Breslov Center

Rabbi Nachman Says… New book by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

2012-01-30T15:06:00.002-05:00

(Click on the image above)

This Tuesday: Parshas ha-Mon

2012-01-30T07:20:00.002-05:00

Received by email from Reb Dovid Friedman

L’iluy Nishmas Ahron ben Dovid Shimon Halevi, z'l - 9 Kislev 5771
L'iluy Nishmas Moshe Chaim, z'l, ben Velvel Berel, n’y - 8 Kislev 5772

Reb Mendel Riminover’s Segulah

There is a well known custom to say Parshas ha-Mon “shnayim mikra v’echad targum” on the Tuesday of Parshas Beshalach. This year the date will be January 31st / 7th of Shevat. The source for this is the great Chassidishe rebbe, Reb Menachem Mendel of Riminov, according to a tradition that goes back to the Shiniva Rov.

Rav Gamliel Rabinovitz, shlita, cautions that just saying Parshas ha-Mon without having emunah is not what was intended. A segulah for parnasa is supposed to bring us to increase our trust in Hashem. The Ramban at the end of Parshas Bo states that one has no share in the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu until he believes that everything that happens is a miracle, and there is truly no such thing as “nature.” The Mechilta says: “The Torah was only given to those who ate mon.” Based on the Ramban, we can understand this to mean that through internalizing the message of Parshas ha-Mon, we can be worthy of having a share in the Torah.

On the one hand, some people say, “What do you need this segulah for? Just daven to Hashem.” On the other hand, others think they can simply recite this Torah passage and they will automatically get rich.

It doesn’t say anywhere that this is a segulah to get rich. Reb Noson of Breslov explains that the main brochah of parnasa is when one accepts whatever one receives from Hashem with ratzon tov; he is same’akh be-chelko; and he has emunah that this is the will of Hashem, and it is all for his good. He explains further that “only this is called ashirus (wealth) and parnasa (livelihood).” If one has great wealth, but doesn’t have a sense of gratification from it, but always worries about his money and is jealous of people who have more than him, etc., then that is not called wealth (Likutey Halakhos, Netilas Yadayim li-Se’udah 6:85).

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that one should ask Hashem for every single thing he needs; nothing is too great or too trivial to daven for. A person has to receive everything through tefillah. Otherwise, although he may get everything he needs without tefillah, he receives it like an animal (i.e., without intellect) (Sichos HaRan 233). If we don’t get what we want, we need to believe that whatever Hashem does is for our best.

Thus, we should recite the segulah of Parshas ha-Mon as a form of tefillah, with emunah and bitachon in Hashem, Who provides us with whatever we need. May we receive everything with simchah and ratzon tov, like a human being—and may all Klal Yisrael be zokheh to parnosa tovah u’rechavah, amen.

The Plague of Darkness

2012-01-27T12:36:00.001-05:00

Received from Rabbi Yitzchok Mordechai Feder of Congregation Aish Kodesh, Woodmere, NY:

Regarding the plague of Darkness, the Torah says: "One man did not see his brother, and no one rose up from his place for three days. But for all Bnei Yisrael there was light in their dwellings."

Rav Gamliel Rabinovitch, shlita, explains this passuk as follows: Because "one man did not see his brother," meaning, that among the Egyptians there was no achdus (unity), therefore, "no one rose up..." They couldn't stand up by themselves, midah k'neged midah ("measure for measure").

"But for all Bnei Yisrael" - indicating that they were united with achdus, all together--"there was light in their dwellings." Even when there was darkness all around, since they had unity, they merited having light in their dwellings!

Kavod HaBriyos / Honoring All Creatures

2012-01-27T08:07:00.004-05:00

Selections from the first chapters of Compassion for Humanity with additional material newly translated for this posting.

Ben Zoma used to say: Who is wise? One who learns from all people … Who is honored? One who honors all people (Mishnah: Avos 4:1).

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[Ben Azzai] used to say: Do not regard anyone with contempt, and do not reject anything, for there is no person who does not have his hour and nothing that does not have its place (Mishnah: Avos 4:3).

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[Rabbi Chaninah ben Dosa] used to say: Whoever is pleasing to his fellow creatures is pleasing to God; but whoever is displeasing to his fellow creatures, God is not pleased with him (Mishnah: Avos 3:10).

Commentary: The Mishnah uses the term “fellow creatures,” not members of one’s own nation, in order to include all humanity and all creatures, whether of one’s own nation or another, whether an individual or a group. Our rabbis have clearly stated that there is no difference in this regard between Jews and non-Jews (Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu Horowitz of Vilna, Sefer HaBris II, 13:6).

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One should always be pleasant to all human beings, hastening to offer them greetings and seeking their honor and benefit to the best of one’s ability. This will cause one to be beloved by others, and inspire them to honor the Torah and its precepts (Rabbi Menachem Meiri, Beis HaBechirah on Berakhos 6b).

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[One should] respect all creatures, recognizing in them the greatness of the Creator who formed man with wisdom, and whose wisdom is contained in all creatures. He should realize that they greatly deserve to be honored, since the Former of All Things, the Wise One who is exalted above all, cared to create them. If one despises them, God forbid, it reflects upon the honor of their Creator.

This may be likened to an expert goldsmith who fashions a vessel with great skill, but when he displays his work, someone begins to mock and scorn it. How angry that goldsmith will be; for by disparaging his handiwork, one disparages his wisdom. Similarly, it is evil in the sight of the Holy One, blessed be He, if any of His creatures is despised.

This is the meaning of the verse, “How many are your works, O Lord” (Psalms 104:24). The Psalmist did not say “how vast” but “how many (rav).” [The Hebrew word rav also denotes importance,] as in the phrase “rav beiso” (Esther 1:8), meaning “of high status.” Since you imbued them all with your wisdom, Your works are important and great, and it befits one to contemplate the wisdom in them and not disparage them (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Tomer Devorah, chap. 2).

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Divine Wisdom gives life to all things, as it is written, “Wisdom gives life to all who possess it” (Ecclesiastes 7:12). Thus, one should instruct the entire world in the ways of life, helping others to attain life in this world and in the World to Come, and providing them with the means of life. As a matter of principle, one should give life to all beings (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Tomer Devorah, chap. 3).

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Love of all creatures is also love of God. For whoever loves the One, loves the works He has made. When one loves God, it is impossible not to love His creatures. [And the converse is true:] If one hates the creatures, it is impossible to love God (Maharal of Prague, Nesivos Olam, “Ahavas Rei’a,” 1).

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All of the commandments between one person and another are included in the precept of loving one’s neighbor (Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu Horowitz of Vilna, Sefer HaBris II, 13:31).

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The root of the obligation to be considerate is our obligation to a person because he is a person (Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, Michtav me-Eliyahu, Vol. IV, p. 246).

New quotes:

If a person inflicts pain on another, it is as though he inflicts pain on the entire world because [man is a small-scale universe]. Everything that exists in the universe is present in man (Avos de-Rabbi Noson 31) (Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid, Sefer Chasidim 44 (300 in English edition); trans. Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Finkel).

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A person who studies the Torah’s laws regarding infectious skin rashes should not spit out in disgust, since this would mean “showing contempt for God’s word” (Numbers 15:31). If he sees people afflicted with skin diseases, he should not demonstrate his loathing, because health and sickness are in the hands of the Creator, and all men are God’s creatures (Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid, Sefer Chasidim 636 (310 in English edition); trans. Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Finkel).

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Human dignity (kavod ha-briyos) is important enough to overrride a negative commandment of the Torah (Talmud: Berakhos 19b).

(This was stated regarding a person who discovers that his outer garment is made of shatnez, a forbidden mixture of wool and linen, while walking in a public place. He is permitted to wear the garment until he can don another, due to kavod ha-briyos. However, we cannot apply this principle indiscriminately.)

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“God said to Moshe [concerning Miriam]: If her father were to spit in her face, would she not be disgraced for seven days? Let her be quarantined outside the camp for seven days…” (Numbers 12:14). The Targum renders “If her father spat in her face…” as “if her father rebuked her.” This is because it is unthinkable that a father would spit on his daughter (see Sifre, ad loc.).

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Concerning the rite of chalitzah, the severance of marital obligations between a man and his widowed sister-in-law, the Talmudic sages did not take the Torah’s words at face value. The Torah states: “Then his brother’s widow shall approach him in the sight of the elders, remove the sandal from his foot, and spit in his face” (Deuteronomy 25:9). The Sifre (ad loc., 159) comments: “Could she literally spit in his face? The verse states ‘in the sight of the elders’—meaning, the spittle can be seen by the elders.” Thus, Rashi (ad loc.) comments that the widow “spits on the ground”—not in his face.

*

The Jewish people in particular—and as a whole—have a special closeness to God, as attested by our having received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Thus, the Jewish people have been empowered to become a “light unto the nations,” when we live up to our Divine mandate.

Rebbe Nachman once said that he sensed heaven’s decrees concerning the Jewish people before other tzadddikm. “The reason for this,” he explained, “is because I know my true lowliness, and as a result I know the great loftiness and holiness of the Jewish people—how precious and exalted they are. For they were drawn from a most awesome and exalted place. This is why I know everything that has been decreed before others.” Reb Noson, who wrote down these remarks, adds: “In the merit of the Rebbe, may God take pity on us and annul all harsh decrees and turn everything to the good” (Chayei Moharan, 276, abridged).

And in the merit of Rebbe Nachman, may we too appreciate “the true greatness and holiness of the Jewish people, and how precious and exalted they are in God’s eyes,” male and female, religious or secular or anywhere in between—as well as all human beings who are created be-tzelem Elokim, in the Divine Image, amen.

The Art of Miriam Shaw

2012-01-24T13:19:00.007-05:00

Miriam Shaw of Prestwich, Manchester, UK, is a gifted multimedia artist, musician, craftswoman and film-maker.

A few years ago, she created a "flash movie" out of one of Rebbe Nachman's stories, "The Lost Princess," based on an illustrated children's version published by the Breslov Research Institute.
She also created a flash movie about the Baal Shem Tov for our Breslov Center.

A few samples of Miriam's wonderful art appears on these web pages:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/miriam-shaw.html

http://miriam-shaw.artistwebsites.com/index.html

http://miridov.filetap.com/

Miriam's art can be purchased online via these sites.

She also is available for commissions.

Please contact her through her art website here.

Remembering the True Goal

2012-01-22T15:11:00.005-05:00

Remembering the True Goal
Reb Noson, Sichot HaRan (English: Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom) #51
Newly translated by Rabbi Ozer Bergman
(c) Breslov Research Institute

This world has no purpose but to draw one towards the eternal goal.

Do not be concerned with whether or not you have money, because either way, your days will pass. The world deceives us completely. It makes a person think that he is constantly profiting, but in the end there is nothing. People spend years in business, but are left empty-handed.

Even one who attains wealth is taken away from it. A person and money cannot endure together. Either the money is taken from the person, or the person is taken from the money.

There has never been an instance of a person remaining with his money.

Where is all the money that people have been making since the beginning of time? People have always been making money—where is it all? It is really absolutely nothing.

“And serving God? I don't know of anyone who can claim that he serves God according to His greatness. Anyone who has an inkling of God's greatness—I don't understand how he can claim to serve God! Not even the highest angels can boast that they truly serve God. The main thing is desire. Always yearn to approach God.

Many want to serve God, but the degrees of desire are not the same. Even an individual's level of desire is constantly fluctuating. The main thing is the will and longing, to yearn for God. From this one prays, studies and keeps His mitzvot.”

(In fact, however, according to God's greatness, all these practices are nothing. They are merely “pretend,” because relative to God's greatness they are a comedy, a farce.)

Sophistication is worthless; only artlessness and simplicity [have value]. Even in one's artlessness, it is forbidden to be foolish. But sophistication is totally unnecessary (Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom, #19).

It is not good to be old (cf. Alim l’Terufah ##210, 255, 276, 350); even to be an old chassid or an old tzaddik is not good. You must renew yourself each day, always making a fresh start. There is something that improves with age—the Talmud teaches that a pig becomes stronger as it grows older (Shabbat 77b).

Reckless abandon, too, is unnecessary.

“I don't consider serving God fanaticism. On the contrary, those who pursue worldly goals and are distant from serving God are the true fanatics. Nevertheless, even what society considers fanaticism—totally abandoning all worldly pursuits to involve oneself solely in Divine worship—is also unnecessary. One can be a kosher person without fanaticism (see Likutey Halakhot, Nikhsey HaGer 3:1).

“Take it from me: Do not let the world fool you. Do not let it deceive you, because no one ever had a happy ending from this world. Every person, even those who acquired all it has to offer, met a bitter fate. The harm and loss is not only theirs, but also of future generations.

“Non-Jews, as well, need to know this: If the world is nothing, what can one do? To answer this, one must have help from on high. But Israel needs no further help, for the Torah has already taught us (see Likutey Halakhot, P’ru u’Revu 3:34).

“The world says there's no need to seek greatness. But I say that you should seek only greatness. Search specifically for the greatest possible tzaddik.” It is already elaborated in his works the necessity for seeking the greatest tzaddik and teacher (see Likutey Moharan I, Lesson #30).

Concerning the passions that unsettle a person: Eating and drinking are bodily necessities. One must likewise beget children This is human necessity, not desire. These are not extravagances, just needs that have to be accomplished in holiness and purity.

The human mind can withstand any temptation because the Blessed Holy One “gives wisdom to the wise” (Daniel 2:21). Every person has the potential of wisdom, but he must develop it. The innate potential alone, without that which God later adds, is sufficient to enable one to withstand all temptations.

One may have succumbed to desire and sinned in many ways. One may have blemished his intellect, making it weak and confused. But one still has some mind, and this alone can overcome all desires. One grain of intelligence can overcome the world and all its temptations.

And wherever one is, one can be near to God. Even if one finds himself in the pit of Hell, God forbid, he can approach God and truly serve Him (Likutey Moharan, Lesson #6; Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom, #302).

Rebbe Nachman said, “For this one needs either God's mercy or tremendous effort or both,” before meriting the settling of the dregs of the mind. Then he will not want anything in this world. Everything will be the same to him.

“When you walk, she will guide you; when you lie down, she will watch over you; when you awake, she will comfort you” (Proverbs 6:22). For “when you walk, she”—the Torah—“will guide you.” “When you lie down”—in the grave”—“she will protect you,” for God and the Torah are in the grave as well. Finally, “when you awake” in the World to Come, “she will comfort you” (Avot 6:9). When one desires only God and His Torah and nothing else, everything is the same to him. Whether he is in this world, the grave or the World to Come he clings to God and His Torah.

But for someone attached to this world, there is a significant difference. This world is broad and spacious; the grave is tight and cramped. But for one with a purified mind, with all the dregs removed, all will be the same.

Ricky Nachman Fahrner's New CD

2012-01-22T15:07:00.002-05:00

This may not be exactly what you'd expect from a Breslover Chasid and semichah candidate, who has been learning in yeshivah for many years and studied under the likes of Reb Michel Dorfman, zal, yibadel bein chaim l'chaim, and was a chavrusa with Rabbi Shimon Shapira, shlita.

You see, Nachman Fahrner has been playing since his childhood (before he made aliyah 12 years ago): 40s and 50s Swing, Blues, and Rockabilly. He describes these styles as his musical "mamaloshn," which he has applied Rebbe Nachman's teachings, particularly that of hisbodedus: speaking to HaShem in one's own words, in Nachman Fahrner's case, playing music as well.

And as you can hear for yourself, he's great at it!

Here's a link to his website and Facebook page:

http://www.fahrnermusic.com/

www.facebook/RickyNachmanFahrner

For a few samples of his music, please visit:
http://www.youtube.com/nachman613

A Thrown Stone

2012-01-19T12:53:00.002-05:00

Submitted to the Breslov Center by email.

Rabbi Dror Moshe Cassouto, a 33-year-old Breslover Hasid, lives with his wife and four sons in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim, one of the centers of Haredi life in Israel. He never looks directly at a woman other than his wife, and he believes that men and women have roles in nature that in modern society have been reversed “because we live in darkness.” His goal is to spread the light. “God watches over the Jewish nation as long as it studies Torah,” he said. Still, the spitting incidents and Nazi talk horrify him. He says hard-liners have caused harm to the Haredim. Asked about the recent troubles, Rabbi Cassouto shook his head and said, "A fool throws a stone into a well and 1,000 sages can't remove it."

The Baal Shem Tov on Ahavas Yisrael

2012-01-18T06:39:00.006-05:00

Drawing of rabbi with Torah by Hyman Bloom

Ahavas Yisrael / Love of the Jewish People

In response to recent news from Eretz Yisrael, we are posting a few excerpts from the opening section of “The Path of the Baal Shem Tov,” with minor modifications. Sources include both early and later Chassidic traditions, including several from Chabad.

Ahavas Yisrael is the first gate which leads to the courtyard of the Creator (Likutey Dibburim II, p. 412).

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The Baal Shem Tov once reproached an itinerant preacher who had delivered a fiery sermon to a group of simple villagers. “How can you speak evil of the Jewish people?” he cried. “All day long a Jew trudges through the marketplace until dusk, when he becomes anxious and says, ‘It’s getting late for minchah (the afternoon prayer).’ So he runs off somewhere to pray and doesn’t even know what he is saying—but nevertheless, the very angels tremble at his words” (Shivchey Baal Shem Tov 128).

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The Maggid of Mezeritch taught: The Baal Shem Tov often used to say that love of the Jewish people is the same thing as love of God. The verse states, “You are children unto the Lord, your God.” When one loves the father, one loves the children (HaYom Yom, p. 81).

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“Israel in whom I will praise Myself…“ (Isaiah 49:3). God cannot be [adaquately] praised—for who can comprehend His Essence? Therefore, God brought the Jewish people into existence in order to praise Himself. Just as a father praises himself because of his children, so does the Holy One, Blessed be He, praise Himself because of Israel (Sefer Baal Shem Tov, Ki Savo 4, citing Kisvey Kodesh).

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“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18)—this is a reflection of the mitzvah, “You shall love the Lord, your God.” When one loves another Jew, he loves the Holy One, blessed be He. For the soul of a Jew is a “portion of God Above,” and when one loves a fellow Jew, he loves his innermost essence. Thus, he loves the Holy One, blessed be He, as well (HaYom Yom 78).

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[God told Avraham: I Look to the heavens and count the stars ... Thus shall be your offspring” (Genesis 15:15). The Baal Shem Tov explained: The stars appear very small, but in heaven they are really very large. The same is true of the Jewish people. In this world, they appear very small. But in the Supernal World, they are really very great (Rabbi Zvi Hirsch of Ziditchov, Beis Yisrael, Lekh Lekha 36, cited in Sefer Baal Shem Tov, Lekh Lekha 27).

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The Baal Shem Tov taught: The Holy One, blessed be He, sends a soul to the world to live seventy or eighty years, just to do another Jew a favor, materially in general or spiritually in particular (Likutey Dibburim, Vol. III, p. 1126, cited in Kesser Shem Tov, Hosafos, 130).

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The Baal Shem Tov said that a heartfelt chapter of Tehillim; the effort expended in doing another Jew a favor, whether material or spiritual; and love of one’s fellow Jew are keys which can unlock the gates to the Heavenly Palaces of mercy, healing, salvation and livelihood (Sefer HaSichos 5700, p. 73, cited in Keser Shem Tov, Hosafos, 127).

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The Baal Shem Tov taught: God loves every Jew as if he were an only child, born to his parents in their old age and even more (Likutey Sichos, Vol. III, p. 982).

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The Baal Shem Tov once said: “When a Jew sighs in compassion for the grief of another Jew, this breaks through even the most impenetrable barriers of those who denounce us Above. And when a Jew enthusiastically shares in another Jew’s rejoicing and blesses him, God receives it like the prayer of Rabbi Yishmael Kohen Gadol in the Holy of Holies” (Sefer HaSichos 5703).

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The entire Jewish people are one. [This collectivity] has a physical aspect (chomer) and spiritual aspect (tzurah). And just as the body needs the soul, so does the soul need the body. Therefore, [one who is in the category of tzurah should not separate himself from [those who are in the category of chomer]; rather, he should bind himself to them and watch over them with a compassionate eye in order to return them to the ways of virtue (Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Kedoshim).

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The Baal Shem Tov once told his disciple, the Rav of Kolomaye (father of the tzaddik, Rabbi Nachman of Kolomaye), “I love the Jew whom you might consider to be the lowest of the low more than you love your only son” (Leket Imrey Peninim 208b).

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“ ‘All nations shall praise you, for yor you shall be a land of delight,’ says the Lord of Hosts” (Malachi 3:12). The Baal Shem Tov taught: Just as the greatest wise men cannot fathom all the treasures of nature with which God has endowed the earth—for everything comes from the earth—similarly, no one can apprehend all the treasures the Jewish people contain; for they are God’s “land of delight.” I would like to enable the Jewish people to yield the kind of produce which God’s “land of delight” can surely give (HaYom Yom, p. 54, cited in Keser Shem Tov, Hosafos 44).

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We have added a teaching that does not come from that the Baal Shem Tov, but from his great-grandson, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. It has been newly translated for this website:

Rebbe Nachman taught: You should always search for whatever merit and good points that may be found in the Jewish people. Judge every person according to the scale of merit—even those who oppose you and scorn you. By doing so, you will constantly be saved from strife. Moreover, through this you will create a “crown” for the Blessed One, adorned with many types of gems [which are the good points] (Likutey Eitzos, Machlokes u-Merivah, 2).

On World Peace

2012-01-17T14:20:00.002-05:00

From “Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition”

The world reflects the original intent of the Creator only when there is peace among all creatures (Midrash: Bamidbar Rabbah 21:1).

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When the Messiah is revealed to Israel, the first thing he will do is establish peace. Thus, it is written: “How welcome upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace” (Isaiah 52:7). (Baraisa: Derech Eretz Zuta, Perek HaShalom).

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Rav Safra, after completing his formal prayers, used to say: “May it be Your will, 0 Lord, our God, to make peace among the Supernal Family and the Lower Family, as well as among the disciples who engage in [the study of] Your Torah (Talmud: Berakhos 16b 17a).

Commentary: “The Supernal Family.” The assembly of angels who preside over the nations of the world. When there is a dispute among the presiding angels in the supernal realm, there immediately ensues a dispute among the nations. Thus, [the angel told the Prophet Daniel], “And now I shall return to engage in battle with the angel of Persia” (Daniel 10:20). “The Lower Family”—the assembly of the wise (Rashi, ad loc.).

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“And Jacob said to them, ‘My brothers, where are you from?’ “ (Genesis 29:4). From here we learn that a person should always include himself with others and address them as “brothers” and “friends.” He should hasten to greet them with greetings of peace. Then the angels of peace and mercy will treat him in similar fashion from above (Midrash HaGadol on Bereshis 29:4).

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Great is peace, for with peace the Holy One, blessed be He, will announce the Redemption of Israel, and with peace He will console Jerusalem (Midrash: Devarim Rabbah 5:15).

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See how beloved is peace: when the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to bless Israel, He could not find a vessel great enough to contain their blessings except for peace (Midrash: Devarim Rabbah 5:15).

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See how great is the power of peace: the Holy One, blessed be He, instructed [Israel] even to address their enemies first with words of peace (Midrash Tanchumah, Shoftim 18).

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“Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15). That is, seek peace in its place; pursue it when it is elsewhere (Jerusalem Talmud: Pe’ah 1:1).

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In the world’s present state, it is permissible to flatter the wicked for the sake of peace (Midrash: Yalkut Shimoni, Vayishlach 133).

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The stones [of the Holy Temple] neither see nor hear, nor do they speak; but, since they make peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven, the Holy One, blessed be He, forbid striking them with iron implements. A person who makes peace between a husband and wife, one family and another, one city and another, one country and another, how much more should he be protected from all harm (Baraisa: Toras Kohanim, Kedoshim 20).

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The purpose of the entire Torah is to establish peace, as it is written, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Talmud: Gittin 59b, citing Proverbs 3:17).

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We must provide livelihood for the non Jewish poor as well as for the Jewish poor; we must visit non Jews when they are sick as well as our fellow Jews when they are sick; and we must attend to the burial of their dead as well as the burial of our own dead; for these are the ways of peace (Talmud: Gittin 61a).

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Elijah the Prophet [the harbinger of the Messiah] will not come to distance people or to draw them closer, but to make peace between them (Mishnah: Eidiyus 8:7).

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Hillel used to say: Be of the disciples of Aaron—love peace and pursue peace, love all creatures and bring them near to the Torah (Mishnah: Avos 1:12).

Midrash: If a person “loves peace and pursues peace” and restores peace, the Holy One, blessed be He, will grant him life in this world and in the World to Come (Baraisa: Derech Eretz Zuta 9, Perek HaShalom).

Commentary: The term “creatures” instead of “people” implies that Aaron would even reach out to individuals whose only redeeming virtue was the fact that God created them (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Likutey Sichos, Kedoshim 5727 / 1967).

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One who repudiates peace, repudiates the Divine name (Zohar III, 176b).

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People might say, “Here is food, here is drink,” but if there is no peace, all else is worthless. The verse states, “And I have given peace to the land” (Leviticus 26:6). This teaches us that peace is equivalent to everything (Baraisa: Toras Kohanim, Bechukosai 1:1).

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[The Torah forbids Jews to cultivate the land of Israel during the Sabbatical Year.] It is permissible to encourage non Jews [engaged in such labors] during the Sabbatical Year, but not Jews. Moreover, it is proper to offer them greetings in order to promote peace (Talmud: Gittin 61a).

Commentary: The Talmud explains that it is forbidden to actually assist them in their labors, but one may encourage them verbally For instance, if one sees non Jews at work in the fields, one may say to them, “May God give you strength,” or “May you be successful,” etc., since they do not transgress in performing such labors. One may offer them greetings on their holidays, even if they are associated with idolatry. One may even greet them with God’s name, as the rabbis state, for “Peace” (Shalom) is one of God’s names (Rabbi Menachem Meiri, ad loc.).

*

A person should always seek peace with his brothers, relatives, and all men, including gentiles in the marketplace, in order that he may be beloved above, well liked below, and acceptable to his fellow creatures. It was said of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai that no one ever preceded him in offering greetings of peace, even a non Jew in the marketplace (Talmud: Berachos 17a).

*

Our Sages taught: One’s mind should always be imbued with fear of God, his speech should be soft, turning away anger, and he should promote peace—with his father, his mother, his teacher, his comrade, and also with the non Jew in the marketplace—that he may be beloved above and well liked below. Thus, he will be favorably received by all creatures, and all his days will be filled with good (Midrash: Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Zuta 1:1).

*

Concerning non Jews, our Sages commanded us to visit their sick, to bury their dead, just as we bury the dead of the Jewish people, and to provide them with livelihood, just as we provide our fellow Jews with livelihood; for these are the ways of peace (Gittin 61a). Thus, the verse states: “God is good to all, and His mercies are upon all His works” (Psalms 145:9). And [of the Torah] it states: “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are of peace” (Proverbs 3:17). (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 10:12).

*

Rabbi Yosef Saragossi, the teacher of Rabbi David Ibn Zimra, was devoted to making peace between men, between husbands and wives, and even between non Jews. Therefore, he merited that the soul of the Prophet Elijah appeared before him [to initiate him into the mysteries of the Torah] (Rabbi Elazar Azkari, Sefer Chareidim 8).

*

To the extent that there is peace in the world, mankind can be brought to serve God with one accord. Because of the peace that exists between people, they are able to enter into dialogue with one another and together think about the purpose of the world and its vanities. They can discuss the truth with one anotherthat ultimately nothing will remain of a person but the preparations he makes for the Eternal World. “Nothing accompanies a man neither silver nor gold nor precious gems nor pearls, but only Torah and good deeds” (Avos 6:9). By realizing this, each person will cast away his false gods of silver and turn to the Creator, His Torah, and Divine service; he will bring himself to the truth. However, when there is no peace, God forbid, or, worse, when there is actual strife, people cannot get together and discuss the ultimate purpose of life. Even when, on occasion, they do meet and talk to one another, [if someone speaks the truth] his words are not heard due to the climate of jealousy, conflict, spite, and disdain. Aggression and the desire to win arguments cannot bear the truth. Thus, the main thing that keeps most people far from the Creator is strife, which has become widespread because of our many sins. May God have mercy upon us (Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Eitzos, Shalom 4; also see Likutey Moharan 1:27).

*

“God is good for everything, and His mercies are upon all His works” (Psalms 145:9).

Commentary: “God is good for everything.”‘ This alludes to prayer. A person who believes in God knows that He is “good for everything”—healing, sustenance, or whatever one needs. Therefore, he will direct his efforts primarily toward God (i.e., through prayer) and not be taken up with various strategies. One who doesn’t believe in God, however, will pursue all sorts of mundane solutions to his problems. For example, if such a person becomes sick, he will pursue all sorts of medical treatments. The herbs required may not be available locally, or the local varieties may be of inferior quality. However, “God is good for everything.” No matter from which ailment one needs to be healed, God is always available.

Prayer leads to universal peace. Thus, the verse concludes, “And His mercies are upon all His works.” [When people turn to God as the ultimate power,] Divine mercy will be drawn forth to all creatures. Consequently, all creatures will have mercy upon one another, and there will be peace among them. As it is written, “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. . . . They shall not harm or destroy” (Isaiah 11:6, 9), for there will be peace between them. Thus, “His mercies are upon all His works.” [In other words, God will instill mercy in the hearts of all creatures, and they will treat each other accordingly.] As our Sages teach, “Whoever shows mercy to God’s creatures is granted mercy from Heaven” (Shabbos 151b). [This is borne out by] the scriptural verse, “And [God] will give you mercy, and He will have mercy upon you” (Deuteronomy 13:18) (Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Moharan 1, 14: 11, abridged. The verse from Psalms is usually rendered, “God is good to all.” However, Rebbe Nachman interprets it as translated here.)

*

“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness” (Isaiah 38:17). Just as all cures require bitter remedies, so does peace, which is a cure for everything. [As the Prophet Isaiah also states,] “Peace, peace to the far and near, says God, and I will heal him” (Isaiah 57:19) (Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Moharan I, 27:7).

*

On the subject of wars between nations and needless bloodshed, [Rebbe Nachman] said: “Many foolish beliefs that people once held, such as forms of idol worship that demanded childsacrifice, etc., have disappeared. But, as of yet, the foolish belief in the pursuit of war has not disappeared.” He used to ridicule certain scientists, saying: “What great thinkers they must be, what ingenuity they must possess to invent amazing weapons that can kill thousands of people at once! is there any greater foolishness than this to murder so many people for nothing?” (Chayei Moharan 546).

*

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov predicted, “The Messiah will conquer the world without a shot being fired” (Siach Sarfei Kodesh 11, 1:67).

***

We have added an additional teaching that was not included in “Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition,” but has been newly translated for this website:

The whole world is filled with quarreling—between nations, between cities, and between households. Neighbors argue with neighbors, husbands argue with their wives, their children and domestic helpers, and on and on. Nobody thinks about the ultimate goal of life. Every day man dies—because the day that has passed will never come back, and every day one comes closer to death. Therefore, how can he waste his time on arguments? Anyone who has any sense should take this to heart and develop patience. Let him not waste his life on quarrels, great or small. He should control his feelings and his anger, and live peacefully with everyone (Rebbe Nachman, as presented in Likutey Eitzos, Machlokes u-Merivah, 36; this is a variant of Sichos HaRan 77. Cf. the posting “The World is Full of Strife” below).

The Prankster

2012-01-17T09:49:00.001-05:00

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, "Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom" (Breslov Research Institute)

Sichos HaRan 8

The Evil Urge is like a prankster running through a crowd showing his tightly closed hand.

No one knows what he is holding. He goes up to each one and asks, "What do you suppose I have in my hand?"

Each one imagines that the closed hand contains just what he desires most. They all hurry and run after the prankster. Then, when he has tricked them all into following him, he opens his hand. It is completely empty.

The same is true of the Evil One. He fools the world, tricking it into following him. All men think that his hand contains what they desire. But in the end, he opens his hand. There is nothing in it, and no desire is ever fulfilled.

Worldly pleasures are like sunbeams in a dark room. They may actually seem solid, but one who tries to grasp a sunbeam finds nothing in his hand. The same is true of all worldly desires.

© 1973 The Breslov Research Institute

The World Is Full of Strife

2012-01-17T09:41:00.004-05:00

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, from "Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom" (Breslov Research Institute)

Sichos HaRan 77

The world is full of strife.

There are wars between the great world powers.

There are conflicts within different localities.

There are feuds among families.

There is discord between neighbors.

There is friction within a household, between man and wife, between parents and children.

Life is short. People die every day. The day that has passed will never return, and death comes closer every day. Nevertheless, people still fight and never once remember their goal in life.

All strife is identical. The friction within a family is a counterpart of the wars between nations. Each person in a household is the counterpart of a world power, and their quarrels are the wars between those powers. The traits of each nation are also reflected in these individuals. Some nations are known for anger, others for bloodthirstiness. Each one has its particular trait. The counterparts of these traits are found in each household.

You may wish to live in peace. You have no desire for strife. Still, you are forced into dispute and conflict.

Nations are the same. A nation may desire peace and make many concessions to achieve it. However, no matter how much it tries to remain neutral, it can still be caught up in war. Two opposing sides can demand its allegiance until it is drawn into war against its will.

The same is true in a household.

Man is a miniature world.[1]

His essence contains the world and everything in it.

A man and his family contain the nations of the world, including all their battles.

A man living alone can become insane. Within him are all the warring nations. His personality is that of the victorious nation. Each time a different nation is victorious, he must change completely, and this can drive him insane. He is alone and cannot express the war within him. But when one lives with others, these battles are expressed toward his family and friends.

There may be strife in the household of a Tzaddik. This, too, is a war between nations.

It is also the war between the twelve tribes, such as the conflict between Ephraim and Judah.[2]

When the Messiah comes all wars will be abolished.

The world will have eternal peace, as it is written: "They will neither hurt nor destroy . . . for the knowledge of G-d will fill the world like the water that covers the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).

© 1973 Breslov Research Institute

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Zohar III, 33b; Tikkuney Zohar, Tikkun 69 (100b).

[2] Isaiah 11:13; Ezekiel 37:16.

Beaten Willow Branch Segulah

2012-01-17T07:20:00.002-05:00

We recently received this message from Rabbi Shmuel Rosenberg, AKA "Sofer of Tzfat":

Beaten willow branches are known for their many Segulahs.

Please take a look at our new Segulah page

Moses’s First Vision

2012-01-10T12:52:00.002-05:00

Moses’s First Vision
By Dovid Sears

Moses exemplified the person who feels that he or she doesn’t belong in this world. Thus, he named his firstborn son “Gershom,” explaining “Because I was a stranger (Hebrew: ger) in a strange land” (Exodus 2:22). Moses was an adopted child from a persecuted foreign nation, raised in the house of Pharaoh, who had become the arch-enemy of his people. At the same time, he was rejected by his fellow Israelites, the contentious Dathan and Aviram at the top of the list. In any case, he was unable to live together with his family and nation, both before and after killing the Egyptian taskmaster whom he saw whipping a Hebrew slave to the brink of death. So he fled until he came upon the house of Jethro, the renegade High Priest of Egypt gone into hiding in Midian. Initially, Moses was rejected by his future father-in-law, too. Thrown into a pit, he was secretly sustained for seven years by Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah. Ultimately, he married his compassionate benefactor, and spent what, in the normal course of events, would have been the rest of his life as a shepherd in the desert. Thus, Moses’s perpetual outsider status struck a chord with the collective exile of Israel.

While tending Jethro’s sheep, Moses reached the age of which the Mishnah states, “At eighty, one attains strength.” At eighty, even one who formerly had been deceived by the illusion of this world sees life as a “fleeting shadow” (Psalms 144:4). All of this seems to have been a prerequisite for Moses’s first prophetic vision.

The vehicle that God chose to summon Moses was the “burning bush that is not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). Seeing the conflagration in the distance, Moses called it “this great sight.” What was so great about it? What did God wish to communicate through this symbol?

The Torah states that God is revealed through fire, as the verse states, “He is a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24). This accounts for one aspect of Moses’s vision. The desert bush itself is a symbol of humility. As the Talmudic Sages taught, “Wherever you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, there you find His humility.” True greatness is revealed through humility. Therefore, the vision of the burning bush teaches that God reveals Himself only to one who is humble, like Moses.

This interpretation is instructive for us. But why did Moses need to witness this? Didn’t the very fact that he was granted this vision show that he had already attained this level? We must try to consider the meaning of the desert vision from Moses’s point of view.

The fire of the burning bush represents the impermanence of this world. However, the fact that the bush was not consumed suggests that there is something indestructible and enduring within the transitory and ephemeral. Thus, the vision is a symbol of the very paradox of reality: that impermanence and immutability, time and eternity, are one.

At the same time, this may be understood as a vision of Moses himself, a mirror of enlightened being: within the historical “self,” represented by fire, resides the Divine, represented by the unconsumed bush. As the kabbalist Rabbi Shabsai Sheftel Horowitz of Prague (1565-1619) states: “The soul is a portion of God Above.” Thus, it endures forever.

This vision is the gist of the Redemption: the realization of the Divine Oneness that surpasses all change and decay, in which dualism and conflict dissolve, peace reigns, and “death is swallowed up forever” (Isaiah 25:8). Thus the fire of the burning bush may be compared to the tekhelet – the blue thread in the ritual fringes that Jewish men are biblically required to wear on their four-cornered garments. Chassidic master Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) relates the word tekhelet to takhlit, meaning the ultimate goal of creation. Of this, the Zohar (“Book of Splendor”) states that the spiritual power of the blue thread “consumes and destroys.” It is the aspect of holiness that destroys all evil, while giving life to the righteous.

A final question: Why was Moses shown this vision immediately prior to the Exodus? As the Redeemer of Israel, his task was to transmit this perception to the rest of the people. As Moses declared during the incident of Eldad and Medad, “Would that all of God’s people were prophets, if God would but place His spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29)

This depended on Moses in particular, because “Moses is Israel, and Israel is Moses.” All souls are incorporated within the collective souls of the righteous, such as Moses, bound to one another in unity.

This unity, too, is represented by fire. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov observes, “The soul is like a candle, as it is written, ‘The soul of man is the candle of God’ (Proverbs 20:27). When many souls converge, this produces light, which in turn produces joy. This is the paradigm of ‘the light of the righteous brings joy’ (Proverbs 13:9).”

Light shines when the inner unity of all separate minds and all being becomes manifest. This is one aspect of the Redemption. And joy is an aspect of the Redemption, as it is written: “For you shall go forth in joy” (Isaiah 55:12)

Rebbe Nachman on “Wedding Customs”

2012-01-10T07:40:00.006-05:00

(Painting by Elena Flerova)

Rebbe Nachman on “Wedding Customs” [1]

Sichos HaRan 86 / “Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom” (Breslov Research Institute 1974)

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, with minor corrections and modifications for this website.

Please note that these customs reflect the Jewish culture of Rebbe Nachman’s Ukraine more than two hundred years ago. Some things have changed. We have posted this teaching in honor of the wedding of Rabbi Moshe Nachman Weiss, son of Rabbi and Mrs. Ephraim Zev Weiss, and Shifra, daughter of Rabbi and Mrs. Avraham Moshe Wasilski, to be celebrated on Monday evening, 22 Teves / January 16th in Williamsburg. May both families and the entire Breslover community have much nachas and simchah!

It is customary that people get up and say humorous things at a wedding. It is also customary to begin by saying “ Ehla—Rise!”

The Talmud says, “A woman may rise with her husband, but does not descend with him. “[2]

People say, “Rise!” along with the humor, for the bride will rise with her husband with every joy and pleasure, but not descend with him.[3]

It is customary to cover the bride's face with a veil. Rachel is “the beautiful girl who has no eyes.”[4] This is the bride.

It is written (Proverbs 25:2), “G-d's glory is to hide a thing.” This also speaks of the bride.[5]

It is customary to throw baked goods at the groom. It is written (Ezekiel 1:20), “Wherever the spirit went, the Ophanim were lifted up.”[6]

An Ophan is an angel. Baked goods are Ophin. The similar spelling indicates a similarity in essence.

The groom is the paradigm of the “spirit.”[7] Wherever the groom goes, baked goods are lifted up.[8]

It is customary to give money to the dancers at a wedding. This is called “Sabbath Money.”

It is written (Psalms 68:1.3), “Hosts of angels[9] throng and whirl, and she who stays home divides the spoil.”[10]

The dancers throng and whirl. When they are given money, they “divide the spoil.”

The revelation at Sinai was a wedding. It is written (Song of Songs 3:11), “His mother crowned him on the day of his wedding.” This is the revelation at Sinai.[11]

Mount Sinai is also a ladder.

Take the letters of the word SINaI and turn them into numbers. The Gematria then gives you SuLaM (ladder)

SINaI:
Samech = 60
Yud = 10
Nun = 50
Yud = 10
Total: 130

SuLaM - Ladder:
Samech = 60
Lamed = 30
Mem = 40
Total: 130

This is the ladder in Jacob's dream.

It is written (Genesis 28:12), “And behold a ladder ... and angels of G-d went up and down on it.”
The dancers go up and down, raising and lowering their bodies. They dance on the ladder of Sinai—the day of the wedding.

The money given to the dancers is called “Sabbath Money.”

It is written, “She who stays home divides the spoil.” This is the money given the dancers, as mentioned earlier.

In Hebrew, this verse is U’Nevas Bayis V’chalek Shalel. The first letters of the words spell out ShaBaT - the Sabbath.[12]

It is customary for the groom to give a scholarly discourse. It is written, “His mother crowned him on the day of his wedding.” The wedding is the revelation at Sinai. The groom speaks words of Torah, just like G-d did at Sinai.

It is customary to present the groom with gifts. These are called Derashah Geshank— ”Discourse Gifts.”

It is written (Psalms 68:19), “You have ascended on high, you have captured the prize, you have received gifts from among men.” These are the gifts given to the groom.

It is said that the groom's lecture helps to unite the couple.

Before Jacob saw the dream of the ladder, it is written (Genesis 28:11), “And he lay down in that place.”

“And he lay down” is VaYiShKav. This also spells Vi-Yesh Kaf-Beis— ”and there are 22.” These are the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet.[13]

The lecture unites 22 letters into words of Torah, just as the couple is united.[14]

It is customary for the dancers to do Pristakes, raising and lowering their bodies.

It is written (Genesis 46:4), “1 will go down to Egypt with you, and I will bring you up.” This is symbolized by the up and down motions.

“I will go down with you to Egypt.” The exile in Egypt was to gather together the holy sparks from Adam's wasted seed.[15]

“I will bring you up.” When Israel left Egypt this was accomplished and the Covenant of Abraham was rectified.

A wedding is also a rectification of the Covenant.[16]

We therefore dance to symbolize the exile and redemption.

It is customary to interrupt the bridegroom's lecture. This symbolizes the breaking of the Tablets.

It is customary for the best man to dress the bridegroom in the Kittel, a plain white linen robe.

It is written (Ibid.) “And Joseph will place his band on your eyes.” The son closes his father's eyes upon death.”[17]

Joseph is the best man.[18]

The Kittel is the garment of the dead.[19] It is Joseph who makes this preparation for death.
It is customary for the dancers to do somersaults.

The revelation at Sinai was a wedding. There it is written (Exodus 19:3), “And Moses went up.” It is also written (ibid. 19:20), “And G-d descended onto Mount Sinai.” Sinai then involved “the superior below and the inferior above.”[20] Thus the dancers engage in somersaults.

________________________________________
Notes:

[1] These reasons were revealed to Rabbi Yudel and Rabbi Shmuel Isaac on Shemini Atzeres 5563 (Oct. 17, 1802), just a few weeks after the Rebbe arrived in Breslov. This was also just a few months before the wedding of his daughter Sarah. On the Sabbath after the wedding, 3 Nissan (Mar. 25, 1803), he delivered the lesson in Likutey Moharan I, 49, also discussing these same customs. Parparos LeChokhmah a.l., Shevachey Moharan 6a (23).

[2] Kesubos 48a, 61a.

[3] A somewhat different reason is given in Likutey Moharan I, 49:7.

[4] Zohar II, 95a, Netzutzey Oros a.l., Pri Etz Chaim, Keriyas Sh'ma, end of chap. 24. Rachel is the true bride of Zer Anpin, the transcendental groom. She has such pure faith that she is blind to anything that may question it. See Likutey Moharan I, 62:5, above, 32.

[5] ”Glory” always refers to Malkhus or Royalty, which in the Kabbalah is personified by the transcendental bride, Rachel.

[6] The wording in the Hebrew text is somewhat different than the actual scripture.

[7] We have emended Rabbi Kaplan's translation here (ed.).

[8] Of the parts of the soul, Ruach or spirit is the counterpart of Zer Anpin, the groom. The Ophanim are angels of Asiyah, the lowest supernal world, which also corresponds to the feminine element. Throwing baked goods thus unites male and female. Also see Likutey Halakhos (Even HaEzer), Kiddushin 2:8.

[9] The Biblical reading here is Malkhey, kings. Here, however, the Talmudic reading of Shabbos 68b is used, namely Malakhey, angels. A number of other places indicate that the verse actually speaks of angels, cf. Mechilta to Exodus 20:16; Shemos Rabbah 33:4; Devarim Rabbah 7:10, 11:3. This is resolved by a statement that the verse actually refers to the archangels, the “kings of angels”; cf. BaMidbar Rabbah 11:5; Shir HaShirim Rabbah 11:12; Koheles Rabbah 9:12; Paneach Raza, Yisro, p. 114b.

[10] See Alim LeTerufah 397.

[11] Ta'anis 4:8 (26b).

[12] Cf. Likutey Moharan I, 49:7.

[13] Tikuney Zohar 18 (34a), 70 (132b); Etz Chaim, Shaar HaYere'ach 3; Likutey Moharan II, 79.

[14] Song of Songs 1:4 is interpreted to apply both to a happy marriage and to the 22 letters of the Torah in Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:31, 32. Cf. Eitz Chaim, loc. cit.; Likutey Moharan II, 89; Kesubos 10b.

[15] Likutey Moharan II, 5:10. Cf. Shemonah She’arim; Shaar Hamitzvos on Deut. 16:3; Shaar HaKavanos, Pesach 1.

[16] This refers to the atonement of sexual sins, for a bridegroom is forgiven all his sins. Yerushalmi, Bikurim 3:3 (11b); Rashi on Gen. 36:3; Magen Avraham 573; Bais Shmuel 61:6. The giving of the Torah, the wedding of G d and Israel, took place right after the Exodus.

[17] Tur Yoreh Deah 352. Cf. Shabbos 23:5 (151b).

[18] The best man makes the preparations for the groom, just as Joseph paved the way for Jacob, who symbolizes the transcendental groom, as mentioned earlier. Cf. Bava Basra 123a.

[19] Orach Chaim 610:4, in hagahah. The groom wears the kittel to remind him that he, too, is mortal, and therefore must repent.

[20] Cf. Sichos HaRan 40.

Women and Breslov Chasidus

2012-01-08T16:31:00.007-05:00

Women and Breslov Chasidus

By Dovid Sears

Once Rebbe Nachman asked his followers: “Why don't you make your wives chasidistehs?” (Siach Sarfei Kodesh 2, 1-14). (In Yiddish, “Chasidistehs” means “women Chasidim.”) Breslov tradition tells us that Rebbe Nachman affirmed the unique spiritual talents and sensitivities of women. He saw to it that his daughters were well educated in various areas of Torah, and he praised them highly for their spiritual qualities (his daughter Sarah in particular). Indeed, Rebbe Nachman once said of his daughters that he “took their souls from the World of Atzilus” (“Divine Emanation,” also called the “World of Oneness”) (Chayei Moharan 274).

Although it would be intellectually dishonest to depict Rebbe Nachman (who passed away more than 200 years ago) as a precursor of the modern feminist movement, it would be equally wrong to assume that the Rebbe viewed women as “second-class citizens,” whose religious pursuits were restricted to baking kugel and cleaning up the debris after Shabbos. Rebbe Nachman's express wish that his followers instruct their wives in the ways of Chasidus shows that it is entirely legitimate for women to follow his path of Divine service. This path may be described according to several basic points:

Prayer

Rebbe Nachman declared: “Gohr mein zach iz tefillah... My main ‘thing’ is prayer” (Si'ach Sarfei Kodesh 1, 492; also cf. Likutey Moharan II, 93). This is a universal practice that women also can relate to—especially the practice of Hisbodedus (secluded meditation and prayer), which Rebbe Nachman extolled as “higher than everything” (Likutey Moharan II, 25). Ideally, Hisbodedus entails going out to the fields or forests at night, and speaking to G-d for an hour in one's own words. Women, however, should be careful to practice Hisbodedus in safer surroundings, such as at home or in the back yard, and not expose themselves to danger. If it is hard to find time (and energy) in the evening, one may practice Hisbodedus during the course of the day—even while performing household chores.

Rebbe Nachman praised women who go to shul and take part in the public prayers (Siach Sarfei Kodesh 2, 1-663). In addition to reading the prayers in the Siddur, many Breslover women recite Reb Noson's Likutey Tefilos, as well as other collections of prayers and techinos (supplications). The Breslov Research Institute (BRI) has begun to translate the complete text of Likutey Tefilos under the title, The Fiftieth Gate. So far, three volumes have been published. Shorter excerpts from Reb Noson's prayers have been translated as The Flame of the Heart and Entering the Light, also published by BRI.

It is a time-honored practice for married women to pray for their families and for the entire Jewish people especially while lighting the Shabbos or Yom Tov candles. Some Breslover “Chasidistehs” have the custom to add an additional prayer at that holy time that Rebbe Nachman's light fill the world.

Torah Study

Although halakhically women are exempt from the obligation of Torah study, in today's Orthodox Jewish world women are encouraged to study all parts of Torah relevant to their spiritual needs. This includes Tanach and its commentaries, Midrash, Halakhah, Mussar, and Chasidic works. Historically, Breslover women began to read the Sippurey Ma'asiyos, Rebbe Nachman's thirteen mystical stories, as soon as they were published in 1816. Indeed, during his last years the Rebbe had said that he wanted women to do so, also declaring his stories to be a segula (mystical remedy or charm) for those unable to conceive children (see Likutey Moharan I, 60).

Rebbe Nachman lived before there was a modern yeshivah system (which began with Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in 1803, just seven years before Rebbe Nachman’s passing) or religious schools for girls and women (which began with Sarah Schenirer in 1915 and soon led to the modern Beis Yaakov movement). Moreover, with the exception of the first edition of Likutey Moharan, published in 1808, his printed works were not available until after his passing. (He didn't have a website, either.) Thus, we assume that his encouragement of his followers to teach their wives was not meant to restrict the study of his teachings to married women.

Aside from Rebbe Nachman's stories, a good place to begin studying his teachings would be the booklets “Outpouring of the Soul,” translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, and “Restore My Soul” and “Azamra,” translated by Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum. More advanced are Likutey Eitzos, translate as “Rabbi Nachman's Advice,” and Sichos HaRan, translated as “Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom.” These works are available through the Breslov Research Institute’s website: breslov.org. Rabbi Greenbaum’s “The Essential Rabbi Nachman” is another useful collection, which is available as a free download via his website: http://www.azamra.org/essential.shtm

Family Life

Like Chava (Eve) in the Garden of Eden, a Jewish wife is called upon to be an eizer k'negdo (Genesis 2:18), a faithful partner to her husband, respecting and supporting his efforts in Avodas Hashem. This is an important part of her Divine service, for which she receives Heavenly reward (Kesubos 62b; Nedarim 50a; Berachos 17b). No less importantly, she should instill in her children emunah (faith) in Hashem and the tzaddikim, as well as good traits such as honesty, diligence, patience, derekh eretz, etc. More effective than a mother's words is her personal example. Thus, a woman should approach raising children as an important vehicle for her own spiritual development. Rebbe Nachman once remarked that hearing stories of tzaddikim at home as a child made an indelible impression upon him (Sichos HaRan 138). It is extremely beneficial for mothers to read such stories to their children. In addition to many popular collections of Torah tales, a number of colorfully illustrated Breslov storybooks are available.

Tzedakah and Chesed

Our sages declare the defining traits of the Jewish people to be “compassion, modesty, and kindness” (Yevamos 79a). Jewish women of all ages are renowned for their deeds of chesed (kindness), especially by visiting the sick and by showing hospitality to guests. The latter is considered to be an even higher level of charity than giving a poor person money, because it is a more immediate and direct way of benefiting the receiver (Ta’anis 21a). Once the Rebbe discussed the loftiness of the mitzvah of hospitality with his daughter, Sarah. A young married woman, she worried about her ability to fulfill this mitzvah properly. Observing her anxiety, her father added, “And what does it take to show hospitality? Another shtik'l kollitch—a slice of Challah—and a little more tablecloth!” (Avanehah Barzel, Sichos V'Sippurim miRabbenu zal, 2; Siach Sarfei Kodesh 2, 1-97).

Rosh Hashanah – Uman

Some newcomers to Breslov assume that the Rosh Hashanah gathering in the city of Uman, near Rebbe Nachman's gravesite, was always a “for men only” event. However, prior to the Stalinist purges, women also attended prayer services in the Breslover Kloyz on Rosh Hashana, as well as on Shabbos and the Yomim Tovim. In fact, it was the personal custom of Rav Avraham Sternhartz, the Baal Tokei'ah and Baal Musaf, upon leaving the synagogue to offer holiday greetings to the women waiting outside for their husbands, sons and brothers (who presumably took longer to exit the sanctuary downstairs). The main reason women today are discouraged from traveling to the Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman is because under present circumstances, it would be impossible to accommodate large numbers of women without serious breaches of tzniyus (modesty). According to Breslov tradition, the participation of the men who join the Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman brings blessings to their wives and families (as well as the entire Jewish people); there has never been the same imperative for women to leave their homes as for men. However, beginning with the independence of Ukraine during the early 1990s, groups of women began to travel to Uman frequently throughout the year, where they, too, recite the Tikkun HaKlalli, the ten psalms prescribed by Rebbe Nachman as a vehicle for teshuvah and to heal the soul. Although most women’s groups come from Eretz Yisrael, travel arrangements from America can be made through Nesia Travel, operated by Mrs. Miriam Fried (herself a Breslover who has traveled to Uman many times), 1661 43rd St, Brooklyn, N.Y. Tel. 718-633-3800.

Torah Classes for Women

Concerning Abraham and Sarah's mission to bring the entire world to serve the One G-d, our sages explain that Abraham taught the men, while his wife Sarah taught the women (Rashi on Genesis 12:5). Without a doubt, this arrangement is best. However, it is not always possible. Thus, in today's Orthodox communities, including the Breslov community, men often teach classes for women. For example, the late Rabbi Gedaliah Kenig of Jerusalem, leading disciple of Rav Avraham Sternhartz, taught groups of newly observant women at his home in Me'ah She'arim prior to his passing in 1980. His sons, Rabbi Elazar Mordechai Kenig and Rabbi Ephraim Kenig of the Tzefat Breslov community, continue to do so, as does Rabbi Noach Cheifetz of Yerushalayim. Also, the late Rabbi Tzvi Aryeh Rosenfeld, another student of Reb Avraham Sternhartz and pioneer of Breslov outreach in America, taught women. Rabbi Rosenfeld's example has been followed by his sons-in-law, Rabbi Chaim Kramer of the Breslov Research Institute, and Rabbi Noson Maimon of the Vaad Olami D'Chasidei Breslov, as well as his other students today.

A few prominent women teachers of Breslov Chasidus include Mrs. Rena Rochel Silber, formerly of Far Rockaway and now of Eretz Yisrael; Mrs. Esther Leah Marschette of Boston; Mrs. Talya Lipshutz of Tzefat; Mrs. Debbie Shapiro of Yerushalayim; Mrs. Chani Kass of Yerushalayim; and Mrs. Yehudis Golshevsky of Yerushalayim, among others.

In the merit of studying and following the teachings of the tzaddikim, may Hashem's promise speedily be fulfilled in us, “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophecy” (Joel 3:1), amen.

Stories

Rebbe Nachman's mother, Rebbetzin Feige (d. 19 Adar 5561/1801) was a grand-daughter of the holy Baal Shem Tov, and the sister of Chasidic masters Rabbi Baruch of Medzibuzh (author of Butzina D'Nehora) and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov (author of Degel Machaneh Ephraim). Her brothers held her in such high regard that they called her “Feige the Prophetess.” It is said that the Baal Shem Tov taught his daughter, Rebbetzin Udel, certain combinations of Divine Names (yichudim) by which she could commune with his soul after his passing. She, in turn, passed down these yichudim to her daughter, Rebbetzin Feige.

After marrying Rabbi Simcha, a son of Rabbi Nachman Horodenker who had been raised by the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbetzin Feige inherited the Baal Shem Tov's house in Medzhibuzh. There, Rebbe Nachman, as well as his brothers Yisrael and Yechiel Zvi and his sister Perel, were born and raised (Nevei Tzaddikim, p. 10).

*

According to tradition, it once happened that Rabbi Simcha, an ascetic who spent much time practicing hisbodedus in the forests and fields, did not return home for several weeks. As Shabbos drew near, Rebbetzin Feige attempted to use her knowledge of Divine names to find her missing husband— but to no avail. At last, she fell asleep. In a dream, her mother, Rebbetzin Udel, appeared to her, accompanied by the Matriarchs Sarah, Rivkah, Rochel, and Leah. “Don't worry,” they told her. “Your husband will be home for Shabbos.”

Then they guided her to the heavenly “Chamber of Souls,” where she beheld the resplendent soul of the Baal Shem Tov. Walking on, she was shown an even more luminous soul.

“Who is that?” she asked.

“This soul will be given to you,” they replied.

Returning home, she found that her husband had already arrived, safe and sound.

“What happened?” she asked.

“It was getting close to Shabbos, and I was lost in the woods, far from home,” he explained. “Then, suddenly I found myself here in Medzhibuzh!” Rebbetzin Feige went to the mikveh that night, and conceived the child whose soul she had already seen: Rebbe Nachman (Until the Moshiach, pp. 324-325).

*

Rabbi Simcha and Rebbetzin Feige were renowned for their hospitality. Disciples of the Maggid of Mezeritch and the Toldos Yaakov Yosef, as well as many simple good Jews, often traveled to Medzhibuzh to pray near the Baal Shem Tov's grave. They knew that they could always refresh themselves from their journey at the home of Rabbi Simcha and Rebbetzin Feige. Rebbe Nachman later remarked that the company of these worthy guests made a profound impression upon him as a child. The stories of tzaddikim they told entered his heart, and inspired him to strive for the spiritual heights (Nevey Tzaddikim, p. 12; Sichos HaRan 138)

*

During the last year of her life, on Rosh Chodesh Elul 5560/1800, Rebbetzin Feige attended the wedding of Rebbe Nachman's daughter Udel to Rabbi Yoska, son of Rabbi Avraham Dov of Chmelnick. (The latter was a prominent disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polonoye.) She mentioned that she saw the soul of the Baal Shem Tov at the chupah (wedding canopy) (Chayei Moharan 114). Some say that due to his mother's great spiritual merits, the Rebbe asked that his followers refer to him as “Nachman Ben Feige” in their prayers or when submitting pidyonos (requests for Heavenly intercession).

*

Someone once asked Rebbe Nachman why the Baal Shem Tov held his daughter, Rebbetzin Udel, in such high esteem. The Rebbe explained, “My great-grandfather greatly admired his daughter because all day long she went about with a heart full of yearning for G-d, and constantly asked herself, 'What can I do to please the One Above?'“ (Siach Sarfei Kodesh 11, 1-72).

*

Rebbe Nachman once said: “My daughters have ru'ach hakodesh, which is close to prophesy. And I'm not talking about Sarah at all!” (Chayei Moharan 583).

*

In the winter of 5565 (1805), the Rebbe traveled to Medvedevka for “Shabbos Shirah (Beshalach),” as was his custom, in order to visit his Chasidim and to give a Torah lesson. At that time, his four-year-old daughter Chaya, who was then in Medvedevka, developed sties on both eyes and could barely see. Upon his arrival, the Rebbe was informed of her condition. He then gave the discourse, “And G-d led the people circuitously...” (Exodus 13:19), later published as Likutey Moharan 1I, 62. This lesson cites a teaching of the Zohar (Mishpatim, 95a) about a “beautiful maiden who has no eyes.” Through this, his daughter was healed (Chayei Moharan 26).

*

In the year 5565/1804, the Rebbe’s daughter Miriam married Rabbi Pinchas Segal of Volochisk. The Chasan (bridegroom) was a son of Rabbi Leibush Segal, the Rav of Volochisk and a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch. On the Shabbos before the wedding (Parshas Noach, Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan), the Rebbe danced all day long. In Chayei Moharan, Rabbi Noson remarks that never did he see the Rebbe dance the way he danced that Shabbos.

The Rebbe drank a little wine, as is customary in celebrating a coming wedding. At one point, he supported himself on his disciple, Rabbi Yudel, and continued to dance. They were singing a very beautiful and inspiring melody, which was one of awe. The Rebbe danced to this niggun. (Usually when he danced, it was to a niggun of inspiration and awe. According to tradition, this was the melody that Breslover Chasidim still sing for “Rosh Chodesh bentchen” / the blessing of the New Month.) The Rebbe also said that this melody is one of “calling and summoning”; it is used to call everyone to gather for the wedding ceremony. They were calling the souls of all the family's holy ancestors: the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Nachman Horodenker, and the Rebbe's mother, Rebbetzin Feige. As the Zohar states, the souls of departed relatives all gather together at a wedding (Pinchas, 219b, 220a).

During the Third Meal, the Rebbe sat with the entire company, and led the singing of “Bnei Heichalah.” He remarked, “One who knows how to drink can atone for sins.” Then he delivered a profound discourse on this subject, later published as Likutey Moharan I, 177 (Chayei Moharan 117).

*

Rebbe Nachman's daughter Sarah married Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac, son of Rabbi Leib Dubrovner of Kremenchug. Although the Rebbe was already living in Breslov, the wedding took place in Medvedevka on Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5563/1803 (which was Rebbe Nachman's birthday). After ceremony they spoke about the Moshiach, and the Rebbe hinted that he would be one of the newly married couple's offspring.

On Shabbos Sheva Berachos, during the Third Meal, the Rebbe delivered the lofty discourse, “He set a tent for the sun in their midst” (Psalms 19:5), later published as Likutey Moharan 1, 49. (When the Rebbe first gave over this discourse in the presence of the bride and groom, he began with the last half of the verse: “And he will come forth like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy.”) This lesson weaves together the concepts of Nissan, Sarah, Yitzchak, a bride, a wedding, Shabbos, and the Moshiach.

Rebbe Nachman danced at great length before his daughter Sarah. In praise of the Rebbe's dancing, Reb Noson states: “Whoever did not witness his dancing never beheld goodness in his life. Although many tzaddikim have fulfilled the mitzvah of 'dancing before the bride,' the Rebbe's dancing was beyond compare. Everyone present surely was moved to genuine repentance for all his sins” (Yemei Moharnat 3; Chayei Moharan 116).

*

Once the Rebbe wrote a letter to his daughter Sarah expressing his great love and affection, and saying how he longed to have her at his table, so that he could gladden himself with her company each day, and receive wisdom and fear of Heaven from her words. He concluded, “You are like a myrtle in the wilderness that has no one to appreciate its pleasant fragrance”

A number of the Rebbe's followers were present when Sarah received this letter. One of than told Rabbi Noson that after she read it, she broke down and began to cry in front of them, saying, “I must have fallen to a very low level for my father to praise me so much to my face.” For the Rebbe would praise a person to his face if he felt that the person had fallen from his previous level and needed encouragement (Chayei Moharan 581, 582).

*

Sarah was often ill. Her suffering deeply pained the Rebbe, who often spoke of it. Once the Rebbe came to visit, and found her greatly distressed by a toothache. “Even if it is difficult, you must force yourself to be happy,” the Rebbe told her. Then he explained that by vividly imagining being joyous, she could come to experience true joy—so much so that she would want to dance. Through this, she would be cured. Sarah took her father's advice to heart. Closing the shutters of her house, she began to dance. Before long, the pain had disappeared (Until the Moshiach, p. 334).

*

Another time when Sarah was ill, Rebbe Nachman suggested that she picture herself as better off now than before she fell sick. This, too, seemed impossible to Sarah, whose anguish gave her no peace. Still, the Rebbe asked her to follow his instructions. “The power of thought is very great,” he explained. “By thinking positively, you can actually turn your situation to the good” (also see Sichos HaRan 62, 74) (Until the Moshiach, p. 334).

*

On yet another occasion, the Rebbe came to visit Sarah, only to find her bedridden and in agony. Rebbe Nachman listened intently to the details of her sickness, sharing her grief. Then he fell asleep. His great-grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, appeared to him in a dream and told him not to worry. He quoted the verse, “Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows steadfast love to His anointed one— to David and his seed forever” (Psalms 18:51). The Rebbe understood this to mean that Sarah's illness could be cured by telling her a story about an act of deliverance that G-d had performed for a tzaddik. Upon awakening, the Rebbe sat beside his daughter, and told an awesome story about the Maharsha (Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Eidels, 1555-1622, author of a famous commentary on the narrative portions of the Talmud). As soon as he finished the story, Sarah arose from her bed, having recovered completely. Subsequently, she told the same story to other sick people, and they, too, returned to health (also cf. Likutey Moharan I, 234; Sichos HaRan 138) (Until the Moshiach, p. 334).

*

Sarah's son Yisrael was born while Rebbe Nachman was visiting Kremenchug. The Rebbe waited for several weeks until his daughter gave birth. His solemn demeanor throughout this time betrayed his constant anxiety for the well-being of his daughter and the unborn child. However, after the birth he became extremely happy, asking that all the lights be lit and a punch of wine and honey be served. On the eighth day, the child was circumcised, and the Rebbe remained elated all day long. It pleased him that several people mentioned to him that the child had the same name as the Baal Shem Tov: Yisrael ben Sarah (Yemei Moharnat 17; Chayei Moharan 151).

*

When the Rebbe was severely ill, he asked Sarah's three or four year old son, Yisrael, to pray for him. The little boy replied, “Give me your watch, and I will pray for you!” At this, the Rebbe said, “You see, he's already a Rebbe, because he tells me to give him something in order for him to pray!” The Rebbe then gave him his watch. The little boy took it, went aside, and began to cry, “G-d! G-d! Let my Zeideh (grandfather) be well!” The people standing nearby found this humorous. However, the Rebbe said, “This is how we must entreat G-d. What other way is there to pray?” That is, we must pray to G-d with the greatest simplicity, like a child before his father, or a person speaking to his best friend (Chayei Moharan 439).

*
Rebbe Nachman said: “As to what will become of me, I have no idea. But this much I have achieved with the Almighty: our righteous Moshiach will be one of my descendants.” The Rebbe said this publicly. He asked that we honor and respect his daughters, because they were “precious trees that would give forth rare and goodly fruits.” He also said that he had taken his children from the World of Atzilus (Divine Emanation)—the highest spiritual level (Chayei Moharan 279; Yemei Moharnat 17).

*

The Rebbe's attendant, Reb Shimon, came to ask his master to intercede in Heaven for his infant son, who was deathly ill. Rebbe Nachman, however, did not respond. Forlorn and without hope, Reb Shimon returned hone. His wife understood the implications of the Rebbe's silence. Yet instead of yielding to despair, she sat at the infant's crib throughout the night, praying tearfully for the life of her child.

The next morning, when the Rebbe saw Reb Shimon, he exclaimed: “Look at the great power of prayer: Last night the decree had been sealed. But because of your wife's prayers, not only will your son recover, but he has been granted long life.” And, indeed, Reb Shimon's son lived to be nearly one hundred years old (Avanehah Barzel 60, p. 39; also cf. Siach Sarfei Kodesh 2, 1-100).

*

A follower of Rebbe Nachman once asked how he might strengthen his emunah. The Rebbe replied, “We can learn to have emunah from the women” (oral tradition heard from Rabbi Nasan Maimon).

Derekh Eretz / Good Manners

2012-01-05T07:30:00.002-05:00

Rebbe Nachman held good manners and consideration of the feelings of others in high esteem. He once said: "Kings and emperors could send their sons to me in order to learn derekh eretz."

(Si'ach Sarfei Kodesh III, 74)

*

Thus, derekh eretz was a trademark of Breslover Chassidim, as many stories attest.

(See Si'ach Sarfei Kodesh IV, 370; ibid. V, 401. Regarding the laws of derekh eretz, see Rabbi Yaakov Davidson, Hilkhos Derekh Eretz (Hebrew); in English, Rabbi S. Wagschal, Guide to Derech Eretz, Feldheim 1993)

*

In his old age, Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz lived in the home of Rabbi Moshe Burshteyn, where due to space limitations, one of Reb Moshe’s teenage sons slept in the same room as their elderly guest. Once Reb Avraham fell on the floor in the middle of the night and could not get back on his feet without help. Shortly before daybreak, Reb Moshe looked in on him, and couldn't believe his eyes. Reb Avraham still remained on the floor, where he had recited Tikkun Chatzos, studied Torah, and performed his usual pre-dawn avodahs uncomplainingly, rather than disrupt the youngster’s sleep. When asked why he had not called out, Reb Avraham replied, “What difference does it make if one davens or learns at a table, or in a corner, or on the ground?”

(Heard from Rabbi Michel Dorfman)

*

Rabbi Avraham Shimon Burshteyn thought that it was his uncle Rabbi Shmelke Burshteyn who was with Reb Avraham that night, and that the time frame was about two hours. According to the way Reb Avraham Shimon heard the story, when asked why he didn’t call for help, Reb Avraham replied, “Es hott mich nisht geshtert az ich lig azoy . . . It didn’t bother me to lie there like that. I was able to make hisbodedus, say Tikkun Chatzos, imagine the yom ha-misah…”

*

While traveling from Poland to Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Ephraim’l of Pshedbarz, author of Oneg Shabbos, and his companions slept in the barn of a local farmer. One of his friends noticed that when Reb Ephraim’l turned in for the night, he found a rooster sleeping on his bed of straw. Instead of disturbing the bird, he returned to his learning, and periodically checked to see if the bird had woken up, until it finally left of its own accord. Only then did he go to sleep.

(Oral tradition)

*

Reb Gedaliah Kenig stressed that Breslover Chassidim should be me’urav im ha-briyos, in harmony with others. He said, “Der Rebbe’s zach is no’am, nisht vildkeit . . . The Rebbe’s path is pleasantness, not wildness!” He spoke about many things, but the main thing he stressed was no’am, pleasantness. This is the quality of Shabbos –- “no’am Shabbos.”

(Heard from Rabbi Noach Cheifetz)

*

Reb Gedaliah was exemplary in all matters of derekh eretz and upright conduct bein adam le-chavero. For example, he would not begin to eat until everyone had been served. Moreover, if someone came to see him while he was eating, he would set aside his food in order to avoid making the visitor wait.

(Heard from Rabbi Dovid Zeitlin)

*

Reb Gedaliah was a repository of knowledge of proper conduct toward others, derived from Chazal and tzaddikim: “Ehr gehat a dikkeh Shulchan Arukh af derekh eretz ... He had a thick 'Shulchan Arukh' about good manners."

(Heard from Rabbi Chaim Man and Rabbi Dovid Zeitlin)

*

Many years ago, someone asked Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Gottleib what he saw by the Breslover Chassidim. He replied, “They are extremely truthful, and are scrupulously honest in money matters.”

(Heard from Rabbi Dovid Zeitlin. The Rebbe devoted a lengthy lesson to this subject; see Likutey Moharan I, 69 [“Chomer Issur Gezelah”]; also from early Chassidic sources see Rabbi Michel of Zlotchov, Malki ba-Kodesh, Hanhagos Tovos: Nusach I, 18: “One should be careful not to steal even less than a sheva peruta, whether from a Jew or a gentile, and if one has done so, he should return it.”)

Sha'arei Tziyon

2012-01-05T07:24:00.003-05:00

Rebbe Nachman had a special liking for the kabbalistic prayers written by seventeenth century rabbi and mystic Rabbi Noson Nata Hanover (Ashkenazi), published as "Sha'arei Tziyon." Therefore, many Breslover Chassidim recite them.

(Shivchei ha-Ran 10, 13; Sichos ha-Ran 163; Si'ach Sarfei Kodesh III, 382.)

Sha’arei Tziyon also was popular among the followers of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezerich.

(See Toras ha-Maggid mi-Zlotchov, Hanhagos me-ha-Maggid mi-Zlotchov, vol. I, p. 343, citing Sefer Rishpey Aish, that Reb Michel of Zlotchov said Tikkun Chatzos and Kriyas Shema al ha-Mittah from Sha’arei Tziyon.)

Reb Gedaliah Kenig's students observed that he kept a copy of Sha'arei Tziyon with him constantly, and recited its prayers every day.

In recent years it has been reprinted both in its traditional format and in a newly-typeset edition.

Tzaddik Magazine - New Issue

2012-01-04T09:07:00.008-05:00

(Click on image above)

Likutey Moharan Class & Jazz Concert - Thursday, January 8

2012-01-04T09:02:00.002-05:00

Likutey Moharan Class
led by Elie Massias at 8pm
Followed by a Jazz Concert at 9pm
Class is free / Concert $6

More info at http://www.jewishmusiccafe.com

Reb Noson's Yahrtzeit

2012-01-03T07:52:00.004-05:00

This year the day-time fast of Asarah beTeves, which is also Reb Noson's yahrtzeit, begins on Wednesday night, January 4, 2012.

On the evening of Asarah beTeves, Reb Noson's yahrtzeit is commemorated by lighting a 24-hour candle and sharing a communal meal. In some Breslov communities it is customary to read the description of Reb Noson's histalkus (passing from the world) from Alim leTerufah (Jerusalem: Toras HaNetzach 2000 ed., pp. 913-918). It is also proper to study an additional portion of Reb Noson's teachings on his yahrtzeit, and to give tzedakah in his name according to one’s means.

The survival of Breslov Chassidus is due to the dedication to the point of mesirus nefesh of Reb Noson and his unique understanding of Rebbe Nachman's teachings, as we seen from his masterwork, Likutey Halakhos. The Rebbe compared their master-disciple relationship to that of the sun and the moon, which reflects the light it has received so that it illuminates the night -- meaning the situations in life that are like the night -- and to Moshe Rabbeinu and Yehoshua bin Nun, who led the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael. The Rebbe also once said, "Were it not for Reb Noson, not a page of my writings would remain."

For the story of Reb Noson's passing in English, see Rabbi Chaim Kramer, "Through Fire and Water" (Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute), Chapter 48.

Tzuras Yisrael / Appearance of a Jew

2012-01-03T07:39:00.010-05:00

By Dovid Zeitlin and Dovid Sears

Introduction:

There is no Breslover "dress code." In Uman on Rosh Hashanah, one finds Jews of every appearance and background, and this is true at many other Breslover gatherings. In part, this is because we live in an extremely diverse Jewish society today, and the Rebbe speaks to Jews from all walks of life and religious ideologies. Another reason is because Breslover Chassidus tends to focus on the inner life of the spirit, not on externals. It is also a very individualistic path.

However, it is must be acknowledged that members of traditional Breslov communities have always maintained a "Chassidisheh tzurah"—they dressed like other Chassidim in the places where they lived. The Rebbe was emphatic about not removing the beard and peyos, things that were unheard of among Breslover Chassidim until recent times. Thus, in contemporary Breslov communities in Eretz Yisrael (such as those in Yerushalayim, Bet Shemesh, Beitar, Brachfeld, Yavneel, Immanuel, Bnei Brak, and Tzefas) and in America (such as those in Borough Park, Williamsburg, Lakewood, Monsey, and Monroe), most Breslovers dress in a traditional Chassidic manner. Ideally, this goes hand in hand with fidelity to Chassidic spiritual values and ideals, based on the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and the great tzaddikim of the past.

When questioned on this subject, Reb Elazar Kenig answered that dressing in a Chassidic manner is a holy and meaningful component of the Rebbe's derekh. However, he added that some people from a more modern background who are attracted to Breslov may hesitate to change their style of dress. This should not be an obstacle. One need not wear a long black jacket to study the Rebbe’s teachings and follow his guidance in avodas HaShem. But even if one is not ready to make such external changes at present, one may aspire to wear a Chassidisheh levush in the future. In any case, one should respect the traditional Jewish manner of dress.

*

The Rebbe praised the Chassidim in general for preserving the traditional Jewish style of dress and appearance, and for keeping distant from chokhmos chitzoniyos (philosophies contrary to the Torah).
(Chayei Moharan 421)

*

Rabbi Nachman wore a beard and long peyos, and dressed in the manner of a Chassidic rebbe of his day.
(E.g., Shivchey ha-Ran, Nesia le-Eretz Yisrael, 15)

*

Reb Noson likewise wore a beard and peyos, but dressed like an ordinary Chassid, not like a rebbe. He preferred to wear a kashketel (a type of cloth cap with a visor) like a simple man, rather than the more formal wide-brimmed hat.
(Si’ach Sarfei Kodesh II, 633)

*

The Rebbe cautioned his followers not to wear unclean, torn, or shabby clothes. Rather, a God-fearing person should wear clean and respectable clothing, according to his ability.
(Chayei Moharan 201)

*

The Rebbe also mentioned that there is a yetzer hara which latches onto people through clothing. This problem is hinted to by the verse which states of Potifar's wife and Yosef Hatzaddik "And she grasped him by his garment" (Bereishis 39:12)—one of the ways the yetzer hara latches onto us is through excessive concern with clothing. Therefore, if one cannot afford all of the clothes one needs, G-d forbid, one should not worry about this, but simply make the best of things.
(Sichos ha-Ran 100)

*

Reb Noson discusses the mystical meaning of the centuries-old Jewish custom to fasten one’s shirts and jackets so that the right side is on top of the left side. This indicates the dominance of midas ha-chesed (kindness) over midas ha-din (harshness). Chassidim are particular to use such garments, as opposed to those worn in the secular world, which fasten left over right.
(See Likutey Halakhos, Hilchos Hashkomas ha-Boker 1:10)

*

The Rebbe once remarked that there is a connection between the fact that Jews in Germany in his day already wore short jackets in the modern, western European manner, and that the Zohar was not commonly available there.
(Chayei Moharan 422)

*

In the same teaching, the Rebbe states that clothes are in the category of the Ohr Makkif / Encompassing Light. Therefore, he reiterates, one must take care of his clothes and make sure that they are clean and neat.
(Ibid.)

*

The Rebbe delivered awesome mystical teachings about the beard and peyos. He also related the removal of the beard to assimilation and religious decline.
(See Likutey Moharan I, 20; Chayei Moharan 51, 86; et al.)

*

Reb Noson expounds at length upon the mystical meaning of the beard and peyos, which he relates to the Patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and the right, left, and middle columns in the array of the sefiros. He points out that these are not only symbols, but also channels for spiritual illumination.
(Likutey Halakhos, Gilu’ach 1, 3, et passim)

*

Reb Gedaliah said that it is proper to keep the peyos distinct from the beard, unlike those who brush the peyos into the beard. He said the peyos represent din, and the beard represents chesed. Therefore, they should not be mixed.
(Heard from Rabbi Dovid Shapiro)

*

The Arizal was strict about not cutting or removing the beard in any manner, even in ways that are permitted according to halakhah.
(Rabbi Chaim Vital, Sha’ar ha-Mitzvos, Kedoshim, 24a)

*

The vast majority of Breslover Chassidim of past generations did not trim their mustaches, even though it is halakhically permissible to do so.
(Heard from Rabbi Avraham Shimon Burshteyn)

*

The Rebbe remarked that HaShem derives great pleasure from "even the way the most ordinary Jew gives his peyos a shake."
(Likutey Moharan I, 17:1)

*

Shortly before his death, Rabbi Yisrael Karduner (Halpern) of Tiveria consoled himself, saying “Barukh Hashem, that I am leaving this world behind while ‘adorned’ with a beard and peyos.”
(Si’ach Sarfei Kodesh VI, 118)

Chayei Nefesh / An Exploration of the Role of the Tzaddik

2011-12-30T09:40:00.004-05:00

Rabbi Gedaliah Aharon Kenig (1921-1980) of Yerushalayim was the leading disciple of Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz (1862-1955), Rav of Kremenchug and Uman, and a major link in the Breslov mesorah (chain of transmission). Reb Gedaliah published some of his mentor’s oral traditions as “Tovos Zikhronos,” together with Reb Avraham’s writings on the issue of traveling to Meron for Rosh Hashanah when one cannot go to Uman, and “Yerach HaEisanim,” the Rav of Tcherin’s chiddushim (original teachings) on the first 23 lessons in Likutey Moharan, as related to Rosh Hashanah. He also published “Likutey Even/Tefillos HaBoker,” chiddushim on Likutey Moharan and original prayers of a disciple of Reb Noson, Reb Ephraim ben Naftali. In addition, Reb Gedaliah authored several major seforim of his own (the publication of which we still await); but the only one he published during his lifetime was “Chayei Nefesh,” a ground-breaking study of the nature and role of the tzaddik in response to the critique of the Chassidic viewpoint attributed to Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in “Nefesh HaChaim.”

Almost 25 years ago, Rabbis Dovid Zeitlin and Dovid Sears translated Chayei Nefesh to English—their first translation effort—although only the first half was made available online via the original Breslov Center website. Today this translation is being edited by the publication arm of Nachal Novea Mekor Chochma (umbrella organization of the Breslov community in Tsfat, Israel, founded by Reb Gedaliah and led today by his son, Rabbi Elazar Mordechai Kenig). When completed, this new version will be published together with a brief biography of the author.

However, in the meantime, we are making available the unedited version of the first half of the book on this website in two parts. May it serve as a source of deeper understanding and insight to all students of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s teachings, particularly on this key subject.

Chayei Nefesh - Part 1

Chayei Nefesh - Part 2

"The Rebbe's Letter"

2011-12-27T07:25:00.003-05:00

The following teaching, published as Likutey Moharan II, 48, is one of Rebbe Nachman's best-known discourses. It is unusual for its intimate, informal tone, hence it is known as "The Rebbe's Letter." As may be seen from Reb Noson's writings, this lesson has long served as the model for the characteristically Breslover style of chizuk (encouragement in Avodas Hashem).

Translated by Dovid Sears

When a person first begins to serve God in earnest, this is the way they show him: rejection. It seems to him that from above, they are keeping him at a distance, and refuse to let him enter into the service of God. However, all of this seeming rejection in reality is love in disguise.

It takes extremely great strength not to become disheartened, God forbid. You may see that many days and years have passed during which you exerted yourself greatly in serving God, and you still remain far away—you have not even entered the gates of holiness, for you can see for yourself that you are still full of coarseness, physical attachments, evil thoughts, and inner turmoil. Whatever holy task you wish to accomplish, they do not let you succeed. It seems that God pays no attention to you at all, and that He has absolutely no desire for your service, since you constantly cry out and supplicate and prostrate yourself before God, that He should help you to serve Him—and still you remain far away. Thus, it seems that God does not heed you in the least, because He does not want you.

To cope with all this requires great fortitude. You must encourage yourself greatly, and pay no mind to any of this at all—for in truth, all the rejection is only meant to draw you closer. All of this happened to all of the tzaddikim, as we heard from their lips explicitly. It seemed to them that God paid them no mind at all, since they saw that they were searching and striving and trying to serve God for so long, and still they seemed extremely far away. If they had not greatly strengthened themselves not to pay attention to any of this, they would have remained in their original place and never have attained what they attained.

The main thing, my beloved brother, is to remain strong and firm; hold on with all your might, and remain steadfast in your Divine service. Do not respond or pay heed to any of the difficulties mentioned above. And if indeed you are very far from God, and it seems that you are making matters worse all the time, nevertheless, you should know that each gesture such a spiritually coarse person makes to uproot himself from his physical attachments and turn to God—however small this effort may seem—is extremely precious. Even your slightest movement away from your innate materialism toward God causes you to traverse thousands of miles in the supernal worlds. This can be clearly understood from the story about the tzaddik who became depressed, as is well known in our circle.[1]

You must rejoice over this and strengthen yourself with gladness—for melancholy is extremely damaging. And know: as soon as a person resolves to begin to serve God, it is a cardinal sin to become depressed, God forbid, because sadness is a manifestation of the Other Side (Zohar I, 71a), and God hates it.

A person must be very stubborn in serving God, and never desert his position, i.e., the limited degree of Divine service he has already undertaken, no matter what happens. Remember well this advice, for you will need it as soon as you begin to serve God. You must demonstrate great stubbornness in order to remain strong and firm, holding on and standing your ground. Even if they cast you down, God forbid, again and again—for sometimes they cast down an individual from his level of Divine service, as is known (Avodah Zarah 4b)—nevertheless, you must fulfill that which is incumbent upon you, and continue to serve God in any way possible.

Never give up, God forbid. Of necessity, you must experience all of these spiritual descents and confusions before you may enter the gates of holiness. The true tzaddikim also endured all this.

And know: a person already might have reached the very entrance to the realm of holiness, and then turn back because of his inner conflict—or, at that moment, as he stands at the door, the Other Side and the Evil One might pit themselves against him with all their might, may the Merciful One deliver us, with the fiercest intensity, and not let him cross the threshold. And for this reason he might turn back, God forbid. This is the way of the Evil One and the Other Side: when a person comes very close to the gates of holiness and is just about to enter, they attack him with all their strength, may the Merciful One deliver us. Therefore, at that moment it is necessary to muster great resistance against them.

We once heard of a true tzaddik who declared, "If just one person, no matter who he might have been, had said to me: 'My brother, strengthen yourself and remain firm!' I would have run forth with the greatest alacrity in serving God!" All that we have described had befallen him, too, but he did not hear even a word of encouragement from anyone.

Therefore, whoever wishes to embark upon the spiritual path must remember this well: strengthen yourself, do the best you can to serve God, and rest assured that sooner or later, after many days and years, with God's help you surely will enter the gates of holiness. For God is full of compassion, and He greatly desires our service.

And know: the slightest movements, the least gestures you make, time after time, to subjugate your physical nature in order to serve God, all gather together and combine and come to your aid in an hour of need, when you find yourself in narrow straits, God forbid.

And know: a person must cross an exceedingly narrow bridge; but the main thing is not to frighten yourself at all.

And know: there is a tree with many leaves, and each leaf takes one hundred years to grow. This tree is found in the orchards of the nobility, who call it me'ah shanim, the "one hundred year tree." Since it grows for a century, without a doubt it must endure many things. Then, at the end of the hundred years, it explodes with a loud report like a cannon. Consider this parable well.

You must live with the teaching "Azamra L'Elokai B'Odi" ("I shall sing to my God with the little I have left," Likutey Moharan I, 282). That is, you should search and probe, until you discover in yourself some meritorious quality, some good point. With this little bit of good that you find, you must gladden yourself, strengthen yourself, and never give up—no matter how far you may fall, may the Merciful One deliver us. You must nevertheless strengthen yourself with the little bit of good that you still possess, until through this you are able to return to God, and "all of your transgressions are transformed to merits" (Yoma 86b).

This is what the Baal Shem Tov, may the memory of the tzaddik be a blessing, did on his sea voyage, when the Evil One began to entice him.[2] From this you should understand the power of encouraging yourself, and never yield to despair, God forbid, no matter what happens. The main thing is always to be happy, to gladden yourself in any way possible, even through foolish things—to play the clown, engage in harmless jest, turn somersaults, or dance, in order to reach a state of joy, which is a very great thing.

________________________________________

[1] This is the story of “The Melancholy Tzaddik.” See Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Rabbi Nachman’s Stories (Breslov Research Institute), “Additional Stories,” p. 447; also Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, Restore My Soul (Breslov Research Institute), pp. 123-127; Likutey Halakhos, Pesach 9:15, Chayei Moharan 593.

[2] Rebbe Nachman alludes to the tradition that when the Baal Shem Tov was en route to the Land of Israel by sea, his ship was caught in a storm, and subsequently landed on a desert island. There, the passengers who had disembarked were beset by cannibals. The Baal Shem Tov, his daughter Rebbetzin Udel, and his attendant, Reb Hersch Sofer, were among the captives. Rabbi Hersch asked the Baal Shem Tov to make use of his madreigos, his supernatural powers, in order to escape. However, his master said that all his powers had been taken away; he had forgotten his Torah learning, and could not remember even the Alef-Beis. However, instead of succumbing to despair, the Baal Shem Tov asked Rabbi Hersch to repeat the letters of the Hebrew alphabet together with him responsively. With great yearning for God, they did so. Miraculously, another ship appeared, the cannibals fled, and everyone was rescued. Having withstood this test, the Baal Shem Tov found his powers completely restored; however, from what had transpired, he knew that it was the will of Heaven that he return home to Medzhibuzh. Among Breslover Chassidim, the full version of this story (published by Toras HaNetzach in “Eretz HaKodesh/Masah HaKodesh”) customarily is told during the "Baal Shem Tov Se'udah," the last meal on Acharon Shel Pesach.

Giant Menorah with 400 Candles at Maaleh Adumim

2011-12-27T07:23:00.002-05:00

From Arutz-7:

Giant Menorah with 400 Candles at Maaleh Adumim
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Adults and youth at Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, used 400 candles to build a giant Menorah that could be seen from the highway to the Dead Sea.

They created the “Chanukiyah” Wednesday night, the second evening of the eight-day festival. Former American Jacob Richman filmed the event.

The candles were lit on sand that was placed in bags on the side of a mountain, enabling it to be seen from the road leading from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, a unique way of fulfilling the mitzvah of publicizing the miracle of Chanukah.

Audio - Rav Motel Zilber Shiur

2011-12-21T12:44:00.001-05:00

Received via e-mail from David Friedman:

Here is a link to here the shiur given by Rav Motel Zilber this past Sunday (as well as previous shiurim).

Reb Avraham b'Reb Nachman Chazan, zatzal

2011-12-20T07:24:00.005-05:00

On this Motza'ei Shabbos, Saturday night, Dec. 24-Sunday, Dec. 25, which is the fifth day of Chanukah, Breslover Chassidim will comemorate the yartzeit of one of our greatest luminaries, Rabbi Avraham ben Reb Nachman Chazan. Public Melaveh Malkas in his memory will be held in most Breslov shuls, including those in Borough Park, Flatbush, Williamsburg and Monsey.

The son of Reb Noson’s close follower Reb Nachman Tulchiner, Reb Avraham was a key figure in the Uman Breslov kehillah and later in Yerushalayim, and he passed on many oral traditions (some of which are found in his “Kokhvei Ohr”). Reb Avraham ben Reb Nachman was an extreme ascetic who had nothing to do with the materialism of this world. It is said that for many years he was accustomed to leave his home on Sunday to seclude himself in the Grekko forest outside of Uman with a few seforim and a few rolls of bread, and not return until the following Erev Shabbos. His “Bi'ur HaLikkutim” is one of the most profound works ever written on Likutey Moharan.

Zekhuso yagein aleinu v'al kol Yisrael!

The Mysterious Guest

2011-12-20T04:50:00.000-05:00

Illustration © Uri Shulevitz

Chayey Moharan, Sippurim Chadashim 85
Translation by Dovid Sears

Rabbi Nachman told this story on the first night of Chanukah 5569/1808, after lighting the first candle.

A visitor came into a house and asked the head of the house, “From where do you obtain a living?”

“I don’t have a steady livelihood at home,” his host replied. “However, the world provides me with what I need to live.”

The guest asked him, “What do you study?”

The host answered him.

They continued conversing, until soon they were engaged in a true heart to heart discussion. The host began to feel an intense longing and yearning to reach a certain level of holiness. “I will teach you,” said the guest.

The host was surprised. He began to wonder, “Maybe this isn’t a human being at all!” However, he looked again, and saw that the guest was talking to him like a human being.

Immediately afterward he had a strong sense of faith, and he resolved to believe in him. He started calling him “my teacher,” and said to him, “First of all, I would like to ask you to teach me how to conduct myself with due respect toward you. Not, I scarcely need add, that I could actually detract from your true honor, God forbid; but even so, it is hard for human beings to be as meticulous as they should be in these matters. That is why I would like you to teach me how to behave with due respect.”

“For the moment, I don’t have the time,” he replied. “Another time I will come and teach you this. Right now I must go away from here.”

“I also need to learn from you about this,” said the host. “How far must I go when I accompany you on your way, as a host is obligated to do when his guests depart?” [1]

“Until just beyond the entrance,” he replied.

The host began to think to himself, “How can I go out with him? Right now I am with him among other people. But if I go out with him alone—who knows who he is?” He questioned him and then told him, “I’m afraid to go out with you.”

“If I can learn with you like this,” the visitor retorted, “then now, too, if I wanted to do something to you, who would stop me?”

The host went with him beyond the entrance. All of a sudden, the visitor seized him and began to fly with him!

It was cold for the host, so the other took a garment and gave it to him. “Take this garment,” he said, “and it will be good for you. You will have food and drink and everything will be good, and you will live in your house.” And he flew with him.

In the midst of this, the host gazed, and suddenly he was in his house. He couldn’t believe his own eyes that he was in his house; but he looked, and there he was, speaking with people, and eating and drinking in a normal manner. Then he looked back, and lo and behold, he was flying, as before. Then he looked back and he was in his house. This went on for a long time.

After awhile, he flew down to a valley between two mountains. There, he found a book which contained various combinations of letters: alef, zayin, chet, which is dalet, etc. Vessels were depicted in this book, and inside the vessels were letters. Moreover, inside the vessels were the letters of the vessels, by which one could create such vessels. He felt an intense desire to study this book.

In the midst of this, he gazed, and lo and behold, he was in his house. Then he gazed, and there he was, in the valley.

He made up his mind to climb the mountain; perhaps he would find an inhabited place there. When he came to the mountain, he saw a golden tree with golden branches standing there. Hanging from the branches were vessels like those depicted in the book, and within those vessels were other vessels by which one could create such vessels. He wanted to take some of the vessels away from there, but he was unable to do so, for they were inextricably entangled in the branches.

In the midst of this, he gazed - and lo and behold, he was in his house. This was most amazing to him. How was this possible? How could he be both here and there at the same time? He wanted to discuss this with other human beings, but how could one speak about such an astounding phenomenon to other people, something that they surely would not believe?

In the midst of this, he looked out the window and saw the same guest. He started begging him to come to him. However, the guest replied, “I don’t have time, because I am on my way to you!”

“This itself is a wonder in my eyes!” he cried. “Look, I am right here—what do you mean, that you are on your way to me?”

The guest explained, “The moment you decided to come with me, to accompany me beyond the doorway, I took the neshamah (higher soul) from you and gave you a garment from the Lower Garden of Eden. [2] The nefesh (vital spirit) and ru’ach (lower soul) remain with you. Therefore, whenever you attach your thoughts to that place, you are there, and you draw an illumination from that place to yourself. And when you return here—you are here!”

I do not know which world he is from, but this much is certain: it is a world of good.

So far, it is not over, it is not finished.

--

[1] Sota 46b. Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Zuta 16:43 states that a disciple who escorts his Torah teacher receives divine blessing. The same text adds (16:46) that when one escorts a traveler embarking on a journey, the traveler will be protected from harm.

[2] The Zohar (I, 138a) describes the Garden of Eden as having a higher level for the neshamah, which is the seat of thought, and a lower level for the ru’ach, the seat of the emotions.

Bringing Down the Light

2011-12-15T14:52:00.006-05:00

Excerpt from "Bringing Down the Light":

Rabbi Ephraim ben Naftoli

Tefilot HaBoker: Prayers of the Dawn, Tefilah 4

No matter to what depths we have fallen, the tzaddikim can rescue us by "shining" down the light of Divine perception to heal our souls.

Help us, O Lord our God, help us to receive the holiness of the days of Chanukah in sanctity and purity, and with true joy. Grant us the privilege of lighting the Chanukah candles every night, as You have commanded us through our holy rabbis of blessed memory—to begin by lighting one candle on the first night, and to add another candle on each succeeding night, until the eight days of Chanukah are complete. For You have already made known to us through our holy sages that through the holiness of the Chanukah candles, we imbue our minds with perceptions of Godliness. The tzimtzumim (constrictions) of the Infinite Light which they represent produce the spiritual illumination transmitted by all holy lights and candles. This is the paradigm of “eliciting abundant holiness and igniting flames and radiant lights.”

Shine upon us the light of the holy anointing oil, enlightening us with perceptions of Godliness in a miraculous and wondrous way. Thus may we illuminate and kindle the holy candles which contain all spiritual unifications and transmissions of Divine consciousness, so that their light will reach even people like us who occupy the nethermost rung, which corresponds to “below ten handbreadths.”

Through the tikkunim of the miracle of Chanukah, may we too experience this light through the power of the preeminent tzaddikim who transmit perceptions of the supernal light to us, even in our lowly condition. They heal us from sicknesses of the soul which threaten to overwhelm us, to the point that “our souls abhor all food, and we have reached the gates of death.” For we know in our hearts how fiercely these sicknesses attack us, and how every day our souls grow weaker, due to the multitude of our sins. However, in Your great mercy, You ennoble us with the holiness of this awesome mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles. Through this mitzvah, the true tzaddikim transmit the radiance of Divine perception even to such spiritual invalids as us, and they bring down this lofty light into the darkness that pervades our bodies because of our evil deeds. These tzaddikim “shine” to us, so that we might take to heart their holy words; they enliven us with their words, and in so doing, transmit the holy light of the Chanukah candles to the depths of darkness.

May we firmly believe that without a doubt, we can go forth from darkness to light with this mitzvah, in the merit of the true tzaddikim who illuminate the earth and all who dwell upon it! Fulfill in us the verses: “Even when I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I shall not fear evil, for You are with Me.” “Though I sit in darkness, God is a light unto me.”

Instill compassion into the hearts of the true tzaddikim toward the entire Jewish people and toward me, so that they will mercifully draw all of us closer. May they lower themselves to our level, shine their lights upon us, and reveal flashes of Divine perception, even to people like us, and may they succeed in healing our souls. May they fulfill the mitzvah of visiting the sick by attending our ailing souls every day! Thus they will give us,new life and revive us with spiritual delicacies, until we finally return to You in perfect teshuvah when we accept and follow all their holy advice, which is a powerful remedy for our souls.

Illuminate our souls with the wondrous radiance of Divine perception in the aspect of Chanukah! Revitalize our wisdom in holiness, and grant us life from the Light of the Face as a result of our rejoicing in the mitzvot. Gather together the mitzvot that we perform on the Three Pilgrim Festivals and in their merit, may we participate in the rededication of the Holy Temple, which is the channel for the illumination of the Light of the Face!

“The Light of Your Face, O Master, lift up to us.” “May God favor us and bless us; may He cause His Face to shine among us, selah.” “Shine Your Face upon Your servant; save me in Your kindness,” so that through the lighting of the Chanukah candles I will be privileged to draw the Light of the Face from the Holy Temple in order to enliven the sefirah of Malkhut, and thereby receive perceptions of Godliness.

“Let Your Face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your ordinances.” “And every created thing shall know that You created it, and every formed thing shall understand that You formed it; and everything that possesses the breath of life in its nostrils shall declare: The Lord, God of Israel is King, and His dominion extends over all!”

In Your mercy, grant us the opportunity to give tzedakah, especially during the days of Chanukah, so that through us Your Face will shine. And by virtue of the tzedakah that we give to the poor when they come to our homes, may we receive the Light of the Face of the Living King.

In the merit of this tzedakah, may we draw closer to the true tzaddikim who reveal Your light by making the necessary tzimtzumim and vessels to illuminate even our souls, which are so far from holiness that by right we should be treated as outcasts. Nevertheless, with great self sacrifice, they labor all their days out of compassion for us and for all Israel—even those who are most distant—in order to bring us closer to God. They reveal new and wondrous tzimtzumim by which it is possible to reach anyone who wishes to enter the realm of holiness.

Have mercy on us and allow us to come close to tzaddikim like them. In Your mercy, put an end to the dispute, which was produced by our sins, surrounding those tzaddikim who strive to reach out to us. For this is why there is such great opposition to them, even from other great tzaddikim: The Divine attribute of judgment garbs itself in these opposing tzaddikirn because of their fierce holiness, which prevents them from being able to tolerate the world, due to our transgressions and unworthy deeds.

Although the truth is with them, You have already made known to us that in Your beneficence, You do not desire to reject us, God forbid. On the contrary, You always wish to judge us favorably, despite the foulness of our sins. You always wish to show compassion toward us, even to the “worst of the worst.” Therefore You create ways of fixing our damage, and garb the lights of holiness in such wondrous garments and constrictions that these lights can shine to us as well.

Thus the tzaddikim. continue to transmit the Divine light to lower levels, in increasing degrees of holiness, more and more every day, and they continue to elevate all fallen souls, imbuing them with perceptions of Godliness through holy tzimtzumim, until finally they will heal all afflicted souls in the world. Therefore have mercy on us and abolish all strife surrounding these true tzaddikim, and allow us to draw close to them. Let them remove all the shame and disgrace that has befallen us due to our sins, bring us back in complete teshuvah, and draw us close to You in truth!

Chanukah and Overcoming Avarice: Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett

2011-12-15T07:41:00.008-05:00

Excerpt from "Chanukah with Rebbe Nachman of Breslov":

Even someone who is supported by charity must beg or sell his clothing in order to buy Chanukah candles.

Avarice

The history of mankind may be the story of the victory of the strong over the weak (war), of the many over the few (democracy), of the wicked over the innocent (crime), but the underlying dynamics of human history boils down to avarice. The rise and fall of nations may be connected with the strong the many, and sometimes the wicked, but the basic driving force for power is avarice.

The Greeks were no different, although they pursued their goals under the facade of "culture." in order to impose avarice upon the Jewish people, they issued three decrees: no Sabbath, no New Moon, and no circumcision.

The weekly Sabbath rest reminds the Jew that his sustenance comes from God. Observing the Sabbath thus precludes avarice, since it declares that no effort will help without God. The New Moon dictates the Jewish calendar, and subsequently the festivals. just as the Sabbath rest precludes avarice, so does observing the festivals. Circumcision signifies sexual purity, the lack of which induces avarice, because controlling one's passion for sexual gratification weakens the passion of avarice (Likutey Moharan I 23:2‑3; Likutey Halakhot, Aveidah u’Metziah 3:6).

Avarice defiles the mind. When one's mind becomes filled with thoughts of money, there is no room left for wisdom. Thus the Greeks defiled the Temple oil, because oil is symbolic of wisdom (ibid. 3:7).

Furthermore, the desire for money and material gain is really the source of all sadness. The more you want, the more you need, and the more you feel you lack. A criminal will rob and kill someone, in order to fill his perceived lack, and nations go to war for the same reason. Thus, those who succumb to avarice are surrounded by a dark cloud of moroseness (Likutey Moharan I, 23:1) – because they find no contentment in what they possess. Therefore, tradition says, the Greeks are compared to darkness (Bereishit Rabbah 2:4).

In order to counter avarice, in order to dispel these clouds of darkness, you must open your heart and hand (Likutey Moharan I, 13:1). You must become a fitting vessel for God through which to channel His boundless bounty. You must allow yourself to experience the gratitude that comes from accepting that bounty. Lastly, you must allow yourself to experience the love that comes from sharing your bounty.

Chanukah symbolizes this.

The victory was wrought through the priests. The priests symbolize charity, because they are given the priestly gifts that epitomize charity. So after Judah Maccabee—the priest led his army to victory, he donated all the spoils of war to charity (Yosefun).

To relive this victory over avarice, over the dark clouds of moroseness, we light our candles after sunset, rejoice, and give Chanukah gelt—charity (Likutey Halakhot, Aveidah u'Metziah 3:8).
In fact, so great was this miracle—the miracle of victory over avarice—that even someone who has nothing to give must beg or sell his belongings to purchase candles. That will be considered his charity.

Rav Mottel Zilber Shiur - Sunday, December 18

2011-12-15T07:38:00.001-05:00

הגה"צ הרב מרדכי זילבער שליט"א

HaRav Mottel Zilber

Will deliver a Shiur Chassidus for Men

in English on the Pnimiyus of Chanukah

מעין ישראל

מרכז החסידות

3307 Ave N, Brooklyn

This Sunday, Parshas Mikeitz

כ"ג כסלו ה'תשע"ב - December 18th, 2011

9:00 pm Maariv – 9:15 Shiur

The Tzibbur is Invited

http://www.mayanyisroel.net/

Video: An Evening with Rebbe Nachman

2011-12-14T07:41:00.000-05:00

Help complete the Likutey Moharan!

Lazer and Lipa - December 15

2011-12-14T07:36:00.005-05:00

(Click on image)

Chanukah Customs

2011-12-08T07:47:00.003-05:00

Compiled and annotated by Dovid Sears and Dovid Zeitlin

This list of customs especially reflects those of Reb Gedaliah Kenig and the Tzefat Breslov community, although it includes a number of general Breslov customs, as well.

Introduction:

The Rebbe states: Through the mitzvah of the Chanukah lights, we come to recognize G-d’s Glory, which is elevated and magnified throughout the world. Those who are distant from holiness are awakened to return to G-d; and we attain awe of G-d, peace in our homes, and the power of prayer. All strife and evil speech are nullified, and universal peace spreads through all of the worlds.

(Likkutei Moharan I, 14)

*

He also states that through the mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah lamp, we internalize holy da’as, which is the awareness of G-dliness. This is the paradigm of “good oil,” the paradigm of “remembrance.” That is, through the Chanukah lights we are privy to “remember” the World to Come -- the transcendental realm that is the point of origin of the soul and its ultimate destination -- even in the midst of this world.

(Ibid. I, 54)

The Chanukah Menorah

Reb Gedaliah Kenig was particular to use olive oil for lighting the Chanukah Menorah. This is the mitzvah min ha-muvchar, the optimal way to perform the mitzvah.

(See Rama on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 673:1. However, wax or paraffin candles are also acceptable, as the Shulchan Arukh states.)

*

Most Menorahs have an extra place for a ninth light, set apart from the rest, called the “shamash.” In addition to this, Reb Gedaliah would use a second shamash, a wax candle, to light the wicks; and when finished, he would place it in a separate holder to the side of the Menorah. This seems to reflect a hiddur in halakhah, in that adding the light of the shamash prevents one from inadvertently making mundane use of the Chanukah lights.

(See Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 673:1 regarding the custom of lighting an extra candle)

*

The conclusion of the blessing before lighting the Menorah is "le-hadlik ner Chanukah," in keeping with the custom of the ARI zal. The initial letters of these three words spell the Divine Name "NaCHaL" (literally “river” or “brook”). Reb Noson homiletically relates this to the "Nachal Novea Mekor Chokhmah (A Flowing Brook, the Source of Wisdom)," a euphemism for the Rebbe. (The initial letters of this phrase from Proverbs 18:4 spell the name “Nachman.”)

(Cf. Rabbi Chaim Vital, Pri Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar Chanukah, chapter 4, which explains that this Divine Name brings about an outflow of the supernal light of Binah to Ze’er Anpin; Reb Noson relates this to “Nachal Novea Mekor Chokhmah” in Likkutei Halakhos, Betzias ha-Pas 5:27; ibid. Kiddushin 2:3)

*

Reb Gedaliah did not wear Shabbos clothes while lighting the Chanukah Menorah (except on Erev Shabbos Chanukah and Motza’ei Shabbos Chanukah). However, some wear a bekitcheh in honor of Chanukah.

(This seems to have been the common custom among Russian and Ukrainian Chassidim, among others; e.g. Skver-Chernobyl, Chabad, Karlin-Stolin, Boyan-Rizhin, et al. However, many Hungarian Chassidim wear a shtreimel and bekitcheh while lighting the Chanukah Menorah; see Likkutei MaHaRiCH, Seder Dinei u-Minhagei Chanukah, p. 718.)

*

Reb Gedaliah would begin chanting “Ha-neiros hallalu…” after lighting the first candle, while the flame was starting to arise by itself.

(Reb Gedaliah’s custom reflects the view of the Shulchan Arukh, Magen Avraham, Elyah Rabbah, et al., and is similar to the custom followed by the communities of Karlin-Stolin, Lelov, and others; however, some begin “Haneiros hallalu” after the first candle is fully lit. Other communities, such as Chabad, Skver-Chernobyl, et al., follow the view of the Pri Megadim, Eishel Avraham, et al., to begin after one finishes lighting all the candles; see Likkutei MaHaRiCH, Seder Dinei u-Minhagei Chanukah, p. 718.)

*

After reciting “Haneiros hallalu,” Reb Gedaliah would gaze at the lights in silence for approximately thirty minutes.

*

He would also sing Ma'oz Tzur, and recite Vi-hi Noam and Yoshev be-Seser seven times, followed by Lamenatze'ach be-Neginos, Ana be-Koach, and various zemiros. However, he always spent much time sitting and gazing at the lights in silence.

(The minhag to recite these psalms and zemiros is not unique to Breslov, but is common practice in many Chassidic communities; see Likkutei MaHaRiCH, Seder Dinei u-Minhagei Chanukah, p. 709.)

*

Reb Gedaliah would often learn Likkutei Moharan I, 3 (“Akrukta”) at this time, although he sometimes chose a different Chanukah Torah.

(Other Chanukah lessons include Likkutei Moharan I, 8, 14, 17, 30, 49; II, 2, 7)

*

Shabbos Chanukah was one of the three fixed times during the year when the Chassidim used to come to the Rebbe. In commemoration of this, some Breslover Chassidim today travel to Uman for Shabbos Chanukah. (However, the only time of year when it is obligatory for a Breslover Chassid to come to the Rebbe is Rosh Hashanah.)

*

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender states that on Erev Shabbos Chanukah, the Breslover Chassidim in Uman would daven Minchah with a minyan earlier than usual, prior to lighting the candles.

(Si'ach Sarfei Kodesh IV, 255. This is consistent with Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 679:1, 2; also see Mishnah Berurah, ad loc.)

*

However the minhag of Yerushalayim, which is also the minhag of the Breslov community in Tzefat, is to light the Chanukah Menorah and Shabbos candles prior to Minchah, and then go to shul.

(Kitzur SheLaH, Hilchos Chanukah, s.v. “Ve-yesh le-hazhir” states that this is preferable to praying Minchah alone at home in order to maximize the time that the candles will burn. This custom probably reflects practical difficulties of going back and forth to the synagogue twice so close to Shabbos.)

*

In any case, the Chanukah Menorah should be lit before the Shabbos candles, and the candles should burn until at least 30 minutes after tzes ha-kokhavim (about 90 minutes after sundown in America, and somewhat less in Eretz Yisrael).

(Mishnah Berurah on Orach Chaim 679:2)

*

On Shabbos Chanukah, the psalms and zemiros usually recited and sung immediately after lighting the Menorah are sung during the evening meal.

*

Shabbos Chanukah is also the main time that the Tzefat chaburah gets together to rejoice as a community, including sharing a communal Melaveh Malkah. This was the focal point of Chanukah for the talmidim of the Rebbe and Reb Noson, as well.

*

On the eighth night of Chanukah, the yeshivah bochurim share a communal meal, accompanied by singing, divrei Torah, and joyous rikkudim. Rejoicing on “Zos Chanukah” is a minhag of the Baal Shem Tov, which is observed by many Chassidim. However, the Tzefat Breslov kehilllah does not do so as a whole. Rather, Shabbos Chanukah is the focal point of communal celebration.

(Sippurei Baal Shem Tov; also cf. Likkutei MaHaRiCH, Seder Dinei u-Minhagei Chanukah, p. 714)

“Chanukah Gelt”

It is customary to give extra tzedakah during the days of Chanukah. Reb Noson states that this is because during Chanukah, we are engaged in drawing the light of holy altruism into the world, as indicated by the verse “the tzaddik is beneficent and giving” (Psalms 37:21).

(Likkutei Halakhos, Birkhas ha-Mazon 3:16).

*

Reb Gedaliah used to give “Chanukah gelt” to his children on the last night of Chanukah (“Zos Chanukah”).

Nittel Nacht

Like all Chassidim, Breslovers do not study Torah from sundown until Chatzos on “Nittel Nacht.” Ideally, one should go to sleep as early as possible and arise to recite Tikkun Chatzos. However, Reb Gedaliah stated that if one remains awake, it is permissible to read the Rebbe’s Sippurei Ma’asiyos.

(Heard from Rabbi Chaim Man.)

Reb Noson's Yahrtzeit

This year Asarah beTeves begins on Wednesday night, January 4, 2012.

On the evening of Asarah Be-Teves, Reb Noson's yahrtzeit is commemorated by lighting a 24-hour candle and sharing a communal meal. In some Breslov communities it is customary to read the description of Reb Noson's histalkus (passing from the world) from Alim le-Terufah (Jerusalem: Toras HaNetzach 2000 ed., pp. 913-918). It is also proper to study an additional portion of Reb Noson's teachings on his yahrtzeit, and to give tzedakah in his name according to one’s means.

(In English, see Rabbi Chaim Kramer, Through Fire and Water, Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute, Chapter 48)

Rabbi Yitzchak ("Itzik") Isaac Eisenstadt z"l

2011-12-07T14:34:00.006-05:00

Photo (c) Dovid Sears

We are saddened to learn of the recent passing of Reb Itzik Eisenstadt, zikhrono livrakha, prominent Modzitzer chassid and also lifelong friend and follower of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Like his mentor, Reb Itzik had a warm relationship with Breslover Chassidim both in America and Eretz Yisrael -- but he had that kind of relationship with virtually everyone he met. As Rabbi Meir Fund said during his hesped, "Reb Itzik was a friend to every kind of Jew, from the extremely Chassidic to the "yeshivishe" ben Torah, from the religious Zionist to the staunch secularist; he befriended the non-Jew who was exploring Judaism, as well as the non-Jew who had no interest whatever in Judaism. He was a friend to all..."

In Modzitz, he was renowned for his devotion to the Rebbes he knew so well: the Nachalas Dan, zatzal, and his son, the present Rebbe, shlit"a. In the Carlebach community he was familiar to all as Reb Shlomo's frequent traveling companion and also as a repository of Chassidic neginah. He leaves behind a daughter, Mrs. Mishket Glassman of Borough Park, and her family. May he have a "lechtiger Gan Eden" and be a meilitz yosher, an eloquent intercessor, for all Klal Yisrael.

The Poor Man and the Astrologer

2011-11-30T15:45:00.007-05:00

The Poor Man and the Astrologer
From Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender's
Siach Sarfei Kodesh
Translated by Dovid Sears

This story reflects Rebbe Nachman's emphasis on bechirah, or freedom of choice. Although divine providence vs. human free will must remain a paradox, as he states in Likutey Moharan I, 21, in the existential situation, free will is quite real, and ultimately we are not slaves of our circumstances.

Our master, Rabbi Nachman, of blessed memory, told the following story: Once an itinerant astrologer came to a certain town, and all the townspeople came to ask his advice concerning their business affairs and their hardships. In this town dwelt a poor man who was exceedingly God-fearing. He spent all his days occupied in Torah study and divine service. After the astrologer's name achieved renown, along with tales of his wondrous salvations and advice, the poor man's wife began to importune him to go to the astrologer, too. Maybe he would receive some good advice in order to extricate himself from his grinding poverty. Since he feared God and was a man of faith, he paid no mind to her words. However, she would not relent. Again and again she urged him, until he could not stand up to her anymore. "Whether you want to or not, just go!" In Yiddish: Yoh gevohlt, nisht gevohlt, un fohrt gegahngen!

After hearing his story, the astrologer told him: "Your stars have determined that you must become a thief!"

At this, the poor man ran out of the room and went straight back to the Beis HaMedrash (study hall) to resume his Torah studies, as before.

When he came home, his wife asked, "What did the astrologer tell you?"

"Nothing at all!" he replied.

In the middle of his meal, he began to laugh to himself.

"To be sure, the astrologer told you something!" his wife exclaimed. "You just don't want to tell me!" She began to berate him: "Whether you want to or not, tell me!" Yoh gevohlt, nisht gevohlt, un zohg mir!

So he confessed what the astrologer had advised him to do. The woman was deeply shaken by the strange instruction the astrologer had given her husband, who was such a chassid (devoutly religious man).

He went to the Beis HaMedrash as in the past, and returned to his holy books and divine service. After awhile, hunger began to gnaw at the poor couple. Finally, the wife turned to her husband and said, "I am already willing for you to go out and steal, as long as we don't have to starve like this anymore!"

Day after day, she kept this up, urging him to go out and steal just once - only as much as they would need to stay alive. "Whether you want to or not, just go!" Yoh gevohlt, nisht gevohlt, un fohrt gegahngen!

The poor man made up his mind that he had no choice, since his family was starving. He would go and steal from the richest man in town; however, he would take only the smallest amount, just enough to stay alive. Upon entering the rich man's place of business, he found the guards sound asleep. No one asked him a thing. He went from room to room until he came to the safe, pocketed an extremely small amount, and brought his ill-gotten gains back to his wife.

"See!" he declared. "This one time I have fulfilled your wishes!" - but he resolved never to go back and commit such an act of theft.

Time passed, and the pangs of hunger began to afflict them again. The poor man's wife begged him to steal some small amount, just one more time. "Whether you want to or not, just go!" Yoh gevohlt, nisht gevohlt, un fohrt gegahngen! Again the man was successful; and again and again, he continued to steal.

Soon there was a great hue and cry in town. There was a thief among them of such consummate skill that he would steal the slightest amount whenever he wished, and never be caught. This was a source of amazement even to the other thieves, for none of the local thieves was familiar with this talented fellow. They wanted to initiate him into their band. Therefore, they resolved to search for him until they captured him. Since these thieves, too, were born under a good star for stealing, they caught him - and it was a wonder in their eyes who the master thief turned out to be! The poor man became their friend and partner in crime.

One day the thieves came to him and told him that in the king's palace were some extremely precious garments, ornamented with precious stones and pearls. If they could steal them, they would become very rich. For a long time, the thieves had bemoaned the fact that they could not steal the precious garments because the latter were so well guarded. However, since their new comrade's skills in thievery were so great, he surely could purloin the king's clothes. "Whether you want to or not, just go!" Yoh gevohlt, nisht gevohlt, un fohrt gegahngen!

He entered the palace, and because his stars were favorable, he managed to steal the precious garments. When he left the palace and brought them back to the robbers' lair, however, the former chassid and the thieves began to bicker. As soon as they sat down to divide the spoils, each side demanded a greater share. The other thieves objected, "It was our idea, therefore, we deserve the greater portion!" The former chassid argued, "If not for the fact that my stars were so auspicious, there would be nothing to talk about!" Since he had risked his life to steal the precious garments from the royal palace, the greater portion belonged to him.

The thieves did not know how to resolve their dispute. Finally, the man made a startling proposition. "Since the king is such a great sage," he suggested, "I will go back to the palace and ask him to decide for us!"

His comrades were shocked by this idea. "How could you appear in person before the king and ask such a question?"

"The king has a royal storyteller," he replied. "Whenever the king has trouble sleeping because of his many problems of state, the royal storyteller tells him a tale until sleep overcomes him. Through him I will accomplish my purpose!"

The next day, he entered into the royal palace. Late at night, he crept into the king's bedchamber and began to disturb the bed until the king awoke. Immediately he commanded the royal storyteller to tell him a story. However, the storyteller, too, was asleep. So the burglar impersonated the hapless fellow, and began to recount the tale of his predicament to the king, albeit in a disguised way. When he was through, he asked the king for his opinion about the dispute.

"What's the question?" the king exclaimed in indignation. "Without a doubt, the larger portion should go to lucky thief! It was his good star that enabled him to pilfer the royal palace!"

A little while later, the heinous theft was discovered, and there was a great uproar about the fact that someone could enter the royal treasury undetected and commit such an act. The king particularly was astonished, for he remembered the story and the question he was asked, and how he himself had given an answer. He was so astounded, in fact, that he had it proclaimed throughout the streets of the capital that if the daring thief would present himself before the king, he would not punish him in any way. The king merely wished to see such an amazing thief. "Whether you want to or not, just come!" Yoh gevohlt, nisht gevohlt, un fohrt gegahngen!

The former chassid acceded to the king's request, and told him the entire story from beginning to end. The royal ministers and judges, however, informed the king that notwithstanding his personal forgiveness, the thief must be tried for breaking the law of the land. They judged his case, and ruled that the thief be executed by hanging.

As they were taking him to the gallows, he saw in the distance his old acquaintance, the astrologer, carrying a large sack of torn shoes (Yiddish: shkrohbes) on his back. He called out to him, "Look where they are taking me! Didn't you tell me that my destiny was to become a thief?"

The astrologer mirthfully laughed at him and said, "Take a good look at the sack on my back, full of torn shoes. These are the shoes I wore out in all my travels, until at last I succeeded in catching you in my trap!"

For he was actually the Baal Davar, the Evil Inclination that had laid in wait in order to lead him to stumble through various forms of persuasion, until he captured him and ultimately brought about his death.

Breslov tradition has it that while telling this tale, the Rebbe repeated emphatically, "Whether you like it or not…" Yoh gevohlt, un nisht gevohlt... For this was the poor man's shortcoming: he entered into dialogue with his Evil Inclination as to whether or not he should do something wrong. If he had remained firm in his resolve from beginning to end, he would have been saved from temptation and lived a long and good life, serving God according to his former way.

There is an allusion to this in the biblical story of the temptation of Joseph by the wife of Potiphar, the Egyptian minister. It is written "And he resisted (vayi'ma-ein)…" (Genesis 39:8). The traditional musical notation for this word is a shalsheles ("chain"); that is, the Torah reader prolongs the last syllable by repeating the same descending melodic ornament three times. This corresponds to three stages of one continuous refusal. This is why Joseph was victorious in his spiritual test, and eventually became the king's viceroy. It was as if to say: "I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to - and it won't happen!" Nisht Gevohlt, un nisht gevohlt, un nisht gevohlt - un nisht vellen! (III, 98)

Chanukah Food For the Needy Campaign in Tsfas

2011-11-28T12:08:00.006-05:00

Chanukah is a very special time for giving Tzedakah. The custom of giving our children "Chanukah Gelt" is in order to teach them the importance of Tzedakah. At this time when we renew our connection to the Mitzvos and yearn for the re-dedication of the Temple, what better way to connect with these two Mitzvos than helping the impoverished families of the Holy Land?

Last year, Eizer L'Shabbos was fortunate enough to give out food to hundreds of needy families. Hundreds of children celebrated Chanukah with hearts full of joy, due to the packages Eizer L'Shabbos gave out. Unfortunately, this year there is only enough money for a small number of families. So many children are desperately counting on your donation. Please give what you can, so we can spread the light of Chanukah in the Holy City of Tsfas.

The Zohar teaches, "One whom Hashem loves, He sends him a gift: A poor man, so that he can acquire the Mitzvah of helping him."

May the merit of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai protect us this Chanukah. Amen.

Tax deductible contributions may be mailed to:

Eizer L'Shabbos
5014 Sixteenth Ave., Suite 319
Brooklyn, NY 11204

UPDATE: Please see the new Eizer L'Shabbos video here:

In Honor of Thanksgiving: The Turkey Prince

2011-11-27T08:56:00.002-05:00

The Turkey Prince

From Tales From Reb Nachman (Artscroll / Mesorah)
Retold for children and illustrated by Dovid Sears

Once upon a time, there was a prince who decided that he was a turkey. So he took off his clothes and sat under the royal table. There he pecked at bones and crusts of bread - and even at people's legs. Sometimes he made turkey sounds so loud that everyone had to run out of the room holding his ears! Famous doctors from Austria tried to cure him, but they all gave up. His father the king didn't know what to do. All of his wealth and power didn't seem to matter any more.

At last, a wise man came to the palace. He wore a long black coat and hat, and his high boots were muddy and worn. His beard had been gray for many years, but he still seemed young and strong. I will cure the prince," he said. "But you must let me do it my way, even if it seems strange."

The king agreed. He ordered his servants to do everything the wise man said.

The next morning after breakfast, the wise man took off his clothes. He sat down under the royal table near the king's son. And he, too, pecked at crumbs and bones, as if he always ate this way.

"Who are you?" asked the prince. "And what are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" asked the wise man. "And what are you doing here?"

"I am a turkey," answered the prince.

"I am also a turkey," answered the wise man.

Then they both continued to crawl across the thick carpet on their hands and knees. They clucked and gobbled and looked for pieces of food. They did this together for many hours and became friends.

The next afternoon, after a lunch of corn flakes and dust, the wise man signaled the royal butler to bring two shirts. The wise man asked the prince, "Do you think turkeys can't wear shirts just like people? We can wear shirts and still be turkeys!" And they both put on shirts.

A day later he signaled again, and the butler brought them pants. As before, the wise man asked, "Do you think turkeys can't wear pants just like people? We can wear pants and still be turkeys!" The wise plan worked well. In a few days he and the prince were dressed like everyone else in the palace. But they still crawled and pecked at crumbs.

Now it was time for the second part of his plan. The wise man signaled again, and the servants brought platters of meat and potatoes, salads and fruits and sweet rolls from the table. "Do you think turkeys can't eat good food just like people?" asked the wise man. "We can eat everything people eat and still be turkeys!" So they still sat under the table, but they ate the same food as the royal family.

Finally, the wise man asked, "Do you think turkeys can't sit at the table just like people? We can sit at the table and still be turkeys!"

For many days the wise man continued talking to the king's son in this way. Then, finally, the prince awoke one morning and realized that he was not a turkey after all.

***

Deep down inside, we all want to be good people and live a holy life. But sometimes, we think we are so far from Hashem that we are like turkeys under the table, pecking at crumbs. That's why Hashem put tzaddikim in this world. They can help us see that we are really Hashem's children. Then we are able to sit at His royal table and taste the sweetness of His Torah. And that's where we really belong!

© 1987 Mesorah Publications

An Evening with Rebbe Nachman - December 11

2011-11-23T07:27:00.004-05:00

(Click on the image above)

To reserve please visit http://www.breslov.org/rsvp/

Tzaddik Magazine: New Chanukah Issue

2011-11-16T13:12:00.002-05:00

(Click on image above)

Rabbi Chaim Kramer in Highland Park, Staten Island, and Monsey

2011-11-10T06:59:00.014-05:00

(Click on images below to enlage)

Yosef Karduner

2011-11-01T14:45:00.003-04:00

Yosef Karduner continues his tour of the Greater New York community

Tuesday November 1st

YOSEF KARDUNER in Great Neck
The Lounge at Great Neck's
Torah Ohr Simcha Hall
575 MiddleNeck Road
8:00PM
Admission $15
Separate Seating
thelounge770@gmail.com

Thursday November 3rd

YOSEF KARDUNER in Manhattan
Cong. Ramath Orah
The ROC House
550 W. 110th St. (b/w Brdwy and Amsterdam)
doors 7:30pm / concert 8:00pm
Admission $18 / $15 Students
Separate Seating

Saturday night November 5th

Shulamith Theatre presents
YOSEF KARDUNER IN CONCERT
1277 East 14th St.
(entrance on Chestnut St.)
Brooklyn, NY
Doors 7:30pm / Concert 8:30pm
Cover $15
Separate seating
More info and tickets at
http://www.shulamiththeater.com/

Rabbi Chaim Kramer to Speak in Marine Park

2011-11-01T14:18:00.002-04:00

Rabbi Chaim Kramer of Jerusalem, prolific author, teacher and founder/director of the Breslov Research Institute (BRI), will give a class this Wednesday evening, Nov. 2, at the home of Mr and Mrs Asher Wagh in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn.

Location: 1750 Coleman St.
Time: 8:15-until it ends

Rabbi Kramer also informs us that with the grace of Hashem, a second volume in his new series of Breslov teachings on the Chumash has been published. This volume covers Exodus and Leviticus, and advance copies will be available at the shiur. The series has already met with great enthusiasm and opens up new worlds of understanding the weekly Torah portion. Mazal tov to Rabbi Kramer and BRI for another great contribution to "Breslov in English" and English Judaica in general.

Pictures of Uman 2011 / 5772

2011-10-28T12:27:00.030-04:00

Yahrtzeit of the Piazeczna Rebbe

2011-10-28T06:01:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, Nov. 1 / 4 Cheshvan:
Yahrtzeit of the Piazeczna Rebbe
By Dovid Friedman

4 Cheshvan is the yarzeit of the Piazeczna Rebbe, Reb Kalonymos Kalman, the son of Reb Elimelech of Grodzensk. He died al kiddush Hashem in 5704 on a Tuesday between parshas Noach and parshas Lech Lecha. There is remez to the death of tzaddikim al kiddush Hashem at the end of Noach, where the Midrash Rabbah speaks of Avrohom Avinu being thrown into the furnace.

First, parshas Noach starts off "Noah was a righteous man, whole-hearted in his generation" נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדרתיו /. The gematria of צדיק תמים היה with the 11 letters is 725. This is equal to קלונימוס קלמן בן אלימלך with the 20 letters.

The Midrash about Avrohom Avinu being thrown into the furnace is found at the end of Noach, on the words "and Haran died in the presence of Terach his father" / וימת הרן על פני תרח אביו. The gematria of קלונימוס קלמן בן אלימלך זצ״ל הי״ד is equal to על פני תרח with the 3 words.

When Avrohom Avinu was thrown in the furnace, the Midrash uses the words לכבשן האש, which equal 709 with the kolel. קלונימוס קלמן בן אלימלך with the 4 words is also equal to 709. Significantly, 709 is also equal to "incense" / קטרת.

קלונימוס is equal to אש ("fire") with the kolel. קלמן is equal to טהור ("pure"). He was אש טהור -- a "pure fire" of avodas Hashem.

בן אלימלך is equal to עקיבא, who died al Kiddush Hashem at the hands of the Romans while saying the Shema. Interestingly, in an unbelievable piece in his sefer, "Aish Kodesh," which was written in the Warsaw Ghetto, the Piazecza Rebbe speaks about how Rebbe Akiva prepared his whole life in order to die al Kiddush Hashem.

After Rebbe Akiva was killed, a Bas Kol came out saying "Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your soul went out with the word "Echad" / אשריך רבי עקיבא שיצאה נשמתך באחד. The words אשריך רבי עקיבא with the letters and kolel are equal to 940, the same gematria as רבי קלונימוס קלמן בן אלימלך with the letters.

At the beginning of וזאת הברכה it says אש דת למו. The words אש דת are exactly equal to קלונימוס קלמן בן אלימלך. It is also equal to אש קדש written without the letter “ו”. It is brought down that דת למו is the letters of תלמוד.

The Piazecza Rebbe was, of course, one of the most innovative Torah educators of modern times.

Zekhuso yagein aleinu!

Treasure Far and Near

2011-10-26T14:00:00.002-04:00

From Tales From Reb Nachman (Artscroll / Mesorah)
Retold for children and illustrated by Dovid Sears

A Jewish villager once dreamed about a treasure. In his dream the treasure was near a bridge in the city of Vienna. The very next morning, the villager packed his knapsack with his talis and tefillin, some clothes and a bit of food. Then he began the long, long walk to Vienna.

For many days and nights he trudged through forests and fields, valleys and towns.

When he arrived at last, the soldiers who guarded the city wouldn't let him near the bridge. So day after day, he stood by the side of the road, trying to think of what to do.

One afternoon, a soldier walked up to him and asked, "Why are you standing here?"

The villager was silent for a moment. Perhaps we could be partners, he thought. After all, half a treasure is better than none! So he told the soldier about his dream.

"Only a Jew cares about dreams!" he laughed. "For three nights in a row, I dreamed that in a certain village there was a certain Jew - and he named the man's village and his name - who had a treasure buried in his cellar. But do you think I believe in such foolish things?"

The villager simply thanked the soldier and began the long journey home. For many days and nights he trudged through forests and fields, valleys and towns. Finally, he came to his own little house. Without even sitting down for a cup of hot tea, the man went down to his cellar and started digging. Sure enough, he uncovered a huge treasure. He was able to live comfortably and do many good deeds for the rest of his days.

Later, when people asked him about his long journey, he said, "I really had the treasure all along. But to find it, I had to go to Vienna!"

***

In our desire to come closer to Hashem, the treasure we are searching for is inside of ourselves. But most of us can't find it alone. First we must go to a Torah sage who can show us how to discover it.

© 1987 Mesorah Publications

Living in the Present Moment

2011-10-17T08:12:00.005-04:00

Translations by Dovid Sears

One of the lessons of Rosh Hashanah and the festivals is that G-d is present everywhere and in every moment and situation, and that his kingship extends over all. In the words of the Tikkuney Zohar, “Les asar panui miney … There is no place devoid of Him.” An offshoot of this idea is that we may connect to G-d wherever we are and in every moment of our lives. Therefore, we are presenting some Breslov teachings on this theme.

Sichot HaRan 288

Rebbe Nachman

Yesterday and tomorrow are a person's downfall. Today you may be aroused toward G-d. But yesterday and tomorrow pull you away.

No matter where one stands, one suffers reversals. The man who dwells upon yesterday and tomorrow surely will fall away.

The Talmud says, "Repent one day before your death." "Before your death" is your entire life. During your entire lifetime, you may only be worthy of attaining "one day" of teshuvah -- one day of returning to G-d.

This one day is more precious than any treasure. "For what does man gain from all his labor?" Nothing remains of your life other than this one day of teshuvah.

"Repent one day" -- even one day "Before your death" -- during your earthly sojourn.

Forget about yesterday and tomorrow. Today is everything.

Sichot HaRan 51

Rebbe Nachman

It is written: "When you walk, it will comfort you; when you lie down, it will watch over you; and when you awaken, it will comfort you" (Proverbs 6:22).

"When you walk" on this earth, the Torah "will comfort you." "When you lie down" in the grave, G-d and the Torah "will watch over you."

"When you awaken" in the World to Come, "it will comfort you." When you have purified your thoughts, there is no difference between this world, the grave, and the World to Come. When you desire only G-d and His Torah, all are the same. In all three, you may connect to G-d and His Torah. One who is attached to the things of this world will experience a great difference between this world, which is a wide, open place, and the grave, which is a cramped place.
However, if you purify your mind, all will be the same.

Likkutei Halachot, Matanah 5

Reb Noson

Every perceptive person understands that time does not exist. The past is gone, the future has not come, and the present is like the blink of an eye. Thus, the life of a man is only this instant in which he stands.

Consider this, and in whatever circumstance you may find yourself -- even in the depths of Hell --you will be able to cleave to G-d in each moment.

It is written: "See, now, that I, I am He..." (Deuteronomy 32:39).
"See, now," precisely. Through the paradigm of "now," you are able to see that "I, I am He," and begin anew, in each moment, to cleave to G-d.

Likkutei Halachot, Basar B'Chalav 4

Reb Noson

Let all thoughts of yesterday, or even of the immediate past, leave your mind. Instead, you should imagine that you are like a newborn child that came into the world on this very day and hour in order to perceive G-d. As the Torah states: "I have created you today!" (Psalms 2:7)

Although you may think that you have attempted to make a fresh start and sought to encounter G-d thousands and myriads of times without success -- even if you have fallen again and again, down to the very depths -- nevertheless, you must pay no attention to all this.

This hour and this moment in which you stand never existed before. Who knows what can be attained now?

Every day, constantly, G-d in His goodness renews the process of creation, and no instant can be compared to another. Because the heavenly constellations constantly change from one second to the next, every set of circumstances is unlike those that existed a moment earlier or a moment later.

Imagine what transpires from one second to the next in the supernal worlds, which are without limitation or number! Thus, the Tikkunei Zohar(95b) states: "The garment of one day is unlike the garment of another day," as the Arizal explains (Eitz Chaim, Heichal Adam Kadmon, 1:5).
All of these endless cosmic transformations are for the sake of man, to enable him to serve G-d.

This is the reason for everything.

Thus, there is no "proof" from one day to another. Despite what happened in the past, the present moment is entirely new -- created expressly for the sake of humankind. As the Sages state: Each person is obliged to say, "For my sake the world was created." (Sanhedrin 37a)
Right now it is possible to draw near to G-d, if you begin in the here and now.

A Calm, Settled Mind

Rebbe Nachman

The reason why the world is far from G-d, and does not seek to come close to Him is only because people lack yishuv ha-da'as -- a calm, settled mind.

They do not allow the mind to rest. The main thing is that one must strive to attain yishuv ha-da'as, and ask, "What is the end result of all worldly desires and pursuits, whether internal or external, such as honor?" Then, to be sure, one will return to G-d.

However, sadness and melancholy prevent one from directing the mind. Then it is difficult to attain mental focus. This requires simchah - joy - and a positive disposition. For simchah is the "World of Freedom," as the verse states, "They shall go forth in joy..." (Isaiah 55). Through simchah, one becomes liberated and leaves the state of spiritual exile.

To attain simchah, one must find in oneself some good point, as it is written, "I shall sing to my G-d with all my strength (bi-odi)..." (Psalms 146:1). That is, with whatever good point I possess still (ode) [as stated in the lesson "Azamra," Likkutei Moharan I, 282].

By connecting to simchah, a person liberates his very being and consciousness. Then it is possible to attain a calm, settled mind. Even in the supernal worlds, this accomplishes a great unification. (Likkutei Moharan II, 10 (abridged)

A Glimpse of The World to Come

Reb Levi Yitzchak Bender

Reb Isaac Krasenstein once wrote a letter to his son, Reb Hirsch Leib, in which he stated, "My son, what can I tell you? If you wake up every night to recite Tikkun Chatzos, and then learn one teaching from Likkutei Moharan followed by the corresponding prayer from Likkutei Tefilos -- surely the words of our Sages will be fulfilled in you: 'Your World to Come you shall experience here and now, in your physical lifetime!' " (Siach Sarfei Kodesh, Vol. V, 269).

Today

Rebbe Nachman

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi ascended to the Palace of the Mashiach and asked: "When are you coming, master?"

The Mashiach replied: "Today... if only you would listen to His voice!" (Psalms 95:7) (Sanhedrin 98a).

This is a fundamental principle in serving G-d. One should place nothing before his eyes except this day and this hour -- just as in earning a livelihood and attending to one's physical needs, one should not worry from one day to the next.

When one first wishes to enter into Divine service, the task may appear to be extremely onerous. It may seem impossible to bear such a burden. However, if one considers that this is the only day one must do so, the work no longer seems so difficult.

Additionally, one must not put things off from day to day, saying: "Tomorrow I will begin, tomorrow I will pray with mindfulness and enthusiasm, as is proper..." for all that a person has in the world is this one day and this one hour in which he stands. (Likkutei Moharan I, 272)

"This World" and "The World to Come"

Reb Noson

Rabbi Yaakov said: This world is like an antechamber before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the antechamber, so that you may enter the banquet hall. (Avos 4:16) Prepare yourself in the antechamber … That is, in order to perceive the light of G-d in the World to Come, you must find this light within the constraints of this world in every day and every moment! (Likkutei Halakhot, Birkhat Ha-Rei'ah V'Sha'ar Berakhot P'ratiyot 5:11)

Rabbi Nachman’s Yahrzeit

2011-10-11T07:19:00.002-04:00

On the second day of Chol ha-Moed Sukkos (18th of Tishrei), Breslover Chassidim and others commemorate the yahrtzeit of our holy teacher, Rabbi Nachman ben Feige of Breslov, zatzal, by lighting a 24-hour candle and gathering with others in the Sukkah to share divrei Torah, sing niggunim, and participate in a se’udah / festive meal. In larger Breslov communities, this event is usually held in the Sukkah of the local Breslov synagogue. Various speakers discuss the Rebbe’s life and spiritual legacy, and say divrei hischazkus, words of encouragement based on Rabbi Nachman's teachings. The event concludes with a lively rikkud. It is also proper to study the Rebbe’s teachings more than usual on his yahrtzeit.

Reb Noson’s account of the Rebbe’s final months in Uman and his histalkus may be found in Chayei Moharan, sec. 185-229. In Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum’s English translation, “Tzaddik: A Portrait of Rabbi Nachman” (Breslov Research Institute), this material is presented in pp. 87-125. (Concerning the Yahrtzeit of a tzaddik, cf. Rabbi Chaim Vital, Likkutei ha-Shas, Berakhos 11.) The late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan also compiled “Until the Mashiach,” Breslov Research Institute 1985, a biography of Rabbi Nachman in English organized in the form of a dateline. After Rabbi Kaplan’s death, Rabbi Dovid Shapiro of Yerushalayim completed this work.

In Greater New York:

This year the yahrtzeit falls on Motza'ei Shabbos / Saturday night Oct. 15 through Sunday Oct. 16. Breslov shuls in Flatbush, Monroe, Borough Park, Williamsburg and elsewhere will host public events. (For more information, see the list of contacts on the "Breslov Shuls" page of this website, listed on the right sidebar.) However, be prepared: all these events will be conducted in Yiddish.

For a public yahrtzeit se'udah in English that is open to both men and women, you might try the Carlebach Shul sukkah:

Reb Nachman of Breslov's 201st Yahrtzeit
The Carlbach Shul
305 West 79th Street New York NY 10024

Shul phone: 212-580-2391

Date: Sunday Oct. 16th, 7-10 pm
Suggested donation $5-10

Join Rabbi Naftali Citron and The Carlebach Shul with David Schweke and Exciting Judaism

Music, Torah, Stories, Soul

There may be light refreshments, but we suggest that you bring your own kosher food.

-------------
Special thanks to our friends David Schweke of Exciting Judaism and Rabbi Naftoli Citron of the Carlebach Shul for organizing this event!

http://www.carlebachshul.org

http://excitingjudaism.com

Breslov Customs and Practices for Sukkos

2011-10-09T07:26:00.005-04:00

Compiled by Dovid Zeitlin and Dovid Sears

We have included a number of personal customs of various Breslover gedolim, in particular Rabbi Gedaliah Ahron Kenig, as well as a few general Breslov customs.

Esrog/Arba’ah Minim

The Rebbe greatly praised those who exert themselves to buy a beautiful esrog, adding that there are profound mystical reasons for this custom.

(Sichot ha-Ran 125. Reb Noson was mehader in this mitzvah, as mentioned in Yemey Moharnat, Letters 91, 269, 322, 437, and 472)

*

Nevertheless, Reb Gedaliah Kenig cautioned that a poor person should not spend beyond his means for an esrog. Often he would wait until Erev Yom Tov in order to buy an esrog after the prices had dropped.

(Heard from Rabbi Yitzchak Kenig)

*

Reb Gedaliah considered the beauty of an esrog to be more important than its yichus, since in any case there is no such thing as a vaday bilti murkav (ungrafted plant beyond any question), but only be-chezkas bilti murkav (presumably ungrafted plant) This was not an unusual attitude, but reflected the prevailing view of Yerushalayimer Poskim. Accordingly, one should look for a clean esrog with as many hiddurim as possible, even if it does not have a special yichus.

(Heard from Rabbi Dovid Shapiro. From a historical perspective, the issue of grafting became hotly debated in the mid-1800s in connection with esrogim from Corfu. Those from Eretz Yisrael were generally relied upon as bilti murkav and were praised by such luminaries as the Arukh HaShulchan and the Sdei Chemed. In the early 1900s, Rav Kook established the “Atzey Hadar” union to develop and promote esrogim mehudarim in Eretz Yisrael, which met with great success.)

*

Reb Gedaliah was more stringent about hadassim, and would often go to great lengths to buy the finest hadassim, which conformed to one of the larger shiurim of meshuloshim.
(Heard from Rabbi Yitzchak Kenig)

*

The minhag of the ARI zal for the Arba’ah Minim is to place one aravah (willow branch) on each side of the lulav with the three hadassim (myrtle branches) covering them, and to bind them together with leaves of the lulav. Rabbi Moshe Burshteyn of Yerushalayim remembered that Reb Avraham Sternhartz bound the Arba’ah Minim together according to the minhag of the ARI zal. Rabbi Michel Dorfman concurred.

(Heard from Rabbi Moshe Burshteyn and Rabbi Michel Dorfman)

*

Rabbi Noson Barsky, son of Rabbi Shimon Barsky, also bound the Arba’ah Minim like the ARI zal. His father probably did so, too, but this is not certain.

(Heard from Rabbi Shimshon Barsky of Bnei Brak. The Barskys are direct descendents of Rabbi Nachman.)

*

Nevertheless, most Breslover Chassidim follow the more common custom of placing the three hadassim on the right of the lulav and the two aravos on the left. Reb Elazar Kenig remembered that his father Reb Gedaliah used to tie the Arba’ah Minim with leaves of the lulav, simply tying knots, not making the leaves into rings; however, Reb Gedaliah did not arrange them according to the minhag of the ARI zal. Reb Elazar said that this probably reflected the general rule of avoiding doing things in public that are conspicuously different than the common practice.

(Re. the common custom, see Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, Kitzur SHeLaH, Masekhes Sukkah [Ashdod 1998 ed. p. 322. Although the latter is a major early source of kabbalistic customs and hanhagos, it nevertheless instructs the reader to arrange the arba’ah minim according to the common minhag, not according to that of the ARI.)

*

Reb Elazar Kenig also pointed out that that in Likkutei Halakhos, Reb Noson sometimes darshans on minhagim of the ARI zal, while at other times he cites the local Ukrainian minhagim of his day. Thus, it is apparent that Reb Noson did not do everything according to the ARI zal.

*

Reb Avraham Sternhartz tied the top ring one tefach below the tip of the lulav itself -- not from the end of the shedra, as stated in Shulchan Arukh Ha-Rav, which is quoted in the Mishnah Berurah. Reb Avraham tied a total of three rings on the lulav, and two on the entire bundle. These were also Reb Gedaliah’s personal customs.

(Heard from Rabbi Dovid Shapiro and Rabbi Yitzchok Kenig)

*

Reb Gedaliah was particular to recite the berakhah over the Arba’ah Minim in the Sukkah, following the view of the ARI zal. Reb Noson also mentions this custom.

(Likkutei Halakhos , Rosh Hashanah 4:8; Umnin 4:18)

*

Reb Gedaliah performed the nanu’im according to the minhag of the ARI zal. This is the common custom in most Chassidic communities. That is, while facing east, one waves the arba’ah minim to the right, left, front, up, down, and over one’s shoulder, over one’s back. Some turn while doing so. When waving the minim in the down position, one should nevertheless keep the lulav upright and not point the tip toward the ground. (These directions correspond to the six sefiros of Ze’er Anpin; see Likkutei Moharan I, 33, end.)

*

Reb Avraham Sternhartz used to perform the nanu’im according to the minhag of the ARI.
(Heard from Rabbi Nachman Burshteyn)

*

In Reb Gedaliah’s family, the women were accustomed recite the berakhah over the arba’ah minim and perform the nanu’im every day.

No’i Sukkah (Sukkah Decorations)

It is common for Breslover Chassidim to decorate the Sukkah, like the majority of Jewish communities. Most hang various fruits and other objects from the s’khakh, according to their family minhagim. There does not seem to be any kepeidah to refrain from hanging things from the s’khakh due to chumros.

(Heard from Rabbi Avraham Shimon Burshteyn)

*

Reb Gedaliah used to hang a pomegranate from the s’khakh, which he would save in the refrigerator until Pesach, and if it was still good, he’d use it in the charoses. (Pomegranates were not usually available in Eretz Yisrael at Pesach-time during those years.)

He also had a family minhag to take an onion and put a few feathers into it and hang it from the s’khakh, as a remez to the posuk: “Be-tzeyl kenafekhah yechesoyun . . . In the shadow of Your wings I take refuge.” (“Bet-zeyl” is similar to the word “batzel,” meaning “onion.”)

Another family minhag was to hang a magen Dovid from the s’khakh. (This predates the secular state of Israel and its choice of the magen Dovid as its symbol.)

(Heard from Rabbi Elazar Kenig)

Ushpizin

It is customary to invite the Ushpizin (“Holy Guests”) to the Sukkah before each meal, both by night and by day. There does not seem to have been any special nusach for inviting the Ushpizin, just what is stated in the nusach Sefard machzor.

(Heard from Rabbi Avraham Shimon Burshteyn. The first part of the commonly used zimun is derived from Zohar III, 103b.)

*

Like other Chassidim, Breslovers follow the order according to which the seven Ushpizin correspond to the seven lower sefiros: Avraham-Chesed, Yitzchak-Gevurah, Ya’akov-Tiferes, Moshe-Netzach, Aharon-Hod, Yosef-Yesod, and Dovid-Malkhus. This assumption is supported by Rabbi Avraham b’Reb Nachman’s remarks connecting the day of the Rebbe’s histalkus, which is the fourth day of Sukkos, to Moshe Rabbeinu, the fourth of the Ushpizin.

(See Kokhvei Ohr, Chokhmah u-Binah 35, with note 43, ad loc. Neither Siddur ARI Rav Asher nor Siddur ARI Rav Shabsai specifies the order of the Ushpizin. However, Siddur ARI Kol Yaakov redacts the Ashkenazic order, which mentions Yosef fourth instead of Moshe. Siddur Tefillah Yesharah-Berditchev and Siddur Ohr le-Yisrael, both of which were popular in the Ukraine, similarly follow the Ashkenazic order. Nevertheless, virtually all Chassidim today mention Moshe as the fourth of the Ushpizin. This reflects the view of the ARI zal and Siddur SheLaH, as cited in Likkutei MaHaRICH, vol. III, Seder Chag ha-Sukkos, p. 684.)

TZADDIK Magazine is back!

2011-10-06T08:04:00.008-04:00

(Click on image above)

Andy Statman's Latest

2011-10-06T07:59:00.001-04:00

Breslov Center co-founder Andy Statman has just released his first double-CD "Old Brooklyn" (Shefa), produced by Edward Haber. The music is pure Statman -- brilliantly conceived and executed; full of heart, but not without humor; rooted in tradition, yet as adventurous as it gets!

His core group consists of renowned fiddler Byron Berline; guitarist Jon Sholle; bassist Jim Whitney; and drummer-percussionist Larry Eagle.

Guests include Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck, Bob Jones, Bruce Molsky, Paul Shaffer, Lou Soloff, Art Baron, and Marty Rifkin.

We wish him great success with this milestone project.

http://youtu.be/OFgu9Bbk9JY

http://jewishmusicreport.com/2010/11/24/the-andy-statman-interview-by-mandolin-cafe/

2011-09-22T07:51:00.005-04:00

(Click on the image above)

Best wishes to all our readers and friends for a ksivah v'chasimah tovah, a good and sweet new year -- and for those traveling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, may it be a meaningful and uplifting trip without any obstacle or mishap, that will bring blessing to Klal Yisrael and the entire world.

"V'yeidah kol pa'ool ki Atah pi'altah, vi'yavin kol yitzur ki Atah yitzarto!"

The Breslov Center

"Eizer L'Eizer"

2011-09-22T07:49:00.000-04:00

Received from Rabbi Binyamin Rosenberg of Tzefas

We’re getting closer to the Yom HaDin
When our deeds will be examined as worthy or as sin
We all want to be inscribed to a sweet new year
So let’s increase our charity to show we care

A great way to acquire merit is by sponsoring a weekly food package. One that feeds a large poverty-stricken family is only $100. A package for a medium-sized family is $75. One for a small family is $50. Your money goes directly to the needy; no overhead involved. You can sponsor for a month or a year. This will take an unbelievable burden off our shoulders. So please help Eizer L'Shabbos, and in that zekhus may you be inscribed for a healthy, prosperous, and sweet new year!

Please spread the word. Tell your friends and families about the critical situation in Tzfas. People literally don’t have food, and you can have a part in helping them. Do it L’ILUY NISHMAS a niftar; as a zekhus for a Refuah Shleimah for a loved one; in honor of a birthday or anniversary. Just give us the Hebrew name, write it on the memo line of your check, and we will be mention the names by the mekomos kedoshim, the holy burial places of our tzaddikim in Tzfas.

Gemar Chasima Tovah

Rabbi B. Rosenberg

www.eizerlshabbos.com

20 Elul: Yahrtzeit of Reb Avraham Sternhartz

2011-09-18T07:43:00.002-04:00

The twentieth of Elul is the yahrtzeit of Reb Avraham Sternhartz (1862‐1955), grandson of the Tcheriner Rav, great‐grandson of Reb Noson, and teacher of Reb Gedaliah Kenig and numerous other Breslover Gedolim.

An orphan, Reb Avraham was raised by the Tcheriner Rov, and during his youth met all of the living talmidim of Reb Noson, including Reb Moshe Breslover. He was Ba’al Mussaf and Ba’al Tokei’a for many decades in Uman, and served as Rav of Kremenchug and later in Uman until he escaped the U.S.S.R. at the height of the Stalinist purges, arriving in Yerushalayim in 1936. Reb Avraham immediately became a key figure in the Yerushalayim community, attracting many talmidim (disciples), and soon established the Rosh Hashanah kibbutz in Meron. After Reb Avraham’s histalkus (passing) in 1955, Reb Gedaliah devoted himself to carrying on his revered teacher’s legacy.

In Eretz Yisrael, se’udos are held in Reb Avraham’s honor on the evening of Khof Elul. During the afternoon, Reb Elazar and a group from the Tzefas Breslov community travel to Har Menuchos in Yerushalayim to recite Tehillim and pray beside Reb Avraham’s grave. Many Breslover Chassidim also light a candle, give tzedakah, share a se’udoh in his honor, and learn some of his teachings from Tovos Zichronos, etc.

After Reb Avraham’s histalkus, Reb Gedaliah published his teacher’s Tovos Zichronos, Breslover mesorahs / oral traditions related to the first ten lessons in Likkutei Moharan, together with the Tcheriner Rov’s Yerach ha‐Eisanim, chiddushim on Likkutei Moharan related to Rosh Hashanah, and Reb Avraham’s Imros Tehoros on the importance of traveling to tzaddikim, particularly Rabbi Nachman, for Rosh Hashanah. Some of Reb Avraham’s letters were published by Reb Noson Zvi Kenig of Bnei Brak as Rinas Tzion. A scholarly biography of Reb Avraham is presently being prepared for publication by Rabbi Nachman Burshteyn of Jerusalem.

"My House is a House of Prayer"

2011-09-18T07:27:00.001-04:00

Received from Rabbi Shraga Fisher of Yerushalayim

Keren Beniyat HaKloyz

In 1831 Reb Noson started to build the Kloyz in Uman. Due to the constantly growing influx of people attending the annual Kibbutz for Rosh Hashanah in Uman, one of Reb Noson's students, Reb Mendel of Ladizin, told Reb Noson: "If we don't build our own Kloyz (synagogue), there will be no future for the Rebbe's Rosh Hashanah.” So Reb Noson initiated this great undertaking.

Reb Mendel's words entered Reb Nosson’s heart, and he immediately understood that they were true -- because the focal point of the "Rebbe’s Rosh Hashanah" is the Rosh Hashanah prayers, meaning when the Breslover Chasidim are praying together.

So Reb Noson used all of his strength to make the construction of the Kloyz in Uman a reality. With the support of his followers and other good-hearted Jews, he built the first Kloyz in Uman (still visible on a nearby hill today). And the Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman has continued until today.

* * *

Based on this, undoubtedly one of the main and most important ingredients during Rebbe Nachman's Rosh Hashanah in Uman is the Kloyz.

Reb Avraham Sternhartz zatzal, one of Reb Nosson's grandchildren, and a leader of the Breslover Chasidim both in Uman and in Jerusalem, wrote regarding the Kloyz: "The posuk says 'My house is a house of prayer …' We believe that this alludes to our Kloyz. "And this is the Shaar HaShomayim, the Gate of Heaven," from which all the prayers of the whole year ascend to Heaven, through the holy gathering on Rosh Hashanah of those who both pray according to the da'as of the "Nachal Novea Mekor Chochmah" (i.e., Rebbe Nachman) and those who are attached to him" (Shearis Yisroel, beginning of Letter 36).

It is thus only fitting that such a holy and necessary edifice as the Kloyz be appropriate to its unbelievable and incredible purpose in the tikkun (world-rectification) that this holy gathering accomplishes. It should have a respectable and proper shape and design, as is due to the Kloyz.

The Keren HaBinyan of the Kloyz is thus honoring you with the very great zekhus (source of merit) and mitzvah in participating in this holy cause of supporting "the Rebbe's Kloyz."

Doors and Windows and are available for dedications.

We just spoke about how Reb Avraham Sternhartz understood that the Kloyz is the "Shaar HaShomayim" from which all of the prayers from the whole year go up to Heaven.

We are offering the opportunity to dedicate Shaarim (doors) of the Kloyz. Two are already being dedicated. Such a dedication is $18,000. The dedication can be in honor or in memory of parents, teachers, loved ones. etc.

Each window can be dedicated for a donation of $2,600. Perhaps in a future note we can speak about the spiritual significance of Windows in the Kloyz.

For more information please contact:

1. Shraga Fisher at: shragafisher@gmail.com or 972-2-532-2735

2. Meir Elkabas at: 972-57-317-2332

3. Pinchus Zilberman: 972-50-412-2840

P.S. At this moment, seats in the new gallery are for sale. First 2 rows: $3,000 per seat. From the third row and back: $2,000 each. Contact us for more details.

The Baal Shem Tov’s Way of Meditation

2011-09-14T02:54:00.004-04:00

According to Chassidic tradition, Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, was born on “Chai Elul” in 5458 / 1698 C.E. (the Hebrew acronymn for 5458 being “NaCHaS,” or gratification). This year the 18th of Elul coincides with Shabbos Ki Tavo (September 17th). In honor of the holy Baal Shem Tov, we are posting this discussion of his teachings on meditation and deveykus (cleaving to God).

The Baal Shem Tov’s Way of Meditation
Dovid Sears

First posted on ASimple Jew.Blogspot.Com

I. Direct Encounter of the Mind

From Dor Dorim, Chapter 1: “The Light of Israel”

“Dor Dorim (Throughout the Generations)” is an intellectual history of the origins of the Chassidic movement and its most prominent leaders written during the early 1900s by Rabbi Yekusiel Aryeh Kamelhar of Stanislav, Galitzia. Rabbi Kamelhar was an accomplished Torah scholar, expert in both Halakhah and Kabbalah. He was also knowledgeable in many areas of secular thought, which he felt was necessary in order to reach out to the religiously disaffected Jewish youth of his day. Rabbi Kamelhar spent his last years in the Bronx until his passing in 1937. This lengthy introduction to Jewish mysticism was but one of many of his published works, today known only to bibliophiles and historians.

The first chapter discusses the Baal Shem Tov’s youth and early influences. This excerpt defines the salient features of the Baal Shem Tov’s meditation more clearly than any discussion I have ever come across:

“While the Baal Shem Tov was in Kutov [sometimes rendered “Kitov” or “Kitiv”], he used to meditate in the mountains and fast from one Shabbos until the next. The purpose of his meditation (hisbodedus) in the mountains and wilds of the forests was this: he sought to become one with his inner being – with his feelings and thoughts; to hear the voice of his inner soul from her very depths, without any admixture of external influences, the hustle and bustle of the city and its surroundings; to become lucidly aware of the flow of his inner being and its inclinations, and to bring them entirely under the authority of the mind, freed from all external distraction. Prior to him, spiritual seekers devoted all of their energies to searching out all that exists above and below, and completely forget about themselves and their physical existence in order to know their ‘I.’ By contrast, the Baal Shem Tov introduced a new method of spiritual probing: a way to become an explorer of one’s inner being, and to vigilantly observe whatever took place in the chambers of one’s heart and soul, all of one’s inner faculties, and every movement, however great or small.

“His meditation had one other goal, as well, as the eminent scholar and kabbalist Rabbi Aaron Marcus states in his work HaChassidus:

“ ‘The atmosphere was fraught with terror due to fear of the enemy [i.e. the combined forces of Ukrainian Haidamaks and Cossacks]. Even the most stout-hearted feared for their lives, lest calamity befall from the marauders who lay in wait to put an end to them. Sounds of terror constantly filled their ears from horrendous incidents of pillage and murder, which were commonplace. In addition, the existential void of the Jewish world was filled with dreadful images of demons and ghosts. These were the causes of the widespread pietism of self-mortification and morbidity, due to the “lower fear,” external fear. The Arizal had already cautioned against this in his time – to keep far from external fears and to serve God with joy; as the Torah cautions, “Since you did not serve the Lord with joy…” (Deuteronomy 28:47). Therefore, the Baal Shem Tov meditated in the mountains and in uninhabited places to train himself to rule over the lower fear aroused by his desolate surroundings, and to transform it to the supernal fear, which is awe before God; to master his fear due to the awesome splendor of the Lord of Hosts.’ ”

“The Talmudic sages called sailors ‘chassidim (devout)’ – ‘Most sailors are devout’ (TB Kiddushin 82a). Men of the sea are habituated to overcoming their external fears because they often are faced with death, and this motivates them to attain the ultimate pristine fear, that sublime awe of which our holy master [Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev], the author of Kedushas Levi, states: ‘There is no delight like the delight of cleaving to God in pure awe.’ This is the spiritual rung of the true Chassidim; and there, in the mountains, among the caves and cliffs where the Baal Shem Tov meditated in seclusion, he attained this trait: mastery over all external fears by bringing them under the sovereignty of God, Who reigns forever in His might.”

Similarly, the Baal Shem Tov’s illustrious great-grandson, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, states in Likkutei Moharan I, 15, “Whoever wishes to glimpse the ‘hidden light (ohr ha-ganuz)’ – the ‘secrets of the Torah’ that will be revealed in time to come – must elevate the trait of fear to its spiritual source…”

II. “Hearing” the Silence

Although the Baal Shem Tov has much to say about the cultivation of holy speech and attaining deveykus, attachment to Godliness, through verbal prayer, it seems that the hisbodedus we have been discussing was silent meditation. At the very least, it was a combination of using speech in spontaneous personal prayer and silent meditation. This is suggested by the following teachings:

The Fence for Wisdom

“ ‘Silence is a fence for wisdom (chokhmah)’ (Avos 3:13). When one is silent, he is able to bind himself to the World of Thought (Olam ha-Machshavah), which is called ‘wisdom (chokhmah).’ “
Rabbi Aharon Hakohen of Zhelikhov, Keser Shem Tov 225

And in Tzava’as ha-Rivash (sec. 133), the Baal Shem Tov observes:

“Through silence, one can meditate upon the greatness of God and bind oneself to Him more completely than through speech.”

In a teaching of his own, Rabbi Aharon Hakohen (who also authored the Chassidic commentary Keser Nehora, printed in the Siddur Tefillah Yesharah or “Berditchever Siddur”) develops this key element of the Baal Shem Tov’s approach:

Two Modes of Divine Service

“ ‘And it came to pass, when the Ark set forth, that Moses said: Rise up, O God, and let Your enemies disperse, and let those that hate You flee from Your Presence! And when it rested, he said: Return, O God, to the thousands of myriads of Israel!’ (Numbers 10:35-36)

“There is a type of divine service that entails movement (tenu’ah), which includes all of the positive mitzvos, Torah study, and prayer; and they all accomplish various mystical unifications. However, there is another type of divine service that entails repose (menuchah). One sits alone in silence and contemplates God’s loftiness. This relates to the World of Thought (Olam ha-Machshavah), which is also called the World of Rest; for one enters into a state of stillness. When one wishes to experiencedeveykus, he should sit in silence, with holy thoughts, in a state of awe and attachment to God.”

Ohr Ha-Ganuz La-Tzaddikim (B’ha’alosekha)

In a related vein, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov states in Likkutei Moharan I, 234:

“One who wishes to enter the World of Thought must be silent. Even to speak properly would detract from one’s state of mind – for thought is an extremely lofty thing, and even worthy speech would have a harmful affect on it. This is implied by [the Talmudic narrative, in which God shows Moses how Rabbi Akiva was destined to be burnt alive by the Romans, and tells Moses in his dismay:] ‘Be silent! Thus it arose in thought…’ (TB Menachos 29a). That is, in order to ascend to the [World of] Thought, one must be silent. And even if one were to remain absolutely still and not utter a word, in spite of this, there are confusions that disturb the mind and interfere with [one’s attempt to reach the essence of the mind]. Therefore, one must attain purification of the mind…”

Rabbi Nachman’s lesson is far too involved to present here, but it also reflects the “direct encounter of the mind” type of meditation taught by his holy great-grandfather. (In addition, see Reb Noson of Breslov’s Likkutei Halakhos, Hilkhos Shabbos6:5, 8; ibid. 7:43, translated in “The Tree That Stands Beyond Space,” pp. 70-73.)

III. God Is Right Here

Hand in hand with what Rabbi Kamelhar describes above as “becoming one with one’s inner being” is what scholars have called the Baal Shem Tov’s “immanentism”: the pervasive sense of God’s omnipresence experienced by one who is properly attuned to this reality. The discovery of God’s immanence and omnipresence is one of the primary goals of the Baal Shem Tov’s way of meditation. Several works citing oral traditions of the Baal Shem Tov attest to this.

Contemplating the Word “Echad (One)”

“ ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One’ (Deuteronomy 6:6). When during this part of the prayer service a person recites the word ‘One,’ he should contemplate that the Holy One, blessed be He, is all that truly exists in the universe, for ‘the entire world is filled with His Glory’ (Isaiah 6:3). One must realize that he is nothing, for the essence of a person is his soul, and the soul is but a ‘portion of God Above’ (Shefa Tal 1a). Therefore, nothing truly exists except the Holy One, blessed be He.”

Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, Likkutim Yekarim (sec. 161)

Banishing Spiritual Confusions

“When a person realizes that the Master of the Universe is actually present in his every word and gesture, however great or small, all spiritual confusions [literally “all workers of iniquity”] disperse that obscure the light of the mind.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik Yehudah Yechiel Safrin of Komarno, Nesiv Mitzvosekha (cited in Sefer Baal Shem Tov, Vayelekh, note 6)

The True “I”

“ ‘I, I am the One Who consoles you…’ (Isaiah 51:12). When one realizes that the true ‘I’ is God, and nothing else exists besides Him, then [the divine promise is fulfilled that] ‘I am the One Who consoles you.’ “

Rabbi Gedaliah of Linitz, Teshu’os Chen, Tzav (cited in Me’iras Einayim, Inyan “Emunah”)
Similarly, Ohr Ha-Ganuz La-Tzaddikim (Mattos) states:

“One must realize that essentially he, too, is Godliness. When one considers that the ‘self’ is really nothing, then Godliness will rest upon him.”

No Need to Go Any Farther

“It is not necessary to ‘place’ oneself in Godliness – but only to realize that everything is subsumed in the Divine Light.”

Rabbi Aharon Hakohen of Zhelikhov, Ohr Ha-Ganuz La-Tzaddikim (Vayera)

The Inner Soul of Everything

“ ‘Why did the Torah begin with the account of creation? Because [the verse states], “The power of His acts He declared unto His people . . . “ ‘ (Rashi, Genesis 1:1, citing Psalms 11:6). This alludes to the soul contained within God’s ongoing act of creation at every moment. The Great Maggid (Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch) received a path from the holy Baal Shem Tov by which one may perceive in everything the inner soul that gives life to its physical form.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik of Homil (Chabad), Letter of Rabbi Raphael Kahan, cited in Ner Yisrael, Vol. IV (p. 237)

The catch is that this method seems to have been passed on from master to disciple as an oral tradition, and not put in writing. Therefore, one who is not merely curious but who wishes to embark on the Baal Shem Tov’s inner path is compelled to search for a qualified teacher – and as the old adage goes, “Those who know, don’t say; and those who say, don’t know.” So how can one know where to turn? It seems that the first way to recognize such a teacher (or at least a likely candidate) is by his demeanor – if he personifies the way of being that he seeks to impart. As the Talmudic sages recommend: “If a teacher is like an angel of the Lord of Hosts, seek instruction from his mouth!” (TB Chagigah 15b)

New Shiur starting this Tuesday

2011-09-12T13:20:00.004-04:00

1909 New York Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11210 (718)851-9332

The Breslov shul of Flatbush is happy to announce a weekly Shiur in Emunah and Bitachon. Given by Rabbi Judah Cohen, a well-known Askan and dynamic speaker. Every Tuesday night at 9:30 pm. Please come and bring a friend!

Rabbi Elazar Mordechai Kenig on "The Rebbe's Rosh Hashanah"

2011-09-08T07:38:00.002-04:00

Translated and summarized by Dovid Zeitlin and Dovid Sears

Rosh Hashanah and Purifying the Mind

In elaborating on this issue, Reb Elazar connected two lessons from Likkutei Moharan First we will present these teachings, followed by Rav Kenig’s explanations and remarks.

Likkutei Moharan I, 61:7:

This is why people travel for Rosh Hashanah to the tzaddikim. Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgment for the entire year. Each person comes with his holiness and his tzimtzumim (constrictions) to the tzaddik of the generation. He is the paradigm of the Holy of Holies, the paradigm of the Foundation Stone. This reflects the verse, "For unto God are the pillars of the earth; He has founded the world upon them" (I Samuel 2:8). These are the tzaddikim, upon whom the world was founded (Yoma 38b). Through this [i.e. by traveling to the tzaddikim], all harsh judgments are mitigated − through the aspect of the Foundation Stone, mentioned above [i.e., through the Sekhel HaKollel, the Universal or Collective Mind; see the original discourse at length].

Likkutei Moharan II, 94:

As for the reason why people travel to the tzaddikim for Rosh Hashanah, this is because the main “sweetening” of harsh judgments is accomplished only by the sanctification and purification of one's thoughts, for this is their source. "Everything is rectified in thought" (Zohar II, 254b). However, it is only possible to attain a pure mind through hiskashrus, that is, by spiritually binding oneself to the tzaddikim. Citing the verse "Then Moshe took the bones of Yosef" (Exodus 13:19), the Zohar explains that Moshe is the aspect of the mind, while Yosef is the aspect of tzaddik. That is, there can be no perfection of the mind except through hiskashrus to the tzaddikim. Rosh Hashanah is the source of judgments (dinim) for the entire year. A person must purify his thoughts in order to mitigate these judgments. This is why people travel to the tzaddikim: in order to attain purity of thought.

Rav Kenig explains:

The mitigating of all harsh judgments comes through chokhmah (wisdom) or sekhel (intellect / mind / consciousness). Thus, implicitly the avodah of Rosh Hashanah is that everyone should "come with his mind" (the terminology of Likkutei Moharan II, 94)—that is, one must guard the mind, and mitigate harsh judgments by purifying and sanctifying one's thoughts. A person should have holy thoughts, and be careful not to dwell upon unholy thoughts (see Sichos ha-Ran 21). The Rebbe says that one should think "good thoughts," in general and in particular: that Hashem will be good to Klal Yisrael, and that Hashem will be good to us. Meh darf zehn Rosh Hashanah tzu trachten gutt − gutteh machshovos − be-klalliyus u-bi-fratiyus. For purely spiritual reasons, we should have holy thoughts on Rosh Hashanah, and guard ourselves against dwelling upon evil thoughts. However, even regarding material concerns, we should think good thoughts: that Hashem wants to show us kindness in these areas of our lives. This is what the Rebbe means by everyone "coming with his mind."

In Likkutei Moharan I, 61, section six, the Rebbe quotes the Zohar to the effect that "everything is rectified in thought." He explains that the sekhel is the source of all judgments, and there, all judgments are "sweetened," because "din (judgment) is only 'sweetened' in its source" (see Rabbi Chaim Vital, Eitz Chaim, Heikhal ha-Ketarim 13:11). Every din reflects a certain tzimtzum (constriction); every din has a corresponding sekhel that sweetens this tzimtzum. The sekhel . . . this is the main thing. This is the fundamental task: to bind one's mind to the mind of the tzaddik. The Rebbe discusses this in Likkutei Moharan I, 211, citing the verse, "And Moshe took with him the bones of Yosef," a teaching that also has a connection to Likkutei Moharan I, 61. The "perfection of daas" is attained when one comes to the tzaddik ha-emes, particularly on Rosh Hashanah, which is the day of judgment. One comes with holy thoughts, good thoughts, spiritually and materially.

[The person who had asked for clarification mentioned to Rav Kenig that that on another occasion, he had said that one must also come to the tzaddik with "yishuv ha-daas." Reb Elazar commented: "Not to be mevulbal, unfocussed and confused." Then
he added: "Vos men tutt, tutt men . . . We do what we can do. But one doesn't need to
become obsessed with this..."]

Rosh Hashanah is the time of dinim. And the sweetening of the dinim is accomplished by coming to the tzaddik, the "head of the Children of Israel," on Rosh Hashanah, in order to purify one's mind. Because "everything is rectified in thought." Thought is the highest of the three garments of the soul: thought, speech, and action. Therefore, the faculty of thought needs the greatest shemirah (guarding). As the Rambam states, sometimes a person doesn't realize that he has damaged his mind by allowing his thoughts to stray. He may think, "After all, what did I do?" However, one must know that thought is extremely potent.

Rosh Hashanah and the Combination of Souls

[Rav Kenig was asked to repeat an insight he had shared a few years previously about the combinations of letters / souls, etc., which the Rebbe discusses in Likkutei Moharan II, 8.]

We spoke about the interconnectedness of those who come to the Rebbe on Rosh Hashanah, how everyone is bound to everyone else in multiple ways. We discussed the permutations of letters and souls. These permutations and combinations represent an awesome and profound unification, beyond order and hierarchy. For example, when these permutations occur in the form of letters, the tav [which is the last of the twentytwo Hebrew letters, symbolizing the lowest level] may precede the alef [which is the first letter, symbolizing the highest level], and may even infuse the rest of the letters of the alphabet with vitality. Likewise, at the level of souls, the smallest may energize the loftiest souls, in keeping with the verse, "And they receive from one another…" (Siddur; Targum Yonasan on Isaiah 6:3).

True, there is a hierarchy of souls, as we see from Likkutei Moharan I, 13 ("souls great and small"), and various other lessons. However, these new configurations become possible due to the intense love and unification of the souls that come to the tzaddik – to the point that the distinction between the alef and the tav, "greater souls" and "lesser souls," is entirely forgotten and disappears.

Leaving Eretz Yisrael to Go to the Tzaddik

Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz writes in his Amaros Tehoros: "According to what we may understand from Likkutei Moharan II, 67, the holiness of the Beis ha-Mikdash depends upon the tzaddik, whose light shines into it. Therefore, we must mourn the passing of the tzaddik all the more sorrowfully. Concerning this, my grandfather, the Rav of Tcherin, of blessed memory, states in his Zimras ha-Aretz that in these times, after the destruction of the Holy Temple, and especially after the passing of the tzaddikim, the entire holiness of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim is damaged and concealed. Although they are aspects of the tzaddik − even the Western Wall, which is an aspect of the Foundation Stone [being a remnant of the Beis ha-Mikdash] − nevertheless, as long as they remain in a state of destruction, their entire holiness is damaged and hidden. This holiness devolves from the paradigm of the 'beginning of the year,' as the verse states: 'The watchful eyes of Hashem are there from the beginning of the year until the end of the year…' (Deuteronomy 11:12). − 'eyes' specifically; for [the 'eyes'] are the tzaddikim."

[Translator: The Rebbe, ad loc., relates the tzaddikim to the "eyes of the congregation" (Numbers 15:24). He also relates the eyes to the Beis ha-Mikdash, which is called "the desire of your eyes" (Ezekiel 24:16). The verse from Deuteronomy connects Rosh Hashanah and Eretz Yisrael. Thus, the holiness of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim is contingent on the Rosh Hashanah of the tzaddik.]

Rav Kenig explains:

That we are still in a state of exile is readily apparent from the words of the Shemoneh Esreh ("VeYerushalaim Irkha") and Birkhas ha-Mazon ("U’venei Yerushalayim"), as well as the nusach of "Nachem," which we recite on Tisha be-Av. The holiness of Eretz Yisrael is still hidden and concealed. Therefore, to rectify this, we must go to the tzaddik for Rosh Hashanah, even if we live in Eretz Yisrael. This is because the tzaddik shines the light of holiness into the Holy Temple, from which the holiness of all Eretz Yisrael emanates, as the Rebbe states. Therefore, those who argue that it is unnecessary or even wrong to leave Eretz Yisrael in order to go to Uman for Rosh Hashanah are in error. The opposite is true. Our love of Eretz Yisrael and yearning for its rebirth mandates that we travel to the tzaddik for Rosh Hashanah.

"In the Merit of Righteous Women"

It is a great sacrifice for those women who make it possible for their husbands and sons to leave home and travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah − especially since this is a Yom Tov, and many of them take upon themselves the extra burden of caring for the rest of their children alone. These women have a major share in all of the tikkunim of the tzaddik, and their merit is very great. They can be assured that when their husbands return home, they will bring back with them abundant shefa', both materially and spiritually.

"Le'eilah, Le'eilah / Beyond, Beyond"

It is customary to engage in various spiritual preparations before Rosh Hashanah, and to make good resolutions for the coming year. These things are most praiseworthy. However, the main tikkunim of Rosh Hashanah are those that the tzaddik uniquely accomplishes. These are on a completely different plane than our efforts—incomparably so. In fact, it is the power of the tzaddik that enables us to do whatever we do. Similarly, one may experience a great his'orerus (awakening) when one goes to the Rebbe's tziyun, or participates in the prayer services with thousands of others. These are surely experiences that we should treasure. However, we should know that the level on which the tikkunim of the tzaddik take place are far, far beyond what we can experience—even those experiences that we take to be the spiritual highpoints of our lives.

Uman Emergency Clinic Appeal

2011-09-08T06:11:00.000-04:00

With Rosh HaShanah fast approaching, we are turning to you to help with the Uman Emergency Clinic (www.umanclinic.org) which provides a critical service for the over 25,000 people that come to Uman for Rosh HaShanah.

This appeal is urgent because we are completely dependent upon private funding for this critical service. The importance of public safety and health for this type of event is obvious to all Jews, as the Torah tenet states, "Saving one life is like saving the entire world."

For full details, visit our website www.umanclinic.org. All donations are tax-deductible. Any questions can be directed to info@umanclinic.org. Please spread the word to your family and friends.

Wishing you and your family k'tivah v'chatima tovah and may we merit to see the geula shleima this year.

Nachi Klein & Avigdor Landesman
Directors of the Uman Emergency Clinic and United Hatzolah Galilee
Tsfat, Israel

Interview with Rabbi Chaim Kramer - Volume 15 of Likutey Moharan

2011-09-07T09:31:00.009-04:00

Help make this a reality!

New Release: Uman, Uman, Rosh Hashanah! Book & DVD

2011-08-29T13:02:00.002-04:00

(Click image)

Rabbi Nachman ben Feige

2011-08-10T07:30:00.004-04:00

People often wonder why Breslover Chassidim refer to the Rebbe as "Nachman ben Feige," after his mother -- in keeping with the Rebbe's wishes. No doubt that this, like almost everything related to Rabbi Nachman, has more than one level of meaning. Perhaps it is due to his mother's greatness -- she was called "Feige HaNevi'a" or "Feige the Prophetess" by her illustrious brothers Rabbi Boruch of Medzibuzh and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov (author of Degel Machaneh Ephraim).

Another reason, though, is suggested by Reb Noson in Likutey Halakhos, Hilkhos Birkhas HaShachar ("Laws of the Morning Blessings") 3:26:

"Throughout the Book of Kings we find regarding all kings of the House of David that the name of the king's mother is always mentioned. For Malkhus / Kingship is the aspect of the "name"; as it is written, 'And David made a name (i.e., gained reknown)' (II Samuel 8:13). For the main kingship of the House of David, from which Mashiach will come forth, is in order to express the "name of the glory of [G-d's] kingship" [as in the second line of "Shema," which is Zechariah 14:19; also see Zohar I, 12a and 18b].

"The sovereignty of David-Mashiach is Malkhus of holiness, which is G-d's kingship -- and this is G-d's Name. For Malkhus is the aspect of the name, as we have said. Therefore, all of these kings are mentioned along with the names of their mothers in particular, because the main revelation of the 'name of the glory of [G-d's] kingship' in this world, at this time, is through the 'Secondary Name' [or 'nickname,' i.e., A-D-N-Y] specifically. And this corresponds to the mother's name."

That is, the mother's name alludes to the Shekhinah, the "feminine principle" in G-d's animation and governance of the universe, which is an aspect of Malkhus. (This corresponds to the Name A-D-N-Y, while Y-H-V-H corresponds to the sefirah of Tiferes.)

Maybe this sheds light on Rabbi Nachman's statement: "In Avraham's day, the Shekhinah was called 'Sarah'; in Yitzchok's day, the Shekhinah was called 'Rivkah'; and in Yaakov's day, the Shekhinah was called Leah and Rachel... " (Chayei Moharan 563; also see Zohar I, 112a, and III, 187a).

Although Reb Noson discusses the mothers of kings (which seems to allude to tzaddikim such as Rabbi Nachman, who were descendents of the House of David) and the Rebbe speaks of the wives of the Patriarchs (which seems to allude to the foremost tzaddikim of every generation), the common denominator is their bond with the Shekhinah.

Thus, the tzaddik personifies in miniature a universe of harmony and wholeness; the unification of Tiferes and Malkhus; or in the language of the Zohar, the unification of the "Holy One, blessed be He" and the Shekhinah.

A Prayer for Moshiach

2011-07-25T07:28:00.002-04:00

By Rabbi Noson Sternhartz
Likutey Tefillos I, 142
Translated by Dovid Sears, “Entering the Light” (Breslov Research Institute)

Our God and God of our fathers: have mercy upon us, and confer merit upon us, and speedily send us our righteous Moshiach. He will fix this broken world, as well as all of the worlds from the highest to the lowest, for they all depend upon this lowest World of Action (Olam ha-Asiyah). Have pity on him and on us, and send him speedily and in peace, that he may bring everything to perfection, with the most awesome and wondrous tikkun (rectification).

Enlighten us with true perception, and open our eyes and hearts to Your Torah. Thus, may we be privileged to understand all the words of the Torah lucidly, according to their truth, so that no question or doubt will remain in our minds concerning any law or path among the laws and paths of the Torah. Rather, may everything be clarified beyond any shadow of a doubt, even those questions and doubts about which the great tzaddikim of former times declared "teiku." The Moshiach will straighten out them all, untangle them and make them understandable to us, and rectify the paradigm of "teiku" that includes all of the uncertainties in the world—both those that perplexed the great sages of Israel concerning the laws and paths of the Torah, and those that have perplexed everyone, from the greatest of the great to the smallest of the small.

So many of us yearn with all of our hearts to return to You! However, the paths of return and the paths of Torah are hidden from us, and our hearts are torn by doubts and deep uncertainties about which course of action to take. This is especially true of me, as I stand before You today. You know all that I have been through, and how many doubts and conflicts have bothered me about so many things. These confusions are greater than ever today, in so many areas of my life and in so many ways. My soul is so disturbed that sometimes it seems more than I can bear.

Master of the Universe, Master of the Universe! Almighty God of truth, "great in advice, and mighty in deed!" (Jeremiah 32:19). Have compassion on the Jewish people and upon me, and send a wondrous illumination from the World of Rectification (Olam ha-Tikkun), for which our righteous Moshiach will serve as the spiritual channel. Then "teiku" will be transformed to the most wondrous tikkun, and all questions will be resolved and all doubts clarified, even the subtlest "doubts of doubts"—and we will constantly receive perfect, good, and true advice about everything in the world.

In Your compassion, teach us the proper way to mourn and lament over the destruction of the Holy Temple at all times, particularly every night at the exact moment of chatzos, and during the three summer weeks known as "between the straits (bein ha-metzarim)." On the Ninth of Av, the bitter day when both Holy Temples were destroyed, may we recite the Book of Lamentations and kinnos (elegies) sincerely, with a broken and humble spirit, and pour out our hearts like water before You. Let us "put our mouths to the dust—perhaps there is hope" (Lamentation 3:29), and strike our heads against the walls of our hearts, due to our suffering and travail, as a nation and as individuals. How many years have passed since the devastation of our holy city and Holy Temple! How has the glory of the "House of Our Life" been removed! The trouble of each day is worse than the day before, especially now, when harsh and cruel decrees have been issued against our people, beyond our ability to endure. Our lives hang in the balance; our hearts are filled with dread at the thought of the harsh decrees that those that hate us wish to carry out against us, God forbid.

God of mercy, give us the emotional strength to empathize with the plight of the Jewish people, as well as to face our own spiritual dilemma. Give us the courage to break our hearts before You, and pour forth our supplication like water before You in complete sincerity, admitting the greatness of our sins and transgressions, and the “stiff-necked” behavior (Exodus 32:9) that has prolonged our exile and caused all of our grief.

"Let us raise our hearts to our hands unto God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41). Let us resort to the art of our holy ancestors, and cry and wail bitterly; let us wander the streets and alleys and market places, supplicating the One Above "until He looks down upon us from heaven" (Lamentations 3:50), until He awakens His mercy upon us, and speedily consoles us, and delivers us from our afflictions and sufferings, collectively and individually.

May God enlighten us, even now, with a ray of the light of our righteous Moshiach, thus to mitigate all harsh decrees, and end all of our grief and travail. May He constantly shine upon us the light of truth, and constantly heal us with new and wondrous tikkunim, and answer and elucidate for us all doubts and questions and quandaries. May we constantly receive the right advice, according to the highest truth, so that we will return to You in truth, speedily and with a whole heart, thus to engage in Torah and prayer and the performance of commandments and good deeds, all the days of our lives. Guard us and save us from all sin and transgression, so that we never veer aside from Your will, neither to the right nor the left (cf. Deuteronomy 5:29). May Your compassion be aroused on behalf of Your children, and may You speedily bring us our righteous Moshiach, and redeem us completely, with the final and eternal redemption.

Then the paradigm of "teiku" will be transformed to "tikkun" to the ultimate degree of perfection; that is, the letter nun from the word kinnos (elegies) will be transferred to the end of the word teiku, thus to convert "teiku" to "tikkun." All lamentations will cease throughout the world, and be remade into vessels of divine perception.

O Merciful One, Master of Deliverance, Master of Consolation! We beg You, console us from all of our afflictions, and help us to accomplish our work in this world. Spread forth upon us Your "Tent of Peace"; prepare for us good advice, and save us speedily for the sake of Your Name. Grant us the knowledge of absolute truth. Save us from the many doubts and confusions and uncertainties that interfere with our ability to serve You. Confer upon us perfect and true advice at all times, so that we may return to You in truth, and become the people You want us to be, now and forever, amen sela.

The Sabbath Foods

2011-07-25T07:24:00.006-04:00

Selected Teachings From the Chassidic Masters
Translated by Dovid Sears

“God blessed the seventh day, and He sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3). [Interpreting this verse,] Rabbi Ishmael declared: “He blessed the Manna in the wilderness, and He sanctified the Manna in the wilderness” (Bereishis Rabbah 11:2). This suggests that God blessed the Sabbath foods, imbuing them with the taste of Manna. It is known that the Manna was called “Food of the Mighty Ones.” Similarly, the sacrifices in the Holy Temple were called “Food of the Mighty Ones.” Thus, partaking of the Sabbath meals is like partaking of the sacrifices in the Holy Temple (Imrei Noam, cited in Sefer Kedushas HaAchilah 299).

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Rabbi Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchak Danziger of Alexander taught: The holiness of the Sabbath foods is comparable to that of the sacrifices in the Holy Temple. Indeed, some say that the holiness of the Sabbath foods is even greater: for a profane thing that became sanctified through a person’s Divine service attains a higher spiritual level than that which was holy of itself (Yismach Yisrael, Likkutim, cited in Sefer Kedushas HaAchilah 304).

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Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev taught: The “Feast of the Leviathan” (Bava Basra 75a) (designated for the tzaddikim in the Garden of Eden at the End of Days) will be made up of the foods consumed by the Jewish people at their Sabbath and Festival tables, as well as when they showed hospitality to guests or celebrated a religious event (se’udas mitzvah). These are the foods they are destined to eat in the Future World. Thus it is written, “And you shall eat, eating (achol) and being satisfied” (Joel 2:26); that is, they shall partake of that which they previously had eaten [achol, a play on words] (Kedushas Levi, Likkutim, 7, as cited in Sefer Kedushas HaAchilah, 328).

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Rabbi Aharon of Karlin once remarked: Sometimes thoughts of teshuvah—remorse about one’s past, and yearning to return to God—occur to a person during the Sabbath meals; for then one comes closer to the point of truth. These thoughts of teshuvah may be even loftier than those that arise during prayer.” He later added: “The zemiros (table songs) are the wings by which the holiness of the Sabbath meal ascends... “ (Beis Aharon, as cited in Sefer Kedushas HaAchilah, 312).

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Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught: One should be extremely joyous on the holy Sabbath, and not show even the least trace of sadness or worry. Simply “take delight in God” (Isaiah 58:14), and enjoy all the pleasures of the Sabbath, in food and drink, as well as in fine clothing according to one’s means. For the eating of the Sabbath is entirely spiritual, entirely holy, and it ascends to a completely different place than the eating of the ordinary days of the week (Likutey Moharan II, 17).

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Reb Noson Sternhartz (son of Reb Avraham Sternhartz) once related the following anecdote to Rabbi Moshe Bienenstock: His grandmother Chanah Tzirel said that her father, Reb Noson of Breslov, once entered their little kitchen on Friday, while the women were preparing food for Shabbos. He told them: “You should know that the cooking you do in honor of the Shabbos is comparable to the work that the Kohanim performed to prepare the korbonos in the Beis ha-Mikdosh!” (Heard from Rabbi Moshe Bienenstock)

Prayers in Amuka on the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel - 26 Sivan

2011-06-27T12:05:00.004-04:00

(Picture courtesy of Ascent.org)

For a $25 donation, prayers will be offered by Rabbi Shmuel Rosenberg
at the gravesite of
Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel in Amuka
on his yahrzeit this Tuesday, 26 Sivan / June 28th.

Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel was one of the greatest students of Hillel HaZaken. It is a well-known segulah that anyone who prays at his gravesite will receive a special blessing to marry within the year!

Please e-mail Rabbi Rosenberg the name and mothers name here.

In the merit of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, may all Jewish singles soon be united with their true soulmates and build a bayit ne'eman b'Yisrael!

First Ever: Pathways Weekly Newsletter – Parshat Korach

2011-06-24T07:04:00.002-04:00

Received via e-mail from Breslov Research Institute:

The Breslov Research Institute has decided to go in a whole new direction with our weekly emails. For the first time this week we have published the new Pathways Weekly Newsletter - a weekly publication for print! This will allow you to take it along with you wherever you may be. Please feel free to place it in shuls and all other public places. We hope you enjoy.

Download it here.

Eating Healthy Foods

2011-06-22T15:07:00.004-04:00

Excerpt from Azamra.org:

As we have seen, one of the greatest ever Breslover Chassidim, Reb Avraham Chazan, said: "Since the Rebbe warned us against doctors and medicine, we have an obligation to make every effort to eat only healthful foods" (Siach Sarfey Kodesh #3-539). What we eat and, equally, if not more important, how we eat, has a profound effect on our mental states, our thoughts, feelings, moods, general morale, energy levels and, of course, our physical health. Eating the wrong foods, or even the right foods in the wrong ways, can cause mood swings, tension, fatigue, negativity and depression, as well as long-term debilitation and degeneration of bodily organs and tissues.

Muddy Waters

2011-06-20T09:05:00.004-04:00

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, "Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom"
Breslov Research Institute
(Sichos HaRan 79)

When one begins to attach himself to a great Tzaddik and truly serve God, he is often filled with great confusion and evil thoughts. The evil was always there, but only now it is surfacing.

A pot of water may seem perfectly clear. However, when it is placed on a fire and begins to boil, all its impurities are brought to the surface. One must stand by and constantly remove these impurities. The original purity is merely an illusion. With a little heat the impurity surfaces. But when these impurities are removed, the water is truly pure and clear.

The same is true of a person. Before he begins serving God, good and evil are completely mixed together within him. The impurities are so closely united with the good that they cannot be recognized. Then this person comes close to a true Tzaddik and begins to burn with great feeling toward God. He is touched with the heat of purification, and all the evil and impurities come to the surface. Here again, one must stand by and constantly remove the dirt and impurities as they appear. In the end the person is truly pure and clear.

Purification requires this period of agitation and confusion. In the beginning a person is totally immersed in the material. He then begins to come close to God. It would seem possible to remove this dirt and impurity at once. However, his mind is completely intermingled with this mire. Were it to be removed immediately, his mind would be drawn out with it. Therefore, one must be purified little by little, in gradual stages.

© 1973 The Breslov Research Institute

Rabbi Motta Frank Shiur in Flatbush

2011-06-19T19:52:00.003-04:00

בס"ד

Rabbi Motta Frank Will Give a Shiur in Flatbush
June 6th, beginning 9:00 PM

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להוי"ה הארץ ומלואה תבל ויושבי בה

יום ראשון יז' סיון ה'תשע"א

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חבר וידיד אם גם אתה נמצא הלילה בפלטבוש

הינך מוזמן להשתתף בשיעור

יחד עם קומזיץ של שירי ערגה וכיסופים

שיתקיים הערב בשעה 9

בבית ידידנו זאבי גולדשמידט

Hosted by Ze'ev Goldschmidt
1130 29th Street
Between Aves. K-L
Brooklyn, NY

בשורות טובות

מוטה

ממתינים בעבורך שיעורים ומאמרים באתר 'באר בשדה':
http://www.mota.breslev.org/

Judaism and Ecology

2011-06-19T19:50:00.000-04:00

Rabbi Dovid Sears
Published in a slightly different form in the Jewish Press, 2003

"Environmentalism" has become an ideologically charged term in American life, associated with the political agenda of the Left. Certain positions on the Leftist agenda are in conflict with the Seven Laws of Noah, the fundamental Torah precepts that apply to all humanity. This in combination with the Left's general antipathy toward religion, Orthodox Judaism in particular, has caused the Orthodox community to lean toward the Right. Moreover, some radical environmentalists have made their cause the basis of yet another "secular religion," defining their beliefs in stark contrast to the most basic premises of Judaism and monotheism. However, the current political climate should not preclude the possibility of our honestly evaluating the case for greater environmental responsibility. Let's put the problem of "guilt by association" aside for a moment, and take an unprejudiced look at what Judaism has to say about our duties toward the world around us.

The Gemara (Bava Kamma 50b) tells the story of a villager who used to clear away stones from his courtyard and cast them into the street outside. One day a pious man came along and asked him, "Why are you throwing stones from a place that doesn't belong to you to a place that does?" The villager laughed at him, for this was the opposite of what he took to be the case. Not long afterward, the man was forced to sell his property due to financial difficulties. When he came to that street, he tripped on one of the stones he had formerly cast and fell to the ground. "That pious man knew what he was talking about!" he cried.

If this were just a "wisdom tale," it would be enough to open our eyes. But it is more than a wisdom tale. Citing this Gemara, Rav Yosef Chaim of Bagdad, best known as the Ben Ish Chai, rules that even if the law of the land permits one who builds a house to leave debris in the public domain, he must refrain from doing so for any significant length of time. The Torah demands a greater degree of responsibility for the consequences of our actions. As a popular advertisement used to say: "We have to obey a Higher Authority!"

Other examples of environmental concern in Judaism include the laws of bal tashchis, neither to destroy wantonly, nor waste resources unnecessarily; the prohibition of cutting down fruit trees, or the forest surrounding an enemy city in wartime; the law of covering excrement; etc. The prohibition of bal tashchis represents a halachic principle that extends to a wide range of cases.

The great 19th century thinker Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch sees this Torah mandate as reaching beyond the letter of the law to underscore a fundamental axiom in religious life. Echoing the passion of the ancient prophets, he declares:

"This … is the first law that is opposed to your presumption against things: regard things as God's property and use them with a sense of responsibility for wise human purposes. Destroy nothing! Waste nothing! Do not be avaricious! Be wisely economical with all the means that God grants you, and transform them into as large a sum of fulfillment of duty as possible" (Horeb, Vol. II, chap. 56, sec. 402, p. 282, Dayan I. Grunfeld, trans.).

We are not the true owners of the things of this world. "God owns the world and all that it contains…" (Psalms 24:1).

The ethical ramifications of the latter verse are eloquently expressed by the Kabbalists. In the words of 16th century mystic, Rav Moshe Cordovero of Safed:

"One's compassion should extend to all creatures, and he should not disparage or destroy them, for divine wisdom extends to all creation: 'silent' things [such as dust and stones], plants, animals, and humans. For this reason our sages warned us not to treat food disrespectfully. Just as divine wisdom despises nothing since everything proceeds from it, as the verse states, 'You have made them all with wisdom' (Psalms 104:24) so should a person show compassion to all of God's works" (Tomer Devorah, chap. 3).

From this point of view, it may be said that the principles of ecology permeate the entire Torah, above and beyond concerns of individual liberty. The Torah instructs us to strive to be in touch with the whole and not remain in one's egoistic corner of the universe, for all elements in the intricate tapestry of creation are connected. As Isaiah (5:8) declares: "Woe unto you who have caused house to encroach house, and make field approach field until there is no more open space; are you the only ones in the midst of the land?" That is, one who has little regard for the reality of others and of world around him but remains submerged in an uncaring morass of self, fails to grasp the very essence of the spiritual life.

The mark of a true chassid, a spiritually refined person, is to be sensitive to other humans, indeed to all creatures; and the mark of a true chacham, a sage in the fullest sense, is to grasp the "larger picture" in all of life's circumstances, and not just to focus on one detail of immediate concern to himself. This is ecology on the grand scale: a spiritual and moral ecology for which the Torah is the ultimate guidebook.

Upon reflection it is clear that active concern for our natural environment is a legitimate "Jewish issue." In view of current environmental threats, including growing shortages of water and other resources, destruction of habitats, and the effects of global climate change, it is also a matter of common sense. This is true, regardless of any other movement, secular or religious, that may wish to impress environmental responsibility into the service of its own ideological ends.

This essay is based on the following sources: Ben Ish Chai: Halachos I, Ki Seitzei, 15; Berachos 52b; Kiddushin 32a; Bava Kamma 91b; Bava Basra, Perek "Lo Yachpor," passim.; Shabbos 67b; Sefer Chassidim, 667; Ramban on Deut. 22:6; Sefer HaChinnuch, 545, 529; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Choshen Mishpat, Hilchos Shemiras Guf VaNefesh U'Bal Tashchis, pp. 1772-1774 (Kehot ed.); et al. Deut. 20:19-20; Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Neg. Mitzvah 57; Mishneh Torah, Shoftim: Hilchos Melachim 6:10. Deut. 23:10-14; Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Pos. Mitzvah 192, 193.

Akdamus Milin

2011-06-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

"Even if the heavens were parchment,
All the trees were quills,
The seas and all waters were ink,
And all inhabitants of the earth were scribes and skilled writers,
His might eternal would remain beyond description.
Alone, the resplendent Master of heaven and earth
Founded the universe and garbed it in mystery…"

One of the highlights of Shavuos is the responsive chanting in the synagogue of Akdamus Milin, written by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak of Worms during the 11th century C.E. The hymn begins with these two Aramaic words, which mean "Before I speak…" (The author asks the Creator permission to utter His praise.) However, as a title, Akdamus Milin may be translated "Introduction to the Words," meaning the Divine Speech heard at Mount Sinai. Therefore it is usually read on Shavuos morning before the Torah reading, which describes the awesome experience of all Israel hearing the Ten Commandments at the foot of the desert mountain.

Rabbi Noson of Breslov (1780-1844) writes that Rabbi Nachman highly praised Akdamus.

"The Rebbe observed, 'Because the Jewish people are so immersed in and habituated to what is truly good, they don't fully appreciate the greatness of the sacred hymn of Akdamus, which we recite on Shavuos.'

"He went on to say, 'One who knows the loftiness of this poem of Akdamus, together with the melody to which it is commonly sung, realizes that this is something most wondrous and unique.'

"The Rebbe then chanted a few stanzas of Akdamus. He added, 'Akdamus is a song of cheshek – of love and desire for God.'

"The Rebbe said all of this on Shavuos, during the dairy meal [traditionally eaten after the morning service]. The second minyan was in the middle of their prayers in the synagogue, and the chazan was chanting Akdamus. That was when the Rebbe spoke with us about the loftiness of this hymn." (Sichot HaRan 256)

Rabbi Nachman clearly experienced Akdamus as an expression of the mutual love between the Jewish People and G-d. This love and desire is the pre-condition of prophecy, which is the essence of the Torah.

Continuing to expound upon this theme, Reb Noson also discusses the custom of reading Akdamus in his masterwork, Likkutei Halakhos:

"On Shavuos, we spiritually ascend to the supernal root of ratzon (will or desire). [An aspect of the sefirah of Keser (Crown), ratzon expresses the deepest will and desire of the soul for God, and God's corresponding will and desire, so to speak, for creation].

"Through this ascent, all profane wisdoms related to the natural order are transmuted to ratzon, due to the power of the revelation of ratzon that now becomes manifest. That is, we vividly perceive all existence and all that transpires as only a reflection of the Divine Will.

"Profane or 'natural wisdoms,' by contrast, are derived from the Aramaic tongue. [Aramaic is the language closest to leshon ha-kodesh, the 'holy tongue,' which is Hebrew. During the Talmudic period, Aramaic was used for everyday speech and writing.] On Shavuos, however, the aspect of ratzon is revealed to such an extent that even the Aramaic tongue, the source of 'natural wisdom,' becomes absorbed into the holy.

"This is why we recite Akdamus, which is an awesome expression of praise written specifically in Aramaic – for this transformation of the profane to the holy represents the fullest revelation of ratzon." (Likkutei Halakhos, Hilkhos Kaddish, 1)

Shavuos With Mrs. Devorah Fastag of Jerusalem

2011-06-02T08:04:00.006-04:00

Mrs. Devorah Fastag (Heshelis), renowned lecturer and author of "The Moon's Lost Light," will be presenting an insightful and stimulating program for women on Shavuos in Flatbush.

She will be scholar-in-residence at:

Congregation Sheves Achim / Flatbush Minyan
1517 Ave. H (off East 16th St, across from Q Train)
Brooklyn, NY

Shavuos Night Women's Program:

Topic: Matan Torah / The Giving of the Torah
Hosted by the Bencher family, 1058 East 14th St
(between Aves. J-K)
11:30 PM - as late as it lasts
Refreshments will be served

Second Day of Shavuos Women's Program:

Topic: Megillas Rus / The Book of Ruth
Congregation Sheves Achim
4:30 - 5:30, followed by informal discussion
Refreshments will be served

For more information, please call Rabbi Meyer Fund: 718-338-4232

Rabbi Pinchas Bunker of Beitar Visits Lakewood

2011-05-25T07:44:00.003-04:00

Thursday night - 8:30 p.m. - 189 Chateau Drive Basement Shul

Erev Shabbos - To be announced

Kabalas Shabbos - 6:50 Mincha - 189 Chateau Drive Basement Shul

Bota - 10:00 p.m. - 869 Morris Avenue (Hearthstone)

Shachris - 8:00 a.m. followed by kiddush and Sippurei Maasios

Women's Shiur - 5:45 p.m. - 851 Morris Avenue

Mincha - 7:15 p.m.

Melaveh Malka - To be announced

For more information call - 732-779-6684

Rav Elazar Kenig's Shiur in Flatbush

2011-05-20T07:03:00.000-04:00

Our friend David Schweke has posted a five-part video of a wonderful talk that Rav Kenig gave last Sunday, May 15th, at the home of the Beida family in Flatbush. (The host, Mr. Albert Beida, is seated near the Rav, to his right.) The talk lasted for about 30 minutes, and was translated from Hebrew to English at several intervals by the popular Sefardic speaker, Rabbi Eli Mansour. The talk is based on the first lesson in Likutey Moharan, which the Rav related to the weekly Torah portion. His discourse is preceded by the singing of a Breslov niggun (Part 1), and concludes with Kaddish (Part 5).

http://www.youtube.com/ravkenig

Rav Kenig in Flatbush - May 15

2011-05-12T11:02:00.000-04:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

The Bitter Herbs

2011-04-15T06:33:00.003-04:00

The Bitter Herbs
adapted by Rabbi Gedaliah Fleer
from the stories of Rebbe Nachman

A Jew and a German were travelling together. Since Passover was drawing near, the Jew began to describe the sumptuous feast customarily eaten in honour of the holiday. "Wine is served in abundance and the specially prepared delicacies are out of this world." But the German, who had never been to a Seder, could hardly share his companion's enthusiasm.

"It's something you've simply got to experience," said the Jew, "perhaps I can teach you to pretend you're Jewish. Then on Passover eve, you can accompany me to the synagogue where the good-natured members of the congregation will surely invite us to their homes for the feast."

It sounded like a good idea and the German quickly learned to pose as a Jew. He even learned the Yiddish language which was quite similar to his native tongue. Shortly before the holiday his friend briefly explained the traditional Seder customs. "There's the Kiddush, recited over a glass of wine, the washing of the hands and the eating of some cucumber. Then the Haggadah which explains about the exodus from Egypt is read and discussed. Everything happens in a particular order, but eventually there's that delicious meal with all those luscious Jewish delicacies." Quite by accident however, the Jew forgot to tell his friend about the eating of bitter herbs.

On the eve of Passover, before going to the synagogue, the German fasted all day. He wanted to be prepared with an appetite worthy of the forthcoming feast. When the synagogue service was completed the two friends were invited to separate homes to partake in the Seder. The aroma of exquisite foods filled the air. The German was shown to a comfortable chair near the head of a beautifully set dining room table. His mouth watered, as his host began the Seder by reciting the Kiddush. Everyone drank an entire glass of wine. "What a really nice custom," thought the German, "a good meal should always begin with wine."

Shortly thereafter water was brought and people took turns washing their hands with an oversized goblet. "Quaint, very quaint," mused the German, "they're washing up for the meal." Then each person was given a small piece of cucumber dipped into salt water. "These Jews have some pretty strange ideas about hors d'oeuvres," he thought, "but the food I smell will surely be more substantial than this."

After a while the German found himself growing impatient. He had not eaten all day and his stomach was beginning to complain. The wine and cucumber were making him ill. Everyone around him however, seemed quite content. The last two hours had been spent discussing the exodus from Egypt. "How much longer will this continue," thought the German, "don't they ever get hungry?"

Finally matzo was brought to the table. Another glass of wine was consumed and people began to wash their hands for a second time. The German looked at the matzo and forced himself to remain calm. Some real food would soon be had. The matzo was hard and tasteless but at least it was something of substance. He ate his fill and anxiously awaited the rest of the meal. His Jewish friend had prepared him for the events of the evening. He had been told about the wine, and matzo. He had even been forewarned about the peculiar washing of the hands. But now, for the first time all evening, the German didn't recognize the food being served. "This must be the beginning of the real meal," he thought, as a dish piled high with grated horse radish was placed before him. "Take as much as you please," said his host, kindness radiating in his manner. Needing no further encouragement, the German heaped a brimming tablespoon of horse radish into his mouth and began to choke. His eyes bulged and began to tear. Thinking that this was what the entire meal consisted of, he ran from the house, back to the synagogue where he and his friend had agreed to meet. "Cursed Jews," he thought, "after all that ceremony they serve horse radish for their meal."

Shortly afterward, his friend arrived, fully satisfied and content. "How did it go with you?" he asked.

"You Jews are crazy," said the German, "absolutely out of your minds." He then angrily proceeded to relate the events of the evening and how he had eventually fled from the Seder.

"How foolish of you," said the Jew. "Had you been patient for just a moment longer you could have eaten the best of foods to your heart's content. Didn't you know that the real meal is always served after the bitter herbs?"

Copyright © 1997 Gedaliah Fleer

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On behalf of the Breslov Center, we wish everyone a chag kasher vi-sameakh, a joyous holiday with all the wondrous segulos of the matzah, the retelling of the Exodus story, and the other mitzvos of Pesach. As Reb Noson mentions in his prayers, these mitzvos of Pesach in particular confer upon us all holy perceptions, great and small, ultimately bringing about our inner liberation.

New Edition Available - Uman, Uman, Rosh Hashanah!

2011-03-23T07:53:00.001-04:00

(Click on image above)

Hisbodedus Documentary

2011-03-18T12:43:00.002-04:00

An E-mail from Tsfat

2011-03-14T12:27:00.004-04:00

We recently received this message from Rabbi Yaakov Klein, Executive Director of the Breslov Institutions in Tsfat, Israel.

I hope this e-mail finds you happy and healthy and a big yasher koach for your support throughout the years.

What can I say? Times are tough—I'm told that people have "charity fatigue." This one and that one lost a bundle in the market. Reuven had his hours cut, Shimon took early retirement. People are worried, "Maybe I'm next." "I need to save."

Ah… but Rashi teaches us that the best way to preserve our money is to make sure that you give tzedakah, since tzedakah actually guards our money (Ketubot 66b).

And we can all agree that Hashem is a better protector than the FDIC. Wikipedia states, "Since the start of FDIC insurance on January 1, 1934, no depositor has lost any insured funds as a result of a failure.” Hashem's Torah has many years on the FDIC (3247 to be exact) and as believing Jews, we know the power of tzedakah. Especially tzedakah to aniyim hagunim. Who is more deserving than the innocent schoolchildren of Eretz Yisrael?

As you know, I have dedicated my life to building the Torah and Chesed institutions of Nachal Novea Tsfat. Especially close to my heart is the Hot Meals program at the Talmud Torah. We provide a hot meal every single day to close to 500 children. For many, this meal is their only hot meal of the day. Check out our new Hot Meals movie.

Please forward the movie link to your family and friends. For your convenience, I've included a sample e-mail for you to personalize and forward on (see below).

With blessings for continued prosperity and happiness,

Rabbi Yaakov Klein

P.S. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 718-435-0087or e-mail me at RabbiKlein@nachalnovea.com

Rav Mottel Zilber Purim Shiur

2011-03-09T13:43:00.000-05:00

Received from Dovid Freidman -- thanks!

Here is the link if you would like to listen or download this shiur in English on Purim (as well as previous shiurim) given by Rav Mottel Zilber, the Stutchiner Rebbe of 54th St in Borough Park, shlita. The talk was given last Monday night at Congregation Mayan Yisrael in Flatbush.

Simply Tsfat Comes to Flatbush

2011-02-28T14:22:00.004-05:00

Breslov's premier music group, Simply Tsfat, will be doing a house concert on Sunday evening, March 6 / Rosh Chodesh Adar II, at 1484 East 17th St (between Aves. O and N), Brooklyn, NY. This even is a benefit concert for Eizer L'Shabbos, which provides needy families of Tsfat with food packages for Shabbos and Yom Tov.

The music begins at 6:30 pm.

Light refreshments served.

Contact: 917-319-4656

Cover: Free of charge. (Due to space limitations, this will be a men's event.)

But everyone is encouraged to donate generously to Eizer L'Shabbos, which performs a service that is essential for the survival of many poor Jewish families in the Holy Land.

PLUS this event will also celebrate the release of a new Simply Tsfat CD, "You Dee Best!"

CDs will be available on the premises.

Hachnosas Sefer Torah - Breslov of Flatbush

2011-02-28T14:00:00.004-05:00

We recently received this updated invitation from Moshe Berlin of Breslov of Flatbush:

Please save this date:

Sunday, March 13, which is the seventh day of Adar, Moshe Rabbeinu's yahrtzeit.

We are making a Hachnosas Sefer Torah. Please come and share in the mitzvah, and write a letter in the Torah.

Letter-writing will take place from 12:pm am until 4:00 pm. at:

Home of Moshe Berlin
3207 Ave J
Brooklyn, New York 11210
(between East 32 Street and New York Ave)

We will dance with the Torah and celebrate until 6:00 pm, after which all are invited to share in a Se'udas Mitzvah. We will have a full band with music. Please tell your friends.

Don't miss it!

Sponsored by:

Breslov of Flatbush
1909 New York Ave (between Aves. K-J)
Brooklyn, NY 11210

Contact: 917-202-9465

Kestenbaum Auctions Rare Letter From Reb Noson

2011-02-23T14:04:00.000-05:00

Description:

R. NOSSON OF BRESLOV: Autograph Letter Signed in Hebrew by Reb Nosson of Breslov, written to Reb Meir (Mirkis of Teplik). One page. Brown ink on coarse paper. Minute holes along folds, portion of text along right side very faint due to waterstain. 4 x 7 inches. Date: Motza’ei Shabbath, Parshath Lech-Lecha, 1842

AN IMMENSELY RARE AUTOGRAPH LETTER WRITTEN BY REB NOSSON OF BRESLOV. CONTAINS AT ITS HEART ONE OF THE CENTRAL PHILOSOPHIC CODAS OF BRESLOV CHASSIDUTH.

In this highly personal and emotional letter written to a close chossid, Reb Meir Mirkis of Teplik, Reb Nosson empathizes with the plight ailing R. Meir, expressing concern for the recipient's welfare and sends advice and blessing for a full recovery from sickness. The key sentence in the letter - central to the philosophy of Breslov Chassiduth as a whole, reads: "Joy is the remedy for all sicknesses." ("Simchah hi refu'ah lechol ha-tachlu'im.")

PARTIAL TRANSLATION:

You know that our only strength is (our ability to pray) and I have raised my hands to God, to help you from His Holy Place... a complete and speedy recovery from Heaven, a cure for the soul and a cure for the body. But, my beloved friend, my request of you is that you strive with all your might to gladden your soul. Joy is the remedy for all sicknesses

Be strong and courageous, and trust in God who will not forsake you and all will be transformed to good. The One who creates cures will cure you and make you well and restore your health, with added might and strength, until you will have the strength to study Torah, to pray and do good deeds your whole life, with lengthy days and good years.

[These are the] words of your true friend for eternity, who awaits for His salvation all day, and [wishes to] hear good news from you quickly.

Nathan of Breslov

Biographical Data:

Reb Nosson Sternhartz (1780-1844) of Nemirov and later Breslov, was the devoted, chief disciple and right-hand man of Reb Nachman of Breslov - the most pivotal figure of the early Chassidic Movement. Following Reb Nachman's death in 1810, Reb Nosson became the leader of the Chassidim of Breslov. It is safe to say that without Reb Nosson's total devotion to preserving, developing and expanding the Breslov movement after its founder's early death, Reb Nachman’s legacy would have been utterly lost. Reb Nachman himself is said to have foretold, "Were it not for Reb Nosson, not a page of my writings would have survived." Besides his committment to the dissemination of Reb Nachman's seminal work Likutei Mohara'n, Reb Nosson authored Likutei Halachoth, a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch based on the teachings of Breslov Chassiduth, Likutei Tephiloth, and more. It was Reb Nosson who was responsible for making Uman, the Ukranian town in which Reb Nachman is buried, a focal point of Breslov Chassiduth.

Concerning the recipient of this letter:

Reb Meir of Teplik was one of Reb Nosson's closest disciples (see Avaneha Barzel, Sichos VeSipurim MiMoharanat no. 47), and many Breslover Chassidim were guided by him (Gidulei Hanachal Mem. 2). Reb Meir was first introduced to Reb Nosson by Reb Shaul of Teplik, who was known for his enthusiastic davening and hisbodedus. Afterwards, Reb Nosson raised Reb Meir to a high level of devotion (ibid. no. 58). "All those Chassidim who were disciples of the Rebbe's disciples, particularly those who were followers of Reb Nosson and did as he instructed them ... all of their hearts burned to serve Hashem and so, were Tzadikim Gemurim, such as...Reb Meir of Teplik" (see Kochvei Or, Anshei
Moharan, Pesicha no. 32). Further details concerning Reb Meir and his descendants in relation to Breslov history is available upon request. Additionally, research-work is available in regard to Reb Nosson's activities around the time this letter was written.

This letter does not appear in "Alim LeTerufah," and has remained with the Mirkis family for 170 years. For the past many decades it has lain undisturbed in a bank-vault.

Auction-estimate: $40,000-60,000

Forthcoming Auction:
February 24th, 2011

Kestenbaum & Company
Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts,
Graphic & Ceremonial Art.
242 West 30th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 366.1197
Fax: (212) 366.1368
e-mail: kestenbook@aol.com
www.Kestenbaum.net

Fine Judaica:
Printed Books, Manuscripts,
Autograph Letters, Graphic & Ceremonial Art
Featuring the Distinguished Collection of
the late Alfonso Cassuto of Lisbon

Remembering Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz

2011-02-16T18:46:00.003-05:00

By Rabbi Dovid Zeitlin

Today (Wednesday), 12 Adar, is the yohrzeit of HaGaon HaChossid R' Shmuel ben R' Yeshayah Halevi Horowitz, zt"l, one of the extraordinary Breslever mashpiyim (teachers) of the past generation. He passed away in 5732 / 1972. All remember him as a giant in Nigleh, Nistar and Chassidus, who was constantly in a visible state of deveykus to Hashem. Reb Elazar Kenig, shlit"a, of Tsfas remembers: "Er iz gevein mufshat fun der velt . . . He was beyond this world." His lips were constantly occupied with words of Torah and Tefillah.

We are all indebted to him for his mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) for all matters related to the Rebbe -- particularly for printing and disseminating ALL of the Rebbe's seforim during those very difficult years of poverty and hunger in Eretz Yisroel. He redeemed, compiled, saved and printed under extremely adverse conditions the writings of HaGaon HaKadosh R' Avrohom ben R' Nachman Chazan (i.e., he was the son of Reb Nachman Tulchiner, zt"l, leading disciple of Reb Noson zt"l). These works include Bi'ur HaLikkutim (on Likkutei Moharan), Chochmah U-Tevunah (on Sippurey Ma'asiyos), Kochvei Ohr (oral histories and traditions), etc. If not for Reb Shmuel, these "crown jewels" would have been lost forever.

He was a "flamm fieyr," a true "soul on fire," with an extremely profound sense of hiskashrus (spiritual bonding) to the Tzaddik. His unbelievable journey from Eretz Yisroel to Poland and Russia in the 1920s, in order to get to know and serve all Gedolei Breslev, is recorded in his multi-volume autobiography, "Yemey Shmuel." This courageous and dangerous trip, during those dark years of Communist oppression, and what followed upon his arrival in the Ukraine gave us a unique window into the various Breslover Chassidim in Uman during the last years of the community's existence. He spent three Rosh Hashanos in Uman during those years with mesirus nefesh. He was a unique figure, even amongst the great Chassidim of his day.

Reb Shmuel was a "baal tzurah" an impressive person to behold; he was also a yachsan (a person of noble lineage -- Reb Shmuel was a direct descendant on his father's side from the Shelah Hakadosh and many great tzaddikim). And he had "yichus atzmo" -- he was a model of devotion and dedication to all inyonim of the Tzaddik. He was a true inspiration for Breslover Chassidim and for everyone.

Reb Shmuel personally reached out to Jews from all walks of life and brought countless people closer to Yiddishkeit and Chassidus. A few years ago, a collection of his letters (both in Yiddish and Hebrew) were printed in the multi-volume "Michtevey Shmuel."

More recently, Breslever Chassidim in Monroe reprinted his powerful "Ma'amar Hiskashrus L'Tzaddik HaEmes," with additional footnotes. It sells for $6 a copy. Anyone interested in obtaining this ma'amar may contact the publisher: Gedolim Tzaddikim, 845-248-3449, or email gdoilymtzadykem@gmail.com.

It is interesting that this fiery mystic and profound thinker was also known to personally prepare many special, tasty dishes in honor of Shabbos (I think he started on Wednesday). This was a great and serious avodah for him every week. But it is not really a contradiction at all. Deveykus in the Tzaddik is the same as deveykus in Shabbos Kodesh -- one is in Neshomah (soul) and one is in Z'man (time). Besides, the Zohar HaKadosh says of the Tzaddik: "Antt hu Shabbos d'kulo yomin . . . You are Shabbos of all the days."

Zekhuso yagein aleinu, may his merits shield us!

Breslov Teachings On Purim

2011-02-15T12:08:00.000-05:00

From the anthology Oztar HaYirah (Likutei Eitzos HaMeshulosh), Purim.

These selections are, in turn, from Reb Noson’s Likkutei Halakhos.
Translated by Dovid Sears

The Sitra D’Mosa [“Side of Death,” meaning the state of estrangement from God, Who is the source of life] is primarily derived from self-importance. This is the root of the klippah (“husk”)—the spiritual force that seeks to obstruct the light of holiness, associated with Haman and Amalek, the archenemies of the Jewish people. (4)

*

The main strategy of the klippah of Amalek is to attack the weak by convincing them that there is no hope, God forbid. [1] However, by finding the good point within yourself, even when you seem to be in a state of spiritual decline, you conquer Amalek. (1)

*

Through the simcha (joy) of Purim, it is possible to gain lofty perceptions— to attain "the ultimate knowledge, which is not-knowing." The seemingly opposite paradigms of "knowing" and "not knowing" coalesce and become one. Every trace of evil disappears, for at this exalted level, all is one, and all is good. (9)

*

When the holiness of Shabbos enters the world, the klippah of Amalek is subjugated. The Wine of Drunkenness, from which we refrain, is supplanted by the Wine of Joy. When we recite the Kiddush over wine, a spirit of holiness encompasses all the souls and holy sparks that were extricated from the realm of the klippos during the six days of the week, and now, with the advent of Shabbos, they ascend to their place of rest.

Their main path of ascent is through simchah (joy) and the Kiddush that we recite over the wine, which is an aspect of the Wine of Joy. Through this, our "hot blood" is tempered, and we can serve God with a heart inflamed with devotion.

This is why on Purim, which celebrates the extirpation of the seed of Amalek, it is a great mitzvah to drink wine to the point of intoxication. On Purim the wine is an aspect of the Wine of Joy, which destroys the klippah of Amalek; for the main downfall of Amalek is accomplished through simchah. (20)

*

The klippah of Amalek, which manifests itself as false wisdoms and heretical philosophies, derives from the Chalal HaPanui—the Vacated Space that precedes all creation.[2] Because of this precedence, it is axiomatic that on all levels of reality, “the klippah precedes the fruit.”

Thus Amalek is called reishis (the "first")— "Amalek was the first of nations" (Numbers 24:20); its power derives from the Vacated Space that precedes creation altogether. Analogously, Esau was born before his twin brother, Jacob, and was considered to be the firstborn son.

However, in truth, the holy transcends everything; God is the primordial reality, and God created the Vacated Space. Therefore, Israel, by power of their simple faith that God transcends and precedes everything, can ascend beyond all the wisdoms and heretical philosophies that come from the Vacated Space. This is why Israel is called the "firstborn," as the verse states, "My child, my firstborn, Israel" (Exodus 4:22), and why Jacob took the right of the firstborn from his brother, Esau, from whom Amalek descends.

This faith destroys the klippah of Haman and Amalek, and reveals the Song of the Future World. [3] (3)

*

On Purim a great and wondrous light shines forth that reaches the very depths of this lowly World of Action: the spiritual light of Mordechai and Esther. Just as gazing upon the face of the true tzaddik is spiritually transforming, [4] so is the experience of this lofty light. Through it, we attain humility and nullify our self-importance, which is the klippah of Haman and Amalek.

The reading of the Megillah in particular reflects this, for the light of the holy faces of Mordechai and Esther is hidden within the Megillah, the scroll that they composed. When we read their words in the Megillah, the light of their faces shines upon us, and it is as if we gazed upon them in person. Our higher consciousness becomes charged, as it were; our self-importance falls away, and we attain true humility. This is the eternal life of the World to Come.

Lowliness and the "pride" that derives from the side of holiness become as one, in keeping with the verse, "In the place you find His greatness, there you find His humility." [5] This fusion is the ultimate perfection of humility. Thus, on Purim our sages command us [6] to drink wine "until you do not know the difference between: Arur Haman (Cursed is Haman)," which corresponds to nullifying the ego," and “Baruch Mordechai (Blessed is Mordechai)," which corresponds to holy pride. This leads to true joy, the simchah of Purim. (5)

NOTES

[1] The nation of Amalek attacked the weary and enfeebled Israelites on their journey through the wilderness, sexually abusing and dismembering their captives; see Rashi citing Midrash Tanchumah on Deuteronomy 25:17-19. Amalek is a symbol of human cruelty throughout rabbinic literature, much like the Nazis in the contemporary experience. On a deeper level, the Kabbalists point out that word Amalek bears the same gematria (numerical value) as sofek, meaning "doubt." Thus, the klippah of Amalek is the voice within us all that denies God and the true tzaddikim and simple emunah (faith).

[2] The Sefer Eitz Chaim of the Ari z"l begins with an abstruse account of the mysteries of creation: In the beginning, the Infinite Divine Light was omnipresent. When it arose within His will to create the universe, God constricted the light to the “sides” in all directions, leaving a Vacanted Space (Chalal HaPanui). Into this Vacated Space, God "beamed" a thread of the light that had been constricted; and from this thread of light all things, spiritual and physical, derive their existence. For a practical application of this teaching in divine service, see Likkutei Moharan I, 49.

[3] Likkutei Moharan I, 64.

[4] Likkutei Moharan I, 4.

[5] Megillah 31a.

[6] Megillah 7a. See Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 695:2 for the halachic parameters of this law, which are quite lenient in the case of a person who is weak, or otherwise incapable of drinking to the point of intoxication. This obligation does not apply to women.