Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov Yahrzeit - 18 Tishrei Burial Place - Uman, Ukraine Rabbi Nachman ben Simcha and Feiga was the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, a grandson of his daughter Adel on his mother's side, and of Nachman of Horodenka on his father's side. He was raised in a chassidic environment. At the age of 14 he was married to the daughter of a wealthy estate leaseholder, in whose house in Husyatyn Nachman of Breslov spent his teenage years. He diligently studied Talmud and Kabbalah, and often fasted for long periods. The nature of Podolia made a deep impression on him, strengthening his religious feeling. After his father-in-law's death, Rabbi Nachman moved to the town of Medvedevka (Kiev province). Rabbi Nachman sought to "restore the crown of Chassidut" and spread this teaching throughout the world. The sharpness of Rabbi Nachman's views and statements provoked a storm of indignation in the chassidic world, which he perceived as an inescapable fate and which became the cause of his deep inner turmoil. In 1798, Rabbi Nachman made a journey to the Land of Israel, for which he had to sell all his possessions and send his daughter into service. Rabbi Nachman visited the holy cities of Israel and devoted much time to the study of Kabbalah. The trip to Eretz Yisrael had an enormous influence on Rabbi Nachman's worldview; he concluded that all his knowledge before this trip was of no significance, and he forbade anyone to cite any of his earlier statements. "I live only in Eretz Yisrael," he later said, "and wherever I travel, I am essentially only traveling to Eretz Yisrael." However, after a few months Rabbi Nachman was forced to leave Eretz Yisrael due to the invasion of French troops. In the summer of 1800 he settled in the town of Zlatopol (Kiev province) and resumed his preaching, subjecting the tzadikim of his time to merciless criticism. Such statements brought down upon Rabbi Nachman the wrath of other chassidic leaders, among whom the popular tzadik Aryeh Leib of Shpola was especially uncompromising. He accused Nachman of Breslov of a tendency toward Sabbateanism. Persecution of Rabbi Nachman and his followers began, forcing him to move to the town of Breslov in Podolia province (now Vinnytsia region). Rabbi Nachman accepted this persecution as inevitable; he said: "How can they not be hostile to me? For I am walking a completely new path, one that no one has ever walked before me... I am not of this world, and therefore the world cannot tolerate me." Numerous chassidim, drawn by the new teaching, flocked to Breslov; however, the tzadikim continued to pursue Rabbi Nachman there as well. Many of his former friends abandoned him, including his uncle Baruch of Medzhybizh, and his friend Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev did not dare to defend him publicly. Having left Breslov in 1810, Rabbi Nachman began wandering from town to town across Ukraine, through which his teaching spread widely. Sensing the approach of his death (he had fallen ill with tuberculosis), Rabbi Nachman stopped in Uman. He told those close to him: "The souls of those who died for their faith are waiting for me" (alluding to the Uman massacre of 1768). He passed away on the festival of Sukkot, 18 Tishrei. His grave in Uman remains to this day a place of pilgrimage for Jews from all over the world.   The Teachings of Rabbi Nachman Tikkun HaKlali His greatest achievement was the discovery of universal rectification through Tehillim – the Tikkun HaKlali (more details here) https://silatehilim.com/тикун-аклали-и-пгам-абрит/   Shir HaShirim Rabbi Nachman once told a person who had someone ill in the family to get up before dawn and recite the entire Song of Songs. The Rebbe said: "Every remedy in the world is contained within the Song of Songs." The man did so, and his relative's health immediately took a turn for the better and was restored. (The Wisdom of Rabbi Nachman 243). Illness is an expression of certain distortions in our relationship with G-d and a call to resolve this problem. Illness arises because a person is suffering with regard to their tachlit, the ultimate purpose of life, which must be known to the person and connected to G-d. (Likutey Moharan I, 268). Prayer is the foundation of our bond with G-d: "Prayer is the primary way of connecting with G-d. It is the gate through which we enter into G-d and come to know Him." (Likutey Moharan II, 84). Prayer is the means of overcoming any deficiency in our relationship with G-d and the primary means of healing. "When a sick person prays for themselves with tears, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will surely heal them and accept their prayer." (Sefer HaAlef-Bet, Prayer No. 64). Rabbi Nachman taught that we must pray for everything we need, including even the smallest things, all the more so when it comes to healing: "G-d is so great that He can send a cure even after someone has already gone to a doctor!" (Siach Sarfey Kodesh I-63) Rebbe Nachman certainly upheld every detail of the Shulchan Aruch, which teaches us to pray whenever we take medicine or receive any other medical treatment. (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 230:4) But even when we hope that a particular treatment will help, in our prayers for healing we must not insist that G-d send salvation specifically in that way. In the words of Rebbe Nachman: "Whenever a person prays, they should never try to force or insist that G-d do exactly what they want from Him. They should phrase their request this way: 'If G-d grants it, good, and if not, so be it.'" (Likutey Moharan I, 20:5). G-d has many ways of helping, and it may be that in His wisdom He knows that true healing will come better through other means. Can we pray for miracles? The Sages say that one should not rely on a miracle (Pesachim 64b), but this does not mean it is forbidden to pray to G-d to grant salvation in miraculous ways. A miracle brings great glory to G-d. As we have seen, נס (a miracle) is a "banner" indicating that "G-d is King over the whole earth": G-d is in control. When our prayers change the course of events, defying the apparent inevitability of nature, this is visible proof that G-d exists and hears prayers. (Likutey Moharan I, 62:6). We learn this from King Chizkiyahu, who said: "Even if a sharp sword is resting on your neck, do not despair of praying for G-d's mercy." (Berachot 10a) No prayer is ever lost. Sometimes people pray for someone to be healed, and that person dies. This does not mean all the prayers were wasted, because G-d receives those prayers and can use them to heal that person's soul in the higher worlds, or for some other purpose. Prayer always works. (From the books of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov) Gratitude for Teshuva to the Great Tzadik In the year 2000, an old-format disc of "Tikkun HaKlali" was played around the clock (there were no smartphones back then) and gave me no rest - what is Tehillim, why does it penetrate the soul so deeply, and who is this tzadik - Rabbi Nachman? The grave of Rabbi Nachman in Uman was our first trip to the graves of tzadikim - in 2008 - having been invited to Georgia (and at that time one could only fly there via Ukraine), we were delighted at such an opportunity and planned the trip. At that time Uman did not have as many hotels and kosher cafes as it does now. But memory has preserved the amazing atmosphere of the prayers - the women prayed until morning, reading the entire book of Tehillim. Everyone we saw at the grave in the evening was still there at dawn - it was our first experience of praying at the graves of tzadikim, and it was overwhelming. Later, in Tbilisi, there was a clear miracle that saved a life. Rabbi Nachman interceded after our prayers. Thanks to Rabbi Nachman, thousands of Jews have made teshuva, precisely through the trip to Uman. Toda Hashem! Toda Tzadik!