Yisroel Ber Odesser
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Rabbi Yisroel Dov Ber Odesser | |
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Breslov | |
Buried | Har HaMenuchot |
Rabbi Yisroel Dov Ber Odesser (
Introduction to Breslov
Odesser was born in Tiberias when Palestine were under Ottoman rule, to a family which for generations were Karliner Hasidim. (His great-great-grandfather, Rabbi Yekutiel Zalman Leib, 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
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 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 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 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
After that, Odesser traveled to Jerusalem, where he studied with the elders of the Breslover community in that city.
Correspondence with Zalman Shazar
On a rainy
The word "ibey" (אבי), meaning buds, in the Hebrew title of the book, is a reversal of the abbreviation of Odesser's name (ישראל בער אדסר). 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.
Discovering the Na Nach phrase
When he was approximately 24 years old, Odesser came into possession of a document later published as The Letter from Heaven (known colloquially as the Petek).[3]
According to Rabbi Israël Dov Odesser, he was sick and ate before dawn during the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz.[4] 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 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![4] 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 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.[5]
Na Nach movement
Around 1984, when he was approximately 86 years old and living in an
Drawing followers
In his later years, Odesser attracted many new followers to Breslov. Many families made aliyah from France. He spent time living anywhere from a week to a month or longer in the homes of his new followers. He would most frequently reside in
Keren Israel Dov Odesser
Odesser collected close to half a million dollars in
"I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman!"
A few days before his death at the age of 106, Rabbi Odesser recorded these words on tape:[1]
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 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, 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 the whole world close to God forever.
Death and burial
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.'"
References
- ^ a b c Yisroel Ber Odesser. moharan.com
- ^ a b Highlights in the Life of Rabbi Yisroel DovBer Odesser. nanach.org
- ^ The Letter from Heaven: Rebbe Nachman's Song, an account of Rabbi Odesser's life and the story of the letter containing Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman, published by Netzach Yisroel Press, Israel, 1991, 1995.
- ^ a b Israel Saba. Keren Rabbi Israel Dov Odesser ztz"l. 2007. p. 140ff. (The Miracle of the Petek)
- ^ ""Achorayim" -- A progressive expansion of the name, one letter at a time". Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
Further reading
- The Letter from Heaven: Rebbe Nachman's Song, an account of Rabbi Odesser's life and the story of the letter containing Na Nach Nachma Nachman published by Netzach Yisroel Press, Israel, 1991, 1995.
Video and audio links
Videos
- Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser on YouTube
External links
- NaNach.net Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine Site dedicated to people following the teachings of Rabbi Odesser
- "Blossoms of the Spring" letters to Zalman Shazar from Rabbi Odesser, English edition published by Netzach Yisroel Press, Israel 1995. Pages 5–7 contain material on Odesser's ancestry, etc. Pages 8–44 contain first-hand biographical material as told by Odesser to Shazar.