The Blog @ Breslov.org

I received this impassioned plea disguised as a question, from a woman in her 20s who currently resides in the Western Hemisphere. It’s relevance is global, applies equally to all ages and genders and goes beyond her immediate concern.

[20-something woman]

Sorry to bug you but I wanted to talk to you about something. When you said that I should be zokheh (privileged) to bring Israel home with me I want you to know it really affected me. I have been praying Minchah (the Afternoon Service) every day and have been learning with my father. I feel very passionate about Eretz Yisrael and I am serious about coming back. I have begun implementating the first stages of it by gathering information and networking.

Despite my enthusiasm to fullfill my dream people seem to keep telling me how I will change my mind and how I’ll end up staying here; that everyone feels like this when they come back from Eretz Yisroel and they change their minds. I don’t want to change my mind. I have never been so sure of anything in my life.

But why do people doubt me and why are they? I am also nervous about it myself but I know it is my destiny. I’m trying to stay besimcha (upbeat) throughout this difficult transition in coming home and buildfing myself up for what’s to come but I feel as if people are trying to bring me down from my high spiritual awareness and desire for Eretz Yisroel.

What do you think?

[Ozer's reply]

Many people are gung-ho about Eretz Yisrael until they get back “home” and the luster wears off, they get back into their old life-style, and there‘s nothing to remind and re-kindle their yearning for Eretz Yisrael.

Which is why one (YOU!) need to make time every day to yearn for Eretz Yisrael and to EXPRESS OUT LOUD TO HASHEM that you miss and love Eretz Yisrael, that you want to go back and that WITH HIS HELP YOU WILL GO BACK THERE TO LIVE.

Desire for any thing/goal of kedushah (holiness) is short-lived. One must constantly make the effort to protect, maintain and strengthen that desire. As for why people tell us we‘ll fail and otherwise discourage us and “get in the way,” see the pieces below from Sichot HaRan.

It also tells us about what Rebbe Nachman faced on his way to Eretz Yisrael. You’re in good company!

It might also help to look around for like-minded young ladies who want to go back to Eretz Yisrael for the same/similar reasons as you.

[The two excerpts from Sichot HaRan (Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom)]

#11.
Fortunate are we, that the blessed Lord has been so good to us, granting us the privilege to be holy Jews.

The Rebbe said he had great joy of being worthy to have been in the Land of Israel. He endured many obstacles, doubts, delays and disturbances in order to make his journey to the Land of Israel. Money was also an obstacle. But he overcame everything and finished the job completely—he made it to the Land of Israel!

He said, “I believe—and I know a lot about this subject—.every motion, every thought, everything that one does attempting to do something holy is not wasted. When one breaks through all the obstacles and achieves his holy goal, his every move and all the uncertainties and confusion that he faced when he was still in the throes of doubt and bewilderment—‘Can I do this or not?’—with hurdles facing him at every turn; when one finally overcomes them, those very obstacles, doubts, etc., every last one of them, are all made into exalted and sacred things, marked for good.”

Fortunate is one who is worthy of surmounting all the hurdles in completing any holy task.

#80.
People have more power than the Evil Urge himself. Their influence is strong enough to keep a person from serving God and from a true tzaddik.

The Evil Urge has power only in a particular realm. His ability does not extend beyond that. But a personn is a microcosm and his influence extends to all realms. Therefore, a person can do more to deter a person from God than the Evil Urge himself (Likutey Halakhot, Milah 5:21; Gezeilah 5:17).

Ozer Ask A Breslover Kedushat Eretz Yisroel, perseverance, Rebbe Nachman, yearning

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Melamdim 4:6

Remember what Amalek did to you b’derekh, on the road, when you left Egypt (Deuteronomy 25:17).

One of the leaders of Breslover chassidim today, Rebbe Yaakov Meir Schechter (may he live and be well), once pointed out that Rebbe Nachman’s two major works open in a similar vein. The very first lesson in Likutey Moharan begins with the verse (Psalms 119:1), “Fortunate are those whose derekh, road, is faultless.” Sippurey Maasiot (Rabbi Nachman’s Stories) is prefaced by Rebbe Nachman’s terse comment, “On the road I told a story….”*

What has this to do with Parshat Balak? The holy Zohar (3:199b) notes that the Hebrew letters which spell the names of the villains in this week’s parsha, BaLAaM and BaLaK, spell the words BiLBuL (confusion) and AMaLeK. Confusion of values and misunderstanding Torah ideas play into Amalek’s hands. That being the case, he wants us to be unclear in every situation and every position in which we may find ourselves.
That way we will live in illusion, lose our faith and, God forbid, adopt his values.

The inoculation and remedy for this? To bear in mind the words of the Shema Yisrael: “and you will speak [these words] when you are home and when you go b’derekh, on the road” (Deuteronomy 6:7). The Talmud (Berakhot 11a) teaches that the word b’derekh indicates that no matter what position one finds oneself in—standing, sitting, walking—one may read the Shema. Reb Noson writes that it’s obvious that what we can do to serve Hashem varies from situation to situation. After all, Shabbat is not Wednesday, morning is not night and being on the road is not being at home. But no matter where and no matter what, there is always some way to connect with God.

Our job is to believe that and then—figure out what it is! Is it prayer or Torah study? giving charity** or doing a favor? yearning to be a better Jew? raising your awareness of God’s presence? believing in Him, the Torah, tzaddikim or yourself? As Udel, Rebbe Nachman’s daughter, would often be heard saying, “God—what pleasure can I give you now?”

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!

© Copyright 2010 Breslov Research Institute

*To not leave you in suspense, the remainder of the comment is: “and everyone who heard it had a thought of repentance.”

**Many worthwhile causes (and individuals) can receive donations via PayPal.

admin Weekly Parsha BaLAaM, BaLaK, Dvar Torah, Parshat Balak, Reb Noson, Rebbe Nachman

{This post was first published on 6 June 2010 and was updated 13 June. New comments are in {}. My thanks to those who have commented. You made the post a better one.}

The recent article in Mishpacha Magazine that we were thankful for, and applauded here, was recently followed by a number of “Letters to the Editor.” Those letters, sad to say, were full of canard-laced ignorance-based attacks on Breslov.

Even though we Breslovers are used to such things, it nonetheless is tiresome to hear (or read) yet again. In this case it is particularly disappointing because the same magazine that had shown Rebbe Nachman and Breslov in their true, glorious colors now allowed itself to be used to malign a vibrant community of beautiful Yidden.

Here is some of what I wrote to the editor of Mishpacha in response to those letters. We await word to see if it will be published. {It was not. A fine response by our friend Ephraim Portnoy was published.} May we soon hear good news for all of klal Yisrael (the Jewish people). Amen.

To the Editor:

Although I am the least worthy of my peers and the last one who should be nominated to defend the honor of Rebbe Nachman and his chassidim, I feel compelled to respond to the letters that were published in response to Reb Yisroel Besser’s fine article about Breslov.

First, allow me to respond to the first letter. Even though Breslov is best known for its emphasis on tefilah, from page one of his Likutey Moharan, Rebbe Nachman stresses the primacy of Torah study, particularly learning b’iyun. (in depth). In a number of lessons, Rebbe Nachman teaches the power and importance of learning halachah. In fact, Reb Noson Breslover writes that of all of Rebbe Nachman’s eitzos(suggested practices) only two are universal and daily: hisbodedus (making time to talk to Hashem in one’s own words) and study of halachah.

I’m not sure how you arrive at the correlation of Torah ignorance and questioning Hashem’s ways. To take one well-known example, Acher was quite learned and questioned. Millions of Yidden were unlearned and unlettered, but had faith to live and die without questioning Hashem. Such questions are emunah-related, not knowledge-related.

Of course the Chofetz Chaim’s conversations sounded different than a newcomer’s. Does that make the newcomer’s defective, invalid or unwanted by Hashem? Certainly the Chofetz Chaim’s conversations with Hashem were of a higher quality in his later years than in his earlier years. Furthermore, the Chofetz Chaim became who he did by having hisbodedus. {And please do check Chapter 10 of the Chofetz Chaim’s Likutei Amarim in which he strongly encourages talking to Hashem in one’s own words! My sincere thanks to A Talmid for being the first “to show me it inside.”}

As for the desire for shortcuts to piety or anything else, that is not Breslov. That is human.

“Reb Yid”, author of the second letter, you want us to be cognizant of “the other side of the story,” of catastrophes in Breslov and perhaps somehow fomented by Breslov teaching. I ask you, “Reb Yid”, are catastrophes unique to Breslov? Professionals and askanim know that catastrophes occur in every chatzar/community. I have been involved with “crazies” in Breslov who are refugees from emotional, physical and criminal abuse inflicted upon them by members of the chassidic communities into which they were born. Is that “the other side of the story” of Chassidus X or Chassidus Y? Should we point our finger at the Noam Elimelekh, Meor Einaim or Sfas Emes and put them under lock and key?

Rebbe Nachman points out that TziBuR is an acronym for Tzaddikim, Beinonim, Reshaim. The reshaim, scoundrels and villains, of any community are not those who follow the tzaddik’s advice, but those who do not. We should not judge any community by its “reshaim”—their level we could attain on our own—but by its tzaddikim.

Chazal tell us that the holy Torah—dee heilege Torah!—can be an elixir of life or a fatal poison. What it becomes depends upon the person who learns it. Rebbe Nachman teaches that the same is true of a tzaddik’s advice. What it becomes depends upon the person who receives it. That is to say, the fault, dear “Reb Yid,” lies not in the teacher or in the teaching, but in ourselves.

May I ask if you wish to belittle with faint praise—that Rebbe Nachman is a tzaddik, yes, who ought to be learned, yes, but only by talmidei chachamim, not ordinary folk? Does combining that with what you admit is hearsay “over many years” give license to malign a community of thousands, with chaderim, yeshivas and kolleim?!

Finally, our anonymous, last correspondent, you are simply mistaken. Just as in other chassidic groups, we, too, have our share of disagreements. The leader to whom he alludes has much opposition from within Breslov and has had for many years. (He also has many very loyal adherents.) Breslov leaders are not shy about expressing their disapproval of what they view as a corruption of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings and path. We on the inside know that, but again, like other communities, we don’t wash our laundry in public.

Lastly, insofar as “crazies” (a word that may be accurate, but is certainly loathsome) are concerned, may I suggest two reasons why there seems to be a preponderance in Breslov. First, since so many communities insist on keeping them out, lest those meshugaim spoil their sheine image, the “crazies” go to the only place open to them—Breslov. Second, nowadays when a bit of nevuah has been bestowed upon the insane, perhaps the “crazies” intuit that of all the rebbes and all the seforim, only Rebbe Nachman is great enough to heal them.

Sincerely,
Ozer Bergman

Ozer Faith, Hitbodedut, Likutei Moharan, Rebbe Nachman, Torah, Tzaddik Likutey Moharan, Rebbe Nachman, Tzaddik, Tzaddikim

I returned from Uman shortly before dawn last Monday (18 Sivan/31 May). Arkia Airlines has recently started flights between Tel Aviv and Kiev. Occasionally, as happened last week, they offer low-priced tickets. I paid $270. A number of other Breslover chassidim that I met on the plane paid only $250. One passenger paid a measly $210!

The plane was comfortable and clean; the service was very good; the food was good (but they served a sandwich rather than a meal).

This is not an ad for Arkia, so why am I telling you this? It’s an ad for going to Uman! For those of you can’t afford a big ticket trip, or don’t want to go when there is a big crowd, I strongly urge you to go with a small group of friends.

The logistics of housing, feeding and traveling to other kivrei tzaddikim (grave sites of tzaddikim) within Ukraine (such as the Baal Shem Tov in Medzbuz, Reb Noson in Breslov), is simple, and it’s less expensive when you share the various costs. And it’s usually more enjoyable.

The weather in Ukraine is certainly easier this time of year, as compared to winter! The days are long. (Sunrise when I was there was before 5AM; sunset was 8:50PM!) The effect is quite calming. You can really get a better sense of where you are on your journey and where you need to do to shore things up and straighten things out.

And of course, saying the Tikkun HaKlali at Rebbe Nachman’s grave site and earning his guarantee to do what he can to save you from Gehenna is worth “the price of admission.” (Many Breslovers say that the Rebbe has already pulled them out of the Gehenna that this world is!)

Mayanot Chaim and Derech Tzaddikim travel agencies in Jerusalem, Errol and Bergstein in Beit Shemesh (I think that’s where they are) can help you to arrange for tickets and reliable, competent, honest drivers to take you to and from the airport in Kiev to Uman (and back), as well trips to Medzbuz etc.

gei gezunderheit und koom tzurik gezunderheit und g’poelt alles gut!
tzeitzkhem l’Shalom u’voakhem l’Shalom!
Go in peace and return in peace and may all your prayers be answered for the good, soon, swiftly and in the best possible way. Amen!

Ozer Rebbe Nachman, Travel, Tzaddik, Uman Baal Shem Tov, Breslov, Reb Noson, Rebbe Nachman, Tzaddikim, Uman

But Gd willing not the last. From The Rebbe Nachman Thursday Night Chaburah meeting of 6 May’10.

The podcast is here.

Ozer Baal Shem Tov, Classes, Faith, Hitbodedut, Likutey Tefilot, Rebbe Nachman, Shabbat, Tzaddik, awe, money, music, prayer, reb nosson, teshuvah Hitbodedut, Oneg Shabbot, Reb Noson, Rebbe Nachman, Shabbat, Shabbos, Shabbos table, Sichot HaRan, zemirot

im yirtzeh Hashem (God willing) The Rebbe Nachman Thursday Night Chaburah (we recently celebrated our second anniversary!) will be broadcast live starting this Thursday night. You can find us at Radio Free Nachlaot.

It begins 8 PM Jerusalem time, 1 PM Eastern Daylight Time, noon Central, 10 AM Pacific.

We will be continuing Sichot HaRan (aka Sichos HaRan aka Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom), siman/chapter #154. Listen and learn Rebbe Nachman’s secret for success!

If there is sufficient interest, I will, im yirtzeh Hashem, post the text of upcoming chapters each week.

Our thanks to the good folk at RFN, Lorlei Kude and “Deuteronomy” Levine, and our hosts, the Rothbergs.

Ozer Classes Avodas Hashem, Jerusalem, Rebbe Nachman, Sichot HaRan, success

Hello, I have heard that some Breslovers use marijuana as a spiritual tool. And according to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan it was an ingredient in the holy anointing oil.

So my question is since most likely the Jews of the temple time did smoke weed, and it was also considered something holy… can we in fact today like the rastas smoke weed and learn torah? Thanks

Answer by Ozer Bergman: What some Breslovers (or so-called Breslovers or Breslover wannabes) do, and what is appropriate, and what is likely to have been sanctioned by Rebbe Nachman zal, are not always the same thing. (Ask your local, competent rabbi if smoking weed is permissible.)

>And according to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan it was an ingredient in the holy anointing oil.

Actually, what Aryeh Kaplan says is that “…some identify Keneh bosem with the English and Greek cannabis, the hemp plant” (”Living Torah” footnote to Exodus 30:23 [p. 258]). However, there are three other opinions (Reb Saadia Gaon, Rambam and Rashi) that he cites as to the identity of Keneh bosem. This is a far cry from being a proof that Jews of the Temple time smoked weed!

> so my question is since most likely the jews of the temple time did smoke >weed,

Again, even if we knew this to be true, it doesn’t make it something we should imitate. After all, Jews in Temple times worshiped Baal and other idols — doesn’t make it right!

> and it was also considered something holy…

see above

>can we in fact today like the rastas smoke weed and learn torah?

Even assuming it were permitted (which I’m not), the question is: Is it a good idea? One of the primary goals of observing/practicing Torah and mitzvot is to have an ever-clearer mind. Does doing drugs of any sort bring one closer to that goal or not? Hint: Stoners are not known for clear thinking. See Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #26 where Rebbe Nachman zal talks about the ills of being drunk. Even though the high and head space of alcohol and weed (or any drug) are not the identical, they share enough similarities such that it seems likely that Rebbe Nachman would not have condoned drug use.

> thanks

you’re welcome.

YossiK Uncategorized Breslov, marijuana, Rebbe Nachman, stoned, weed

We will meet at 7:00 PM EST, January 5, 2010 on Skype to study the Rebbe’s Torah: AYEH? Where?

“To achieve lasting happiness, you have to know how to rise out of the lows. This is the theme of Rebbe Nachman’s teaching of “Ayeh?” which shows how to find hope in even the darkest, most desperate situations and turn them to your own advantage”

Reference Clink: http://www.breslov.org/bookstore/explorations/i-will-sing-azamra-where-ayeh-/prod_5.html

To join the class contact howard.o on Skype at the start time.
Email me at coliver@breslov.org if you need any help with Skype.

Chaim Oliver

Chaim Oliver Uncategorized Breslov Class, Likutey Moharan, Rebbe Nachman

Based on Likutey Moharan II, Lesson 4:10

Yaakov said [to Esav], “Please don’t [refuse my gift]. If I have found favor in your eyes, take my offering…For me, seeing your face is like seeing the face of an angel; and you have received me favorably”
(Genesis 33:10).

Said Rebbe Elazar, “When the Temple stood, a person would donate his [annual] shekel and be forgiven. Now that the Temple is not standing, if he gives charity, fine. If not, gentiles will come and take it by force. Nonetheless, it will be considered as if he gave charity, as the verse says (Isaiah 60:17), ‘[Instead of] your creditors, charity’
(Baba Batra 9a).

I don’t know if this is 100% true, but it’s pretty close, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” It’s human nature to want to maximize income and making legitimate, legal use of tax loopholes is as natural in Beijing as it is in Brooklyn. (Do I have to say that hiding income and cheating the government may be counter to halakhah, and may also lead to chillul Hashem [disgrace of God’s name]? There—I’ve said it.)

Even though we often see “our tax dollars at work” on various public projects (like fixing traffic lights), we don’t like to pay taxes because we feel that it is money wasted. Well, I hope the following will make you feel a little better, even if it doesn’t save you any money.

The taxes you pay have, to some degree, the same positive effects as giving tzedakkah (charity). Such as? Such as opening the doors to kedushah (holiness). Whatever particular emphasis or improvement you want to make in your Jewishness—stronger faith or more clarity in your Torah study, for example—giving tzedakkah will make it easier, more accessible. In particular, Rebbe Nachman teaches that giving tzedakkah has the strength to fix (and undo) our misguided notion that things happen “naturally,” automatically. Giving tzedakkah increases our belief in God’s ratzon (will), that everything that happens in life is only because God wants it so.

Rebbe Nachman teaches that the real work of tzedakkah requires overcoming one’s greed (a form of cruelty) with generosity (a form of compassion). The Parparot l’Chokhmah explains that though paying taxes requires no victory of compassion over heartlessness, nonetheless paying taxes puts Jews in a nicer light, creating a degree of compassion that at least somewhat tempers potential anti-Semitism a host government may be wont to have.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!

(Giving tzedakkah also brings one to a greater understanding of the paradox of the challal hapanui [the Vacated Space in which Creation exists], where God is simultaneously absent and present. Giving tzedakkah is also paradoxical—you give money away yet end up not lacking. See Likutey Halakhot, Tolaim 4:10.)

© Copyright 2009 Breslov Research Institute

admin Weekly Parsha Dvar Torah, Esav, Parshat VaYishlach, Rebbe Nachman

Based on Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom #92

The Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah 9:11) teaches: Yesterday, “[Yaakov] rolled the stone off the well” (Genesis 29:10). Today, “[his] sons carried Yaakov to Egypt” (ibid. 46:5).

Rebbe Nachman once commented that an average human lifespan, seventy to eighty years, consists of three periods: growth, stability (“the prime of life”) and decline.

Rebbe Nachman—who died in his 39th year after suffering from tuberculosis for three years—is giving us a heads-up: Don’t expect to stay the same throughout your life. We all know that’s true, but we aren’t practiced in the downside of it. We’re used to growth, not decay. For the first two-thirds or so of life we’re growing stronger and more capable, and then enjoying those strengths. It’s only in the last third that we ask people to repeat what they said (A LITTLE LOUDER PLEASE) or to bring us our cane.

But decay and decline—and death—are parts of life. To spare ourselves grief and despair so that our Jewishness can get stronger even as the body gets weaker, we must have a strategy, a Torah, in place for dealing with the decline, before it arrives. We need to assume a positive perspective. We need to focus not on what the decline/decay is taking away, but what is it GIVING? (Not a far-fetched notion. Just as earlier maturation in the womb and childhood prepared us for later stages and events in life, so does later-stage maturation.)

This perspective helps in dealing with a physical loss. For example, the loss of mobility (no more driving/jogging/walking) is (or can be) a loss of independence. But it prepares us for the future, for life in the very cramped space of the grave (Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom #51). If one had to immediately adjust to it from a far-ranging, (near) unlimited mobility, it would be extremely difficult. Being slowly slowed-down makes the transition easier. In addition, being slowed-down gives us time to focus so that we can make amends and arrangements, as necessary.

But it ain’t necessarily so that the infirmities are the most problematic problem. Often (but not always), there are ways to compensate, or assistance to be had. Loss of identity is often a bigger problem; if I can’t do/have X, I’m no longer me. As in Rebbe Nachman’s parable about the farmer who found and then lost a diamond, the “diamond” that one loses was never really his since it was taken away. Knowing that a particular power or possession eventually fades inhibits one from basing his identity on it to begin with, saving one much existential anguish.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!

© Copyright 2009 Breslov Research Institute

admin Weekly Parsha Breslov Research Institute, Dvar Torah, human lifespan, Midrash, Parsha, Parshat VaYetze, Rebbe Nachman