"It is impossible to imitate Rabbi Avraham; he wasn't a human being at all. Just

One hundred and seven years have passed since the sun set with the departure to the upper realms of the giant among giants, our teacher Rabbi Avraham zt"l (of blessed memory), the son and primary disciple of the faithful student and servant of our strength and glory, Reb Noson—the holy Rabbi Nachman Chazan of Tulchin zt"l.

Before you is an excerpt from a 'dialogue' held by our teacher, the Rav shlit"a (may he live long and good days), regarding Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Nachman zy"a (may his merit protect us), last year for the "Hischadshus" (Renewal) magazine for the month of Kislev.

His greatness ○ The connection of the disciple who continued the devoted path - Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender zy"a to him ○ The opposition against him ○ The Kibbutz (gathering) in Uman and the Land of Israel ○ His passing

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In our lowly world, Rabbi Avraham walked several handbreadths above the ground. He walked here, but his head reached the heavens—his great spirit was grasped and held high above. His soul was bound to the Tzaddik of the world—our holy Rebbe Nachman—while in the physical world he had no hold whatsoever, just as the physical world itself did not hold onto him in the slightest...

To hear a bit about his mighty persona, there is no one more suitable than our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, who traced and heard much firsthand about this wondrous figure from the elders of our community in the previous generation, primarily from his teacher, who was also the great disciple of Rabbi Avraham (hereafter Rabbi Avraham b"r N), our teacher the Tzaddik Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender zt"l.

Indeed, our Sages taught us: Torah returns to its lodging place… and by the grace of Heaven, towards the day of the Hillula (anniversary of passing) which begins on the fifth night of Chanukah, we gathered in the inner sanctum to hear facts, stories, and the service of Hashem (G-d) from the awesome greatness of the attainment of the Tzaddik Rabbi Avraham b"r Nachman zy"a.

(For the reader's attention: To help understand some of the matters, we have added completions or explanations in parentheses so the reader may run with them; these are not from the Rav shlit"a. Likewise, it is possible we did not merit to fully understand his holy words, and therefore any error should be attributed to the writer and not, Heaven forbid, to our teacher Rabbi Berland shlit"a).

A Holy Man of G-d

"Rabbi Avraham b"r N was not a human being at all!" the measured words of our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, are heard. "He was not a human creature. He was born in [the year] 5609 (1849), and from the age of thirteen, he was only in the fields (engaged in Hisbodedus). His father told him: 'You do not belong outside of the Land (of Israel).'"

"His father, Rabbi Nachman Tulchiner, told him: 'Your place is in the Land of Israel,' and Rabbi Avraham said: 'If I had listened to my father, I wouldn't have been so sick, and they wouldn't have opposed me so much.' Everyone opposed him. He would hold the Havdalah (ceremony marking the end of Shabbat) candle and say 'The Jews had light and joy' (from the Havdalah prayer), repeating it while the Havdalah candle burned his hand. We move our hand a bit [from the heat], but the fire burned his hand and he didn't feel it at all. Rabbi Feivel Lebel told me this, who heard it from Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz. 'The fire burns his hand and he doesn't feel it.'"

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak's Connection to Rabbi Avraham b"r N

"Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender did not know at first who was greater: was Rabbi Shimshon Barski greater, or Rabbi Avraham b"r Nachman? Because Rabbi Shimshon Barski would deliver lessons with original insights, analytical depth, and stories—it wasn't 'dry.' Whereas Rabbi Avraham b"r Nachman would give a lesson in bitul hayesh (nullification of the physical). When he would say the Torah teaching 'Let there be a double portion,' it was with the total stripping away of physicality. Every Torah teaching he said was in a state of being beyond the physical. It wasn't just a story with insights from Rebbe Nachman or his students. Every lesson of his was like hewing flames of fire."

So how did Rabbi Levi Yitzchak merit to know Rabbi Avraham b"r N?

"He had a dream. At first, he was more with Rabbi Shimshon Barski because there was an interesting Melaveh Malkah (post-Shabbat meal) there. With Rabbi Avraham b"r N, there was no Melaveh Malkah. He would go to sleep after Havdalah and wake up for Chatzos (the Midnight Lament). In Russia, 11:00 PM was already Chatzos, even 10:30 PM. They would sleep until Chatzos and after that, he would go to the forest. In minus thirty degrees—it didn't matter."

"We do a Melaveh Malkah for the youth. This is what Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz told... he didn't let them [his children] do Melaveh Malkah, so all the children went astray. Because what will a child do? Now that Shabbat ends so early, you must catch them. Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz said he wanted to do Melaveh Malkah and [his mentor] didn't let him: 'This is not Breslov; in Breslov, we wake up for Chatzos,' he told him. 'But this doesn't help the child. A child cannot sleep so early. You put him in bed—he'll pop up like a spring..."

The Opposition

Like every Tzaddik, Reb Avraham ben Reb Nachman also endured humiliations and disputes. At the beginning of the conversation, our teacher Rabbi Berland shlit"a mentioned that "everyone opposed him…" We asked to hear about the part where Reb Avraham experienced humiliations and opposition, a matter less known in Breslov.

Earlier, the Rav mentioned that in Uman they opposed Rabbi Avraham b"r N?

Our teacher, the Rav shlit"a: "Yes, because no one understood Rabbi Avraham b"r N. Everyone opposed him because (the opponents within Breslov) were all merchants. It is written in the book about the Rebbe of Peshischa, who was a student of the Apter Rav, that he told them: 'If you don't bring gold, don't come to me.'"

"People would guard in the forests. One would say Likutey Tefillos (Collected Prayers) with such dveykus (attachment to G-d). Reb Levi Yitzchak said: 'I stood next to him, and he didn't sense me at all.' They would say Likutey Tefillos for twelve hours with such dveykus, but they didn't know how to learn [deeply]. They only knew Likutey Tefillos; some didn't even know Likutey Moharan. Only Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz knew Likutey Moharan."

He wrote such a deep work, Biur HaLikutim (Explanation of the Collected Teachings)?

"But they thought he was crazy…"

So for whom did Rabbi Avraham write the Biur HaLikutim?

"He wrote it for himself (Editor's note: perhaps meaning he wrote it for those who know how to learn like him, i.e., for self-study). This is the deepest commentary on Likutey Moharan. There are all kinds of commentaries, like 'Mei HaNachal.'"

The Kibbutz and the Land of Israel

Is it true that Rabbi Avraham established the Rosh Hashanah Kibbutz (gathering) in Jerusalem?

"Rabbi Avraham did not establish any Kibbutz [in Jerusalem]! There were Breslov Chassidim here who came even before, and they established a minyan (prayer quorum). When Rabbi Shlomo Wechsler arrived in Jerusalem, he asked Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld with whom to pray? And he answered him: 'Pray with the Breslovers [they pray with enthusiasm].' There were exactly ten here; Reb Menachem Mendel Rotenberg was also here. I was at his place on the East Side; that was the Jewish quarter of New York."

"The first ten who arrived in the Land founded the minyan. The first Breslov minyan was in Jerusalem. [Rabbi Naftali Cohen would stand in the Meah Shearim market and sell herring]. To move to the Land, a certificate was needed. To get it, one had to pay a thousand pounds sterling, which was a huge sum. Because they wanted to limit Aliyah (immigration to Israel), but they couldn't limit it entirely, so they demanded a thousand pounds for each certificate."

"Rabbi Avraham b"r Nachman said to our people [in Uman]: 'Your children will not know at all what Judaism is! May the enemies of Zion live so [a curse] if your children will know what Tefillin (phylacteries) are.' It is written in Seder HaDorot that all the pogroms and destructions were because they forgot the Land of Israel. Exactly in 5678 (1917) on the 17th of Cheshvan was the Balfour Declaration (Editor's note: perhaps the Rav shlit"a means that Rabbi Avraham b"r N brought this about spiritually). There were already many settlements here in the year 5670 (1910)."

The Questioner: But he was never here for Rosh Hashanah...

"From this came all the confusion regarding the Kibbutz in the Land, because Rabbi Avraham had doubts, and Rabbi Shlomo Wechsler regretted all his life that he asked Rabbi Avraham about Uman. Therefore, he did not travel to Uman. (Because Rabbi Avraham told him there was no halachic [legal] clarity on the matter, and this was because he feared he would die on the way. For Reb Shlomo was a very weak man, but all his days Rabbi Shlomo Wechsler regretted that he asked Rabbi Avraham b"r N). That is what Rabbi Shmuel Chechik told me, who heard it from him (from Reb Shlomo Wechsler). Rabbi Shmuel Chechik was a flaming fire that would burn everyone..."

His Passing

In Breslov, there are differences of opinion regarding the day of Reb Avraham's passing, whether on the 29th or 30th of Kislev. Our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, confirms the true day of his passing as he received it from his teacher, Reb Levi Yitzchak Bender zy"a:

"Rabbi Avraham passed away in 5678 (1917) on the 29th of Kislev. In 5778 (2017), it was already one hundred years. He arrived in Uman on the last ship that left the Land of Israel for Odessa, and Rabbi Yisrael Karduner returned [to the Land] on that same ship."

As we were leaving the holy chamber, our teacher the Rav shlit"a uttered a sentence that summarizes and illustrates for us, above all, a tiny bit of who Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Nachman zy"a was:

"It is impossible to imitate Rabbi Avraham; he wasn't a human being at all. Just walk in simplicity and sincerity!"

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The article is courtesy of the "Hischadshus" magazine.

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[caption id="attachment_64019" align="aligncenter" width="565"] Hischadshus for the month of Kislev 5785[/caption]