A Story of a Tzaddik Fleeing from Honor: The Awe-Inspiring Sermon in Monsey Fifty Years Ago / An Amazing Story: When Rabbi Berland Declared, "I Broke into the Safe"

One of the tzaddikim (righteous men) of our generation shares a story about a sermon delivered by Rabbi Berland shlit"a in Monsey fifty years ago, and how he performed strange acts to flee from honor the moment the audience began to marvel at his greatness.

A Story of a Tzaddik Fleeing from Honor: The Awe-Inspiring Sermon in Monsey Fifty Years Ago

One of the tzaddikim of our generation shlit"a (whose name is withheld so that he will not be disturbed) told an awe-inspiring and tremendous story that occurred about fifty years ago. In those days, he was staying in one of the study halls in the city of Monsey in the United States. Suddenly, a young Torah scholar entered the room—none other than Morinu HaRav Eliezer Berland shlit"a—and began to speak before the congregation.

The Sermon That Pierced the Hearts

The Rav shlit"a delivered words of Torah with wondrous depth, filled with vitality and holy enthusiasm. The entire audience present listened to his words with immense yearning. "His holy words pierced the hearts, and the words were as joyful as when they were given at Mount Sinai," described that tzaddik.

The sermon made a tremendous impression on all the listeners. Everyone was deeply amazed by this righteous and holy young scholar who spoke with such holy fire. However, the moment Morinu HaRav shlit"a noticed the great honor being directed toward him as a result of the sermon, he decided to take action.

Fleeing from Honor Like from a Fire

In order to escape the admiration, the Rav immediately began performing strange acts. The first thing he did was take off his shoe and throw it on top of the Holy Ark. After that, he started making all sorts of faces and strange hand gestures.

The reaction of the crowd was not late in coming. In short, everyone there started saying that this young scholar was not right in his mind. They said among themselves, "He really speaks beautifully, but he is not sane." In this way, the Rav managed to deflect all the honor he had received just moments earlier.

The tzaddik who told the story concluded his words with a piercing statement: "But I immediately grasped that we are dealing here with a holy tzaddik, who is simply fleeing from honor like from a fire." This story illustrates the immense humility of Morinu HaRav shlit"a, and how willing he is to degrade and humiliate himself, just so he does not enjoy false honor in this world.

An Amazing Story: When Rabbi Berland Declared, "I Broke into the Safe"

A certain Jew, one of the esteemed residents of Jerusalem, told an awe-inspiring and shaking story that he himself witnessed. The incident occurred when this Jew was staying in Meron, near the gravesite of the Godly Tanna, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a. At that time, a man was walking around there laughing and mocking all kinds of rabbis, speaking slanderously about tzaddikim, Hashem should protect us.

There were people there who wanted to provoke him, and they asked him to speak about Morinu HaRav Eliezer Berland shlit"a as well. They asked him, "And what do you say about Rabbi Berland?" Everyone was certain that he would now open his mouth and pour out buckets of mockery, but to everyone's astonishment, his face immediately turned serious. "Do not dare speak a bad word about him!" he warned them sternly. "I know very well who he is." He then began to tell an awe-inspiring story that his own eyes had seen.

A Storm in the Town: The Safe Was Broken Into

The incident happened when the Rav shlit"a was still a young Torah scholar. One Shabbos, he was staying in a certain settlement in the Holy Land. On Shabbos morning, a great storm erupted in the settlement: it was discovered that unknown individuals had broken into the local safe and stolen all the property that was there. It involved a huge sum of money and many other valuable items, which the entire community had a stake in.

The whole town was in an uproar, and the residents were plunged into sorrow, panic, and rage, trying to figure out how they would catch the thief. Suddenly, Morinu HaRav shlit"a arrived at the center of the commotion and declared loudly in front of everyone: "I ask for forgiveness! I stole it, I broke into the safe, and I promise that immediately after the holy Shabbos ends, I will return everything."

He had not even finished his words before the furious mob pounced on him with murderous blows. They shouted at him, "Thief!", "Murderer!" and a host of other insults. And the tzaddik? He simply remained silent and suffered. He gave his back to the smiters and his cheeks to those who plucked his hair. This continued throughout the entire Shabbos, as he absorbed endless shouts, curses, and insults.

The Shaking Confession After Shabbos

Everyone waited with bated breath until the stars came out. Immediately after Shabbos ended, the Rav shlit"a left the synagogue and seemingly went to retrieve the stolen goods. "And I followed him," said that man in Meron, who was actually the real thief. "I approached him and said, 'Can you explain to me what you did? Why did you say that you stole and broke in?'"

The Rav answered him simply, "Because it is the truth, I stole it." The man was astounded and said, "But you didn't steal it!" Yet the Rav stood his ground, insisting, "I did steal it." The man continued to press him, "No, you didn't steal it! How can you be so sure that I didn't steal it?"

At this point, the man broke down and confessed: "Because I stole it! I am the thief myself! I wanted to keep quiet and run away, but you, with your strange actions, completely confused me. Therefore, I am bringing you all the money, and you go give it to them." After finishing his incredible story, the man turned to the people in Meron and said, "And after such a thing, how is it even possible to speak against such a tzaddik?"

The Self-Sacrifice of Humility

Anyone who contemplates this story even a little will have their hair stand on end upon realizing the awesome spiritual levels this tzaddik has reached. After all, this is not merely about enduring insults and remaining silent in the face of abusers, nor is it a standard pursuit of humiliation. This is a supreme level of mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) for the service of lowliness and humility, the likes of which is unheard of.

In all truth and sincerity, Rabbi Berland shlit"a was prepared to go to prison, Hashem protect us. After all, he had no means to return the lost money, and they certainly would have arrested him. Yet, he did not care about any of this at all. For him, the main thing was the immense spiritual gain of the golden opportunity that Hashem had presented him with—accepting humiliation in the most beautiful way, out of Ahavas Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) and pure emunah (faith).

From Issue 79 — Parashas Behaaloscha

From the series "Tzaddik Moshel Yiras Elokim" — "Shapir Amar Nachmani" publications