Hunger strike

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Throughout the ages holy Jews would seek out HY with all their hearts, and they sought every possible way they could get closer to HY, and so they fasted to detach themselves from the physicality of this ephemeral world and cling to the true life of the Torah and to gain attention and grace from HY.

Today people's fasting is almost the antithesis of everything holy. People fast to lose weight so that they can further pursue their earthly desires without being weighted down. And people go on hunger strikes, an ostentatious show to gain the attention of mortals, to parade how much they really want to be indulging in the empty pleasures of this world but have been forced to aim for an even higher empty indulgence of recognition. Perhaps one of the first people to fast and let his body deteriorate all for the sake of gaining more and illicit worldly pleasure was Amnon who made himself sick so that he could rape his half-sister Tamar.

Even though Rabbainu spoke extensively about fasting and revealed many amazing virtues of fasting, it is not the custom of Breslov to take on extra fasting. However certainly when one fasts for a few hours, or limits his pleasures in this world, he can tap in and gain the aspects of fasting. Just let him do so between himself and His creator, this is not a public relations campaign trying to prove something to the world, but an intimate bonding with HY and a way to gain His grace.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman

The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman - 491-492

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The Virtue of Saying Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman

The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman

Articles 491-2 (Gematria- numerical value of Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman & the inclusive)

In the year 5566 (1805) between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur: Rabbainu o.b.m. exited from the mikva and said that it was revealed to him at this time from the Heavens how ‘anshay shloamainoo’ (-the fellows of our persuasion, i.e. the followers of Rabbi Nachman) should conduct themselves all the days of their life with regard to fasting, how many fasts each and every single one of anshay shloamainoo needs to fast every single year, and how and when they should fast. And after the holidays we went in to him, each and every one privately, and he gave over to each and every one a note [‘petek’] when he should fast….

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492

Once, he gave one person the note, and this person who received the note said to Rabbainu o.b.m., “What we conceived was not like this, because we thought that you would instruct us to fast many days of the year, but now we see that they are just a very few days of the year.”

He replied, “Behold Elisha said to Naaman (Kings 2:5:9, 13), ‘Bathe and be purified,’ and he didn’t want to believe that with this easy matter he would be cured, and he (Naaman) said (Kings 2:5:12 not an exact quote), ‘Behold Amunuh and Parpar and the rivers of Damascus are better (than all the waters of Israel), behold I bathed in them and I was purified?’ Until his servants told him (Kings 2:5:13), ‘Master, a tall order had the prophet told you, behold you would do it, all the more so when/since he told you, bath and be purified.’ And then he listened to his servants, and he bathed in the Jordan seven time, and his skin returned (to be healthy) and he was purified (Kings 2:5:14). Similarly, you conceive that it is necessary to specifically dictate for your healing heavy undertakings, and you don’t believe that with an easy matter which I instruct you to do, you will have a complete healing, a true healing of the soul.[2]”

And this matter is extremely necessary (to know as it is applicable) many times, because sometimes a person holds himself back from doing some matter of holiness because of heaviness, because of the many impediments that obstruct him from doing it, and he doesn’t strengthen (himself) to break them. And sometimes it is the opposite, that he refrains from (doing) a matter of holiness because of it’s utter easiness, that in his eyes this matter is very easy to do, and because of this he doesn’t believe that the life of his soul is contingent on such an easy thing. And in reality it is necessary to be careful with a light mitzva the same as with a weighty/serious one (Ethics of Our Fathers 2:1), “and the ways of life (i.e. the importance of things are hidden) lest one chart his path (accordingly – choosing only the most rewarding issues) (Proverbs 5:6 explained according to the Medrash by Rashi), “and whatever is in your power to do, do with (all) your strength (Ecclesiastes 9:10).” Because the main sedition and hinderance of the bal duvu (-litigator-Satan-evil inclination) are just mental blocks, that he sometimes inoculates in the person’s mind that it is very hard for him to do the matter, and because of the he wants to prevent him (from doing it). And sometimes it is the opposite, that he makes it light for him, and extremely belittles the matter in his eyes, to the extent that it doesn’t occur to the person that the life of his soul is contingent on this, and all of this (the bal duvur does) in order to prevent him (from doing it) Heaven forbid. And sometimes this hinderance is overly greater than an actual obstruction.

However, “He who goes wholesomely (wholeheartedly/sincerely/honestly…) will go securely (/confidently/safely) (Proverbs 10:9),” and doesn’t pay attention to any impediment or confusion in the world whatsoever. “And all that is in your power to do, do with (all) your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10).”

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman!

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[1] This is really the letter Hay, but it is forbidden to enunciate the Name of G-d even by naming the letters, so the custom is to say “kay” instead of Hay.

[2] See Likutay Moharan 2:86 that the stronger one’s faith is, the lighter and easier are his tasks and requirements in the devotion of HY. When you have the right key it opens the door easily!

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman 17-19

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Shivchay Huran

17-19

17. He also said, that the conjugation of the true tzadik is a very difficult matter for him; and not only does he not have any desire whatsoever, just on the contrary, he has suffering from this, mamash (-literally) like the suffering of an infant during circumcision, because mamash suffering such as this the tzadik has during conjugation, and more than this, because the infant doesn't have intellect, therefore his suffering is not so great, but the tzadik who does have intellect, his suffering is greater then the infant, and this was an obvious matter by him. And he said, that every person can merit to come to this level, and it was apparent from his words that his own holiness was yet very extremely higher.

18. And he said, that by him a man and a woman are equal, that is, that no facet of thought occurs to him when he sees a woman, just everything is the same by him in his eyes, as if he sees a man. And one time he said, that he has no fear, not from a woman and not from an angel. And with this there's a lot to explain, because someone who still has any facet of fear whatsoever from thoughts of women, even if he is chaste in this regard, just that he's not immaculate in the utmost purity, and he still has some fear at all with this, he needs to fear from an angel; but he (Rabbainu) boasted that he has absolutely no fear of this, therefore he has no fear of an angel. This is slightly alluded to in the words of our Rabbis of blessed memory (Kedushin 81a): "I am flesh, and you are fire - but I am better/stronger than you," which Rav Amram Chasiduh said to the angel, and it is brought down in his words of blessed memory in the Torah-teaching "Tikoo (blast the shofar) - memshalu (dominion)" Torah 1 in the second volume of Likutay Moharan, see there well, and understand.

19. He was also very accustomed in his early childhood and in his youth to run over all the time to be by the grave of the Baal Shem Tov za.tza.viku.l. to request of him that he help him draw close to Hashem Yisburach. And he used to go there at night, and in the winter when it was extremely cold he would go there at night and from there he returned and went to the mikvah. And there was a mikva outside the bathhouse and one mikvah inside the bath house, and he chose the mikvah that was outside the bathhouse, when the cold was great and he was already very cold from being by the aforementioned grave, because there was a great distance between his house and the cemetery and also from the cemetery to the mikva, besides for the lengthy stay that he spent by the grave, even still after all this he would specifically go to immerse in the mikvah which stood outside, in order to mortify himself - and all of this secretly at night. And I heard from someone who said that he heard from his holy mouth, that when he performed these practices he was just six years old.

And he was so secretive from people in his devotions, to the extent that one time he went to the mikvah in the morning in the winter, and he came from the immersion, and his pehyos (sidelocks) were wet from the water, and everyone wondered at the oddity that in the winter a person would wash his head, because it did not occur to them that he had been in the mikvah, they just thought that he washed his head, and they wondered at his peculiarity that he washed his head in such cold, and they held it to be an act of his immaturity, because he was very, very secretive in his devotion. Also all the very many fasts that he fasted, absolutely no one in the world knew about them, even his father and his mother and his relatives, just his wife alone knew of it, and he would swear her that she should not reveal it to anyone, and he would do many (many) ruses to hide and to conceal all the fasting that he fasted, in such a way that no one would know of them.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman!

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman 8-10

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Shivchay Huran

8-10

8. And he related that all his learning came to him with great exertion, because at the beginning he studied mishnayos, and he didn't understand what he was learning, and he would cry copiously before Hashem Yisburach that He should enlighten his eyes. And he would cry and cry so much until he merited that he was able to learn mishnayos. And so too afterwards he learned other books and he also didn't understand, and he would cry and cry as well very copiously until he merited to understand them. And so too with the study of Zohar and Kisvay Hu-Ari o.b.m., he would also cry copiously until he merited to understand.

And he said: that at the beginning with every single book that he studied he did not understand and it was extremely difficult for him and he was unable to figure out the simple meaning of the context. And he had great suffering from this, and his learning was with great exertion, and even still he learned a very great deal. Because he would strengthen himself immensely, and he merited to everything through his prayers and his crying as mentioned above.

9. And he would fast very profusely, and many times he fasted from Shabbos to Shabbos, and all this was in his very youth before he was 20 years old. And sometimes he fasted twice from Shabbos to Shabbos continuously from one to the next. And even though he was a "yel-ed (-a child of) shaashoo-im (delight/spoiled) (Jeremiah 31:19)," and was raised pampered, and was an extremely delicate person, even still he did not have any mercy on himself whatsoever, and he fasted and mortified himself tremendously, and he fasted 18 ("chay") times from Shabbos to Shabbos in one year (-that is the maximum feasible amount, because there are days in the year which are forbidden to fast on).

10. However, his main devotion through which he merited what he merited, was just the abundant prayers, and the beseeching, and the supplications, and the conciliations, and the appeasements that he was very accustomed to pray and beseech before Him blessed He. And he would placate and appease Him blessed He with all types of beseeching and supplications that He should merit him with His Mercy to draw him close to His service blessed He. And fundamentally what availed him were the prayers that he prayed in Yiddish, for he would very often designate for himself someplace that he found where there were no people, and he would express his words before Hashem Yisburach in the vernacular, that is in Yiddish. And he would placate and appease Him blessed He, and supplicate and beseech before Him blessed He with many, many types of argumentation and reasonings that it was befitting for Him blessed He that He should draw him close to His service, and he would do this very extremely frequently, and he spent days and years at this.

He would also hide himself on top of his father's house under the roof, where there was the likeness of a room with partitions of reeds for storage of hay and fodder, and he would hide himself there and recite Psalms and he would scream silently to Hashem Yisburach that He should merit him to draw him close to Him blessed He.

And in general all the various supplications in the world that are found in any book that is available by us, absolutely everything, he did not leave any beseechment or supplication that he did not say many, many times, whether it be Psalms, or the book "Shaaray (gates of) Tzion (Zion), or the supplications printed in the large prayer books, or the other types of supplications and beseechings, and even the beseechings printed in Yiddish - all of them, he did not leave out from saying them, and he would frequently say all the beseeching which are printed after the maamudos for each day, and he would frequently say all the beseechings in their entirety of all the days in one time (t.n. since the prayers are specific to the day of the week it is my belief that Rabbi Nachman would have introduced the prayers of each day accordingly: On Sunday this is..., On Monday this is...).

He was also accustomed at times to say from Psalms just the verses which speak in beseeching and supplication and screaming to Hashem Yisburach, and he would say just these verses and not say the rest. And he would say all these verses from the whole book of Psalms in one time.

And aside from all of this, the main thing was what he would pray from himself, that is, what he was accustomed to speak from his heart before Hashem Yisburach in Yiddish, that he would pray and argue before Hashem Yisburach with many, many types of argumentation and beseeching and supplications that he would say from his mind and his heart as mentioned above that Hashem Yisburach should merit him to His service. And this was the fundamental which availed him to merit to what he merited, so we heard from his holy mouth explicitly.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman!

It's not worth peeking

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What is so terrible about having an improper thought? Yes, we know it is forbidden, and it causes damage in the supernal world, and that really those worlds are very much the actual reality, and that it will G-d forbid lead from one thing to the next until it really brings one to no good, but even still we say to ourselves, let me be for a bit, a few thoughts, a little pleasure, what's the big deal?

So here's something to consider. G-d is completely above the paradigm of existence, He created existence, however in the existence He created, He also exists, and this existence of His is infinite. Anyone familiar with algebra knows that infinite can remain in a very small value – as a number approaches another in different increments, increasingly getting closer but never reaching. Such are the various classes that G-d created, the worlds of doing, speaking, thinking (asseeya, yetzeerah, breeya) and infinitely more, as the worlds approach G-d Himself, never reaching, but infinitely getting closer, each one in it's own class and restraint. In all of this, the prophet refers to G-d as continuously hiding Himself (Ail misstattair). The direction of the infinite existence of G-d in the whole layout of existence is to the esoteric, the more spiritual and hidden. The Ramchal asserts that the entire study of Kabbala – the study of G-d and how He runs the world, can be summarized as inner and outer (peneemeeyoos and cheetzoaneeyus). Always the inner, which is more spiritual, more refined and hidden, is the soul of the outer body, and completely encompasses it, rules it, and is it's very lifesource. Except for the final world in which man exists, where the body has a certain independence not recognizing its soul. The Torah (even the "revealed Torah") as well must be kept hidden and should not be taught in public places (Moed Kutun 16a). 

All sexual gratification (which the Vilna Goan clearly classifies as a sin between a person and himself, any damage done to another person by this sin is purely collateral) is the body's insurgency over the soul. This is hijacking a person's manifest, from going in the way of G-d, and ever increasingly give strength to the unseen, the soul of yet a more esoteric plane, which by the way is the ultimate eminence of the traits of humility and tznius (modesty), where one hides himself preferring to reach further inwards than to show an outward, superficial exploitation, and all of this is hijacked and reversed by even a small improper thought and desire, which empowers the body, giving it precedence, giving it the dominion to drag and subjugate the direction of the soul to be reduced to an expression of the body (and if a person G-d forbids generates seed wantonly, this is the actual reduction of the ultimate spiritual manifest, to a coarse superficial coarse goal, HY).

The idea I presented above is actually found explicitly in the holy books, particularly in Rabbainu's Likutay Moharan, regarding fasting. Rabbainu reveals that on a day that a person eats, the food goes to his stomach and inners, and from there energy is sent up to the brain, it is the liver that is propelling the brain. When a person fasts, the direction is the opposite, the brain rules over the body (MeLeCh – king, rule – Moach – brain, Lev – heart, Cuvaid – liver, as opposed to the reverse order of CuLaiM – meaning embarrasment/incarceration – locked into the embarrassing control of the body).

The main thing is to sing Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman, which is the ultimate direction!

NNNNM!

Nanach Fellowship

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Rabbi Nachman's Stories of Ancient Times

Of The Prayer Leader

"So the Prayer Leader with his people dwelled outside of civilization, and were involved only with prayer, songs,and praises to Hashem Yisburach, and confessions, fasts, afflictions, and penances."

Rabbainu is the Prayer Leader, his men are the Nanach. Although it is not the custom of the Nanach to deliberately self afflict themselves etc. the fact of the matter is that they are no strangers to punishment, to say the least, every Nanach I know can write at least one volume of accounts of his trials and tribulations, some can write many volumes. Rabbi Nussun said, that even though the Rebbe revealed many Torahs about fasting, the tradition in Breslov is not to fast (R. Yisroel Karduner asked Rabbainu, and Rabbainu showed him a small piece of bread, meaning, don't fast but suffice with the very bare minimum), but when we have to fast for one of the fast days accepted by all of Israel, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of, to merit all these things Rabbainu divulged. So it is with the Nanach, although they do not invite the hardships, when they are in fact visited by them, the Nanach should accept them with love and see them as an opportunity to gain atonement, purity, and adhesion to HY.

NNNNM!