other than a terrorist we need to help and assist every single Arab in every way possible; with money, with encouragement, in every way possible, even to split the sea for him! All the more so when we see the horrible massacre that is happening two hours from here [in Syria], right under our noses! And the entire world is silent! Kofi Annan says we’ll take Ahmadinejad to make peace! He will stop the terrible massacre! This past Thursday 170 children were killed, two days ago 107 children, everyday they are slaughtering right under our noses, and Kofi Annan says, “We’ll take Ahmadinejad”! He will make peace! He who creates all the weapons of mass destruction! He will make peace! What have we come to?! What kind of merciless world have we come to?! The Nations of the world are silent. And we the Israelite Nation, the Nation of Justice, Nation of Conscience, Nation of Fairness, The Israelite Nation is the conscience of the entire world! The entire world lifts up their eyes to the Israelite Nation, the entire world believes in the Israelite Nation, the entire world knows that the Israelite Nation will bring the redemption, only the Israelite Nation will bring the Messiah! And now at this peace rally we need to come out with a strong objection to the entire world and demand immediate intervention in Syria, to stop the horrible massacre, to stop the terrible slaughtering by the Shabiha cult and the entire military, and to stand at the side of these unfortunate forlorn people, it does not matter if they are Ishmaelite’s and it does not matter if afterwards terrorists will rise up from there, our first priority is to save the unfortunate children, the infants, the women, this is the first mission that the Nation of Israel must place before themselves. “Beloved is man for he was created in Gods image”, every person is in the image of God! There is no difference between Jew and Non-Jew! Everyone is in Gods image! Every person is composed of sparks of godliness! God created them all! All of mankind! 7 billion people – They are all the same! For “Beloved is man who was created in Gods image”, and it doesn’t just say “beloved”, it says “Excessive affection is deserving to man since he was created in Gods image”, this saying from the Ethics of our Fathers is said about all the nations of the world! When we go pray at the shrine of Joseph the Righteous, and I see Israeli Soldiers standing there with M-16s, I say to them “are you not ashamed?!” Here lies Joseph the Righteous! What are you afraid of?! Why are you standing with M-16s?! I used to walk here alone when I lived in Bnei Brak, I walked here by foot! Who needs these M-16s?! Arabs are good people! Who needs these weapons?! Let us go! There is nothing to be afraid of! Ishmaelite’s are our cousins, we are all sons of Abraham and Isaac, we all come from the same father, from the same God, we all come from the same roots, the same race. When we went to war with Amon and Moav the Prophet got up and said “Just play music! Just sing! Throw away all instruments of war! Throw away all your weapons! Begin singing! Just sing!” So Jehoshaphat said to them “If you believe in the words of the Prophet then you can win over all of your enemies only through song and music”. Because all of our victories and all of the wars that we won through the use of weapons are not considered “victories”! Any war that is won through weapons is not eternal, they also have weapons, they have the atom bomb, one day everything can turn around. “Victory” is only what we win through the power of song and music which awakens the Jewish spark in every nation in every gentile, in every single Arab, for there does not exist an Arab or gentile that does not have within him a Jewish spark. We just need to arouse that spark then automatically there will be peace in the entire world! Then “The wolf will live with the sheep and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf, the lion and the sheep will walk together and a young child will lead them, a cow and bear will graze together, and an infant will play by a viper’s hole” (Isaiah 11:6)."

View the live Broadcast is here!

Live satellite shiur this Motzei Shobbas!

G-d willing there will be a live satellite shiur by Rav Berland this Saturday night at 10:15 Israel time immediately following the Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosefs weekly shiur on the "Dor V'Socharet" station. It will also G-d be available online on the ohr hachaim website.

For all those for whom it will still be shobbas, a recording will be available - stay tuned.

Atzeres Tfilla at the kotel today

Today Wednesday Oct. 22nd erev rosh chodesh Chesvan there will be an Atzeres Tfilla by the Kotel for the hatzlacha of the Rav at 6:00pm

A recap of Simchas Torah with the Tzaddik in Amsterdam

Boruch Hashem over 300 people merited spending Simchas Torah with the Rav in Amsterdam. The good Mayor of Amsterdam allowed for a local Jewish school to be opened for the masses, mattresses were brought and whoever didn't have accommodations slept and ate in the hall of the school. On Simchas Torah morning the Rav came for Yom Tov davening - which went on together with hakafos until the night without a break - it was me'in olam habah. The locals, doing the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim b'hidur brought over their yom tov meals for the many guests and also merited sharing the simchas hachag in the presence of the Tzaddik -  there was no shortage of festivities and happiness.

At the same time thousands of Rabbi Berlands students celebrated Simchas Torah in Jerusalem with the hope and prayer that they will soon merit rejoicing with their Rav in the Holy City. ותחזנה עינינו בשובך לציון ברחמים...

Simchas Torah update

G-d willing there will be tfillos and hakafos with the Rav in Amsterdam

Simchas Torah update

For all who are asking:

It is not yet known what will be Simchas Torah. As of now it depends on finding a place where everyone can be and that the Rav can come to for davening and hakafos. We are open towards suggestions as well as donations for renting a hall knishtachada@gmail.com

The media war against Rabbi Berland

The rodfim know no rest. They have already shown their war techniques in Morocco, Zimbabwe, and Johannesburg - when they couldn't influence the local authorities they used the media as a tool to give the Rav a bad reputation turning the locals against his residing there. They spread the same lies that they began in the Israeli media in the first place, translating it to the local language while adding some "flavor" (see the lies of the Israeli media exposed). The papers in Zimbabwe have already admitted to receiving large sums of money to make it a front-page story "sex-pest Rabbi on the run" when in fact he was asked to leave Zimbabwe due to an expiring visa. And as was recently revealed in court (listen here) the accusations that the Israeli's are making are completely different than what was written in the newspapers, which even for that they have no proof for. The newspapers in Zimbabwe as well as that in Morocco said the name of the person who sent them the stories from Israel and off the record the amount they were paid to have them published (in the hundreds of thousands). He is well known in Shuvu Bonim when he lost his high position after being caught in a scandal involving large amounts of money and power which he hoped to inherit. On his side is the Israeli Police which have thier own incentives in stopping the Rabbi from influencing people in Israel as has been known for years. They have been successful in getting him handcuffed for a few seconds without a headcovering snapping a photo and getting it spread all over the world (the media loves that stuff) and added the title "Fugitive sex-pest Rabbi nabbed" when in fact the handcuffs had nothing to do with that. But since when do we hear about someone being handcuffed for visa problems? With money anything is possible, especially in Zimbabwe as is well known.
All this was carefully planned by the rodfim from Israel in order to harm the Rabbi's image and the influence he has on people. See also this article in the South African Jewish Report published about half a year ago. But the more they unabashedly chase the Rav the more the truth is being revealed and people are starting to understand what is truly happening here.
However, they still have not learned their lesson. The same techniques that were used before are being used again in Holland. After being shamefully turned down three times in court and lastly in their attempt to get the Rabbi away from his followers during the holidays, a time when he attracts the most following (note: all their major attempts in which they succeeded in expelling the Rav from Morocco, Zimbabwe and Johannesburg were around holiday time), the enemies of the Rav are once again fighting full-force through the media both in Holland and in nearby Belgium where many of his students are staying. They are again trying to influence all major media outlets as well influential people in the Jewish community.
Thank G-d the Judicial system in Europe is fairer than that of the previous places and the Judges clearly saw through these blackmail attempts and judged honestly without caving in to local pressure. For the most part the locals are pleased to have the chassidim, but as always the peaceful ones are not the most vocal, and the media always likes a juicy story that will raise ratings. Thankfully there are a majority of pure-hearted honest people in the world who don't quickly fall for the way the media portrays people.
The next step for Rabbi Berlands lawyer Sharon Nahari is to release the requirement of the Rav to sign daily to prove he is staying in Holland and eventually to have him free to travel wherever he wishes.
As for Israel - it's only a matter of time until the current Government collapses, when that happens Rabbi Berland will return to lead his followers and all the Jewish people - given the respect deserving of a king. His ideals or Torah, prayer, and peace can then be spread without impediment.
"ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד"

Update: The courts ruling - Israels appeal permanently rejected. Rabbi Berland remains a free man in Holland

Minutes ago the court in Holland issued a final ruling against the appeal of Israel Police and Rabbi Berland will remain a free man in Amsterdam. The extradition hearing is set for November 17th when Israel Police will try it's luck again.

"וחסידים ברינה יגילו..."
And the chassidim celebrate...

Hundreds are expected to accompany the Rav for the holiday of Succos...

Recent interviews on the information phone line

Hear updated news (in Hebrew) on Rabbi Berlands information phone line
From Israel 058-328-7777
From outside of Israel +972-58-328-7777

Listen to Yaron Yamin who was present at the court hearing this past Wednesday discuss the how Israel Police tried for an appeal to have the Rabbi behind bars for the holidays and how they were denied. Ex. 41

Listen to a talmid of the Rav Berland who was present on one of the two buses which made their way from Uman to the Island of Texel describe the 50 hour trip and the arrangements at the Island for the upcoming holiday of Yom Kippur. Ex. 41

Listen to Rabbi Berlands 24 minute torah lesson which he gave to the first busload of followers upon thier arrival at 2:00am. Ex. 21

Listen to a talmid talk about how it was to be with the Rav on Yom Kippur  Ex 41

And much more...

(Whoever is interested in hearing interviews like these in english as well as having translated updates on this website and on the Knishta Chada Journal, please click the donate button on this site)

Yom Kippur in the Isle of Texel with the Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland

Approximately 600 people (men, women, and children) came to the Isle of Texel to spend the High holiday of Yom Kippur with the Tzaddik Rav Berland. They were welcomed warmly by the locals, were given their own synagogue to pray in, around 20 villa's for the women and children to sleep in, and two large tents were erected to accommodate the rest. 

This was the largest gathering since Rabbi Berland began his exile from Israel two years ago.

The Rav was the shliach tzibur for all the davening excluding ne'ilah. Yom Kippur night begain with Kol Nidrei before Shkiah and lasted until 12 midnight. The day began at 6:30am and lasted until after sundown. The prayers were uplifting, with the Rabbi and most of the tzibur being on their feet the entire time, the melodies were sung in the inspiring way according to the nusach of breslov. 

Reb Nosson of Breslov explains that while Rosh Hashana is the kibutz (gathering) of the Rebbe, Yom Kippur is the kibutz of the Talmid Hador. Every year Breslov chassidim try to be together with the Talmid Hador, this year the largest kibbutz of Breslov took place in Holland, surpassing that of the main Breslov shul in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem.

The numbers of followers keep growing, more are expected to be arriving for Succos. It seems the more that the Rabbi is persecuted and chased for no reason the more people are attracted to him, people are realizing that "הוא מחולל מפשעינו וחליינו הוא נשא" he's taking upon himself the suffering of the generation, and they want to be a part of it.  

Update: The relentless struggle of the Israeli Police against Rabbi Berland

The Israel Police are proving more and more that there is some kind of hidden agenda behind their desperate attempts at getting the Rabbi behind bars. Apparently this is no different than their attempts at getting Rabbi Yoram Avergil behind bars, both of these Rabbi’s are leaders of the teshuva movement in Israel which infuriates in anti-religious left, they are thinking that portraying them as criminals will stop the teshuvah movement and prevent a religious majority in Israel, something which due to recent surveys is happening now, at this rate the next government will be a religious government. But the more they chase after Rabbi’s and Yeshivah bochurim the more they are proving their true colors and this only strengthens the teshuva movement even more. During the first court case the Dutch Judge said there is absolutely no evidence that can even warrant bringing Rabbi Berland before an Israeli court, and he is shocked at the way the State of Israel treats a great man such as Rabbi Berland. This statement of the Judge has already been published in Israeli media, I’m surprised that the English speaking media has not mentioned the proceedings of the first hearing, which was in the Lawyers words “an historical event which will be taught in Law Schools” the first time ever that a European country has an extradition treaty with Israel turned down a request of extradition and only after one court hearing. There was not only nothing to incriminate the Rabbi, there was not even anything justify sending him to be tried in an Israeli court. 

The past Wednesday, two days before Yom Kippur, the Israeli police made an appeal that for the meantime while they are working on putting together some kind of arrest warrant, Holland should have Rabbi Berland held behind bars. In the appeal they did not bring up the accusations again for they were already embarrassed in the first hearing when they were told they had nothing. However, they tried to convince the group of 3 Judges that Rabbi Berland has been running and escaping justice for 2 years and that should be enough to keep him behind bars until Israel arranges a proper arrest warrant. But the judges didn’t buy that. Firstly, there was never, and still isn’t an arrest warrant for Rabbi Berland, one cannot be considered a fugitive if he is not wanted under warrant for arrest. Secondly, he left Israel on is own free will much before he was even wanted by the Israeli Police for questioning. Thirdly, he was been in countries which do have extradition treaties with Israel, was allowed in and out of their borders without problem, which proves he was not trying to run away. And lastly, even if you would say he was running away, anyone in his situation the way he is unfairly being treated by the Israeli justice system will run away, because obviously if they are chasing him to this extent when out of Israel based on nothing, then surely he will not be given a fair trial in Israel either.

Israel is more concerned about chasing after Rabbi’s who will make people religious than chasing after the Arab terrorists who are vowing to destroy the entire country. Known terrorists are released from jail, given weapons, and allowed to continue shooting rockets without anyone interfering, Rabbi’s on the other hand are hunted down to all corners of the earth. For example, look at the way they turn a blind eye and cover up for Arab and compare this to the way the hunt down Chareidy Rabbi’s and Yeshiva students.

It should also be noted how the Israeli Justice system works for those who are not familiar and how people with power can use it to their advantage (this is taken from a comment of one of the news sites): Israel still keeps convenient laws on the books from not only the British Mandate period but even Turkish rule such as the “administrative detention” rule that you can be put under imprisonment for six months before they are even obligated to bring charges! They pulled this one multiple times on Rav Kahane because just as we see with Rav Berland they didn’t like the large influence he had on people.
Look also at what happened with Avigdor Leiberman – because he’s a big political enemy of the left they put him under investigation for 13 YEARS after which they finally admitted they didn’t have enough evidence to go forward. What kind of valid criminal investigation goes on for almost a decade and a half without being able to produce sufficient evidence for a trial? It took several months to identify and finally locate the killers of the 3 kodshim, yet after about a week they managed to arrest the guys who killed the arab teen – and strangely enough they were not allowed to speak to an attorney until AFTER they agreed to confess. It is obvious that anyone with an open eye can see how police in this country are agenda driven.