Rabbi Nachman ben Yitzchok of Horodenka - talmid of the Baal Shem Tov

  On the 2nd of Tammuz is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Nachman ben Yitzchok of Horodenka - talmid of the Baal Shem Tov - grandfather of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, in whose honor he was named. Yahrzeit - 2 Tammuz Resting place - Tiberias Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka was one of the great talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov (the Besht), and he is quoted many times in the "Degel Machaneh Ephraim," often alongside the Besht. Rabbi Nachman was the son of Reb Yitzchok of Zalkva, who came from a very distinguished lineage. Reb Nachman was a seventh-generation descendant of the Maharal of Prague, a descendant of Rav Hai Gaon, a descendant of David HaMelech. He was also a seventh-generation descendant of Reb Avraham Chaim of Apta, Av Beit Din of Nikolsburg, who was a descendant of the Maharshal, a descendant of Rashi, who was in the 33rd generation a descendant of Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar, a descendant of Raban Gamliel HaZaken, whose lineage traces back to David HaMelech. Some of his other ancestors include the Maharam of Padua, Reb Shaul Wahl, and the Rebbe Naftali Katz, author of "Smichat Chachamim". The sister of Rabbi Yitzchok of Drohobycz (the father of the Zlotchov Maggid – Rabbi Yitzchok, and his father Reb Yosef, were talmidim of the Besht) asked the Besht to find her a good shidduch. The Besht suggested his talmid, Reb Nachman of Horodenka, who agreed to meet, and the shidduch was completed. The Besht asked Reb Nachman what he would give him as payment for arranging this shidduch. When Reb Nachman did not answer, the Besht said that when his daughter Adel would have a daughter, and Reb Nachman a son, they should marry them to each other, and that would be the Besht's payment for the shidduch. Reb Nachman mentioned that he had yichus (lineage) to David HaMelech. The Besht responded by pulling out his own family tree and showing that his yichus also traced back to David HaMelech. Years later, Reb Nachman's son, Simcha, married Feige, the daughter of Adel, and their son became Reb Nachman of Breslov. Reb Nachman of Horodenka traveled to Eretz Yisrael with his son, Reb Shimshon, but returned to Europe, leaving his son in Eretz Yisrael. He desperately wanted to settle permanently in Eretz Yisrael, but the Besht did not permit him to. Once he had such a burning desire to return to Eretz Yisrael that he asked his Rebbe for permission to go back. The Besht told him to first go to the mikveh, and then return to him. After immersing in the mikveh, the Besht asked him: "What did you see during the first immersion?" Reb Nachman answered: "I saw Eretz Yisrael." The Besht asked: "What did you see during the second immersion?" Reb Nachman answered: "I saw Yerushalayim." The Besht asked: "And the third?" Reb Nachman answered: "I saw the place of the Beit HaMikdash." The Besht asked: "And the fourth?" Reb Nachman answered: "I saw the Kodesh HaKodashim, but I did not see the Aron." The Besht answered: "The Aron is in Medzhybizh." Reb Nachman understood that the Besht did not want him to go to Eretz Yisrael, to his son, and he remained with his Rebbe until the Besht passed away. Reb Nachman was one of the talmidim who were with the Besht when he passed away. After the Besht's passing, Rabbi Nachman would regularly come to his resting place and speak with him as though he were still alive. He was able to do this because of his great holiness and his detachment from the materialism of this world, as well as his deep attachment and devotion to his Rebbe. Every time he asked about going to Eretz Yisrael, the Besht answered no. Finally, one time the Besht said he agreed to let him go, and Reb Nachman left dancing and singing: "I am going to Eretz Yisrael - I am going to Eretz Yisrael." He traveled to Eretz Yisrael together with Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Peremyshlyany and other talmidim of the Besht, arriving there on the 12th of Tishrei. (This was possibly in the year 5521.) He fulfilled his longstanding dream of settling in Eretz Yisrael, where he lived out his final days until his passing on Shabbat, 2 Tammuz 5521/1761. He was buried in Tiberias, where his grandson, Reb Nachman of Breslov, later journeyed during his famous trip to Eretz Yisrael. May the zechut of Reb Nachman ben Reb Yitzchok protect us and all of Klal Yisrael. (http://zchusavos.blogspot.com/2007/06/reb-nachman-horedenker-longing-for.html)