200 Years Since the Passing of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a

An Article in Honor of 200 Years Since the Passing of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a

All the Tzaddikim of every generation, from the Arizal and onward, are already sparks of Mashiach ben David. For every true Tzaddik comes to connect the parts of the soul—Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida—of his generation with the Infinite (Ein Sof), blessed is He, Who emanated to his soul its vitality and singular essence (Yechida) from the Light of the Infinite. This is so that one may know faithfully that Hashem is God and there is none other beside Him, as it is said, "I am the first and I am the last, and beside Me there is no God." And as we conclude the year with the verse, "Then Hashem, your God, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you; He will return and gather you from all the nations where Hashem, your God, has scattered you." Rabbi Yonasan Eybeschutz zt"l explains [in Tiferet Yonatan] that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) will return to Eretz Yisrael even before the Ingathering of the Exiles.

This is something only the unique individuals of the generations can see and feel. Already two hundred years ago, the true Tzaddikim announced that the Return to Zion (Shivat Tzion) is beginning, and the Shechinah has already left the exile and is already in Eretz Yisrael. However, only the true Tzaddikim—whose entire heart, soul, spirit, breath, vitality, and singular essence cleave to the holy Shechinah without any distraction, from the day of their birth until their passing—perceive this. As it is brought in Derech Mitzvosecha regarding the verse "If I remember You on my bed," which refers to the day of birth, and "I meditate on You in the night watches," which refers to the day of passing; meaning, throughout the entire course of their lives, they sense the Shechinah in all their 248 limbs and 365 veins.

"And Rebbe Nachman of Breslov foresaw all this already two hundred years ago, and he urged his students, chassidim, and those who listened to his teachings to pack their belongings, give up their wealth in the exile, and advance toward the Holy Land even before the building of the Holy Temple."

Already two hundred years ago, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov zy"a announced that a part of him was already in Eretz Yisrael, and [according to the halachic principle] "the minority follows the majority." He commanded two hundred years ago that everyone should begin directing their steps toward Eretz Yisrael, for the Return to Zion is drawing near. As the Gra (Vilna Gaon) says in his commentary on Parshat Nitzavim: Parshat Bechukotai was said regarding the exile of Ishmael, which is the exile of Babylon; Parshat Ki Tavo was said regarding the exile of Edom, which is the current exile; and Parshat Nitzavim was said regarding the Return to Zion. At that time, we will still be under the exile of the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude), about whom it is said, "And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,' to add the drunk to the thirsty... Hashem will not be willing to forgive him, but then the anger of Hashem and His jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and Hashem shall blot out his name from under heaven." The Gra explains that this is said regarding those who will return to Zion even before the Holy Temple is built, and they will be under the exile of the Erev Rav who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and pay no attention to the word of Hashem, but rather fight against Him frontally, may Hashem save us!

So the Torah promises us that we should not fall into despair when we see the Erev Rav ruling in Eretz Yisrael and doing here whatever arises in their hearts. Rather, "Hashem shall blot out his name from under heaven." The Asarah Ma'amaros explains that only Hashem will blot them out from under heaven, because in truth, they also have a root in holiness and in the root of the souls of Israel; it is just that they do not pay attention to this and they fight against themselves.

Therefore, the true Tzaddikim, who saw everything that would transpire during the Return to Zion before the building of our Holy Temple, already informed us of everything that will happen here in our Holy Land, and everything that those who grace the dust of the Holy Land will undergo even before the building of the Temple. As it is written in Chesed L'Avraham (Ma'ayan 3, Ein HaAretz, Nahar 22) in the secret of dwelling in Eretz Yisrael [page 27]: Know that we have a tradition of Kabbalah in our hands that on the very day King Mashiach comes, the dead in Eretz Yisrael will come to life. Also on that day, the walls of Jerusalem will depart [to be rebuilt] and He will build them with precious stones and pearls. Then, the dead of Eretz Yisrael will return, at the time of their coming to life, into a new spiritual creation, like the body of Adam HaRishon before he sinned, and the bodies of Enoch, Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, and Elijah. They will all soar in the air and fly like eagles, and all this will be before the eyes of the people of the Ingathering of the Exiles.

And regarding the people of the Diaspora (outside of Israel) who made the effort to come to Eretz Yisrael in order to merit a pure soul, and did not worry for their bodies or their money, but came by sea and by land, and did not worry about drowning in the sea or being robbed on dry land, or being captives in the hands of harsh masters—and they did this for the sake of the essence of their spirit and soul—therefore, they will return to being spiritual, measure for measure. However, those who had it in their power to come to Eretz Yisrael like them, but were negligent due to the desire for money, and worried about the loss of your bodies and your possessions, making those the main thing while making your spirit and souls secondary—therefore, you will remain physical, detached from your spirit. And regarding the desire for money that you coveted, behold, Hashem will give you money without limit.

For all the silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls that drown in any of the seas—behold, that sea is sworn to bring everything to the Sea of Jaffa. For everything that has drowned from the six days of creation until the time of King Solomon, peace be upon him, the Sea of Jaffa vomited out to King Solomon, peace be upon him, and from there he became wealthy. And from the time King Solomon, peace be upon him, died until now, which is the time of the Ingathering of the Exiles, everything will come in the future to the Sea of Jaffa, and it will vomit it onto the dry land. King Mashiach will distribute it to every single Tzaddik according to the portion fitting for him, as the verse states, "for the abundance of the seas shall be converted to you." Furthermore, regarding all the treasures hidden beneath the earth, the earth is destined to make tunnels upon tunnels so that all the treasures and precious items will roll through them and be brought to Eretz Yisrael, in order to distribute them to the people of the Ingathering of the Exiles, to each and every one according to his fitting portion, and they will be satiated with great wealth. All this will be for those who were particular about their money and their bodies and remained physical; they will be satiated with great wealth. But for those who did not worry for their bodies and money as mentioned, but only worried for their spirits and souls alone, Hashem has done many kindnesses with them to make them a new creation as mentioned, and to lead them to the Lower Garden of Eden.

And Rebbe Nachman of Breslov foresaw all this already two hundred years ago, and he urged his students, chassidim, and those who listened to his teachings to pack their belongings, give up their wealth in the exile, and advance toward the Holy Land even before the building of the Holy Temple. For the difference between those who come before Mashiach and those who delay and come after Mashiach will be like the difference between heaven and earth. Those first ones will receive wings to ascend and descend and to hear the words of the Living God from the Heavenly Academy (Metivta d'Rakia), because they sacrificed their souls (Mesiras Nefesh) and their money to ascend to our Land and to grace its dust even before they saw the revelation of Hashem eye to eye. Therefore, their reward will be endless and beyond compare.