HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch broke down in intense tears following Selichos after midnight, delivering an emotional and deeply troubling message ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Those present said the emotion displayed by HaRav Shternbuch was highly unusual, with even those close to him breaking down in tears as he spoke about the difficult situation facing Klal Yisroel.

“Let us return to Hashem, because the time is difficult and our troubles have multiplied, and we do not know what will be,” HaRav Shternbuch cried.

He then repeatedly called out to the Ribono Shel Olam as a father pleading for his children.

“Father, Father, Father! Return to us! How much longer will we have to suffer? You told us that we are Your children, and a father does not abandon his children. Please, do not abandon us!”

HaRav Shternbuch continued by acknowledging the failings of Klal Yisroel while pleading for Hashem’s forgiveness.

“It is true, we sinned before You with brazenness and defiance and did not listen to the voice of the holy Creator, but You are our Father. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will help and forgive us, because it is the way of a father to forgive his son, and You will forgive us because we are Your children.”

His voice filled with emotion as he then issued a particularly ominous warning.

“Rabbosai! The situation is not good! I am not permitted to speak, and I will not speak, chas v’shalom, but the situation is bitter, bitter, bitter, bitter!”

HaRav Shternbuch warned of attempts to spiritually uproot Klal Yisroel and transform the Jewish people into a nation like all others.

“They want to completely uproot us from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. They want us to be a nation like all the nations, a people like all the peoples — and regarding this Hakadosh Baruch Hu said that what enters your minds will not happen. It will not happen!”

He concluded with another anguished plea, warning that Klal Yisroel is living through a dangerous period.

“This is a time of troubles. Hakadosh Baruch Hu should help us and have mercy on us, and help us get through this.”

The extraordinary scene left those present shaken as HaRav Shternbuch continued weeping, just days after he similarly broke down during Selichos in Beit Shemesh while warning about the tragedies, wars and gezeiros that have struck Klal Yisroel over the past year.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)