GetWiki

{{Short description|Hasidic rabbi (1772–1810)}}{{distinguish|text= Nachmanides, a 13th Century sage}}

factoids

Nachman's religious philosophy revolved around closeness to God and speaking to God in normal conversation "as you would with a best friend". The concept of hitbodedut is central to his thinking.

Biography

{{See also|Baal Shem Tov family tree}}Nachman was born on April 4, 1772 (Rosh Chodesh of Nisan) into a family of central figures in Hasidism in the town which was then Międzybóż in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now Medzhybizh in Ukraine. At first, he refused his role of carrying on his familial tradition of being leaders of Hasidism. Green- Nahman of Bratslav- Encyclopedia of ReligionNachman's mother, Feiga, was the daughter of Adil (also spelled Udel), daughter of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidic Judaism. His father Simcha was the son of one of the Baal Shem Tov's disciples after whom Nachman was named, Nachman of Horodenka (Gorodenka) who was a seventh-generation lineal descendant of Judah Loew ben Bezalel.WEB,weblink mytzadik.com, he, he:רבי נחמן מהורודנקא, Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka, Aug 16, 2016, {{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Nachman had two brothers, Yechiel Zvi and Yisroel Mes, and a sister, Perel.Until the Mashiach, p. 2.At the age of 13, he married Sashia, daughter of Rabbi Ephraim, and moved to his father-in-law's home in Ossatin (Staraya Osota today). He acquired his first disciple on his wedding day, a young man named Shimon who was several years older than he was.Until the Mashiach, p. 7.In 1798–1799, he traveled from the territory of Ukraine to the land of Israel, where he visited Hasidim living in Haifa, Tiberias, and Safed. He arrived in Galilee right in the middle of Napoleon’s battle with the Turks. This journey, which he saw as a private rite of passage, was often looked back on as a source of inspiration for him. In Tiberias, his influence brought about a reconciliation between the Lithuanian and Volhynian Hasidim.Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom: His Pilgrimage to the Land of Israel #19. On his return from Israel, he was ready to assume the mantle of leadership in Hasidism, which he did in a highly selective manner. In his early years of leadership, he made each disciple confess all of his sins to him, as well as participate in a daily hour-long conversation with God. Green- Nahman of Bratslav- Encyclopedia of Religion Shortly before Rosh Hashana 1800, Nachman moved to the town of Zlatopol.

Moves to Bratslav and Uman

File:Bratsalv.jpg|thumb|180px|right|River in BratslavBratslavIn 1802, Nachman moved to the town of Bratslav, also known as "Breslov" and "Bracław".Tzaddik #12.His move to the town of Breslov brought him into contact with Nathan Sternhartz, a 22-year-old Torah scholar in the nearby town of Nemirov.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} Sternhartz recorded all of Nachman's formal lessons as well as transcribing his work Likutey Moharan.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} After Nachman's death, Sternhartz recorded informal conversations he and other disciples had had with Nachman, whose works he published with his own commentaries on them.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}}Nachman and his wife Sashia had six daughters and two sons. Two daughters died in infancy and the two sons both died within a year and a half of their births. Their surviving children were Adil, Sarah,In August 2021 Sarah's grave was descecrated with pig Bones (Israel National News) Miriam, and Chayah.Until the Mashiach, pp. 330-341. Sashia died of tuberculosis in June 1807,Until the Mashiach, p. 140. and the next month Nachman became engaged to a woman named Trachtenberg. Right after the engagement, Nachman contracted tuberculosis.Until the Mashiach, pp. 143-144.In 1810, after a fire destroyed Nachman's home, a group of maskilim (Jews belonging to the Jewish enlightenment movement) living in Uman invited him to live in their town, and provided housing for him as his illness worsened.Tzaddik #114. Nachman died of tuberculosis at the age of 38 in the early autumn on the fourth day of Sukkot 1810, and was buried in the local Jewish cemetery.Until the Mashiach, pp. 204-206.Based on the frequent fluctuations and changes in Nachman's mood, scholars have suggested that he suffered from severe depressionArthur Green, בעל הייסורים: פרשת חייו של ר' נחמן מברסלב, Afekim Library, Am Oved Publishing, pp. 79, 91 , 163–164, 172, 175.Joseph G. Weiss, מחקרים בחסידות ברסלב, Bialik Institute, Jerusalem, p. 164 and from bipolar disorder.H. Daum and A. Hartman, נפש יהודית, Israel 2017, pp. 235-236Ada Rapoport-Albert's article "קטנות, פשיטות ואיני יודע" which appears in her book "חסידים ושבתאים, אנשים ונשים", page 122

Pilgrimage tradition

File:Nahmantomb.JPG|225px|right|thumb|The synagoguesynagogueAfter Nachman's death Sternhartz instituted an annual pilgrimage to his gravesite on Rosh Hashana, called the Rosh Hashana kibbutz, which drew thousands of Hasidim until 1917, when the October Revolution forced it to continue clandestinely. Only a dozen or so Hasidim risked making the annual pilgrimage during the Communist era. During Perestroika in the Soviet Union in 1989, the gates were reopened. In 2008, approximately 25,000 people from all over the world participated in this annual pilgrimage."Hasidic Jews celebrate holiday in Uman" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514065924weblink|date=2010-05-14}} Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 2008-10-02. Retrieved 31 July 2009.

Teachings

Nachman rejected the idea of hereditary Hasidic dynasties, and taught that each Hasid must "search for the tzaddik ('saintly/righteous person')" for himself—and within himself. He believed that every Jew has the potential to become a tzaddik.Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #26. He emphasized that a tzaddik should magnify the blessings on the community through his mitzvot. However, the tzaddik cannot "absolve" a Hasid of his sins, and the Hasid should pray only to God, not to the rebbe. The purpose of confiding in another human being is to unburden the soul as part of the process of repentance and healing.In his early life, he stressed the practice of fasting and self-castigation as the most effective means of repentance. In later years, however, he abandoned these severe ascetisms because he felt they may lead to depression and sadness. He told his followers not to be "fanatics". Rather, they should choose one personal mitzvah to be very strict about, and do the others with the normal amount of care.Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #235.He encouraged his disciples to take every opportunity to increase holiness in themselves and their daily activities. For example, by marrying and living with one's spouse according to Torah law, one elevates sexual intimacy to an act bespeaking honor and respect to the God-given powers of procreation. He urged everyone to seek out their own and others' good points in order to approach life in a state of continual happiness. He stressed living with faith, simplicity, and joy. He encouraged his followers to clap, sing and dance during or after their prayers to bring them to a closer relationship with God. He taught that his followers should spend an hour alone each day, talking aloud to God in his or her own words, as if "talking to a good friend". This is in addition to the prayers in the siddur. Breslover Hasidim still follow this practice today, which is known as hitbodedut (literally, "to make oneself be in solitude"). Nachman taught that the best place to do hitbodedut was in a field or forest, among the natural works of God's creation. He emphasized the importance of music for spiritual development and religious practice.AZAMRA!Likutey Moharan I, 282 weblink {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001093309weblink|date=2013-10-01}}. Cf. Nigun.

Controversy

In 1816, Joseph Perl wrote a denunciation of Hasidic mysticism and beliefs, in which he criticized many of the writings of Nachman, who had died six years earlier. Austrian imperial censors blocked publication of Perl's treatise, fearing that it would foment unrest among the empire's Jewish subjects.{{cn|date=January 2023}}During his lifetime Nachman also encountered opposition within the Hasidic movement itself from people who questioned his new approach. Eventually nearly the entire Jewish population of Zlatipol opposed Nachman, leading him to relocate to Breslov in 1802.Kaplan, Aryeh. Until The Mashiach; Rabbi Nachman's Biography: An Annotated Chronology. (Breslov Research Institute, no location listed, 1985), pp. 60-62. (Kaplan cites Chayay Moharan 27b #11 and #114.) The same story is referenced also in Kramer, Chaim. Through Fire and Water: The Life of Reb Noson of Breslov. (Breslov Research Institute, New York/Jerusalem, no date listed), pp. 31-32.Nachman believed at one time that he was the Messiah,Paul Kriwaczek, Yiddish Civilisation, Vintage Books, (a division of Random House), © 2005, p. 263: "Nachman of Bratslav, was for a time convinced that he had been chosen as the Messiah." and should be recognized as suchweblink "Rabbi Nachman's personal messianic pretensions emerge loud and clear from various remarks attributed to him in his lifetime... Rabbi Nachman regarded himself as having all the necessary qualifications to be the Messiah. What kept him from fulfilling his messianic potential was a lack of recognition."

Published works

{{wikisource|Author:Nachman of Breslov}}Reb Nachman's Torah lessons and stories were published and disseminated mainly after his death by his disciple, Reb Noson:

• Likutey Moharan ("Collected Teachings of Our Teacher, Rabbi Nachman") (vol. i., Ostrog, 1808; vol. ii., Moghilev, 1811; vol. iii., Ostrog, 1815)—Hasidic interpretations of the Tanakh, Talmud and Midrashim, Zohar, etc. This work has been completely translated to English and annotated in fifteen volumes by Rabbis Chaim Kramer and Moshe Mykoff of the Breslov Research Institute.
• Sefer HaMidotRabí Najmán de Breslov EL LIBRO DEL ALEF-BET Sefer HaMidot (El Libro de los Atributos) - Rabí Najmán de Breslov. El Libro del Alef-Bet (Sefer HaMidot - Versión Completa): Aforismos del Rebe Najmán sobre la Vida Espiritual Breslov Research Institute, Jerusalem/New York 2017 (The Aleph-Bet Book) (Moghilev, 1821)—a collection of practical advice gleaned from Torah sources, presented as epigrams or maxims and arranged alphabetically by topic.Sears, Dovid (2010). Breslov Pirkey Avot. Jerusalem:Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|978-1-928822-16-5}}. p. 36.
• Tikkun HaKlali ("General Remedy")—Reb Nachman's order of ten Psalms to be recited for various problems, plus commentary by Reb Noson. Published as a separate book in 1821.
• s:Translat (Tales of Rabbi Nachman or Rabbi Nachman's Stories) (n.p., 1816)—13 story tales in Yiddish and then translated in to Hebrew and that are filled with deep mystical secrets. The longest of these tales is The Seven Beggars,WEB,weblink The Story of the Seven Beggars, by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Yeshivat Shuvu Bonim, 10 December 2010, 2000, which contains many kabbalistic themes and hidden allusions. Several fragmentary stories are also included in Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's translation of the complete tales, Rabbi Nachman's Stories.
• Sichot HaRan ("Talks of Rabbi Nachman"): Compilation of the central teachings of Rabbi Nachman, comprising 308 "sichas", mainly presented as anecdotes, concerning Hassidic philosophy and the Service of God, and providing background and remarks re earlier teachings. See the Hebrew article: (:He: שיחות_הר"ן) Originally an appendix to Sippurei Ma'asiyot.

Another mysterious document that Reb Nachman dictated to Reb Noson is the Megillat Setarim ("Hidden Scroll"), which was written in a cryptic combination of Hebrew initials and brief phrases. Prof. Zvi Mark has researched and attempted to decipher this document, based on disclosures from prominent members of the Breslov community. His findings have been published in Hebrew and in English translation, along with facsimiles of discrepant manuscript copies.

Destroyed writings

Nachman also wrote but then destroyed Sefer HaGanuz ("The Hidden Book") and the Sefer HaNisraf ("The Burned Book"). He told his disciples that these volumes contained deep mystical insights that few would be able to comprehend. He dictated the Sefer HaNisraf to Sternhartz, who said that he did not understand it at all and that "What I do remember is that it spoke about the greatness of the mitzvah of hospitality and preparing the bed for a guest".Siach Sarfei Kodesh I-699, quoted in Through Fire and Water, p. 144. Nachman never showed the Sefer HaGanuz to anyone, and in 1808 he burned all the copies of the Sefer HaGanuz and the Sefer Ha-nisraf.Tzaddik #66.Nachman first ordered the two manuscripts of the book Sefer HaNisraf to be destroyed in a bargain for his life during a phase of his tuberculosis which preceded his death by two years.BOOK, Greenbaum, Avraham, Tzaddik, 1987, Breslov Research Institute, New York/Jerusalem, 0-930213-17-3, 77, He believed that the illness was a "punishment from the upper-world--for writing a book".BOOK, Kamenetz, Rodger, Burnt Books, 2010, Nextbook/Schocken, New York, 9780805242577, 79, Two years later, from his deathbed, he ordered a chest full of his writings to be burnt. On the evening of the last day of his life, Rabbi Nachman gave his disciples the key to a chest. "As soon as I am dead," he told them, "while my body is still lying here on the floor, you are to take all the writings you find in the chest and burn them. And be sure to fulfill my request."

Quotes

• "It is a great mitzvah to be happy always."Likutey Moharan II, 24.
• "If you believe that you can damage, then believe that you can fix."Likutey Moharan II, 112.
• "Gevalt!!! Never give up hope! There is no despair.""Likutey Moharan" II, 78.
• "When a person realizes that he is on a very low level and far from God, this itself is a reason to feel encouraged. Before this, he was so far from God that he did not even know it. Now at least he knows it, and this itself is a sign that he is drawing closer.""Likutei Moharan" II, 68.
• "Worldly desires are like sunbeams in a dark room. They seem solid until you try to grasp one."Sichot HaRan 6.
• "It is very good to pour out your heart to God as you would to a true, good friend."Kochavey Ohr, Anshey Moharan 4.
• "You are never given an obstacle you cannot overcome."Likutey Moharan II, 46.
• "The essence of wisdom is to realize how far from wisdom you are."Likutey Moharan II, 83.
• "All the sages of Israel are in my estimation like a garlic peel."Chayey Moharan 290.
• "Wherever I go, I'm always going to Israel."WEB,weblink Crash Course in Jewish History 62: Return to the Land of Israel, Spero, Ken, 26 January 2002, 10 December 2010, Aish HaTorah, aish.com,
• "Know that [when] a person needs to cross a very, very narrow bridge, the general principle and main point is not to make oneself at all terrified."Likutey Moharan Part II, 48:2. This saying, adapted as "The whole world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is not to be at all afraid", has been set to music in Hebrew as the song "Kol Ha'Olam Kulo" (MIDI: weblink) (MP3: weblink {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825162412weblink|date=2006-08-25}})

See also

• Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman
• Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev

• The Rooster Prince

References

{{reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

• Green, Arthur (1992). Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav. Jewish Lights Publishing. {{ISBN|1-879045-11-7}}
• Greenbaum, Avraham (1987). Tzaddik: A Portrait of Rabbi Nachman. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|0-930213-17-3}}
• Kaplan, Aryeh (1973). Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute.
• Kaplan, Aryeh (2005). The Seven Beggars: & Other Kabbalistic Tales of Reb Nachman of Breslov (Nahman, Nachman). Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publications for the Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|1-58023-250-7}}
• Kaplan, Aryeh (1985). Until the Mashiach: The Life of Rabbi Nachman. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute.
• Kramer, Chaim (1989). Crossing the Narrow Bridge. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|0-930213-40-8}}
• Kramer, Chaim (1992). Through Fire and Water: The Life of Reb Noson of Breslov. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|0-930213-44-0}}.
• Levine, Rabbi Menachem Article on Aish:weblink
• Sears, Dovid (2010). Breslov Pirkey Avot. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|978-1-928822-16-5}}.
• Mykoff, Moshe (2003). 7th Heaven. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing, with the Breslov Research Institute. {{ISBN|1-58023-175-6}}

External links

{{Wikisource author}}About Rabbi Nachman

• Who is Rebbe Nachman ?
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130621013714weblink">The Essential Rabbi Nachman

Publishers

• NaNachNation.org
• NaNach.org Information Site
• Breslov Research Institute
• Who Was Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav? by Dr. Henry Abramson

Works

• Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and his Stories
• {{IMSLP|id=Naḥman}}

{{Authority control}}