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37-497: In 1922, Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser , a Breslover Hasid, claimed to have received a petek (note) addressed to him from Rebbe Nachman, although the latter had died in 1810. The seventh line of this petek is signed Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman , which became Rabbi Odesser's personal meditation and song. Before he died, he taught this phrase to a group of devotees who formed the Na Nach movement. The Na Nach Nachma phrase

74-459: A holy book in this way, so Odesser rescued it with the intention of burying it, as is proper for worn-out Jewish holy books. Before discarding it, however, he decided to read it. This book was Hishtafchut HaNefesh ( Outpouring of the Soul ) by Alter Tepliker , which contains excerpts from Rebbe Nachman's writings about meditation and personal prayer. Because the cover was missing, Odesser did not know who

111-480: A reversal of the abbreviation of Odesser's name ( י שראל ב ער א דסר). The Hebrew title " Ibey Ha-Nachal " therefore has the double meanings "Yisroel Odesser, the stream / river " and "Young Buds of the Stream" . This book is also called by many the book of redemption. When he was approximately 24 years old, Odesser came into possession of a document later published as The Letter from Heaven (known colloquially as

148-422: A sign - ובחיזוק עבודה תבינהו וסמן The 17th of Tammuz they will say that you don't fast - יז בתמוז יאמרו שאינך מתענה R. I. Odesser the understood the letter to be a message of consolation, above other marvellous things inside, directly from Rebbe Nachman's spirit to himself here on earth. Since his name did not appear in the petek as the recipient, Odesser said that this was reason for every person to consider

185-595: A week to a month or longer in the homes of his new followers. He would most frequently reside in Meron , Tzefat , Tiberias , Ramat Gan , Bnei Brak , Beitar , Mevaseret Zion , and in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Har Nof , the Old City , and Neve Yaakov . Odesser collected close to half a million dollars in tzedaka (charity) money in two years without leaving his wheelchair. People would run to bring him pidyonot . He left

222-673: Is closer, his movements happen of their own accord, as he senses that mentioned above. Whoever is closer to the melody and dance understands more and performs the melody's movements automatically due to this great pleasure.... Likewise, the closer one is to the holy, that is - the closer to the teachings, the song and the dance - the more the movements occur on their own owing to the holiness. All this I heard myself. Yisroel Ber Odesser Rabbi Yisroel Dov Ber Odesser ( Hebrew : ישראל דב בער אדסר ) (approx. 1888 – 23 October 1994), also known as Reb Odesser or Sabba ("grandfather" in Hebrew ),

259-563: Is the Rebbe of the whole world? Rebbe Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman ! I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman ! According to a clear and simple interpretation of the Tikounei Zohar, we can understand clearly that the soul of Rabbi Nachman was the one of the Messiah, son of Joseph, and the soul of Rabbi Israel Dov Odesser was the same soul however coming from the side of the Messiah son of David. In short,

296-612: Is used on jewellery and amulets . Among some groups of Sephardic Jewish youth in Israel, it has become a sort of rallying cry for returning to traditional Judaism, although not necessarily to mainstream Breslov. More recently, some people have begun to wear the words of the phrase crocheted on large, white yarmulkes with a little tassel on top. (These hats are a modification of a traditional white yarmulke that has been worn in Jerusalem for centuries. That style, in turn, apparently evolved from

333-409: The petek addressed to himself or herself personally. Odesser adopted Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman as his personal meditation and song, and became so totally identified with it that he later said, "I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'Uman !" (This quote appears on Odesser's tombstone in Jerusalem.) During his lifetime, Rebbe Nachman spoke of a "Song of Redemption" that would be revealed before

370-400: The petek and the meaning of its words: He (Nachman of Breslav) said: 'The World has tasted nothing yet. If they would hear just one of my teachings together with its melody and dance, they would all submit completely. The entire world, even the animals and plants - everything - all would submit completely. Their very souls would faint from the sheer woundrous ecstasy. Also, each person who

407-621: The Tikkun Chatzot (Midnight Lament over the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash ) one night, however, the Saba Kadisha refused to let him attend him anymore, and instead treated him as a young colleague. After that, Odesser traveled to Jerusalem, where he studied with the elders of the Breslover community in that city. On a rainy Tu Bishvat night in 1957, Zalman Shazar (who would become

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444-638: The Jewish faith) discovered Odesser and were attracted to his teachings. He eventually became their spiritual leader. The name and song, Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman was adopted by this subgroup of Breslover Hasidim and has appeared on billboards, bumper stickers, and knitted yarmulkes , as well as in musical compositions of this group (colloquially known as the Na Nachs ) ever since. In his later years, Odesser attracted many new followers to Breslov. Many families made aliyah from France. He spent time living anywhere from

481-410: The Messiah will come, strong and courageous - משיח וועט קומען חזק ואמץ in your devotion - בעבודתך Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman - נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן And with this I will reveal to you a secret and it is: - :ובזה אגלה לך סוד והוא Full and heaped up from one extreme to another extreme (PTzPTzYH) - מלא וגדיש מקו לקו (פצפציה) And with the strengthening of your devotion you will understand it and

518-541: The Petek). According to Rabbi Israël Dov Odesser, he was sick and ate before dawn during the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz . He was severely distraught as a result. For six days he suffered intensely, fasted and repented, and felt like a dead man, since he was fasting and not eating from midnight until after the morning prayer since the age 7. He prayed and had a powerful thought enter [his] mind" to "Go to your room and open

555-432: The author was, but the teachings worked for him. Only later did he learn it was a Breslover book. The first Breslover Hasid whom he met in person was Rabbi Yisroel Halpern (also known as Yisroel Karduner), who came one day to buy bread from Odesser's parents. The young Odesser knew immediately that he had found his teacher, but his parents were strongly opposed to the Breslover path. Eventually his father threw him out of

592-451: The bookcase, and put your hand and any book … and open it to wherever it opens … and there you will find good things that will enable you to revive yourself; there you will find a healing for your soul! Acting on this thought, he chose a book, opened it, and found a letter inside containing words of greeting and encouragement, along with a phrase in the Hebrew language based on the four letters of

629-619: The coming of the Jewish Messiah . This song would be in a "single, double, triple, quadruple" form. ( Likutei Moharan II, #8 ). Another possible explanation for this phrase is that the Talmud states in Tractate Pesachim that if one wants to rid himself of a certain demon that inflicts water he should say שברירי ברירי רירי ירי רי thereby diminishing the effects of the demon. Just as we see that saying phrases with diminishing letters can diminish

666-624: The effects of something impure, so to saying and adding to the name of a righteous person can exemplify him to the greatest high. Na Nach Nachma phrase has such a structure (keeping in mind that Hebrew often omits the vowels) and is based on the Rebbe's name, "Nachman": The phrase is pronounced with a soft A sound as in "ah" and a guttural KH sound as in German "ach." It is usually accented as follows: Nah -nakh- nakh mah- nakh man-meh-oo- mahn . Speakers of Yiddish have also noted that na nach can mean "now to," which would loosely translate

703-502: The entire sum to establish Keren Yisroel Dov Odesser for printing and distributing the books of Rebbe Nachman at subsidized prices. The Keren was run by Rabbi Amram Horowitz, Odesser's grandson and grandson of Shmuel Horowitz of Breslov fame, until his death in 2009. A few days before his death at the age of 106, Rabbi Odesser recorded these words on tape: All the world, and the whole government, do not know who I am! Behold, I inform them who I am! I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman ! Who

740-463: The goal of spreading joy to passersby. They distribute their literature from sidewalk tables on the downtown streets and near bus stations, often accompanied by blaring music. They are identifiable by their large, white, crocheted yarmulkes bearing the name and song from the petek that Rabbi Odesser revealed: Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman . Besides publicizing this phrase on billboards and bumper stickers , Na Nachs and their admirers have made it

777-482: The great hunger that befell on him then. But immediately after eating, he felt great sorrow at having succumbed to his own physical temptations. After six continuous days of prayer, a powerful thought came to him: "Go into your room!" He did as the inner voice said, went to the bookcase, that was locked and only himself had the key of the locker, and randomly opened a book. In the book was a piece of paper that he would later call "The Letter from Heaven." (Another version of

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814-536: The house and attempted to stop his upcoming wedding. This did not deter him, and he continued to study with Halpern. The wedding took place as planned. Odesser's wife, Esther, supported him through many sufferings and much ridicule from the local townsfolk. In those days, it was commonly said among Jews that anyone who became a Breslover Hasid would eventually go insane . This is probably because Breslovers try to spend at least an hour per day in hitbodedut , personal communion with God, which they often performed alone in

851-499: The medieval Jewish hat with the ball on top—hence the tassel.) When Rabbi Odesser was still alive, some of his followers were already wearing large white yarmulkes, but without the phrase on them. Today, the Na Nachs make this crocheted yarmulke part of their uniform attire. Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman yarmulkes in other colors are also appearing on the market and are a popular item for Purim . The following books were written on

888-443: The name Nachman (i.e., Rebbe Nachman of Breslov), added one letter at a time, in a Kabbalistic achorayim form, like this נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן ‎. Around 1984, when he was approximately 86 years old and living in an old age home in Ra'anana , Aharon Patz, a great Torah scholar who was helping and visiting old people, visited Rabbi Israel, a group of baalei teshuva (returnees to

925-535: The person who comes with the Tikoun Haklali, which is the reparation and the rectification for sexual sins, embodies the Messiah son of Joseph, and the person who receives and reveals the reparation of speech, which is the new song—simple, double, triple, and quadruple according to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Nathan Steinheartz in the Likutey Halakhot, is the real Messiah included of the two and he will bring

962-474: The phrase as "Now to Nachman from Uman," that is, traveling to the Rebbe on pilgrimage to his gravesite or in one's heart. Whatever the origins of this phrase, it is now very popular among a subgroup group of Breslover Hasidim who follow Rabbi Odesser, who are colloquially known as the Na Nachs . The name has been incorporated into both traditional and contemporary Jewish music, appeared on bumper stickers , billboards and public graffiti throughout Israel, and

999-625: The story is that Odesser was sitting in a synagogue with a second tier serving as its Womens section, when the synagogues sexton decided to play a joke and throw the paper down at Odesser.) The paper, written in Hebrew , with one line in Yiddish , is translated as follows: It was very difficult for me to come down to you - מאוד היה קשה לי לרדת אליך my precious student to tell you that I had pleasure - תלמידי היקר, להגיד לך כי נהנתי very much from your devotion and upon you I said - מאוד מעבודתך, ועליך אמרתי my fire will burn until - מיין פייערל וועט טליען ביז

1036-568: The third President of Israel ) was with a friend in Meron . There they saw a Hasid, Odesser, reciting the Tikkun Chatzot ("Midnight Lament") with intense fervor. They were very moved by this, and, when the Hasid had finished, they asked who he was. Thus began a lifelong friendship between Shazar and Odesser. Over the years, Odesser wrote many letters to Shazar, explaining the Breslov way of personal prayer and devotion, and urging him to return to God (Shazar

1073-555: The time the British entered Tiberias in World War I, a plague broke out in the city. Halpern became very ill and eventually died, along with most of his family. After Halpern's death in 1918, Odesser became a personal attendant of Rabbi Solomon Eliezer Alfandari , the great Sephardi rav and kabbalist known as the Saba Kadisha, who was living in Tiberias at the time. After seeing Odesser recite

1110-574: The tradition of Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser (called the Saba, or grandfather, by Na Nachs). The Saba is believed to have received an inspirational note, called the Petek (note), from the long-deceased Rebbe Nachman. Devotees of the group, colloquially called Na Nachs , make themselves quite visible in the streets of Tel Aviv , Jerusalem , Safed , Tiberias , and other Israeli cities as they dance atop and around moving vans to techno-Hasidic musical compositions, with

1147-411: The whole world close to God forever. Odesser died on 23 October 1994 and was buried on Har HaMenuchot (Gush 11, Chelka bet), Jerusalem. On his tombstone is engraved: "Rabbi Israel Dov Ber Odesser, a"h , [who] said, 'I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman .'" Na Nach Na Nach is the name of a subgroup of Breslover Hasidim that follows the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov according to

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1184-475: The woods or fields, often at night, meditating and crying out to God. This was not a usual Jewish practice at the time, and was regarded with deep suspicion. Jews normally prayed indoors with a minyan , not alone in the woods. (The Breslov practice of hitbodedut is in addition to the liturgical prayers.) Moreover, when Odesser would pray in the synagogue , it was with such intense fervor that he often began to clap, dance, and spin ecstatically for hours. During

1221-403: Was a Breslover Hasid and rabbi who claimed to have received a Letter From Heaven sent directly to him by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov , who had died 112 years earlier, revealing to him a new remedy for relieving the world's suffering and illness. This remedy is the song and name Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman , which he revealed in his old age to newfound followers throughout Israel ; when he

1258-548: Was a close disciple of Rabbi Abraham Kalisker , a major disciple of the Baal Shem Tov .) In his youth, Odesser also followed the Karliner way, but felt it was not fulfilling his soul. Odesser first came into contact with the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov as a young yeshiva student in Tiberias. Someone had ripped the cover off a Hebrew language holy book and thrown it into the garbage. Orthodox Judaism forbids defacing

1295-450: Was non-religious at the time). Shazar was greatly inspired by these letters and did become more religious. He later published the letters, along with a short biography of Odesser, in a Hebrew book entitled Ibay Ha-Nachal (in Hebrew: אבי הנחל). In 1995, this book was translated into English as Young Buds of the Stream . The word "ibey" (אבי), meaning buds , in the Hebrew title of the book, is

1332-547: Was revealed to and taught by Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser, the authentic Breslov figure who was born in 1888 in Tiberias . Rabbi Israel was among the first Breslover Hasidim in Israel, having learned about the movement from Rabbi Yisroel Halpern when he was a young yeshiva student. When he was 33 years old, Rabbi Israël was overcome with weakness and hunger on the Fast of Tammuz . He decided or rather felt that he had to eat, in connection to

1369-487: Was younger he sent it to the chasidim before the shoa, including Rabbi Itshak Briter in Poland to their request, but since the war begun they had to send it back so it wouldn't be destroyed. His following developed into the Na Nach movement. Odesser was born in Tiberias when The Levant was under Ottoman rule , to a family which for generations were Karliner Hasidim. (His great-great-grandfather, Rabbi Yekutiel Zalman Leib,

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