Nachman ben Simcha of Breslov. Likutei Mohara”n [Seminal Teachings of Breslov Chassidism]

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810), was one of the most pivotal - and enigmatic - figures within the early Chassidic Movement and continues to fascinate spiritual seekers to this day. His grave in Uman, Ukraine, attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims annually, especially on Rosh ha-Shanah. On his mother’s side, Nachman was the great-grandson of R. Israel Ba’al Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic Movement. (Nachman’s mother Feige was the daughter of the Ba’al Shem’s daughter Udel.) Nachman’s father, Simcha, was the son of R. Nachman of Horodenka, a close companion of the Ba’al Shem. However, even in a world as dynastic as Chassidism, lineage alone does not guarantee spiritual success. Rather, it is Nachman’s prodigious intellect and mystical gifts - as preserved in Likutei Mohara”n, the Bible so-to-speak of Breslov Chassidism - which account for his extreme popularity. Rabbi Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin, himself a later Chassidic master, used to refer to Rabbi Nachman as “the genius of Chassidism.” In addition, it would be a gross oversight to underestimate the role played by Rabbi Nachman’s writer and editor, Rabbi Nathan Sternhartz of Nemirov (1780-1845) in preserving the master’s teachings in such pellucid style. It is safe to say that without this Chassidic Boswell, Nachman’s legacy, as that of so many other greats, would have been lost to history. See EJ, Vol. XII, cols. 782-7; Tz.M. Rabinowicz, The Encyclopedia of Hasidism (1996), pp.335-8