Happy Chanukah! When this rabbi speaks, I listen - he's got a bigger head on his shoulders than all his detractors combined - confabulations about him notwithstanding.

A friend sent me this: I feel compelled to share it with all of you because it does have the ring of truth, coming from a source of deep Torah knowledge and understanding. I know, the Rav speaks with great flourish, but try to listen to his underlying message, which is unmistakable: only mass prayer to Hashem at the Kivrei Avot can save us now. I believe him. Not to mention that the whole world is also in complete Tohu Vavohu in case you haven't noticed, equally in weather, political, and financial terms.

Writing this from Rome where I am stuck for Shabbat Chanukah despite my plans, sitting on a super volcano ready to erupt any time now - not soon enough: I hope it takes the Vatican where it belongs already!

Shavuah Tov and Happy Zot Chanukah; and Chodesh Tevet Tov!

This Sunday night, Zot Chanuka, Rav Eliezer Berland has called for a huge prayer gathering in Hevron, the city of the Patriarchs. The Rav has put out a number of urgent messages in recent days, encouraging people to attend the event, and underlining the importance of participating – because the situation is looking extremely grave.

Here is the full translation of the Rav’s most recent message:

(If you can help to defray some of the expenses of the tens of buses that are being chartered to and from Hevron for Sunday night, please click HERE to donate.)

“The whole of Am Yisrael is currently facing a terrible, threatening situation. Every part of Israel is now under threat of being deluged with rockets. After we saw 400 rockets falling on Ashkelon and the surrounding cities, including Beer Sheva, Netivot, Ofakim and Sderot, now they are preparing thousands and thousands of rockets, which will reach to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

“And we have no possibility of stopping this from happening, because the whole world is against us. They can launch 10,000 missiles, and if we fire back even just one, they will say that we are the aggressors, and they are the victims.

“They will say that we began [hostilities], and that they are simply defending themselves.

“We have no [military] might, we only have the power of tehillim (psalms). All of the State of Israel’s efforts to stop the missiles of Hezbollah and Hamas ended in failure. Every day, we are threatened with thousands of new rockets. They can reach any target precisely…

“Am Israel is in the greatest danger, mamash, and our only possibility of coming through this lies in our mouths: “The voice is the voice of Yaakov, and the hands are the hands of Esav.” (Bereishit, 27:22).

“We are now, mamash, at the final moments that we can stay in Eretz Yisrael, in the State of Israel, because the goal of the Arabs is to destroy everyone here. They don’t care if its dati’im (observant Jews), chilonim (secular Jews), Chareidim, Neturei Karta - they aren’t interested.

“They want to annihilate every single Jew, until the very last one of us – regardless of whether he’s secular, or religious, or Mizrachi (Sephardi traditional), or kipat srugah (National Religious).

It’s written: “And I will divide them, into the light and into the dark” (Bereishit 1:4).

They are not going to distinguish between the ‘light’ and the ‘darkness’. Right now, we are all in the gravest danger, mamash.

So, we need to really urge people to attend this Prayer Gathering, so that almost 50,000 thousand people will come.

“And everyone should read the whole of the Book of Tehillim, which will [form] the shoes for the Shechina, the shoes of Yosef [HaTzaddik], that the brothers quarreled about. Because, never before have we heard of a brother selling his brother for a pair of shoes. The ikker (main point) is that a brother shouldn’t sell out his own brother. (The argument was really over whether they should finish the whole book of Tehillim the whole week, which is the ‘shoes of the Shechinah’.)

“This was the real argument between Yosef and his brothers…and so, every single person is obliged to complete the book of Tehillim at the Prayer Gathering, and to make good use of this opportunity for 50,000 people to say tehillim together.

“This will (be considered in Heaven) as though a billion people are saying tehillim (psalms), and this will certainly stop the tillim (rockets).

“Only tehillim can stop the tillim – not the IDF, not weapons, not tanks, not Patriot missiles, no Iron Dome – none of these things can stop the missiles. Only the tehillim that we will say at this Prayer Gathering can stop the missiles.

“And in the merit of this, everyone will have a long life, like Yitzchak, in the merit of participating in this Prayer Gathering.

“There is also an obligation to donate to help defray the expenses [of hiring the buses], 1,500 shekels, because hundreds of buses will be needed. And the Rav will of course be coming, without doubt.

“The whole of Am Yisrael is invited to come to the Prayer Gathering, and to finish the book of Tehillim, and this will erase Hamas from the face of the earth.”

PS: December 10th: 

I managed to attend, arriving just on time after my return from "the other side" ( Arameic translation: the Sitra Achra - we know what that is! ) literally, i.e. Rome. It was an awesome event! I don't believe close to 50,000 attended, but still it was a very large and significant crowd easily in the thousands. After 100 or so Tehillim were recited by a Chazan, the Rav arrived, lit the Chanukah Menorah, and then the singing and dancing began: wow, what joy, what energy, what enthusiasm, what uplifting and extraordinary music: it felt just like Meron on Lag Baomer! I was delighted that they even managed to sing Bar Yochai songs; I absolutely loved the Atzeret, and so did everybody present. After that the Rav led a Tikkun Klali and some prayers, and then people started home - it was about 4:00 AM. To say I was happy I went is an understatement, although I have to make it clear I am not one of those (very special) women walking around looking like nuns, and probably never will be. Still, I appreciated the event very much. Specially, the fact that it was in Hevron made it so much more powerful; there is no way to deny it: Hevron has an energy all its own which makes things deep, intense, joyful and amazing. So, get ready for next Chayei Sarah, or, if you are in a hurry, Pessach!.... Hopefully with the Rav too, B"H; he magnifies the power of Hevron multifold, just watch the video below and I am sure you will agree with me: what a great union, a Yichud mamash, a Chibbur as in "Hevron"!

DS

See here the video of the event starting from the lighting of the Chanukah Menorah by the Rav: didn't he actually bring Meron and the light of Kabbalah to Hevron? Amazing.

UPDATE,  December 11th: :

Do you trust Rabbi Glazerson's work with Torah codes? Is he a respected Talmid Chacham? Do you mock his discoveries or don't you? If not, then look at what I just stumbled upon, then make up your own mind: unbelievable! I wonder what the relationship is between the two Rabbanim.

You just never know: the Hand of God leads one from minute to minute. I was looking around, ready for a nice, interesting YouTube program.... and found this, and the one above... can we understand Hashem's ways???


DS

UPDATE December 24, 2018, midnight Israel time, going on December 25th - interesting timing - just as the goyim are lighting their own lights and candles to worship their idol!

I had an interesting insight, looking at my Hevron calendar coming from the Jewish community of Hevron;  they had the intuition to add this year, as a passuk at the bottom of the page of the month of Tevet, the following Zohar ( Zohar Chadash):

"Why is Hevron called Kiryat Arba ( the City of the Four)? That name is based on the FOUR ELEMENTS: Fire, Air, Water and Earth /Dust"

Well, to think of it ( I should know, I live here!), at this season, in the depth of winter, in Kiryat Arba-Hevron, we have plenty of air ( strong winds), plenty of water ( plentiful rains, specially this year), and plenty of dust ( we constantly have to battle dust here, coming from the desert). What we don't have is FIRE. 

Of course Chanukah brought the element of fire with its lighting of the Menorah. 

But what Rav Berland did, in effect, by lighting the Menorah here on Zot Chanukah, is bring his own fire - he has plenty of fire! - , the light of the Zohar, the fire of Meron, and the greatest oil lighting/fire of Chanukah to the Mearah. That was the element missing, and Rav Berland COMPLETED the four elements with his august presence. That was truly a kabbalistic Yichud in my understanding. He brought the missing heat, the missing light, the exaltation - just listen to the music and look at the lights!!!! to cold, wet, stormy Hevron. In effect he fulfilled the essence of Kiryat Arba-Hevron, the City of the Four.  It is a principle that whatever happens in Yerushalayim has to first happen in Hevron. So who knows, maybe by "completing" Hevron he made it possible for Yerushalayim in turn to reach completion?

.... And just today we heard that we will have new elections. Will Mashiach be the next ruler of Israel??

Thank you, Rav Berland!