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