The Journey to Uman: The Secret of the Tzaddik's Wisdom and the Inner Essence of the Jewish Soul

Class No. 2072 | (No. 106) - 21 Kislev and the Eve of 24 Kislev 5752

An article explaining the immense wisdom of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, whose every word was precise and held deep meaning. Through historical stories and parables, the essential difference is explained between the Jewish spark that is never extinguished, and the culture of the nations which is merely external and does not change their animalistic nature.

The Immense Wisdom of the Tzaddik

Once, a great general came to visit Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. People wondered: what does a great general have to do with the tzaddik? After all, it would be fitting for him to go to the homes of other generals, and not to some rabbi. That general actually came to make a mockery of the tzaddik. When he arrived, Rebbe Nachman welcomed him and gave him a slap in the face. The general remained silent, returned home, and said to his men: "Gentlemen, I see that there is someone to talk to here. Although I received a slap, I see there is someone to talk to. He is a clever man; he immediately grasped that I came to make a mockery of him."

The general suggested to his men: "Get some sleep, and tomorrow at Seudah Shlishit (the third Shabbat meal) we will go visit him, to see what he does and what things he says." When they entered for Seudah Shlishit, Rebbe Nachman began to recite to them the sugya (Talmudic discussion) in the Gemara in Tractate Sukkah:

"A cubit in a square is a cubit and two-fifths [in its diagonal]"

Rebbe Nachman began to explain the geometric calculations to them – that the diagonal is the square of the product, and the two squares around it, and their square root. The Gemara says that a cubit in the diagonal is a cubit and two-fifths, meaning 1.4. Rashi explains that the Gemara says "two-fifths" but does not go into the hundredths and thousandths. Rebbe Nachman performed before them the entire precise calculation of the tenths, hundredths, and thousandths, with immense depth regarding the ratio of three to two.

The general and his men were greatly amazed. They tried to follow his calculation, how he cracked the formulas, but at a certain point, they saw that they could no longer follow him due to its sheer depth. They asked him to tell them the entire continuation of the explanation of the true root and the full solution. When they understood the magnitude of his comprehension, they said: "This is a very great sage, not just a regular wise man." They turned to him and said: "We must have you stay in Uman. It would be an honor for us if you stayed in our city."

The Wait for the Book and the Move to Uman

Rebbe Nachman replied to them that he would not move to Uman until they brought him the book "Erez HaLevanon" (Cedar of Lebanon). This is a book authored by Naftali Hertz Wessely, a book of emunah (faith) that includes within it all the sciences that were known then, astronomy and more. He told them: "When 'Erez HaLevanon' arrives, then I will come."

Eight years passed, and the matter was forgotten by them. Rebbe Nachman lived in Breslov, and he had a custom that he would not do anything against the opinion of his wife and daughters. If they did not agree to the move, he would not budge from his place. And behold, he knew that the time of his passing was now approaching. He entered Uman on the 5th of Iyar and passed away on the 18th of Tishrei, staying there for about four months and three weeks. But how would they move to the city of Uman?

Suddenly, a fire broke out in the city of Breslov, and his entire house burned down. Now it was finally possible to travel to the city of Uman. When the fire broke out, he said: "Shoyn (Well then), the time has come, I want to travel to the city of Uman." On Sunday, as he boarded the wagon to travel to Uman, he suddenly remembered to ask that they send him the book "Erez HaLevanon". They had waited eight years for this! Every word of Rebbe Nachman was a true word; he had no superfluous word and no exaggerated word. He had said back then, "When the Levanon arrives, then I will come to the city of Uman," and in the end, immediately as he boarded the wagon, he asked to send for the book. To such an extent were they precise in every single word.

The Jewish Spark That is Never Extinguished

During that period, there were heretics (apikorsim) in Uman who had sworn for many years not to mention the name of Hashem. Why? Because the heretics would constantly think, "Maybe there is a God, maybe there isn't." But the moment you have a doubt about something, it is a sign that you feel it exists. Since they constantly experienced contradictions and shifting thoughts, they decided to take an oath not to mention His name.

Despite this, they would come every time to Rabbeinu z"l (our Rebbe of blessed memory) to visit him and hear words of wisdom from him. And even though they had already sworn, one of them, Yehoshua Ber, would cry out from the depths of his heart: "There is a God in the world!"

This spark can be seen even today. People who traveled to India, to the lowest places, sit there in all the meditations, and suddenly hear a heavenly voice (bat kol) calling out: "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad" (Hear O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One). They let out a scream, flee right in the middle of that entire hall, and say: "That's it, we are going up to the Land of Israel!" A person sometimes travels to the lowest places, and there he hears a heavenly voice shouting the truth to him.

On the other hand, there are those who grew up with an education so distant that they do not understand at all what a Jew is. There was one young man who, on Yom Kippur, went to the refrigerator and took out a chicken. His mother approached him and said: "Listen, this won't work for you, it's Yom Kippur, you need to rest, you are a Jew." But he didn't understand what a Jew was. He had been educated all his years that a Jew and a non-Jew are the same thing, that a Jew and an Arab are the same thing, even though the Arab throws stones at him and shoots at him.

The True Nature of Man

Regarding the essential difference between Israel and the nations, a story is told about Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz. Once, the king's ministers from Prague and a certain priest debated with him about the blessing "Atah Bechartanu" (You have chosen us). The ministers argued: "What is this 'Atah Bechartanu'? The Jews are simply just another nation. They are the 'People of the Book', so they made slightly faster progress than the rest of the tribes. Slowly, all the nations will begin to learn to read and write, they will develop, build spaceships, and everyone will become equal. So what are you boasting about with 'Atah Bechartanu'?"

They scheduled to hold a public debate in thirty days, where each would bring his proofs as to whether the Jews are the chosen people or like all the nations. During those thirty days, the ministers sent spies every day to see how the Rabbi was preparing, what sciences he was studying, and what books he was preparing. But they saw that he was simply studying the Gemara, the Zohar, and the Shulchan Aruch as was his way. Even on the final day, they saw no change in his daily routine. The ministers were certain they would defeat him easily, since he had not prepared anything.

Out of his deep immersion in study, Rabbi Yonatan forgot about the debate. Twelve o'clock arrived and he had not come to the palace. The king sent a golden carriage for him. In those days, houses were built on dirt, and mice lived together with the people. While he was studying, a mouse jumped onto Rabbi Yonatan's table. He brushed it away, but the mouse returned again and again. Finally, he caught the mouse, closed it inside his large snuffbox, and placed it next to him on the bench.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door: "You are already two hours late! You are shaming the king!" Rabbi Yonatan immediately put on his coat, put the snuffbox into his pocket, and boarded the carriage. When he arrived, the king scolded him for the delay and for not preparing anything, but Rabbi Yonatan reassured him: "Do not worry, everything will be fine."

They sat in the magnificent palace hall, which had twelve doors. Suddenly, a playing orchestra entered, and all the doors of the hall opened. From all directions marched about twenty cats, walking on two legs, dressed in beautiful royal garments. They carried trays with liqueurs, cakes, and all the most delicious delicacies, and approached the king to serve him the treats.

As the trained cats approached, Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz quietly opened the snuffbox. The mouse jumped out. In an instant, all the cats threw down the trays, spilled all the liqueurs and cakes on their faces and on their royal garments, and began running on all fours after the mouse.

Rabbi Yonatan did not need to say anything else to them. He simply showed them: You ask what "Atah Bechartanu" is? The nations can become refined, they can learn manners, but it is exactly like cats that are trained. Just like a cat when it sees a mouse, so too they forget that they are human beings, that they were created in the image of God.

We saw this with the Nazis, who were the most "refined" and "trained" nation culturally, yet they committed the most horrific crimes. In 1934, their lawyers even submitted a request to remove the word "human" (Adam) from the dictionary. They decided that there is no human, everything is animals, "men would swallow each other alive." When they asked Hitler, may his name be erased, how he could do such things to the Jews, he answered that to him, the Jews are like deer that are permitted to be eaten. This is a culture that lacks the inner essence of the image of God, in contrast to the Jewish soul which is eternal and holy.

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