The Praises of Rabbi Nachman - part 2 - His Voyage to the Land of Israel 20

HH

Shivchay HuRan

Part 2

20. And when he heard this, he sent the messenger to Akko (-Acre) to purchase passage on a boat from Regaz (-Ragosa, Present day Crotia. - Between the 14th century and 1808, Dubrovnik, the capital of the Republic of Ragosa, ruled itself as a free state, although it was a vassal from 1382 to 1804 of the Ottoman Empire and paid an annual tribute to its sultan. 

With the help of skilled diplomacy, Dubrovnik merchants traveled lands freely and on the sea the city had a huge fleet of merchant ships (argosy) that traveled all over the world. From these travels they founded some settlements, from India to America, and brought parts of their culture and flora home with them. One of its keys to success was not conquering, but trading and sailing under a white flag with the word Latin: Libertas (freedom) prominently featured on it.

Many Jews from Spain and Portugal moved there in the 16th century), which is at peace with all the nations. That is, there is a country Regaz (-Ragosa) which maintains peace with all the kings, and when that boat unfurls its flag (then) it is not taken into the "plen" (-captivity - in Russian). Because the way of the battleships is to snatch at sea a boat with the people on board into the "plen" (-captivity), that is, into captivity, but when the aforementioned boat from the Republic of Regaz (-Ragosa) unfurls its flag, then they do not take them into the "plen" (-captivity). So it was that they purchased for him (passage on) such a boat.

And when the rav the tzadik, our teacher Rav Avrohom mentioned above, heard that Rabbainu o.b.m. wants to conduct travels to his home, he sent a special messenger to him with his letter and a general letter (t.n. these seem to be letters of introduction to aid Rabbainu in his travels), and he o.b.m. hustled himself immensely, and he did not want to wait for the letter of the Rav the gaon of the community of Shipeetuvkeh, and he embarked from there on erev (-day preceding) Shabbos Kodesh (-holy) of the Torah reading of the portion of Zachor (-remember- what Amulaik ambushed Israel etc., read on the Shabbos preceding Purim), and they went the whole night until three hours before kabulas (-the receiving - taking in - of) Shabbos; then they came to the coast of Akko (-Acre). And they sent the temsilci (-agent - in Turkish) (to arrange) that he should take them on board the boat, and he came with the reply that it was impossible in any way to take them, because the boat was already full of people, too many had boarded it, and Rabbainu and the man that was with him were forced to enter the city of Akko (-Acre) to spend there Shabbos of the reading of the Torah portion Zachor.

And they went to the wealthy man that they had a letter for him from the aforementioned Rav the Kalisker, and they were guests by him. And there a very, very great fright fell upon them, because there were approximately 15,000 or more, Ishmaelite soldiers with all their accessories for waging war, and they closed the door of the city's wall. And on Shabbos in the morning during the prayer the temsilci (-agent) came, and said that, "it is no longer possible to find any boat of Ragosa, just boats of Ishmaelite merchants that go to Istanbul with merchandise. And even though there is a fear of going with them, from the danger of the soldiers that were prevalent then on the sea that would take (whoever they could) into the "plen," that is - into captivity, even still it is better to enter this danger than to be here. Because the command had come that after two or three days there will be the battle, and probably they would kill many from the city, and why do you need this calamity. Therefore may his eminence by virtue of the honor of his Torah (m.c.t. - maalas kivoad Toarusoa) permit me to purchase (a fare on) a boat for you (plural - respectfully) on Shabbos, because peekuach nefesh (-saving life) doacheh (pushes away - precedes the obligations of) Shabbos," and so it was, and the temsilci (-agent) went and purchased (fare on) a boat for them, and gave an adrof (adrof/adroif translated loosely as down payment, is earnest money (money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract), the term adrof is found in halachic responsa such as Yishuot Malko) of one gold dinar.

And in the meantime many, more boats came with soldiers from England, also to Akko (-Acre), and the fear there grew more and more. And there was great cramping in the city, because the place was inadequate to contain such a vast population. And there was great fear there on that Shabbos (and all the members of the household where Rabbainu was staying, they all spread out their hands (in prayer)). However, even still Rabbainu o.b.m. and the man who was with him had a small consolation, that which they had already bought (fare on) a boat for them. Also they were dismayed for not having prepared for themselves at all any food or drink to take on the boat because the arrangement had been so sudden as mentioned above. And they reminded themselves of how upon their boarding the boat from chutz-lu'uretz (-outside Israel) to Israel they had on the boat all the necessary provisions ("kol toov") for four to five months as is customary for sea travelers, whereas now they did not have anything.

On Sunday morning Rabbainu o.b.m. sent the man that was with him to go with the temsilci (-agent) to buy provisions to take on the boat as is customary. But he did not find what to buy in the marketplace, and he returned to the lodgings. And Rabbainu o.b.m. was standing then wrapped in Talis and Tefilin and did not speak with him at all. And the aforementioned man, fell asleep from the great plight and fear, and Rabbainu did not know that he was in the house. In the interim the great uproar occurred there, because the ordinance had came from the Pasha, that he will give an allowance of just two hours, whoever does not know how to wage war should see to escape by sea, because no gate was open to leave the city just by way of the sea. And whoever is found inside the city after two hours they will slaughter him there. Because the Ishmaelites of the city wanted to make room inside the city so that they would not be so congested from so many people, before they wanted to slaughter those found there to make room for them so that they would not be so cramped. And there was a great ruckus there, and a great shouting in the city, and very great dread and terror, and during the great commotion Rabbainu o.b.m. fled  from there towards the sea, and he did not look at all for the aforementioned man that was with him (and) who had fallen asleep as mentioned previously.

Afterwards the aforementioned man woke up and saw that Rabbainu was not in the house, and he waited protractedly, and afterwards he went to the courtyard and saw and heard (that) men, and women, and children screaming and  crying extremely bitterly, and their outcry rose to the Heavens. And the lady of the house, when she saw the man that was with Rabbainu o.b.m., she came to him and said to him: "Oy vavoy (-woe), I pity your (-respectful plural) youth that you (-plural) will be killed here, we at any rate received goodness here, now we need to accept as well what is decreed upon this place, but upon you it is a tremendous pity, because you will be lost here from your family etc.," and similar words like these.

And great trepidation fell upon him to the extent that he didn't have the ability to move/feel with - his fingers. And he asked her about Rabbainu, and she answered: "I think he fled to the sea." And when he heard this, he wanted to take the chest with the money and their stuff, because Rabbainu o.b.m. fled there alone without anything. But the man was unable to carry the chest by himself, and Hashem summoned for him some Frank (-Sephardic Jew) and he gave him the chest with the stuff, and he fled with him to the sea.

And because of the great pandemonium that was in the city, (every)one almost stabbed their (adjacent) friend with their knife, and it was not possible to go about in the city. However, with Hashem's mercy, there was an induction from Hashem so that in that hour (-time) the Ishmaelites stood on the roof of the wall and made an announcement of some good tiding. And many people gathered by them. And because of this there was way to pass through the city to go to the sea.

And when the aforementioned men came to the sea he saw many boats, but he did not see Rabbainu there, and he was asking and searching ardently, with search after search (-very meticulously), until he found Rabbainu o.b.m. who was sitting on a boat, and the boat was full of Ishmaelites, and Rabbainu o.b.m. sat in the middle. And when they met up together, Rabbainu o.b.m. with his aforementioned man, there was great joy between them, because originally they had very, very great distress because they didn't know from one another. And first they were sitting on the small boat which is called "barkas"  (- баркас - this is the Russian word for longboat, the largest boat carried by a merchant sailing vessel), afterwards they went with this boat until they came to the big boat which is called "okrent" (-okręt is the Polish word for ship) which was standing near Haifa.

And they saw that the boat was surrounded with harmatas (-this is the Ukrainian word for cannon - гармата, it is also a word historically associated with weapons, such as the Persian scythed-harmata chariot), and it was a marvel to them. However, they said (-thought) in their hearts that because it is a time of war, therefore also the merchant's ship goes as well with harmatas (-cannons). But in reality, this boat was a battleship with soldiers and weapons. And certainly it was a very great and enormous danger to join up together with them, particularly with Ishmaelite soldiers who are savages (Genesis 16:12), and particularly to set out to sea with them. But when Rabbainu o.b.m. fled, in the enormous chaos he didn't ascertain to board the boat that they had paid for him, because he did not know where it was, and in the bedlam he boarded this boat, and he did not know at all that it was a battleship.

And the Ishmaelites took them, and brought them into the big ship, and gave them a special (-their own private) room. And they also gave the aforementioned man that was with Rabbainu o.b.m. a loaded gun, and they couldn't ask them anything because they did not know the language. And they did not have any food or beverages on the boat. And after two or three hours into the night they closed the door to the room and they lay down to sleep. And they didn't eat anything because they didn't have what to eat as mentioned previously.

And then after an hour or two someone open the door and said to them in the language of the gentiles in our country (-Russian): "What are you doing here? Behold this is a battleship, and you will be lost/obliterated here, Heaven forbid. Behold you see that the boat is fully surrounded with loaded harmatas (-cannons)." And they awakened from their sleep, and they grabbed him by his garment, and it was a garment of givant (-the early editors translate this to be simple cloth. Perhaps it is gabardine, which the dictionary says was most commonly worn by Jews, and its etymology comes from the Spanish word bearing the exact likeness of the word in case: gabán - meaning an overcoat), however, they did not see his form/appearance. And they asked him that he should help them, that he should allow them to leave the boat to the shore of the Land of Israel, because they already saw that they are in danger closer to death than life. Because they saw that the koylin (-кулі - the Ukrainian word for bullets) were flying near the boat, therefore they said, it is better to remain in the Holy Land so that their bones would remain there in the Holy Land, because they saw that it would be difficult to escape from the carnage. And he said that they would need to give him some amount of thaler (-a silver coin used as currency throughout Europe) for this, and he said that he would go to the captain.

So the aforementioned man went to open the chest to get the thaler, and waited a bit, and went to the captain, and stretched out his hand to give the money to the captain, because he thought that the person that spoke with them in the gentile tongue had already requested on their behalf from the captain for this, that he should allow them to go. But the captain screamed at him a vehement screaming, and did not listen to him at all. And afterwards they were searching for this person that spoke with them in the gentile tongue, and they searched, search after search (-meticulously), but they did not find any person that could speak the  Russian language, just, everyone were Ishmaelites and arabs. And then there fell upon them great fright, and they were gripped with great trepidation to the extent that they were not able to rest in bed because of the body tremors from the great fright, because then they understood that they were on a battleship which is called krig (-war in Yiddish) shif (-ship in Yiddish), and it is a danger huge beyond measure. And they still do not know who it was that spoke with them in Russian (language) and apprised them that it was a battleship.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman