Rebbe Nachman was born on a Shabbat, 1 Nisan, 5532 (April 4, 1772), in Medzeboz, the town of his famed great- grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the chassidic movement. His father, Reb Simcha was the son of Rebbe Nachman Horodenker, a leading disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and a member of his household. Feiga, Rebbe Nachman’s mother, was the daughter of Udel, the Baal Shem Tov's only daughter. Feiga was said to be a divinely inspired tzadeket (female saint).
Rabbi Nachman had a brother Yechiel, who was later rabbi in Kremenchug, another brother, Yisroel “the Dead”, and a sister, Pearl. His two maternal uncles were Rebbe Ephraim of Sudlikov, author of the Degel Machneh Ephraim, and Rebbe Barukh, formerly of Tulchin and later of Medzeboz.
Rabbi Nachman's birth occurred at a time when the chassidic movement was beginning to ebb. Shabbat HaGadol, the day he entered into the Covenant of Abraham, (8 Nisan/11 April), was the very day that the dire edict of excommunication was pronounced against the chassidim. Less than a half year later, Rebbe Dov Baer, the Magid of Mezritch, spiritual heir of the Baal Shem Tov, was to pass away.
All of Rabbi Nachman's childhood was spent in Medzeboz. Shortly after his bar mitzvah he married Sasha, daughter of Reb Ephraim of Ossatin. He and his wife lived with his father-in-law in Ossatin for the next five years.
Even at this young age, Rebbe Nachman was already attracting a following. His first disciple, Reb Shimon ben Baer, attached himself to Rebbe Nachman shortly after his wedding and remained a lifelong follower.
When Rebbe Nachman was about eighteen, his mother-in-law passed away. When his father-in-law remarried, the new mistress of the house made it very difficult for the young tzaddik to engage in usual devotions. He then moved to the nearby town of Medvedevka, where he was to live for ten years.
Supported by the Medvedevka community, the young Rebbe began to attract a substantial following. It was here that he was joined by Reb David of Tchehrin, who in turn attracted his friends, Reb Shmuel Isaac and Reb Yudel of Dashiv. Rabbi Yudel was a great Kabbalist in his own right and was previously a disciple of both of his father-in-law Reb Leib of Trastnitz and of Rebbe Pinchas of Koritz. Reb Yudel and Reb Shmuel Isaac would travel 150 miles from Dashiv to Medvedevka (often on foot) to be with Rebbe Nachman.
Another important disciple attracted to the young tzaddik was the renowned Rebbe Yekusiel, Maggid of Terhovitza. One of the foremost disciples of the Magid Rebbe Dov Baer, he was a peer of Rebbe Nachum of Tchernobel. Although advanced in years and a renowned tzaddik in his own right, Rebbe Yekusiel became an ardent follower and disciple of the young Rabbi Nachman.
It was from Medvedevka that Rebbe Nachman set out on his pilgrimage for the Holy Land. On his return he stopped in Shpola to visit Rebbe Leib, the Zeideh of Shpola, who was later to become his chief antagonist. He also visited the renowned Rebbe Schneur Zalman, founder of Chabad-Lubavitch, in an attempt to make peace between him and Rabbi Abraham Kalisker of Tiberias. After his return, Rabbi Nachman remained in Medvedevka for little over a year.
On 1 Elul 5560 (23 August 1800), Rebbe Nachman’s oldest daughter, Udel, was married to Reb Yoske, son of Reb Avraham Dov of Chemelnik. Immediately after the wedding, Rebbe Nachman settled in Zlatipolia. On Rosh HaShanah, just a few weeks later, a crowd of over a hundred flocked to him. The community invited him to bring his following to the large synagogue for the second day of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
Rebbe Nachman did not approve of the cantor who was to lead the Neilah prayer (the final prayer of Yom Kippur). When the cantor found himself unable to complete the service,
Rebbe Nachman made light of it. Enraged, the cantor went to Shpola, a mere eighteen miles away and complained to Rebbe Leib. This triggered what was to become a lifelong conflict on the part of the Shpola Zeideh.
Despite the bitter conflict, Rebbe Nachman remained in Zlatipolia for two years. During the summer of 5562 (1802), he was in Berditchov for a wedding and received support from the sainted Rebbe Levi Yitzchak. After consulting with his uncle in Tulchin, Rebbe Barukh, he reached the decision to relocate in Breslov.
On the way from Zlatipolia to Breslov, Rebbe Nachman spent several days in Uman. Passing by the old cemetery, where thousands of martyrs of the Uman massacre are buried, he said that it would be a choice location for his ultimate rest. He also came in contact with the maskilim (literally, “enlightened ones”), Chaikel Hurwitz and his two sons-in-law, Hersh Ber Hurwitz and Moshe Landau. They came to jeer, but were greatly impressed with Rebbe Nachman’s wisdom and invited him to remain in Uman. These two events were later to have a great effect in influencing Rebbe Nachman to spend his last months in Uman.
Rebbe Nachman arrived in Breslov on Tuesday, 10 Elul 5562 (3 September 1802). It is here that our detailed knowledge of Rebbe Nachman's life and teachings actually begins.
Breslov is situated just nine miles south of Nemerov, where there lived the young Reb Noson, son of a wealthy businessman, Reb Naftali Hertz. Reb Noson was an outstanding scholar seeking a true way to serve God. When a good friend, Reb Lipa, described Rebbe Nachman's first Shabbat in Breslov, Reb Noson felt that here he would find a mentor. Together with his close friend Reb Naftali, he set out for Breslov early Sunday morning.
Rabbi Nathan's first encounter with Rabbi Nachman took place on Sunday, 22 Elul 5562 (18 September 1802) and it must be counted among the significant encounters in religious history. Rebbe Nachman was thirty years old, and at twenty-two, Reb Noson was eight years his junior. Young as they both were, their meeting sparked a flame that still burns brightly.
Despite tremendous opposition from his family, Reb Noson became a close follower of Rebbe Nachman. A week later he returned for Rosh HaShanah and recorded his new master's lesson. At first, Rabbi Noson wrote these lessons down informally, but by Chanukah he formalized these notes and began reviewing them with Rebbe Nachman.
Reb Noson was in Breslov again for the Shabbat of Chanukah and a third time on Rosh Chodesh {the new moon} Shevat. He stayed with his master for the month between Purim and Passover when the latter returned to Medvedevka for the wedding of his daughter Sarah. It was around this time that Rebbe Nachman told his favorite disciple to begin setting the main points of his teachings in alphabetical order, forming the basis of the Sefer HaMidot {The Aleph-Bet Book}.
Rebbe Nachman said that his followers would always be called Breslover Chassidim. He began his custom of meeting with them six times a year to deliver a lesson. These meetings were held in Breslov on Rosh HaShanah, on the Shabbat of Chanukah and on Shavuot. He would also visit his brother-in-law Rabbi Zvi in Tchehrin and Rabbi Yekusiel in Terhovitza, where he spoke on Shabbat Shira {the Shabbat of Parshat BeShalach}, Shabbat Nachamu {the Shabbat immediately after Tisha b'Av}, and another unscheduled Shabbat in the winter.
During the summer of 5563 (1803), Rebbe Nachman met with some opposition on the part of his uncle, Rebbe Barukh, because of alleged lack of respect for the Baal Shem Tov. This opposition was to last for almost five years. One of Rebbe Barukh's disciples, Rabbi Moshe Tzvi of Savran, was to become a great persecutor of the Breslover Chassidim after the passing of both Rebbe Nachman and Rebbe Barukh.
In the beginning of Cheshvan 5565 (1804), Rebbe Nachman's daughter Miriam was married to Reb Pinchas, son of Reb Leibush of Volochisk. Rebbe Nachman's first son, Shlomo Ephraim, was born several months later, just before Rosh Chodosh Nisan. Between Passover and Shavuot, Rebbe Nachman took a mysterious journey to Sharograd, where he spent two weeks.
It was also during this year that many of Rabbi Nachman's writings were systematized. Toward the beginning of the year he told Reb Noson to arrange them in order and to copy the main points of each lesson. This was to form the basis of Kitzur Likutey Moharan, an abridged version of his major work. Later that year, he told Reb Noson to copy all the lessons in order.
With his close friend Reb Naftali dictating, Reb Noson spent three months copying the diverse manuscripts, completing the task shortly before Shavuot. On Friday, 17 Sivan 5565 (1805), this manuscript was given to be bound. On the same Friday, Rabbi Nachman revealed the secret of the Ten Psalms (above #141). The manuscript was bound on the following Thursday. This was to become the first part of Rabbi Nachman's magnum opus, the Likutey Moharan.
When the manuscript was completed, Rebbe Nachman told his disciple about another work that he was initiating. Completed early in 5566 and copied by Reb Noson later that winter, this work came to be known as Sefer HaNisraf (The Burned Book). A short while later, a third work, later called Sefer HaGanuz(The Hidden Book), was also completed. Rebbe Nachman's followers knew of the existence of this third work, but it was never revealed to them. Around Chanukah, Sefer Hamidot was also finally completed.
Early that summer, Rebbe Nachman sent Reb Yudel and Reb Shmuel Isaac to the surrounding communities with the task of reading portions of Sefer HaNisraf and distributing pages copied from the manuscript of Likutey Moharan.
Rebbe Nachman's fifteen month old son, Shlomo Ephraim was suffering from tuberculosis, and Rebbe Nachman asked these two messengers to pray for the child. Despite their prayers, however, Rebbe Nachman's young son passed away shortly after Shavuot 5566 (1806). Rebbe Nachman had held held Shlomo Ephraim in great esteem and had predicted a great future for him and therefore mourned him very deeply. He then spoke of the “Master of the Field,” whose task it is to correct all souls. He also spoke at length about the Messiah and Reb Noson recorded the discussion in a cryptic abbreviated form, Megilat Setarim (Scroll of Secrets). Rebbe Nachman instructed that this never be revealed, but a copy is known to exist among the Breslover Chassidim. During this mournful summer, Rebbe Nachman began telling his tales, beginning with The Lost Princess.
On Yom Kippur 5567 (1806) a fire broke out in Breslov during the Kol Nidre service. Soldiers entered the synagogue and beat the congregants because they would not help fight the fire.
During Sukot, Reb Noson was forced to move to Mohilev, sixty miles from Breslov. Because of the distance, his visits became restricted to the regular times of gathering.
Around Chanukah that year, Rebbe Nachman had another son, Yaakov. This child also died in infancy. As was his usual custom, Rebbe Nachman went to Tcherin for Shabbat Shirah (7 Shevat). His daughter Sarah lived in nearby Kremenchug and he stayed there several weeks until she gave birth to a son, Yisrael. When Sarah suddenly became ill a few days after the child’s circumcision, Rebbe Nachman hurried back to Breslov. He then began his fateful journey to Novoarch.
Like his journeys to Kamenetz and Sharograd, his flight to Novoarch was surrounded with mystery. Leaving a week before Purim, he spent the festival with the Rabbi of Novoarch, a distant relative. From there he traveled to Ostrog, where he summoned his wife, Sashia, who was dying from tuberculosis. She arrived in Ostrog for Shabbat HaGadol (10 Nisan), but was not satisfied with the medical facilites there and insisted on visiting the physicians in Saslov.
They arrived in Saslov on Sunday, just four days before Pesach (Passover). Despite the medical attention available there, Rebbetzin Sashia passed away on the eve of Shavuot. From there, Rebbe Nachman travelled through Brody and Dubna, finally returning home to Breslov in the summer.
It was during this journey that Rebbe Nachman contracted tuberculosis. As soon as he began coughing, he predicted that the disease would take his life. When asked the reason for the trip, he told the story The Spider and the Fly [the seventh story of Sippurey Maasiot/Rabbi Nachman's Stories].
During the summer he became engaged to his second wife, the daughter of Rabbi Yechezkel Trachtenberg of Brody. The wedding took place on the fifteenth of Elul, 5567 [September 18, 1807].
Two days after Yom Kippur 5568 [less than a month after the wedding], Rebbe Nachman sent his attendant, Reb Michel, to Reb Noson with instructions to bring his manuscript of Likutey Moharan. He was instructed to write a table of contents for the manuscript and to complete The Burnt Book. Both tasks were completed that day.
The day after Simchat Torah, Rebbe Nachman left for Lemberg [Lvov], where he received treatment for his tuberculosis. It was at this time that he decided to publish the Likutey Moharan. During Tevet and Shevat [January 1808] copies were sent to various well-respected rabbinic leaders for approval for publication. Letters of approbation were secured from Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, the Seer of Lublin [26 Tevet]; Rabbi Yisrael, the Maggid of Koznitz [4 Shevat]; Rabbi Avraham Chaim of Zlatshiv [20 Shevat]; Rabbi Meir of Brody [25 Shevat]; Rabbi Ephraim Zalman of Brody. Shortly before Purim, he sent Reb Dov Ber of Tcherin with instructions to publish Likutey Moharan in Ostrog. It was printed by Reb Shmuel ben Yissakhar Baer Segal, and was completed shortly before Rosh Hashanah of the following year.
Reb Shimon had accomplished Rebbe Nachman to Lemberg, and shortly before Pesach the Rebbe sent him back to Breslov with instructions to destroy both copies of The Burnt Book, the original and Reb Noson's copy. After an eight month absence, Rebbe Nachman returned to Breslov on 8 Tammuz 5568.
A month later, Reb Noson also moved to Nemerov, where he could be near his master again after a near absence of two years. With the publication of Likutey Moharan, he immediately began working on a second volume, based on Rebbe Nachman's more recent lessons. This was published shortly after the Rebbe's demise.
Shortly before Rosh Hashanah 5569, Rebbe Nachman distributed manuscripts of the second part of Sefer HaMidos [The Aleph-Bet Book] to be copied by his followers. Around this time the shochet [ritual slaughterer] of Teplik brought him a beautiful hand carved chair that had taken six months to make. This is the chait that was smuggled out of Ukraine, piece by piece, and now stands in the Breslover Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Rebbe Nachman spent the year 5569 (1808-09) quietly, recuperating from his illness. After Rosh HaShanah, he sent his brother Reb Yechiel, along with Reb Noson and Reb Naftali, to pray for him at the grave of the Baal Shem Tov in Medzeboz. Although he continued to instruct his followers, he no longer travelled abroad. On Shabbat Shirah he fondly recalled how he used to travel to speak to his followers on that Shabbat.
In the summer of 5569 (1809), Rebbe Nachman's daughter Miriam left for the Holy Land, where her husband and her father-in-law had settled four years earlier. Despite his infirmity, the Rebbe accompanied her on foot, saying, 'One must walk with his own feet to the Land of Israel.Ó
During the same summer, Reb Noson was sent to Berdichov to collect a debt from Rebbe Nachman's brother-in-law. Rebbe Levy Yitzchak, the tzaddik of Berdichov, was then travelling through Walachia and Moldovia. It was at this time that Rebbe Nachman called Rebbe Levy Yitzchak 'The Glory of Our Generation,Ó likening him to the tefillin on the head of Israel.
Before Sukkot of 5570 (1809), it was impossible to obtain etrogim [citrons] till a day before the festival. The saintly Rebbe Levy Yitzchak passed away on the 25th of Tishrei (5 October 1809). Rebbe Nachman alluded to this well before the news reached Breslov. During the ensuing winter, the Rebbe completed his story-telling with the tales The Master of Prayer and The Seven Beggars.
Rebbe Nachman was then thinking of moving to Uman, and sent several of his followers from Teplik to investigate the possibility of such a move. His resolve to relocate was strengthened when his daughter Udel's child passed away on the Shabbat before Pesach. There were also many fires in Breslov during Pesach, but the Rebbe's housw was untouched.
However, a fire did reach Rebbe Nachman's house on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, 5570 (5 May 1810). His house burned to the ground that Friday evening, and he spent the night on a nearby mountain. He spent the remainder of Shabbat in Reb Shimon's home. His belongings had been brought to the home of Reb Zelig, and the Rebbe moved there after Shabbat.
On this same Sunday, Rebbe Nachman received word from one of his Teplik followers that arrangements for him to move to Uman had been completed the previous week.
The Rebbe left Breslov Breslov on Tuesday morning, arriving in Uman on Thursday, the 5th of Iyar (9 May 1810). Uman had been the scene of the great massacre of 1768 where thousands of Jews had been slaughtered by Gunta and his Haidmacks. Rebbe Nachman said that he now had the task of rectifying all these souls with his own death. It was also his desire to be buried in Uman's martyr-filled cemetary.
Upon his arrival in Uman, Rebbe Nachman moved into the home of a Nachman Noson, who had died the previous summer. He remained there until the day after Shavuot, when he moved in with Reb Yosef Shmuel. This house was cramped and did not have good ventilation. Right after Tisha b'Av [the fast of the Ninth of Av] the Rebbe moved into the house of a man from Lukatch, who had invited him to live there without charge. His new apartment was large and airy, and had a good view overlooking a fragrant garden. It also had an excellent view of the old cemetary where the martyrs of Uman were buried. Rebbe Nachman praised this cemetary as the true beautiful garden.
Before Rosh HaShanah the Rebbe moved back to Nachman Noson's house, where the community would worship on the High Holidays. His condition began to deteriorate on Rosh HaShanah, and he coughed up large quantities of blood. Still, on the second night of Rosh HaShanah he delivered his annual Rosh HaShanah lesson, speaking at great length. This was the last time he spoke publicly.
His great weakness forced him to worship alone on the second of day Rosh HaShanah and again Yom Kippur. Right after Yom Kippur, he dicdated the remainder of his Rosh HaShanah lesson to Reb Noson. This was to be his lesson (Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #8).
On the day after Yom Kippur, Rebbe Nachman asked to be moved back to the Lukatcher's house. He was very particular about the position of his bed, as if he were choosing the exact place from which he would leave the world. By Sukkot his condition deteriorated to the point where he had to remain seated in a chair in order to be able to breath.
Rebbe Nachman's last day was the 18th of Tishrei, the fourth day of Sukkot. The final hours of his life are vividly described in Reb Noson's diary.
We laid him on the bed, dressed in his finesilk robe. He told Reb Shimon to arrange his clothes and button his sleeves so that his shirt should not protrude from the robe. He mentioned to Reb Shimon to arrange it properly.
He then told us to wash the coughed-up blood from his beard. We cleaned him, and he lay in bed feeling very free.
He took a small ball of wax and rolled it between his fingers, as he often did toward his last days when thinking deep thoughts. Even in this last hour his thoughts were flying through awesome worlds, and he rolled this ball of candlewax between his fingers with great lucidity of mind.
The house was filled with many people who had come to honor him. When they saw that the end was approaching, they began to say the prayers for tzaddikim in Maaver Yabok [a collection of prayers and discourse on death, written by Rabbi Aaron Berachia of Modina (d. 1639)].
We thought he had already passed away and began crying, 'Rebbe! Rebbe! To whom have you left us?!Ó
He heard our voice and lifted his head, turning his awesome face to us as if to say, 'I am not leaving you, Heaven forbid!Ó
It was not long before he passed away and was gathered to his fathers in great holiness and purity. Bright and clear, he passed away without any confusion whatsoever, without a single untoward gesture, in a state of awesome calmness.
Many people from the burial society were there. They all said that they had seen many people die with clarity of thought, but they had never seen anything like this.
All this was what our meager understanding could perceive. Yet the true significance of his death cannot be comprehended at all. Whoever understands even a small amount of his greatness from his works, conversations and tales...will understand that it is utterly impossible to speak of such a wondrously unique passing from this world.
What should I say? How can I speak? What shall I give God in return for being worthy of standing there when his soul departed? If I had come into the world for this alone it would be sufficient.
So, on the 18th of Tishrei, 5571 (16 October 1810), at the age of 38 years, six months and eighteen days, Rebbe Nachman left this earthly abode. Each day of his life had brought a spark of Divine light to all mankind.
Early the next day, he was laid to rest in the old cemetary in Uman. His grave is a shrine until this very day, visited by his followers from all over the world.
