Wondrous Story: The Secret of the Hidden Device That Prevented the Salvation / An Amazing Story

A childless couple who donated a Pidyon Nefesh (redemption of the soul) wondered why their salvation was delayed. With his Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration), Rabbi Berland shlit"a revealed the impure devices hidden in their home that were preventing the blessing.

Wondrous Story: The Secret of the Hidden Device That Prevented the Salvation

One of the gabbaim (attendants) of our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, related an awesome and amazing story that testifies to the tzaddik's revealed Ruach HaKodesh. The incident began with a childless couple who came to the Rav shlit"a seeking advice and a blessing to merit viable offspring.

The Pidyon Nefesh and the Wait

The Rav shlit"a listened to the couple's pain and instructed them to bring a Pidyon Nefesh in the amount of twenty thousand shekels. The couple, who believed with complete faith in the power of the tzaddik, gathered the required sum and brought it with great joy.

However, a full year passed since giving the Pidyon, and the couple was still not blessed with children. A few weeks ago, they decided to return to the residence of the Rav shlit"a. They entered his holy room and asked in pain, "We gave the Pidyon as the Rav instructed, so why do we not see any salvation?"

The Surprising Discovery

The tzaddik's response left them speechless. The Rav shlit"a looked at them and said, "How do you expect to be saved, if you have unkosher devices and internet in your home, Hashem should protect us?"

The Rav did not stop there, adding, "And you also have a television, which is a terrible device that corrupts the souls of the Jewish people, Heaven spare us." The couple stood stunned and were truly frightened by the tzaddik's answer.

The Secret of the Hidden Device

The reason for their profound astonishment was clear: they had ordered and installed this impure device in their home in absolute secrecy. No one in their surroundings knew about it, and they made sure to camouflage it well so that no one would notice their broadcast receiver. Despite all the concealment, the crystal-clear eyes of the tzaddik saw everything through the walls.

At the end of the meeting, the Rav shlit"a gave them an unequivocal instruction. He told them to go home immediately, smash the impure device, and completely remove all corrupting tools from their home. The Rav promised them that the moment they purified their home, "You will certainly see salvation."

This story illustrates how the eyes of the tzaddik roam and see the hidden, and just how much the holiness and purity of the home are essential conditions for meriting salvations and blessings above the laws of nature.

Amazing Story: The Burned Note and the Salvation for Viable Offspring

Before us is an awe-inspiring story, which arrived from a reliable source, truly illustrating the revelation of the holy Baal Shem Tov zy"a in our generation. A certain Jew, who had waited a long time to merit viable offspring, came to our teacher, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, to request a blessing for salvation. The Rav blessed him warmly, but time passed and that Jew was still not blessed with children. In his distress, he decided to return to our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, and ask why the salvation was being delayed.

Revealed Ruach HaKodesh in the Tzaddik's Room

When the Jew entered the holy room once again, the Rav shlit"a looked at him with a piercing gaze. Suddenly, the Rav turned to him and said, "How do you expect to merit children, if you did such and such on such and such a day?" The Rav began to detail before him with exact precision a series of sins, iniquities, and transgressions that he had committed in secret.

That man was terrified to the depths of his soul. He immediately understood that he was standing before a holy and awesome tzaddik who knows everything. The Rav revealed to him completely hidden things, which no person in the world had ever known about.

The Burned Note and the Promise of Salvation

After the shaking revelation, the Rav gave that Jew a piece of paper and instructed him, "Write down on the paper everything you have done." The man sat and wrote down several things, and when he finished, he handed the note to the Rav shlit"a. The Rav reviewed the note, and then surprised him again, asking, "And what about this and that deed?"

The Jew was terribly horrified to discover how the tzaddik knows everything, to the point that he was reminding him of things he himself had already managed to forget. After everything was written on the page, the tzaddik lit a fire and burned the paper completely.

As the fire consumed the note, the Rav told him, "Whatever happened until now—Hashem has already forgiven you. From now on, be careful to be a kosher Jew and you will be saved." And indeed, the tzaddik's promise did not return empty. Exactly one year later, that Jew merited to have a baby boy born to him, mazal tov.

From Issue 79 — Parashas Vayakhel
From the series "A Tzaddik Rules in the Fear of God" — "Shapir Amar Nachmani" publications