The Praises of Rabbi Nachman - part 2 - His Voyage to Israel 21

HH

Shivchay Huran

Part 2

21. And in the morning soldiers called brand vach (- the given translation is that it is something similar to border patrol. Vach is Yiddish for guards (-coast guards?), and brand in Yiddish usually means burning, so perhaps it is an elite, attack, or active division, or perhaps the word is frund, which is like front. Subsequently someone learned in Yiddish has suggested that a brandvach would be a fire brigade to prevent or extinguish fires, this seems the most plausible especially in context) bordered the boat. And Rabbainu o.b.m. and the aforementioned man that was with him wanted yet to come and fall before the feet of the captain and plead to him that he should let them return to the shore. However, in the meantime they weighed anchor, and they fled out of fright in the direction which the wind took them, because the war had aroused promptly and their (-its) hubbub was heard profoundly, and they heard there on the boat the tremendous bellowing of the harmatas (-cannons) and the bombs (-the Ukrainian word is provided here, which is similar enough to the English) and other such noises related to war, because their clamor was heard to a very far distance. And the greatness of the danger, and the fright, and the fear that they had then is immeasurable. And both of them together fell bedridden. And they did not even have water to drink because they did not prepare anything for themselves as mentioned previously. And Hashem, in His abundant mercies and kindnesses gave them favor in the eyes of one Ishmaelite who was the kecher (-cook, in Yiddish) by the captain, and he secretly pilfered and gave them one shawl (-cup  (see commentators on Isaiah 40:12), in Yiddish, especially-) of coffee, for each of them, in the morning and in the evening.

And because of their weakness they were laid up on sickbed may the Merciful One save us, and they did not know for themselves where they were, because they were closed off in their room, bedridden. However, this they heard, that there was a storm wind that carried the boat and/but they did not know to where it had carried them. When they heard that the boat had reached some shore, they went out of the rooms to see the place where they had arrived, and they saw that it was not Istanbul. And they asked the aforementioned Ishmaelite, and he said that this country was called "Adal" (- Asia Minor - Western Turkey, is called Anatolia. One of the largest cities on its southern coast of the Mediterranean is Antalya which was originally  "Attaleia," named after its founder Attalos II, king of Pergamon. This name, still in use in Greek, was later evolved in Turkish as Adalia (-In Megillas Esther 9:8 Adalia is listed as one of the ten sons of Haman) and then Antalya. This is probably the Adal referred to here. It is interesting to note that Rabbainu's grandmother, the daughter of the Baal Shem Tov was named Odel as was Rabbainu's oldest daughter (who was approximately 11 years old then). Adal is also a permutation of A.L.D. one of the 72 Divine Names. See also Bava Basra 16b where adli means progression and lifting).

And they (Rabbainu and his companion) had already heard about their practice, that when a Jew came to their hands, the first "mitzvah" by them is to sacrifice him as an offering, so when they heard that this is Adal, they immediately went to their room, and they closed the door after them, and they hid themselves there. And they were beset with great fear. And the boat stood there for three days, and it was possible (that) the captain intended (- t.n. the original allows for either understanding, i.e. a. The captain in fact had intended to carry out this possibility. B. It is possible that the captain entertained carrying out such a possibility) to stay there longer, but (for) suddenly a storm wind arose, and the ropes of the anchor were severed, and the anchor was left in the sea, and the boat went on its own accord from there. And there was a great shouting there between the Ishmaelites: "haman haman (t.n. the translation supplied here by the publisher is: help help. However the closest similar word in any Turkish dialect that I was able to find was "amra (save, rescue)," which doesn't quite cut it. It is in fact strange that the publisher chose to translate it as such when Rabbi Nussun himself immediately supplied the translation as givald which is not a cry for help, at least not directly. There is a word in some Turkish dialects for "bad" - "aman," with slight variations in other Turkish dialects, and this "bad" could very well be the equivalent of the Yiddish exclamation"givald," and it most resembles the word haman presented here. Before finding this word I came across other possibilities, such as "umun," in the Dolgan and Yakut Turkish Dialects with slight variations in the others, which means to forget, and might therefore also imply to be forgotten, lost, and despair (the word for hope is quite similar - umut), and a third more remote possibility is the Karachi verb for fear (with slight variations in the other dialects) - emen. Being that all these possibilities are the same consonants just with different vowels not even very distinctive, chances are that these words convey and insinuate a little of each), i.e. givald (-a Yiddish exclamation of woe or amazement). And the boat was pitched about frantically in the sea the whole night until daybreak, (and) the storm wind subsided, "And they rejoiced because/when they (-strong winds and waves) abated (Psalms 107:26)." However, it didn't take them to their desired destination (-in contradistinction to the verses of the aforementioned Psalms), rather by the storm wind they returned and came close to Akko by approximately a day's worth of travel.

And afterwards, after midday, their arose again a great storm winds, and it carried the boat. And the boat pitched about frantically and recklessly for many consecutive days and nights, "they rose (to the) heavens (and) descended (to the) depths (Psalms 107:26)," and the masters of the boat did not have any aitzuh (-remedy, recourse) how to escape. "And they were smashed/reeled and staggered like a drunk, all their skills smothered (Psalms 107:27)." And on Thursday at 12 o'clock they started to remove water from the boat, from the third level, with pumps ("plumpin") as boat owners do. And the way they do it is to remove the water for fifteen minutes for every elapse of twenty four hours. But now, when they began to pump, they didn't suffice pumping until night time came, and abundant water accumulated on the boat due to the pumping, and the water went also to their room, of Rabbainu o.b.m., and they were not able to lie on the bed there because the waters had risen there, and Rabbainu was forced to ascend to some higher place to lie down, and the man that was with him ascended to a different place, because they did not want to go out to be seen before the Ishmaelites. And the water on the boat went and became more and more plentiful all the time until the Ishmaelites were compelled to do away with the pumps, and they made a bucket brigade, and they drew the water by hand with large vessels. And the storm went on very fiercely. And from the great intensity of the storm wind the waves rose almost to the heart of the sky, and they were like huge mountains and great valleys. And it was like that the whole night as well.

And when it became daylight, the man that was with him o.b.m. came, and Rabbainu o.b.m. said to him that he has severe weakness of heart from the great fear, "Because I see (-understand) in my heart that I am now in great danger, because this is not a simple matter, even though I do not know what they are doing even still the heart sees." And the aforementioned man negated (to him), and said to him: "Do not fear (-respectful plural) because Baruch Hashem everything is in check."

And the aforementioned men went to look in the hamber (-deck, this word is actually found in the Talmud, Kedushin 70b, however in The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman 221 it says that they prayed in the hamber of the house, and the translation given there is terrace) where they were pumping the water, and he saw that there were already small waves there like on our rivers, because the boat had become laden just with water. Because the method of the boats is to be loaded up with two thirds cargo, and the Ishmaelites had already discarded all the cargo, and the boat remained laden with water alone. And the surplus water in excess of the allotted weight for cargo on the boat, this water they pumped out, and even this they weren't sufficing to pump. It was then that the man saw that it was no longer possible by way of nature to be saved. And he came to the room, and because of the great anguish and fear he was almost not able to speak. And Rabbainu o.b.m. said to him: "What is this? And where is your mouth which said that this isn't anything, and now you yourself are so frightened?!" And he replied, that there is no longer any consideration according to nature to be saved, because the waters are going and accumulating in the boat, and they do not have the ability to pump all of it, because their strength of endurance had deteriorated. Because it was close to twenty four hours that they hadn't eaten, and hadn't drank, and hadn't seen sleep for their eyes.

And the man said to him that he still hadn't prayed. Rabbainu o.b.m. answered him: "You do not need to pray now, just accept the yoke of Heaven with the first verse (-of Shema), and say the first three and last three etc. (-abridgement of the Shemoaneh Esray - eighteen benedictions). And he (Rabbainu) said to him: "Take all the money, to the very last penny, and divide it in two. Half, tie by you on your body, and half, I will tie on my body." 

And the man asked him: "Why (do) this, behold the fish of the sea can swallow us without the money?"

He replied (to him): "Do so as I tell you. Israel was upon (-in) the sea and they didn't drown, whereas we are still in a boat etc.." 

And he did what he did. And he told the man to dress himself, and to gird himself with a belt over his tulep (-fancy overcoat with fine fur on the inside, and the fur rolled over onto the collar), and he did so as well, like someone prepared to embark on a journey.

And the man asked him, and said to him: "I don't even know how to pray even the prayer set/arranged by the Anshay (-men of) Kinnesses Hagedoaluh (-the Great Assembly - that is the standard daily prayers), certainly (not) now at this dire time. But kivoad Torusoa (-he who is honorable by virtue of his Torah) knows how to pray for the general and the particular, why do you (-respectful plural) not pray now?"

And he replied: "That now because of small moachin (-consciousness and acumen) I am distant from Hashem Yisburach. However, my recourse is faithful, because there is no alternative due to the great danger, that we are now in such terrible enormous danger, Hashem Yisburach knows that all the days of my life I never yet would have used the merit of my fathers, just due to necessity I am forced to request from Hashem Yisburach that He do this (-bring salvation) for the sake of the merit of my elder (-great grandfather) Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov o.b.m. and the merit of my grandmother Odel, and the merit of my grandfather Rabbi Nachman of Hordainke." And more than this he did not make further mention.

And afterwards they saw from a distance the likes of a large very dark cloud, and there fell upon them more great fear, because sometimes when a cloud gathers and connects to all water from the sea, the likes of a valley would be made there (-a waterspout), and when the boat descends there (then) it drowns there. And the remedy for this is to shoot with guns and harmatas (-cannons) like in war, in order to break up the clouds (-there was a commonly held belief among sailors in the 18th and 19th centuries that shooting a broadside cannon volley dispersed waterspouts). But they did not have spare time for this because they needed to pump the water from the boat as mentioned above, and the troubles were pitted against each other like a wasp to a scorpion (c.f. Talmud Chagiga 5a, the treatment for a bee sting is with heat, whereas the treatment for that of a scorpion is with cooling, therefore one who Gf is stung by both will be caught in conflicting troubles partnered against him). However, with the mercy of Hashem, due to the force of the storm wind the boat went with great speed, and the boat flew mamash like an arrow from a bow, and the boat came to that aforementioned place (-the waterspout) where the cloud drinks from. And it was like a gateway there surrounded by mountains, and the boat passed through from there safely.

And in the interim, Hashem enlightened their eyes, and they found the hole through which the water was entering the boat, and they slaughtered a goat, and they took its hide and fixed the boat, and they were saved safely from these great and terrible dangers. And this was on erev (-the day preceding) Shabbos Kodesh (-holy). And they had great happiness, and Rabbainu o.b.m. said then (Psalms 107 which is customarly said before the mincha (afternoon) services preceding Shabbos, this Psalm speaks of the four types of dangers one who is saved from them is required to give special thanks to Hashem, and it details some of the dangers of going out to sea, and how those who do so witness the greatness of Hashem), "Hoadoo (-give gratitude) LaHashem (-to Gd)" with great joy. From there they went by way of very many places. And their eating on the boat was just what the aforementioned kecher (-cook) gave them out of pity from their "magazine," "soochares" (-the Russian word for hardtack - сухарь) and worms were crawling on them. And they would go and beg and stretch out their hands humbly everyday like a pauper in the doorway, and he would give them from these hardtacks, and they ate this alone.

And when they brought to mind that it was close to Passover they had great distress, because they worried what they would do on Passover, because it is impossible to fast all the days of Passover. And after an hour or two they came to a big city which stands on a mountain of stones in the middle of the sea, and the Ishmaelites bought there many fruit, and for them they gave for one thaler many carobs which are called "bucksirin" (-to this day this is a popular name for carobs - bokser, Bocks-horn is the medieval German word for the fruit of the carob tree), approximately a chetvert (-this is a Russian measure (which means a quarter), which is enormous, and impossible to be the referent here even if it was considerably smaller back then it would still not be feasible, unless it is referring to the liquid measure which is approximately 1.537 liters or 93.75 cubic inches. The Hebrew publisher says the weight referred to here is approximately 3 kilograms), and Rabbainu o.b.m. said, "For the time being this is also very good, because it is possible to live the eight days of Passover with Carobs alone, however, if only Hashem Yisburach would merit us to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzo and four cups (of wine).

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman - part 2 - The Order of His Voyage to the Land of Israel - 19

HH

Shivchay HuRan

Part 2

19. And after Shabbos, on Sunday, the tzadik, our teacher Rav Avrohom mentioned above, came to Rabbainu o.b.m. to his lodgings, and they spoke in private between themselves. And after a day or two Rabbainu o.b.m. fell sick and was bedridden, may the Merciful One save us, and he sent (money) for pidyoan (-redeeming) to the aforementioned tzadik, and every single day the aforementioned Rav, our teacher Rav Avrohom, would go to visit him.

Afterwards there was over there the famous incident with the moaser (-a renegade Jew who informs on his brethren) who was there. And the moaser was one of the men from chutz-lu'uretz (-outside Israel) who had come there, and he became a moaser by the Pasha (-Turkish ruler), and perpetrated great evils to the people of Tiberius, and he held the greats of the city in captivity, and he incarcerated them in the pit for nine weeks, and afterwards the "Franken" (Sephardic) people traveled to the Pasha, and they gave him a huge fortune, and he discharged them. And they went and they caught the moaser, and they wanted to strangle him, and he pretended as if he was already lifeless and dead, and afterwards he revived and went and informed on them, until the Pasha gave him jurisdiction, that he could do with the city as he pleased, and he made him an officer, and he came to the city with great honor with Ishmaelite soldiers with grandeur and glory, and then, promptly and immediately the whole city fled, and there did not remain except women and children, and there was great crying in the whole city, and there was a great outcry and copious crying in every single house.

And Rabbainu o.b.m. also wanted to flee, but he was unable because of his infirmity, and he already started to leave the city, but he returned afterwards. And this was from Hashem, because through Rabbainu o.b.m. they all returned into the city, because the moaser submitted himself profusely under the feet of Rabbainu o.b.m., and he went to Rabbainu o.b.m. and humbled himself profusely under him. And the manner of conduct in which Rabbainu dealt with the aforementioned moaser, many folios would not be sufficient to relate, because he comported with him with wondrous wisdom, until the moaser was abnegated before him, and he ordered the man that was with Rabbainu o.b.m. to make a proclamation, that all those who fled should return, and they all returned through this into the city.

And/for Rabbainu spoke to him with cunning, and said to him, that it was proper and befitting for an officer, that he should pray for the plight of Israel and that he should be pious and humble, because the aforementioned moaser was a pharisaic, and he projected himself as if he was pious, and he began to speak with Rabbainu o.b.m. matters of chasidus (piety, hasidus), and he o.b.m. pretended like he didn't know, so that it seemed to the moaser as if he o.b.m. held of him also to be a chusid (hasid/pious). And he (Rabbainu) spoke with him shrewdly and with cunning, and he spoke appealingly to his heart, that he should accustom himself to saying Psalms, until Rabbainu o.b.m. told him: "With this I will know that you do not have haughtiness, if you can recite Psalms in my house before the youth with great crying." And so it was. And immediately he began to say Psalms with great crying and his tears on his cheek.

And afterwards the moaser fell into infirmity, and even still they were guarding all the gates to guard for the arrival of meshulachim (-fundraisers (returning bearing funds)), because this is what he had informed on, that he said that a huge fortune came from here (-outside Israel) to there (-Tiberius), however, Hashem was to their avail, and they hid the matter from the aforementioned moaser, and they sent the man that was with Rabbainu o.b.m. to Haifa, and he received the money from the fundraisers, and brought it to Tiberius, and gave them to Rabbainu o.b.m., and he gave it to them, and they allocated it. And when the moaser recovered from his infirmity, he boasted of himself that he would perpetrate more evils, and his end was - that he fell again into infirmity and died. And Rabbainu o.b.m. had great joy that this great merit came about through him, because through him everyone returned into the city, and upon their returning there they all rejoiced with him together.

And Rabbainu o.b.m. went there upon the grave of his grandfather, Rabbi Nachman o.b.m. (of Horidainke), and also they rented donkeys and traveled to be by all the caves, and when they came to the cave of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai (-Master of the Zohar, in Meron), the youth engaged in prayer and in learning Zohar, as he o.b.m. had assigned them, but from him they did not see anything, just, he was extremely happy, and he would come over all the time next to the man that was with him, and say to him: "Fortunate are you etc.." and at night he went from room to room and exhorted them to say Zohar etc. and so forth, but he himself didn't say anything, he just went about singing to himself (t.n. there is an elaborate Breslov tradition here about a conversation that Rabbainu had with Rabbi Shimon, in which they agreed that when the holy tomb of Rabbainu would be inaccessible, Rabbi Shimon would host the Rosh Hashana pilgrimage (-this was over 10 years before Rabbainu's passing). Despite this tradition many Breslovers preferred and opted to make the Rosh Hashana kibbutz in Jerusalem, see Yimay Shmuel volume 3 where he discusses the pros and cons of this critical dilemma, and ultimately there were years that even these faithful Breslovers had to succumb to the decision of the overwhelming majority in order to be there for the kibbutz in Jerusalem. Saba Yisroel recounts that Rabbi Shimon asked Rabbainu, "Meron (the place where he is buried) - me (who) ron (sings)?!" To which Rabbainu replied, "Me-ron?! Ani (I) ron (sing)! Ani Rabbi Nachman! Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman!") And he was extremely happy until daybreak; and at daybreak he stood with Talis (-prayershawl) and Tefilin and prayed for some hours.

And from there he traveled with them to the cave of Hillel (-today it is part of the extended compound of Rabbi Shimon), and there he too said chapters 33-34 of Psalms, and there as well he was very happy. And from there they went to the grave of Shamay (-the arch Talmudic disputer of Hillel), there he was beset with melancholy, and he said, that this was very puzzling by him, and afterwards he said, that there is an answer to this, but he did not reveal the answer.

And from there they traveled to the other caves, and when they came to the great mountain (-on the way to Tsfas), where on top of the mountain is the cave of the Tana (-sage of the Mishna) Rabbi Cruspiday, and it was not possible to go there with the donkey, he jumped off of the donkey, and he went by himself with the man that was with him, and he went almost on is hands and knees, until they came to this cave, and he stayed there a little, and they returned from there to another cave. 

And they were by the cave of a yanookuh (-infant, in this case referring to one who had a very lofty soul and made great revelations, see Zohar, Buluk 186a), and everyone had been afraid of entering that cave because they said that there was a snake prevalent there in that cave; also there was a large tree on/by this cave, and Rabbainu o.b.m. was the first to enter there, and there was no snake at all, and from then on everyone began to go to the cave, and afterwards they went to the other caves, until they returned to Tiberius, and then Rabbainu ordered the man that was with him to travel to Haifa to purchase passage on a boat to chutz-lu'uretz (-outside Israel).

And when he arrived there to make the purchase, in the meantime a boat came with the Rav and gaon (-Torah genius), the chusid (pious/hasid) the famous Rabbi of the community of Shipeetuvkeh, and also a shlucha (messenger) dirabunun (of the rabbis), and it was then that there was the incident, that they were scared to receive the money personally because of the moaser mentioned above, and they were forced to give the money - all to the hand of the man that was with Rabbainu etc., as mentioned above; so the aforementioned man was compelled to return to Tiberius with the money. And when he came to Tiberius, Rabbainu o.b.m. said: "It is probably the will of Hashem that we should be in the Land of Israel some more time." And Rabbainu o.b.m. said that they should rent donkeys for him to go to the holy city of Jerusalem, and when the tzadik the Kalisker heard this, he requested of him not to go (t.n. it is therefore a custom to go to the holy tomb of Rabbi Avrohom Kalisker and request him to withdraw already this request and to encourage Rabbainu to bring his tomb to Jerusalem). And when the Shipeetuvkeh tzadik came to Tiberius, he made a great feast at night for Rabbainu o.b.m. and he doted on him, and they spoke privately, and noone heard what they spoke together. And Rabbainu o.b.m. made peace between the holy Rav of Shipeetuvkeh and the holy Rav the Kalisker.

And after a short time a plague fell there upon the city, and he was forced to flee from his lodgings to a different lodging, and afterwards the plague fell there as well, and he was forced to flee from Tiberius. And his flight from Tiberius during the plague, may the Merciful One save us, was fraught with very great danger, because the gate of the wall was closed, and he was forced to flee by way of the cave, until he came to the wall which is by the bank of the Kinneret (-Sea of Galilee). And he wanted to climb on top of the wall and descend from there in order to thereby leave the city. And when he climbed on top of the wall and passed over to the second exterior side, he looked - and behold the sea was below him, and he was suspended on his hands and feet on the wall above, and beneath him was the sea, and he lifted his heart to Hashem Yisburach, and He saved him in His mercy, and he got out of there safely, until he came to the holy city of Tsfas (-Safed), and they stayed there a few days, until it was heard, that the French ("Tzurfas" - same letters as Tsfas, with an added letter Resh) would soon arrive in Ako.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman - part 2 - The Order of His Voyage to the Land of Israel 15-16

HH

Shivchay HuRan

Part 2

15. And after a day or two the boat was left without drinking water, because all the drinking water that was on the boat was finished by them, and they only had left but one vessel of filthy murky water, and bugs were crawling in them, and these waters were apportioned to the people on the boat in rations, one ackee (t.n. the Ottoman's have a: çeki - 225.789 kg (497.78 lb), but probably didn't ration by weight, so this is probably referring to the Turkish word for tea, there should have been another word given to specify which tea measurement, but presumably it would not be the teaspoon, but the Tea glass  = ‘Çay Bardağı’ (CHAI’ BAR-dah-uh) -  this means a small glass Turkish tea glass, whichever was on hand (i.e. there is no set standard, just the general size of tea glasses)) - per person, and they were in great danger of thirst more than all other dangers, so the men, women, and children prayed from the depths of their hearts, and again a great storm wind whipped up, and it brought the boat after two 24-hour cycles to the Holy Land, to the shores of Jerusalem, to the holy city of Jaffa. And Rabbainu o.b.m. wanted to disembark there from the boat to go to Jerusalem together with the aforementioned Sage, as mentioned above, but from Hashem there was a factor, and the Ishmaelites did not allow him to enter to them, because they looked at is clothes and upon the countenance of his face, that he has long pehyos (-sidelocks), as is customary in our country, and that he does not know their language and so forth, and they said that he's certainly one of the French spies, and no appeasement or supplication were to avail, and Rabbainu o.b.m. remained on the boat.

And the captain planned on staying there with the boat, to hold up and rest there for some days, and it was then two days before Rosh Hashanah, however, the boat was not able to stand there, because the waves of the sea wanted to overturn it, and no remedy or scheme was to any avail (for this). And the matter was a great wonder in the eyes of the captain, and he asked: "What is this? And why is this?" And the Sephardic chuchumim (-rabbis) answered him, that there's a tradition in their hands, (from a continuum of transmission) man directly from (the mouth of) man, that in this place the prophet Jonah son of Ameettai was cast (overboard). And the boat was unable to stand there that night, and they were forced to move with the boat from there, and they went from there, and they came in the evening, the night of "Zichor (remember) bris (the covenant - This refers to the Slichos - special prayers said the night before Rosh Hashana)," to the holy city of Haifa, and they stood by Mount Carmel opposite the Cave of Elijah, and in the very early morning ("ashmoares haboaker," Exodus 14:24, the last watch/quarter/third of the night) all the people said Slichos with great joy, and afterwards they prayed the morning prayer (-shacharis), and afterwards they all went to the holy city of Haifa, men, women, and children.

And then Rabbainu Hakadosh o.b.m. entered the Holy Land (t.n. from a strictly halachic viewpoint, when the boat was in the harbor it was already in the Holy Land, obviously there is extra significance in actually walking on solid ground, and this is beyond the scope of these mere glosses), to the place which he longed for and he yearned for with very, very great craving, and longing, and yearning, and he was moaser nefesh (-self sacrifice) thousands of myriads of times for this, and he jeopardized his life for this. And the greatness of the enormity of the joy that he had in that moment, that he entered and stood on the holy ground, is impossible to fathom in the mind; if all the oceans were ink etc. they would not suffice to explain a fragment of the fringe of this, because promptly and immediately he attained what he attained, because he said, that immediately when he walked four cubits in the land of Israel, he accomplished what he desired to attain.

And after midday they went to the mikvah, and afterwards - to the synagogue, and they tarried (there) until the night, and when Rabbainu o.b.m. came to his house, to his lodgings, he had very great and ecstatic joy, and every single moment he said to the man that was with him: "Fortunate are you, that you merited to this, to be with me here." And he ordered to have read and mentioned before him from the note all who were inscribed there, i.e. his whole retinue who gave him notes with their names. And they ate there the feast of the night of Rosh Hashana, and everything - with great joy, until after the feast, until they lay down to sleep. 

And in the morning they went to the synagogue, and after they came from the synagogue, there aroused in him worry, and a very broken heart without measure, and he did not speaking an iota with any person.

16. And immediately after Rosh Hashanah it was the desire of Rabbainu o.b.m. to return immediately to his home, and he did not want to travel at all anywhere, not to Tsfas (-Safed) and not to tiberias, however, the man that was with him, had a very strong yearning to feast his eyes on the places of the Land of Israel, and he came to Rabbainu o.b.m. and said to him, that there is a caravan that they can go with to Tiberius. And he (Rabbainu) answered him: "You have yearning for Tiberius - go charter donkeys." And he did so, and he gave them a down payment ("adruf").

And upon his return from the owner of the donkeys, he (Rabbainu) said to him immediately: "You chartered donkeys(?)." 

He replied: "Yes." 

Rabbainu o.b.m. said to him: "Promptly and immediately go and take from them the down payment, and if they do not want to return it to you, then leave the down payment forfeit, because I do not want to go there;" And after 2 or 3 hours the aforementioned man that was with him fell into great weakness, may the Merciful One save us, and then he gave praise and thanks to Hashem Yisburach for preventing him from going with the aforementioned caravan.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman - part 2 - The Order of His Voyage to the Land of Israel 13-14

HH

Shivchay HuRan

Part 2

13. And Rabbainu o.b.m. said, that he got so into the puerility, and got so used to the childish things, so much so that afterwards when he came to the land of Israel and he wanted to discard it, he was forced to force himself with strengths (of his character) to break and to discard the aforementioned childish things, because it was already difficult for him to discard it because of the great regularity - so much he had gotten into the puerility at first. Also afterwards, when he came from the Land of Israel, he was a wondrous novelty in this matter.
And the enormous superlative greatness of his wisdom in this matter (was) - deep, deep, there has not been heard nor has there been seen such as this, because it is known that before one departs from one level to (the next) level, there needs to be a descent before the ascent etc., and then one needs matters of puerility, to be a completely simple person etc.; and he o.b.m., because all his days he did not stand any time on one level, just every time, everyday and every hour, he would ascend always from level to level, therefore his wisdom in these matters was extremely lofty and deep; "deep, deep, who can realize it (Koheles 7:24)."

14. And then, at that time, it was the war of France (the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria ( 1798–1801) by Napoleon Bonaparte), that France went to the land of the Togar (Ottoman Sultan, as explained previously), to Egypt, and to the land of Israel, and so forth, as is well-known, and when the people of Istanbul heard that the aforementioned war is awakening, and the French are on the way on the sea, thence the holy community of Istanbul did not want to allow any Jew to leave the walls of the city and go out to put out to sea, but Rabbainu o.b.m. did not pay attention to this, and he wanted to act with abandon ("mafkeer") of himself, and he said to the man that was with him: "Know, that I wish to endanger myself even in great and enormous dangers, however, I do not wish to abandon your soul (-life); therefore, if you want, take money for expenses, and return peacefully to your home, and I will travel alone in secrecy and in concealment from the people of Istanbul, because myself I abandon, be what may be etc.." And the aforementioned man refused this, and said, "In the place where my master will be, whether for death or for life, there your servant will be;  and where you go I will go as well."

And Hashem Yisburach in His mercy "He turns around inductions (Job 37:12, a very reoccurring theme in the books of the Ramchal)," brought about in His mercy, that after a day or two it was heard: Being that there in Istanbul was staying a Great Sage from Jerusalem, who collected by hand donations for the poor of the holy city of Jerusalem, and he had been planning on staying there for another year, and suddenly he was aroused and said to the people of Istanbul: "Know, that it has been revealed to me, that I must travel immediately to Jerusalem, because I see, that the days are impending ("stirring and coming") for the (-my) departure from the world, and you (-plural), do not fear the French nation, and you have nothing to worry about for an Israelite to go there (-to Israel), because certainly there will not occur to them any harm, with the help of Hashem, and Hashem will guard them with His mercy until they arrive there, because the place of my burial is already inscribed to be in Jerusalem." 
And immediately they heeded his words, and they went and chartered a large boat, and they announced: "Whoever wants to go on the boat - should board." And many men, and women, and children went, both from the sphardic people and from the ashkenazic people, and Rabbainu o.b.m. also traveled with them on this boat to the Holy Land, and Rabbainu o.b.m. spoke with the aforementioned sage from Jerusalem that he should take him to Jerusalem, because he said, that he does not want to be, not in Tsfas (-Safed) and not in Tiberius, and so they resolved secretly between them.

And as they traveled on the sea there was a very great storm wind which is called "a very great afirtineh (-this word was also used earlier in article 9, it is the Turkish word firtina, and can mean a gust, tempest, hurricane, storm etc.)," and the boat was in great danger; "they rise to the heavens, they descend to the depths etc. (Psalms 107:26)," and no one retained in their heart  (conception) that they would be saved from death, and they were all screaming to Hashem; and it was one night like Yom Kippur mamash, with everyone crying, and confessing, and asking for atonement for their souls, and they said slichos ("veniality"- liturgy special for repentance) and other items of prayers and beseechings; but Rabbainu o.b.m. sat silently. And some people started to tell him, why does he remain silent in a time of such a plight, and he did not answer; however, the wife of the Rav of the holy community of Chutin, who was educated, and cried and screamed the whole night, also began to tell him like those, why is he silent - and presumably, he cursed her, and said to her: "If only you (-plural) would also be quiet, it would be good before you; this is the test: if you will be quiet - the sea will be quiet from you as well." And so it was, and they ceased from screaming and they were quiet, then immediately at daybreak - "He stood up the storm making it silent and their waves were quiet/still. And they were happy etc. (Psalms 107:29-)."

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman

Tachanun (prayer of falling on one's face after the shmone esray)

HH

The custom in Breslov is to say the real Tachanun, i.e. Psalms 25, and on the left hand - the one wrapped with the tefilin.

Because the idea of Tachanun is to lower one's soul to the lower worlds to bring up from there the holy elements, many were scared to do this all the way, therefore the Ashkanazim opted to use a different Psalm 6 - so that a person doesn't actually go all the way into this rectification, and the Sfardim, while using the right Psalm, do not fall on their face. Rabbainu enacted that we do this tikun completely and properly. Even still if one is not committed to give this prayer is soul and his heart, it would be better for him, in that instance, to follow the masses and just go along without getting embroiled in this Tikun.

It seems to me, that the lowly places where in previous good times were only visited during Tachanun, are common to the daily experiences most of us have HY. Of course even for us there are lower places, but in the general scheme of things, basically we are pretty much there at the bottom (Asiya d'asiya...). Therefore, on the contrary, the hope of the masses lies specifically in doing the Tachanun in the complete manner and procedure instituted. Since in any event we have fallen to these places (which even the greatest Tana-im did not want to experience), precisely this prayer in it's pure form and fashion, are the call of the day to adress full on the tikun we must do, and retain our holiness, and rise above B"H.

It is interesting to note that Rabbi Elazar Hagadol, was a master of the Tachanun, and it is Rabbi Elazar Hagadol that promotes the Night Service of Arviss, teaching how a person should pay most special attention and consideration to this prayer. This prayer correlates to the darkness of our current exilt.

That which Rabbi Sadia Gaon revealed to Rabbainu that we should fall on our left hand, even though it is wrapped in the holy tefilin, is also I think a practice for our times, when our entire life, in all it's holiness is in a very low place. So we are going with the tefilin even there. However, there is no excuse G"F to bring the holy tefilin any lower, like e.g. chabad who put the holy tefilin on people without a single word or mention that one must not have any bad thoughts or pass gas while wearing tefilin (not to mention the people often have not even washed their hands as prescribed by our Sages in the morning, making it forbidden for them to touch anything, let alone the tefilin. There are other violations, but those are very outstanding and critical). Basically they are throwing the highest sanctity in to the klipos (evil husks) and who knows how much the exile is being lengthened due to their cruelity (feeding on the honor and recognition of the masses). Rabbainu says, fall on your tefilin straps, but no more than that HY.

There are things that mamash boggle my mind when I say the Tachanun, I will share a few here:

1. "Elokay" - my G-d. Do I actually have such a direct relationship and knowledge of HY, speaking to him directly with this title?! Even though in all the blessings we are saying directly to HY, "attu" (You), which also should be mind-boggling, even still, we are used to it, and it is does not say this whole title - MY PERSONAL G-d. Even the forefathers, who did not stop thinking of HY even for once second, 24/7, not even in their sleep, would not have HY call himself Their G-d, until their passing from the world. And here....

2. "Deruchecha Hashem" -- this I believe to indicate the 26 Deruchim of YHVH, we are asking to be privy to these, unbelievable....

3. His soul will lean in good. "tullin" -- lean - has the numerical value of Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman (with the inclusion)!

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!