Rav Nir Ben-Artzi Upsets Breslavers

Rabbi Nir Ben-Artzi is upsetting the Breslavers.

In Ben-Artzi's latest round of predictions, he has an interesting set of updates. Rav Nir Ben-Artzi is specifically predicting the coming destruction of Turkey.

Among the recent predictions:

• Turkey will soon be destroyed. Expect a major earthquake with many killed and major destruction.
• Even if Turkey sends 20 ships to destroy Eretz Yisrael, God forbid, within minutes Israel will destroy all of them.
• Within 12 months all the holy and righteous in chutz laaretz will come to Israel, to daven by the Me'aras HaMachpela.
• The Americans will at some point allow Israel to bomb the Iranian nuclear reactor.
• Israel will discover great stores of wealth of oil beneath the ground. Israel will be protected while the evil around the world comes apart and the world goes crazy
• Anybody who leaves his family and travels to daven in chutz laaretz is causing shame to Eretz Yisrael. Rosh Hashana is not the time to leave one's family - one should be with his wife and children, and definitely not leave Eretz Yisrael. No tzaddik ever said to leave eretz yisrael in order to come to him in chutz laaretz for Rosh Hashana.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky agrees with Rav Ben-Artzi that Eretz Yisrael is safe. A yeshiva bochur who was considering traveling to Eretz Yisrael to learn in yeshiva was considered with the threat of the upcoming intifada and general uprising that looks like it might be coming. His rosh yeshiva when recently in Israel went to rav Kanievsky and asked how to approach the issue.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky's response was in every generation they try to destroy us, yet Hashem rescues us from their plans. There is nothing to be concerned about from various threats. You can tell the bochur not to worry, he can come to learn Torah in Eretz Yisrael.

While Rav Nir Ben-Artzi did not say so explicitly, it seems obvious he is criticizing the Breslavers who travel to Uman for Rosh Hashana, leaving their families behind.

There is what to be said for such a position. Besides for the family issue, there are plenty of tzaddikim buried in Eretz Yisrael that one could daven by, let alone the concept of going to a real shul, and you could even find one with tzadikim that are alive, or one could even go to the Kotel to daven.

It seems real followers of Breslav have less of an issue with going - they follow Breslav completely, so in a sense they are following their rebbe, even though he is dead. However, many non-Breslavers, or casual Breslavers, have been increasingly going in recent years. While people can do whatever they want and it does not bother me, and you can say at least they are going somewhere to daven rather than traveling places to go on tiyulim, do drugs, let loose, etc, still, there is what to be said for the idea that it might be better to stay in Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Shalom Arush, one of the leading rabbonim in Breslav, responded in a radio interview to Rav Nir Ben-Artzi's comments by saying "according to halacha it is perfectly ok to travel to chutz laaretz to daven on graves of tzaddikim. The graves of tzaddikim have the holiness of eretz yisrael. Rav Nachman knew what he was saying. Who is great like him that can say otherwise?"

So, what to do? go? don't go? each person will continue making his own decision... and, like everything else,  each person can find a rav that supports doing what he wants to do.