Speaking during a moving bein hametzarim shiur, member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein urged listeners to reflect on the tzaar haShechinah and shared remarkable personal memories from his youth in Yerushalayim during Israel’s War of Independence, describing open miracles that he says continue to strengthen his emunah to this day.

Addressing the challenge of mourning the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash nearly 2,000 years later, Rav Zilberstein asked, “People ask me, how is it possible to mourn something that happened 2,000 years ago? How can a person mourn today? Certainly one must cry, but how can a young bochur today cry over events that took place so long ago?”

He then recalled the well-known story of Napoleon passing a shul on Tishah B’Av and finding Jews sitting on the floor in mourning.

“As is well known, it is told that Emperor Napoleon passed by a shul on Tishah B’Av and saw people sitting on the floor crying. He asked what was happening, and they told him they were mourning the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash. He was amazed and said, ‘A nation that remembers for so long what it has lost is guaranteed to receive it back.'”

Rav Zilberstein explained that the tears shed during bein hametzarim are not only for the destruction itself, but for the pain of the Divine Presence.

“Everywhere you look during bein hametzarim, and on Tishah B’Av, you see talmidei chachamim sitting and crying with all their hearts. Why are they crying? They are crying over the tzaar haShechinah.”

He continued by describing the anguish caused when Jews act contrary to the will of Hashem despite the countless miracles bestowed upon them.

“Look, the Ribono Shel Olam has so much pain. He performs miracles for us that are completely beyond nature, and there are Jews who anger Him מאוד. What does that mean? They do exactly the opposite of what He wants—the opposite.”

“They imprison bnei Torah, and they do things that are the opposite of Hashem’s will. The Kadosh Baruch Hu cries very much. He says, ‘I perform such miracles for them, beyond the natural order, and this is how they behave’… It is truly terrible.”

Rav Zilberstein then reflected on his own childhood during the War of Independence, describing the extraordinary miracles he witnessed firsthand.

“I was a young boy when the State was declared. We lived in Yerushalayim. It was impossible to travel. Seven nations wanted to destroy us, and they were throwing bombs and shells. I was staying with my uncle—my parents were overseas because my mother was ill—and simply walking from my home to my uncle’s house was life-threatening. There was constant gunfire, yet all the children walked. Everyone went to daven.”

“We all stood there crying, ‘B’zochreinu es Tzion.’ We were young. How could we possibly travel back and forth? All of my friends from Yeshivas Etz Chaim went to yeshivah. How did they get there? They told us, ‘Nothing will happen.’ I don’t know whether it was permitted, but nobody asked questions.”

The senior posek also recalled asking his grandfather, the famed tzaddik Rav Aryeh Levin, about his regular visits to patients suffering from leprosy, and later discussing the matter with his father-in-law, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.

“Our grandfather, the great tzaddik Rav Aryeh Levin, as is well known, regularly visited people suffering from leprosy. I asked my father-in-law, the great posek hador, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, how that could have been permitted. Rav Elyashiv answered that generally the public is forbidden from doing so, but Rav Aryeh Levin was permitted… because everything he did was solely for Hashem, without any personal interest whatsoever, with only the honor of Heaven before his eyes.”

Returning to the war years, Rav Zilberstein marveled at the open miracles that protected the city’s residents.

“I don’t understand how we had the strength to walk to yeshivah and back. Seven nations were against us, all armed with tremendous military power. I don’t know how it happened, but one thing I do know—Baruch Hashem, nobody was killed. Everyone kept going. The bullets flew over our heads. Seven nations were against us, seven great and wealthy nations. It instilled tremendous emunah. The children kept walking without hesitation.”

“No one dreamed we would remain alive after everything that happened here. Seven nations were against us, and the Gedolei Yisroel greatly strengthened the people. Today, Baruch Hashem, we are here. These were miraculous miracles. I have never seen miracles like these.”

Concluding his remarks, Rav Zilberstein urged his listeners to recognize that the Jewish people continue to live under extraordinary Divine protection.

“So we must know, my dear friends, that we are living in a reality that is beyond the laws of nature by every measure. If someone had told us back then that one day we would all be sitting here together learning Torah, we would not have believed him… We would have felt like dreamers. We constantly witness the wonders of the Creator. It is beyond belief. Our responsibility now is to serve the Creator, blessed be His Name, with love, unity, and emunah.”