Rabbi Nachman of Breslov רבי נחמן מברסלב
Hasidic master, teller of tales, founder of Breslov Hasidism
Rabbi Nachman was born in 5532 in Medzhybizh, in the house of his great-grandfather the Baal Shem Tov. From youth he walked a hard road of his own: fasting, solitude, and a struggle with doubt he spoke about openly. In 5558 he went up to the Land of Israel.
His teaching is unusually direct. "Hitbodedut"—an hour a day alone, speaking aloud to God in one's own language about what is actually happening. "The whole world is a narrow bridge; the main thing is not to be afraid at all." Joy as an obligation rather than a mood. Doubt as part of the path, not a catastrophe.
He told tales—of the king's son, the seven beggars, the lost princess—interpreted the way sacred text is interpreted. There are thirteen of them, and Rabbi Nathan gathered them into a book of their own, Sippurei Maasiyot.
He died of tuberculosis in 5571 in Uman, aged thirty-eight, asking to be buried among the victims of the 5528 massacre and promising to intercede for anyone who came to him for Rosh Hashanah. His student Rabbi Nathan recorded everything in "Likutei Moharan"; Breslov Hasidim never chose a successor.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Acharonim and later rabbinic literature
- Sichot HaRan — the conversations recorded by Rabbi Natan
- Likkutei Moharan — the core teaching: faith, joy, and the good point within a person
- Sippurei Maasiyot — the thirteen tales — books about the soul
- Chayei Moharan — the biography compiled by his disciple
Basis: documents and evidence.