Digital Maggid
Rebbe Nachman
The legendary great grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman is known by numerous variations of the name of his primary community, Breslov, Ukraine. He is sometimes called the Breslover or Bratslover, Nachman of Breslov or Nachman of Bratslov. Occasionally he is even referred to as Nachman of Uman (the name of the town he moved to and later died in, and where he is buried).
Nachman was a mere 38 years of age when he died of tuberculosis in 1810. He was, however, one of the more influential (as well as controversial) rabbis of the Hasidic world, and was the founder of Breslov Hasidism, which is alive and well in the world today. He emphasized the cultivation of an intimate, personal relationship with Hashem and a balanced approach to the study of Torah text and mystical practices. His main work is known as Likutei Moharan, (likutei means “collected teachings of” and Moharan stands for Moreinu HaRebbe Nachman or Our Teacher, the Rebbe Nachman) which was compiled by his chief disciple, Reb Nosson. Another popular work attributed to Nachman is Sippurei Ma’asiyot, the Tales of R’ Nachman, some of which have been translated on this blog already (see the Rebbe Nachman section under the Mayses tab above), and Gd-willing, there will be more to follow.
Abundant biographical information is available online about Rebbe Nachman, and I encourage everyone to make a little time to read up on this important teacher from our tradition.
