ANT KATZ

SAJR Online has continued to follow all the goings-on among the Shubu Banim Breslovs and Rabbi Eliezer Berland. Jewish Report spoke to followers in Israel and Zimbabwe and was exposed to a strange and spurious story about a mysterious “Chabad Rabbi” and his dreams.

While the followers of R. Berland have been less visible over the past week, SAJR has received several complaints from people – all relating to two issues:

• The concerns of Bedford View residents about begging in the area where many of the Shubu Banim followers are living in a warehouse filled with mattresses on pallets; and
• Young Children begging from shoppers leaving Pick n Pay Fairmount at Genesis.

SAJR spoke to a senior follower in Jerusalem, Yossi* about reports of festivities that reportedly took place over the weekend and rumours that R. Berland had conducted multiple marriages among his followers. Yossi was unaware of any chupas, and suggested the reports were likely of bonfires that were lit for Lag B’Omer.

Berland’s followers, said Yossi, were “trying to keep away from local people” and not make a nuisance of themselves. Yossi says the word at the Yeshiva in Israel is that R. Berland will be leaving South Africa in the next three weeks – either for Israel or Zimbabwe. He seemed quite certain of this but would not divulge any further information.

Jewish Report Online also spoke to Yaron Yamin in Zimbabwe who, in an exclusive interview with SAJR last week (SEE: Who is Yaron Yamin?) said that he had almost completed building a house for Rabbi Berland outside Bulawayo and that progress was being made on the building of a new Yeshiva. Yamin promised to send pictures but had not done so by the time of going to print.

The spurious story of the friendly Chabad Rabbi

Yossi mentioned that there was a Chabad Rabbi in Joburg whom he said he had personally spoken to after hearing that “Rabbi Kinn” had been doing his best to help the followers with food. He said he had spoken personally to Rabbi Kinn.

SAJR has been unable to trace any Rabbi Kinn on the web or through Chabad SA. There is a Rabbi Kin (with one ‘n’ in the US) and the following story should therefore be read with circumspect. It was posted on Tuesday 20 May the on the RABBI BERLOV BLOG and has been posted verbatim.

The dream by Rabbi Kinn

Rabbi Kinn, a Chabad Rabbi who moved a few years ago from London to Johannesburg, came to the students of Rav Eliezer Berland Shlit”a on Shabbat after Pesach in Johannesburg and brought with him kugels, 2 large chulents, and other food to feed all the hungry chassidim who were there. Two days later a few avreichim met him on the road and he told them the following story which explains why he was so devoted to go out of his way and help a group of total strangers:

“At the beginning of this year, starting from the second day of Rosh Hashana I had a dream which repeated itself many times over, every couple of days I would have the same dream, this lasted up until Chanukah.

In the dream I saw that suddenly there arrives in Johannesburg from some other country families of Chassidim, men, women and children, the men have long peyos, beards and wear shtriemels. I didn’t know what kind of Chassidim they were but I was sure they weren’t from Chabad because they had peyos and wore streimels and racalach. I saw in the dream that when they arrive they are greeted with much opposition, they faced problems with the Government, with immigration, with the Rabbonim, and with the Beis Din… There was much confusion going about… I saw, however that from within this confusion and turmoil will come Moshiach, that these are events that must come about before the coming of Moshiach, that these Chassidic Jews will come to Johannesburg before the coming of Moshiach.

The dream really disturbed me, I felt great pain for these families, and the chillul hashem really bothered me. I didn’t want to dream it again and tried to brush it out of my mind, but the dream kept occurring on a regular basis. Finally around Chanukah time I said to myself that if this dream comes true I promise to help these Chassidim in every way possible and to get others to help. The day I said this, the dream stop coming.”

Rabbi Kinn also told them that before the falling of the twin towers in New York he dreamt many times that it will happen, but he didn’t know where and when it will happen. So when the first plane hit the first tower he told those surrounding him that in a half hour a second plane will hit the second building – and so it was…

When we corresponded with Rabbi Kinn and asked his permission to publicize the story he asked to relay a message, that us religious Jews are responsible for everything that transpires in the world, not the Tinokot Shnisbu. It is how we treat each other that make the positive or chas vasholom negative impact on the world.

*The followers of Rabbi Berland only go by their first names

Follow the story on Jewish Report Online

• 14 MAY: The Rabbi who keeps being mis-identified as R. Berlov
• 14 MAY: Berlands to settle & build new Yeshiva in Zim?
• 13 MAY: SAJR EXCLUSIVE: Who is Yaron Yamin? Berland’s Zimbabwean funder
• 11 MAY: What it took to accuse Rabbi of harassment – Reader Comment
• 08 MAY: Index to all related stories on SAJR Online
• 08 MAY: Chareidi world divided over Berland – Reader Comment
• 06 MAY: Rebbetzen Tahila Berland flies into Joburg
• 05 MAY: See Rav. Berland’s FACEBOOK PAGE and ENGLISH WEBSITE
• 04 MAY: First video of Yaron & Berland leaving Zim
• 30 April: First video of Rabbi Berland in Joburg -Reader
• 30 April: Minutes before the Hawks came calling
• 30 April: The Big Breslev Brouhaha Continues
• 29 April: “The day I was called a Nazi” -Reader
• 28 April: Breslev: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – TOP READ
• 27 April: 8-Page feature article in MISHSHPACHA – PDF
• 25 April: Uproar in Joburg Jewry: by Ant Katz & Robyn Sassen
• 24 April: Religious leaders must be consistent -Reader
• 24 April: Breslov ‘shopper’ says thanks to SA Jewry
• 24 April: Sackstein roasts Sevitz over Breslovs & Pesach
• 23 April: Fugitive Rabbi, followers, cause uproar
• 23 April: Did you hear the one about…?
• 23 April: Vid of R. Berland & Co’s Purim bash
• 23 April: Secrecy & silence leave community confused
• 23 April: Ant’s speculative Op-ed and what to expect
• 23 April: “Chasidic kids need stable environment” -Reader
• 23 April: “Kids need stable environment” -Reader
• 19 April: “Some One” posts dissenting view
• 14 April: Chief Rabbi: Don’t shelter Berland
• 14 April: Goldstein calls for protest