In dealing with the late 18th century, we have seen that there were giants, great mystical leaders, who brought the feeling of closeness to G-d to East European Jewry, and beyond, at a time when the Chassidic movement was in spiritual, if not numerical, decline . We have seen how Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi strove to put the ball back in the court of each individual, struggling to sanctify his or her life. A younger colleague of Rabbi Shneir Zalman was Rabbi Nachman (1772-1810). His paternal grandfather had been a close disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. His mother, Feiga, was the Baal Shem Tov's granddaughter. Her brothers, two of the greatest Tzaddikim of the time, called her the "Prophetess" because of her great spiritual accomplishments and her devotion to G-d. Feiga had inherited the Baal Shem Tov's house in the town of Medzhibuzh. Chassidic leaders came to visit Nachman's parents, especially to experience being in the Baal Shem Tov's home, where he had prayed and studied.

The young Nachman watched these great men...and listened. As a child, he would try to emulate them, with nobody knowing. He tried acts of asceticism, but found them to be of no avail. He later noted "If you break a lust, you now are left with two lusts!". He turned to individual prayer, hitbodedut, as the ultimate tool for self mastery and connecting with G-d. He would go into the forests, take a row boat out onto the river, and spend entire days talking with G-d. He carefully hid all of his activities, so he could be seen as ordinary. He had a profound sense of closeness with G-d. He would plead with G-d to draw him near. He later said that whatever could be accomplished with fasting and asceticism, could be better accomplished with prayer.

Nachman developed a new take on mysticism. Usually, we refer to Bible and Talmud as the "revealed" Torah, and kabbalah as the "hidden" Torah. For him, however, there was a very different definition. "Revealed" is what has been internalized, "hidden" is what one intuits, but has not yet internalized. For a child just beginning school, the Five books of Moses are, as yet, "hidden". For an accomplished Chassid, Zohar and Ari are "revealed". There is yet higher to be first intuited, and then internalized. There is a continuum! Prayer and study likewise, are a continuum. He taught to make prayers out of what one has learned, Torah out of what one has experienced in prayer. This is to be done until your prayer has become "G-d's prayer", your Torah has become "G-d's Torah". He made the shocking claim that the root of sin is not lust or the evil inclination, but rather depression. If one is depressed, one feels that one's actions, one's life, don't really matter, even to G-d. If one is happy, one feels close and significant. There is even a Biblical verse that reads "Strength and Joy are in His place". But what kind of joy? Joy in doing mitzvot? That would be ideal. But most people can't, at first, achieve this. One must do even silly things (he would himself go outside, pick up a stick, and play dueling with the little children). Once joy is achieved, it can be transferred to one's religious life.

He had a unique take on the Ari's concept of the "Empty Space". G-d has two ways of relating to our world. One is totally transcendent and unknowable. The other is to be "clothed" in the things and events of this world. Here is rooted the "folly" of philosophy. The great questions are rooted in the dual nature of this relationship. Can G-d create a stone too heavy for Him to pick up? Nonsense! To be Omnipotent is ABOVE the empty space, while the terms "can" and "can"t" only apply BELOW the empty space. Man's response must be one of faith, and a sense of humor! The ultimate cannot be known, only sensed. Silent wonder should be our response to the great mysteries.

He "raised many eyebrows" with his approach to the commandments. He taught that they must be kept scrupulously, but without the extreme stringency that characterized most Chassidic groups. "Keep the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), and no more. Flesh and blood can never observe the commandments fully. The only thing that can be perfect in our observance is our DESIRE to serve G-d. Put the emphasis there!" On the other hand, he opposed the tendency of some to compromise in requirements of Jewish Law in favor of ecstatic experience."You may turn my teachings every which way, but don't do violence to one sub-paragraph of the Shulchan Aruch". He taught renewal. Be a new being every day, even several times a day. Serve G-d in joy. You've sinned? Set aside a time in the day or a time in the week to deal with that. The rest of the time, be joyous. Over-regretting past deeds is a trap of "the Other Side" (evil).

Many Kabbalists, including the Ari, had taught acts of "repair' for one's sins, after repentance, to cleanse one's being. These generally consisted of numerous fasts (often hundreds!) and acts of asceticism. Rabbi Nachman taught that after repentance,the ultimate repair is the joyous recitation of ten Psalms (16, 32, 41,42,57,77,90,105, 137 an 150). These are ten levels of melody, that can pierce through depression and evil, and bring holiness to the surface. How did these ideas become a movement? Why were he and his followers persecuted? that will be our next installment.