"Our Rebbe said Rabbi Noson and Rabbi Naftali are angels!" • For the yahrtzeit

Today, the 19th of Menachem Av, is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rabbi Naftali Hertz Weinberg of Nemirov zy"a (may his merit protect us), one of the elite disciples of our holy Rebbe, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a, and the soul-friend of our strength and glory, Moharnat (Rabbi Noson) zy"a.

Rabbi Naftali Hertz was born in the year 5540 (1780) to his father, Rabbi Yehuda Weinberg. In his childhood years, he knew our teacher Rabbi Noson of Breslov and their souls became bound together. In the month of Elul 5562 (1802), the two of them drew close at the same time to the Light of Lights, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, who said of them: "Only Noson and Naftali know a little bit about me." To these two students, our Rebbe transmitted the Megillas HaSesarim (the Scroll of Secrets). Rabbi Naftali Hertz was one of the two witnesses that our Rebbe designated for the Tikkun HaKlali (the General Rectification) which is capable of rectifying the Covenant. Regarding this, our Rebbe said that "anyone who comes to my grave, gives a perutah (small coin) to charity, and says these ten chapters of Psalms, I will try with all my strength to do him a favor." Rabbi Naftali Hertz passed away in the year 5620 (1860) on Tuesday, the 19th of Menachem Av, during the week of the Torah portion "When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets" (Eikev). He was buried in the second (ancient) cemetery in the city of Uman.

Before you are several points of encouragement, stories, and facts collected from the classes of our teacher, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), regarding Rabbi Naftali Hertz of Nemirov:

Rabbi Noson revealed the power of prayer to Rabbi Naftali

Because a person can accomplish anything in the world with prayer! There is nothing that a person cannot achieve through his prayer—there is no such thing! Hashem created prayer to nullify all natural laws and all decrees, both spiritually and physically. A person can achieve anything for his child to return in teshuvah (repentance). Rabbi Naftali's son went to university, and a word of a curse escaped his mouth, and his son died. So Rabbi Noson said, "Why should he die? Revive him, so that he will be a ba'al teshuvah (one who returns to God)!" Rabbi Noson revealed the power of prayer to Rabbi Naftali. So the son went to university—does he have to die for that? Rabbi Noson told him that he should do teshuvah and bring back a few more souls. A "descent for the sake of an ascent"—he can grant him the ability to do teshuvah, and this would bring another hundred young men there who would become Breslov Chassidim. Already wise men, professors, and philosophers—let them at least be Breslov Chassidim with their wisdom, to be simple and earnest as the Rebbe wants! Perhaps everything that fell was a descent for the sake of an ascent; thus, a person with prayer can do everything! He can make it so his son returns in teshuvah! He can accomplish anything in the world with prayer!!

Rabbi Naftali and Rabbi Noson chased after our Rebbe and requested Torah

Rabbi Noson searched for words of Torah. The Rebbe asked him when he was running after him—he was traveling to Lemberg, and Rabbi Noson chased after him and met him near the bridge. At the bridge, they already had to travel a bit slower, so they stopped the Rebbe near the bridge. Rabbi Noson and Rabbi Naftali were literally chasing on foot, so the Rebbe asked: "What do you want, a blessing or Torah?" Rabbi Noson and Rabbi Naftali answered, "We want Torah, not a blessing." One who knows wants Torah, he doesn't want a blessing! The tzaddikim in their travels build a Mishkan (Tabernacle); the tzaddikim travel, Torah scholars travel on the roads to establish a yeshiva, the Rebbe's yeshiva. Thus they build a Mishkan! They build the holy Merkavah (Chariot); these travels are awesome secrets. When Hashem orchestrates such travels throughout the land, they are building the Shechinah (Divine Presence), building the Mishkan, building the Merkavah.

Rabbi Naftali and Rabbi Noson were angels!

The Rebbe said to Rabbi Noson and Rabbi Naftali, "What angels they will be." We speak about Rabbi Noson, we speak about Rabbi Naftali, we speak about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak—these were all angels! They weren't human beings at all; they weren't mortals at all! And this is what it says in Sichos and Sippurim (Talks and Stories), "And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold as the light of the seven days"—our Rebbe is the light of the seven days, our Rebbe is sevenfold as the light of the seven days!

To say Torah at Seudah Shlishis

The AriZal explains that at Seudah Shlishis (the third Shabbat meal) one must reach Adam Kadmon (the level of Primordial Man); they had to ascend to Abba and Imma, they had to ascend to Arich. At the first meal, they had to ascend to Arich; at the second meal, they had to ascend to Atik—this is the meal of Atika Kadisha. When one is at the third meal, they already ascend to Adam Kadmon. The words of Torah spoken at Seudah Shlishis are words of Torah from Adam Kadmon! This is the mouth of Adam Kadmon!! The mouth of Adam Kadmon opens when a person says words of Torah at the third meal. The Rebbe told Rabbi Naftali, "Sit alone and say words of Torah!" Now you are receiving an illumination from Adam Kadmon. The Gemara that one reads at the third meal, all the words of Torah said at the third meal, ascend to Adam Kadmon, and even ba'alei teshuvah (penitents) ascend to Adam Kadmon.

Rabbi Naftali said if he gives even a perutah he will be saved

The moment people just give to our Rebbe, they remember our Rebbe. There was one Halperin in Berditchev; he was a wealthy man, the biggest millionaire, he was a billionaire. So Rabbi Noson and Rabbi Naftali went there. Rabbi Naftali said to Rabbi Noson, "I see it on him"—he was right there on the balcony, walking around with such pride. People think everyone envies him, look with what pride he walks around, but right now in his heart he has the greatest broken heart in the world. He has a broken heart such as no one else has! He is now on the verge of bankruptcy, on the verge of a mental, physical, and spiritual collapse. And tomorrow at eight o'clock he has to declare bankruptcy. Tomorrow the banks open and they are already waiting at the banks; he promised them that by tomorrow morning he would cover all his deficits, but tomorrow he won't bring it. They will declare him bankrupt throughout the country, and these were deposits of billions of dollars that all the wealthy people deposited with him, all the orphans, all the widows—he was like the bank. In the past, there weren't really banks, so there was one person with whom the deposits were kept, and there was something from the state, something where everyone receives loans from the state, and these are more loans. You have a million, you get a ten-million loan, and in the end, it turns out you didn't even have a million, you only had one shekel and you added six zeros... that's all, it was nothing, you just forged the document, so they thought from the million you would make ten. In the end, from the million they made you minus ten. So now he has to pay back there; if tomorrow he doesn't come to pay back the state what he borrowed, then it's over—they declare it, they confiscate all his buildings, all his assets, everything he has. Rabbi Naftali said to Rabbi Noson, "So this wealthy man—his name was Halperin—he wants the balcony to break now, for there to be some miracle, that it will collapse and he will be crushed together with the balcony. Right now he is praying that the balcony will crash; he sees no other advice now. He has already turned to all the loans, to all his friends, no one wants to lend to him anymore. To all the investors, no one wants to. And he is now twelve hours before the declaration of bankruptcy. And now he wants everything to collapse, the whole building to fall on him, and he will be crushed and die with the whole building together with the balcony."

"Let's go up to him," so Naftali said to Rabbi Noson, "Let's go up to him; if he gives us even one perutah (small coin), even ten worn-out agorot, if he gives us ten agorot, if he gives us one perutah, he will be saved! Suddenly his luck will turn around, people will lend him money, his good name will return. Even a perutah! Let him give us ten agorot—a person doesn't know what decrees he is under; they send him a poor man, the poor man now comes to sweeten some terrible judgment for you, give even ten agorot, and if he doesn't give, then Hashem have mercy..." And then Rabbi Naftali and Rabbi Noson go up to him, knock on the door. "Who are you?" "Breslov Shuvu Banim..." "Ah, Shuvu Banim, then fly out of here down all the stairs, murderers, a gang of murderers, criminals, I heard about you, I read about you in the newspapers, immediately take your legs and run downstairs." "Well," said Rabbi Noson, "all is lost; we thought to save him, but all is lost." The next day at eight in the morning, the whole city was in mourning—all the deposits of the whole city. There wasn't a person who hadn't deposited all his money with him; people were afraid to keep money at home. In the past, it was actual gold and there was nowhere to put it, as there weren't banks like today. So people deposited with this millionaire, whose businesses were flourishing a bit with interest. Also, then it was possible to get even a tiny bit of profit. And they knew that with him it was the safest; thus all of Berditchev was in mourning, in the whole city there was terrible weeping, people wanted to commit suicide. What they had saved for fifty years all went down the drain. Shidduchim (marriage matches) were cancelled, things were cancelled! All sorts of things. There was destruction in all the communities of Israel; everyone who had deposited their ten thousand rubles with this wealthy man, it all went bankrupt.

When a person goes from city to city, he saves people from death, saves them from bankruptcy. A person says, "I am now in bankruptcy," so on the contrary, bankruptcy?! Then don't sign for a hundred shekels, sign for a hundred and ninety-nine, then your wheel will turn! To speak words of encouragement and emunah (faith), that everything is in the hands of Hashem! When a person gives charity, on the spot his wheel turns around!

Humiliations even at the funeral

It is told here that it was a custom to throw stones at Breslov Chassidim, and this was considered a "mitzvah," and because of this, the Klaus (synagogue) had windows with small squares so that they wouldn't shatter the glass. Each square was a few centimeters. It is told here that they threw stones at Rabbi Naftali's bier during his funeral. Because they had a tradition to throw stones at the Breslovers, and he proves this from the protocols of the prosecutor's office.