Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

A child of holy lineage

Rebbe Nachman was born on Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5532 (4 April 1772) in Medzhybizh, the town of the Baal Shem Tov – according to Breslov tradition, in the very house where the Baal Shem Tov had lived. His mother Feiga was the daughter of Adil, the Baal Shem Tov's daughter, and his father Rabbi Simcha was the son of Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka, one of the Baal Shem Tov's close disciples, after whom he was named. His uncles included the famous Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov, author of Degel Machaneh Ephraim.

Despite this pedigree, Breslov tradition emphasizes how hard the young Nachman worked to reach every spiritual level on his own. As a boy he would visit his great-grandfather's grave at night, pour out his heart to Hashem in Yiddish in the fields, and even pay his teacher extra coins to learn more pages of Gemara. He struggled with temptation and sadness and taught later that anyone, from any starting point, can come close to Hashem.

Marriage and the first disciples

At about thirteen he married Sashia, daughter of Rabbi Ephraim of Ossatin, and moved to his father-in-law's home, where he spent long hours in hisbodedus by the river and in the forests. On his wedding day he met Reb Shimon, who became his first follower and lifelong attendant.

Around the age of eighteen he moved to Medvedevka, where he began to attract followers. Even there he lived much of the time in seclusion, but his reputation as a holy young tzaddik spread.

Journey to Eretz Yisroel

In 1798 he set out on a dangerous journey to the Holy Land, accompanied by one attendant. He arrived in Haifa in the days of Napoleon's campaign in the region, visited Teveria and Tzfas, and met with the Chassidim who had settled there, helping to reconcile groups who were in conflict. He later said that everything he knew he had gained only after that journey.

The voyage home was filled with danger. He passed through the area besieged by the French army around Akko, endured storms at sea and other trials, and returned to Ukraine in the summer of 1799. Breslov sources tell many dramatic stories of this journey.

Zlatipolia, Breslov and Reb Noson

After his return he moved to Zlatipolia, where he faced fierce opposition, notably from the elder tzaddik known as the Shpoler Zeide. In 1802 he settled in the town of Breslov (Bratslav) in Podolia, which gave his Chassidim their name.

Soon after his arrival in Breslov, a young scholar from nearby Nemirov, Reb Nosson Sternhartz, became his disciple. Reb Noson began writing down the Rebbe's lessons and conversations and, after the Rebbe's passing, edited and published almost all of his works. Breslov tradition records the Rebbe saying that without Reb Noson not a page of his teachings would have survived.

Teachings and stories

Rebbe Nachman's teachings, gathered in Likutei Moharan, combine deep Kabbalah with simple, practical advice. He taught that it is a great mitzvah to be happy always, that one must never despair, and that a person should speak to Hashem every day in his own words in hisbodedus. He emphasized simple faith (emunah peshutah), honest teshuvah and the power of a single good point within every Jew.

In the last years of his life he began telling stories, the Sippurei Maasiyos – thirteen long tales such as 'The Lost Princess' and 'The Seven Beggars', filled with layers of hidden meaning. He also instituted the Tikkun HaKlali, a set of ten chapters of Tehillim as a 'general remedy' for the soul.

Suffering, Uman and passing

His family life was marked by grief. Of his eight children, four died young, including his sons Shlomo Ephraim and Yaakov. In 1807 his first wife died of tuberculosis, and that same year he contracted the disease himself. He remarried and continued to teach, publishing the first volume of Likutei Moharan in 1808.

In the spring of 1810, after a fire in Breslov destroyed his home, he moved to Uman, the site of the 1768 massacre of thousands of Jews. He said that he wished to be buried among those martyrs in order to elevate their souls. On Rosh Hashanah 1810 he gave his final lesson, and he passed away in Uman on 18 Tishrei 5571, the fourth day of Sukkos, at the age of 38.

The kibbutz in Uman

Rebbe Nachman did not name a successor, and Breslover Chassidim continue to regard him as their only Rebbe. During his life he had stressed the importance of being with him on Rosh Hashanah, and after his passing Reb Noson organized an annual gathering at his kever. That kibbutz has continued, even in the hardest years under Soviet rule, and today draws tens of thousands of men from around the world each Rosh Hashanah.

His sefarim, translated into many languages, have made his voice of hope, joy and personal prayer one of the most widely heard in the Jewish world today.