Nachman of Breslov

Nachman of Breslov
Nachman of Breslov
Title	Breslover Rebbe
Personal
Born	Nachman of Breslov; 4 April 1772 (Rosh Chodesh Nisan 5532); Międzybóż, Kingdom of Poland
Died	16 October 1810 (18 Tishrei 5571); Uman, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire
Religion	Judaism
Spouse	Sashia, daughter of Rabbi Ephraim of Ossatin
Children	Adil; Sarah; Feiga; Chaya; Miriam; daughter (died in infancy); Yaakov; Shlomo Ephraim
Parents	Simcha (father); Feiga (mother);
Main work	Likutey Moharan
Dynasty	Breslov

Nachman of Breslov (Hebrew: רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב Rabbī Naḥmān mīBreslev), also known as Rabbi Nachman of Breslev, Rabbi Nachman miBreslev, Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover (Yiddish: רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער Rebe Nakhmen Breslover), and Nachman from Uman (April 4, 1772 – October 16, 1810), was the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. He was particularly known for his creative parables,^[2] drawing on Eastern European folktales to infuse his teaching with deeply kabbalistic yet universally accessible remedies, pieces of advice, and parabolic stories. He emphasized finding and expressing one’s uniqueness while steering away from despair in a world he saw as becoming more and more uniform. Through Martin Buber's translation, his teaching is thought to have influenced some 20th-century writers, including Franz Kafka.^[3]

Rabbi Nachman, a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, revived the Hasidic movement by combining the Kabbalah with in-depth Torah scholarship. He attracted thousands of followers during his lifetime, and his influence continues today in Breslover Hasidism and non-Hasidic movements.^[4] Rabbi Nachman's religious philosophy revolved around closeness to God, speaking to God in normal conversation "as you would with a best friend", and being happy. The concept of hitbodedut was central to his thinking.^[4]

^ His first wedding had to be at thirteen as was the custom in the period he lived
^ Solomon Grayzel, A History of the Jews, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1968, p. 533: "Nachman of Bratslav, possessed a remarkable gift for telling stories and parables which became the spiritual heritage of all Israel"
^ https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Nahman_of_Bratslav: "to help redeem the fantasy life of his disciples (and himself) from domination by evil, Naḥman in 1806 began to tell fantastic stories, derived from East European folkloric motifs but interwoven with intimations of kabbalistic symbols and suffused with an air of mythic reality. The most important of these stories were published after his death as Sipure ma‘asiyot (1815), in a Hebrew and Yiddish bilingual edition. Historians of modern Jewish literature in both languages have regarded them as important literary compositions... Through Martin Buber’s adaptive translation (1906), it is likely that they influenced Franz Kafka and other modern writers."
^ ^a ^b Shragai, Nadav (3 November 2008). "Singing a different tune". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

[1] His first wedding had to be at thirteen as was the custom in the period he lived

[2] Solomon Grayzel, A History of the Jews, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1968, p. 533: "Nachman of Bratslav, possessed a remarkable gift for telling stories and parables which became the spiritual heritage of all Israel"

[3] ttps://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Nahman_of_Bratslav: "to help redeem the fantasy life of his disciples (and himself) from domination by evil, Naḥman in 1806 began to tell fantastic stories, derived from East European folkloric motifs but interwoven with intimations of kabbalistic symbols and suffused with an air of mythic reality. The most important of these stories were published after his death as Sipure ma‘asiyot (1815), in a Hebrew and Yiddish bilingual edition. Historians of modern Jewish literature in both languages have regarded them as important literary compositions... Through Martin Buber’s adaptive translation (1906), it is likely that they influenced Franz Kafka and other modern writers."

[nadav-4] Shragai, Nadav (3 November 2008). "Singing a different tune". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

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