The Praises of Rabbi Nachman - part 2 - The Order of His Voyage to the Land of Israel 5-7

HH

Shivchay Huran part 2

5. On the day preceding the festival of Passover of the year 5558 (Saturday, 31 March, 1798) our master and leader and Rebbe o.b.m. exited from the Mikvah, and he said to the one who went with him, that in this year he certainly will be in the Holy Land. And on the Festival of Passover he said Torah on the verse (Psalms 77:2), "And Your path is in a plethora of water and Your footsteps are not known," and he asked from the beginning of the verse on its end (t.n. first the verse says where the path is, and then it says it is unknown), and he said Torah on this in answer to this question, and from the words of his holy Torah it became known to all those that came to him, that certainly he would travel to the land of Israel.

6. And when his wife heard this, she sent her daughter to him to ask him, how is it possible to leave them, who will support them? And he replied as follows: "You will travel to your in-laws, your older sister - someone will take her to be a small servant in his house," which is called neyunikeh (-nakhozha nyan'ka, is the Ukrainian word for babysitter, although sitter by itself is nyana, it appears that interchangeable), "your younger sister - someone will take her into his house out of compassion, and your mother will be kitchen help/cook, and everything that is in my house, I will sell it all for travel expenses." And when his household heard this, they broke out into weeping, and they cried many days, but he had no mercy on them, and he said, because/that it is not possible without this, be what may be, he will certainly travel, because most of him is already there, and the minority goes after the majority. (And he said in these words: "vehrren (when/being that) dey (the) grestey (greater) helfit (half) iz (is) shoyn (already) dort (there) etc.). And he said: "I want to travel to the land of Israel, and I know the greatness of the impediments and the obstacles that I will have on this, immeasurable nor calculable, however, as long as my soul is inside of me, as long as I have the spirit of life in my nose, I will sacrifice (moasair nafshey) my soul and I will travel with all my strength (to) there, as long as my soul is in me I will travel there, and Hashem - will do what is good in His eyes."

7. And he said: "On every single step of  the Land of Israel voyage I will have self sacrifice (meseeras nefesh)." 

And he said: "I want to travel immediately, however it may be, even without money, however, whoever wants to have mercy on me will give me money for expenses." And immediately the fellows of our fold (a.na.sh. - anshay shloamainoo) traveled to the nearby towns and collected promptly some amount, in order that he should have in any case for the expenses to travel from his house, because the trip had great urgency, and they saw that it is impossible to procrastinate him in any way or any time whatsoever. And he embarked immediately in haste (zreezoos) from his house on the 18th of Eyar (Lag BuOmer, Friday, 4 May, 1798), and secretly together with one of his men they resolved that he would travel with him together.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman