NACHMAN BEN SIMCHA OF BRESLOV. Likutei Mahara”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. On his mother’s side, R. 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.) R. 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 R. Nachman’s prodigious intellect and mystical gifts - as preserved in Likutei Mohara”n, the Bible of Breslov Chassidism - which account for his exceptional following. Rabbi Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin, himself a later Chassidic master, refered to Rabbi Nachman as “the genius of Chassidism.”