The Secret of the Holy Petek of Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!

HH

The Secret of the holy Petek

B”H many people are accepting the veracity of the holy Petek, but they ask what is the import and the significance of the Petek? Aside from the obvious manifestation that Rabbi Nachman is intimately keeping up with his chasidim, what is the message of the Petek?

Saba said that the Petek shows and encourages us that even from the most severe and drastic fall one can rise to the highest heights. The question however remains, how does the Petek do this, and why is this message unique to the Petek, Rabbi Nachman taught this explicitly in Likutay Moharan, and Rabbi Nussun elaborates on this at great length, and all of these teachings were very well known to Saba Yisroel before he got the Petek, and in fact these teachings were what gave him the ability to withstand the tremendous adversity which surrounded him and was pitted against him, and even still when he finally fell after eating on the fast of the 17^th of Tamuz none of these teachings were sufficient to give him the strength and endurance he needed, and he remained literally knocked out until he got the holy Petek, and then he was completely transformed forever, so what was that?!

There are three very strong and critical revelations in the Petek which must be laid down, at the same time they do not seem to sufficiently delineate the purpose of the Petek.

The first main point of the Petek is what Rabbi Nachman writes: “Upon you I said my fire will burn till the coming of the Messiah,” this is a very critical point, where Rabbainu reveals the entire continuation of Breslov is through Saba Yisroel. However, this point was something Saba Yisroel already had figured out, because otherwise there is no way that he would have suffered so much from having eaten on the fast day. When one unintentionally violates a rabbinic prohibition, there is a dispute among the poskim (codifiers of the halacha) if there is even any bad effect caused. For behold the entire purpose of the prohibition was just a fence of the rabbis, and if a person violated it unintentionally, what harm was done? In this case, not only was the eating unintentional, it was done with the assumption that it was extremely necessary and permissible, only afterwards did Saba realize that it had not been necessary, which doesn't change the fact that at the time that he ate he did so with complete allowance. So why in the world would Saba Yisroel fall into such great depression from this eating? Upon contemplating this one will understand that Saba already understood that the entire continuation of Breslov, which is Judaism, was in his hands. He knew very well what he had received from Rabbi Yisroel Karduner – who was the key master of the tradition of Breslov, and he knew very well what he had received from the elders of Breslov in Jerusalem and what the Breslov scene was, who was who.

[Aside from Saba, there are two other main chains of tradition in Breslov. The chain of tradition of Saba, starts with Rabbi Nussun who gave over to R' Moshe Breslover, who gave over to R' Yisoel Karduner, who gave over to Saba. Rabbi Nussun had another formidable student, Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin (not to be confused with Rabbi Nachman of Tcherin), and there is a debate which of these giants were bigger, not that it makes much of a difference, they were both big enough. So following the tradition through Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin, instead of R' Moshe, we arrive at his son Rabbi Avrohom (Ben HuRan – the son of Rabbi Nachman), who was unquestionably an outstanding Breslover. However Rabbi Avrohom wrote (recorded in Koachvay Ohr) that it was not until three years after the passing of his father that he came to the realization that his father was in fact very learned, until then he was under the impression that although his father had great self sacrifice for every matter of holiness, especially when it pertained the holy teachings and traditions of Breslov, he was somewhat ignorant. Only three years after his father's passing did he comprehend that the great self sacrifice of his father was not in a vacuum, and obviously his father also merited to great wisdom. From this we can disqualify Rabbi Avrohom from being the main conduit of the tradition, because since what he received from his father was without the understanding of who his father was, he could not have received it in the full aspect of a bearer of the tradition. The other chain of tradition which follows Rabbi Nussun Shternhartz, although it is not an orphan by any means, it is quickly ruled off from the primary position simply because of all the deviations they conceded to, like cutting off beards in America, something unfathomable to any Breslover, yet done for the sake of Heaven by the bearers of this chain of tradition.]

Saba knew that it was up to him. That is why even though his eating on the fast day was no sin at all, even still it was a tremendous concern of despair. Because in his position and capacity as the key master of the tradition of Breslov, representing all of Israel, how could it be that he was not guarded from not properly fasting on this national Jewish fast. Therefore this important proclamation of the Petek was something that Saba had already determined himself, and cannot be deemed the element of the power of the Petek which transformed Saba.

Another critical message of the Petek, the most crucial, is the revelation that Rabbi Nachman is the song which is single, double, triple, quadruple: Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman. This awesome revelation, which the entire redemption is contingent upon, was also already known to Saba Yisroel. Rabbi Nussun already wrote in the introductory poem to Likutay Moharan that Rabbi Nachman's name is this song, and any devout Breslover of those days who was familiar with Likutay Moharan which reveals the nature of this song, and reveals that the name of the tzaddik is partnered with the Name of Hashem, knew full well that Rabbainu was this song. So as crucial and awesome as this revelation was, this cannot be the element of the power of the Petek which transformed Saba.

The third major revelation of the Petek is, the secret which is full and overflowing from one extreme to the other extreme – a secret which Saba said is beyond his norm, which he is unable to really share, except for the derivative that we must fill the whole world with the books of Rabbainu. This is something that Saba already had dreamed of before seeing the Petek, so this cannot be what transformed Saba. Saba once said that from the Petek we see that he has the highest knowledge of the Rosh Hashana of Rabbainu (-the Petek mentions the angel in charge of the sounds of the Shofar, PtzPTzYH), but he didn't reveal more.

Once a famous rabbi came to speak with Saba, he asked for everyone to leave the room so that he could speak privately with Saba, but Saba turned down the request. The Rabbi then asked Saba what the secret of the Petek is. Saba said, everyone who gets a letter it comes with a “bool” <Hebrew for stamp, and many other things as will be discussed B”H>, I got a letter without “bool”! The rabbi tried to get more out of Saba (he tried using kabalistic terminology etc.), but was unsuccessful. Saba insisted that this was the secret of the Petek.

This is an extremely fascinating and illuminating incident, as well as humorous. In the Hebrew vernacular, “bool” means falsehood and or letting on. Simply put, Saba told this rabbi, I got the letter straight up no fooling.

The word “bool” spelled Beth, Vuv, Lammed, is actually one of the 72 Divine Names. Without this Name, there would remain only 71 names, with the numerical value of “Yoana” - a dove, a pigeon, which was actually a popular way of sending letters before the advent of the post and stamps. Which is another fascinating understanding of Saba's curt enigmatic answer. [Also we find that the Talmud relates how once tefillin – which has the same numerical value as petek – were once transformed into a dove]. Yoana – a dove – is a symbol of love.

This holy Divine Name; Beth Vuv Lammed, is also a pointer to the entire Torah which begins with the letter Beth, the middle letter of the Torah is a Vuv, and the last letter of the Torah is a Lammed!

Here I think we already can glean some hint at to the hidden message Saba gave. Everyone who gets letters – messages, they are rooted in the Torah, but the Petek Saba received was without the Torah. This is already in tune with what we already established that all the holy Torah that Saba had fortified himself to endure and persevere and flourish even against the worst opposition, was not sufficient for him after he ate on the fast day, only the Petek had the power to bring Saba past this challenge. But what can possibly be a holy message without the Torah?

About a half a year before Rabbi Nachman passed away he moved to Uman. Uman was the seat of the Maskeelim – the so called enlightened Jews who had completely alienated themselves from Hashem Yisburach and His Torah, they were so off track that even the famous Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, who was famous for finding the good in even the worst Jews, could not look at them, and they made a mockery of him and chased him out. Rabbi Nachman turned the tables on these estranged Jews, and in no time he had them eating out of his hand. They were completely awed by him, and he would give them some attention and even played chess with them. These Jews who had made an oath never to even mention the name of G-d lest they have an attack of conscious, were slowly brought back to their Father in Heaven. Once, Rabbi Nussun walked into the room where Rabbi Nachman was playing chess with them, Rabbi Nussun was astonished and completely taken aback, he himself had such awe, fear, and trepidation from Rabbi Nachman and here Rabbi Nachman was casually playing a game, and with heretics nonetheless. Rabbi Nachman saw his plight, and offhandedly explained to Rabbi Nussun; a king has wise advisers with whom he consults to conquer new territory, and he has friends who he relaxes with and is entertained; with you I conquer new territory, and these are my friends. Rabbi Nussun never fully was given to understand what Rabbi Nachman had been doing, and Rabbi Nachman even warned him from speaking with all maskilim, except for one of them specifically.

From the parable given, we can venture to say that this enterprise is in alignment to what Rabbi Nachman revealed, “I won, and I will win,” with Rabbi Nussun, Rabbi Nachman was still winning, and with the maskilim, Rabbi Nachman had already won. Rabbi Nachman understood that the utter heresy that these Jews had fallen did not stem from weakness, on the contrary, because of the noble status of their souls, they were unable to simply play superficial roles as Jews in the mindset of society of those days. Rabbi Nachman spent time with them until he jump started their Jewishness in the proper high paradigm their soul was accustomed to.

A parable. There was once a dynasty of kings, each king was a formidable character full of wisdom, proficient in all the arts, a mighty warrior, etc., head and shoulders above everyone. The last king of this dynasty was childless and only right before his passing he begot a son. The royal ministers were left to raise the child, and each one had his own ideas of how to properly educate him. One minister said, behold the king who just passed away, and all his predecessors were truly unique and from a cut much greater than our standings. This is his child, and the next link in the chain of this royal dynasty. The main thing is for us to impress upon him who he is, and he himself will know how to succeed better than we can ever fathom.

Saba Yisroel repeatedly said, “Rabbi Nachman said, I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!” He also said that “Annee” [I] – is acronym for Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman, and he said it is the numerical value of Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman. In Likutay Nanach I offer some clever solutions to understanding this technically, but the main import seems to be that the main core identity of a person – is Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman. Rabbi Nachman is the root of all the souls, and if a person wants to figure out who he is, and develop his unique character, the root is Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman (see Likutay Moharan, Torah 4, that every person must come to the true tzaddik to be shown the unique path for his unique soul).

Now we can understand what it says in the holy petek, “It was very difficult for me to come down to you,” we believe that tzaddikim of far lower status can send letters from heaven, so why was it so difficult for Rabbi Nachman to do this? Rabbi Nachman explained his relationship to the estranged Jews, as his friends with whom he entertains himself, even though Rabbi Nachman was let's say 99.99% spiritual and completely holy, he still had a body which he fed, put to sleep, etc., and therefore he had some common ground with these Jews where he could lay a claim that he was their friend. However, once Rabbi Nachman passed away, and is now 100% spiritual, and has no bodily concerns whatsoever, how can he conduct such a relationship, passing himself off as a friend to people who are heretics and are completely estranged from holiness?! Sure he can teach them Torah, encourage them, and the like, but how can he conduct a friendship? This was a very strong challenge for Rabbainu, but in the end he found a solution, and that is what the Petek is about. Saba had excelled on all the teachings of Rabbainu, until his entire approach was smashed, as explained above, and so Rabbainu had to reveal to him that this falling was not from weakness, but from victory.

In fact in the Talmud there is much discussion about a document called an “aputteekee” - same source word as petek, and it is short form for: “poa <here> ti'hi'ye <it should> koy <be/remain>”, the petek in other words is saying, this is it, there's no where that we have to go or to be, right here right now, victory is already ours!

There is a book on the Petek which gives a value of 120 years to each word, so that the 51 words of the holy petek correlate the span of the 6000 years of the world. The book shows that the first word of the Petek, “Mi'oad” [very] is the same letters as Adam – correlating to the beginning of the world (the second word, “hu'yuh” [it was] has the same numerical value as Chava [Eve], and the third word “kushu” is acronym for: Cain, Shais, Hevel – the three sons of Adam and Chava), in the petek, the letter Aleph in this word “Mi'oad” is of Rashi script – which looks very similar to a regular letter “ches” or an English “n”. The last word on the line is “ai'leh'chu” [to you], here the letter Aleph is of the formal holy Ashoorees script, where the Aleph is composed of a diagonal line running down vertically from the top left corner to bottom right, and on either side of this diagonal there is a connecting “yud”, and here in this Aleph, the two yuds are very extra pronounced. The Ramchal says [see Yeechud Ha'yeeru, and Mishkanay Elyoan] that before Adam sinned the world was being conducted on the paradigm of “Kessehr” [crown – the highest sfeera – Divine Emanation] which is represented in the upper Yud of the Aleph, Adams sin darkened and concealed this level, and the world fell to the conduct of “Chuchma” [wisdom – the second sfeera]. The first Aleph Rabbainu wrote he circumvented manifesting the upper Yud, only at the end of the line, “to come down to you”, where Saba points out that the line itself declines ostensibly – here Rabbainu uses an Aleph with extra pronounced Yuds! This word “ai'leh'chu' is found in the opening verse of the Psalm (#25) said in the correct Tachanun prayer [Tachanoon is said immediately upon the completion of the Shmoanne Essray – the standing prayer of the eighteen(/nineteen/twenty) benedictions. The standing prayer is when the complete unification of all the worlds is achieved, and immediately after is the actual production of the feminine waters – for the conjugation, to provide these waters, a person throws himself down – literally - bodily, and figuratively – he puts his soul down in to the lower worlds to raise sparks of holiness to be used for the unity. Because of the extreme gravity involved, the halacha warns from really doing this full on, so the Sephardim opt to say the proper Psalm (#25), but they do not fall on their faces, and the Ashkenazim, fall on their faces but replace the proper Psalm with Psalm #6. There were great tzaddikim that would make that concession, but on the occasion that they felt up to the task, they would do the tachnun correctly, devoting 3 hours of selfless devotion. The Breslov tradition however is to always do Tachanoon correctly; falling on the face and saying the right Psalm. This could be because Rabbi Nachman knew that we already fell completely to those low places which are the danger of tachanoon, so if we are there already, on the contrary, this precisely is our chance and gateway to ascend and get up and out! Even still, when one does choose to do the proper Tachanoon, he should do his utmost to fulfill the warning of the holy Zohar, to give scream out with all his heart and soul.] In the Tachanoon there is what some consider to be the highest yichudim [unification] revealed by the Arizal, the unifcation of the upper and lower yud of the Aleph. This is exactly what is happening here in the descent of the last word of the first line of the Petek! Immediately afterwards, the Petek continues on the next line, “my precious student,” and Saba points out, how first the Petek speeks of how low he must have been that it was so difficult to descend to him, and immediately afterwards Rabbainu raises him with praises and endearment, and states how much he enjoyed the devotions of Saba.

On the same vein, it is also interesting to note what the friends have pointed out that the Petek uses the word “avoada” [devotion, service; it is the formal word for the service in the Temple] three times, correlating the three temples where the “avoada” is done. The Ramchal revealed [Mishkinay Elyoan] the first temple operated in the paradigm of Chuchma [the second sfeera, see above], whereas the third, the future and final temple will be the paradigm of Kessehr (the second was a hybrid, and because it was not fully similar to either, it was deficient of many miracles etc.). This complements what was explained above, that the Petek is a pass into the paradigm of Kessehr.

From here we can gain more appreciation for the Nanach beanie, which is worn as a kessehr – a crown on the head! Most Nanach are of the opinion that it is permissible to even wear the Nanach beanie in the bathroom, however there are some that will not, they consider it like all words of Torah which must never be brought into such places. What is the justification to actually bring such a holy name and song into the bathroom?

Many years ago a friend and I debated this issue, and after a brief prayer we opened up a Likutay Moharan for perspective. It was a pocket volume with not very much on every page. We opened up directly to Torah 273, which was very heartening, because 273 in Hebrew is the letters that are the acronym for “Raishis (the first) goyim (of nations) Amulaik,” (273 is “regga” a moment, which is also an allusion to the moment of G-d's anger, which is an aspect of Amulaik), the “raishis” - first – letters of Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman, mainly: NNNNM have the numerical value of Amulaik, as his downfall are in the letters that follow. So right away I saw that we were on target. Taking a look at this Torah, one will see that Rabbi Nachman says that the children of the true tzaddik are so lofty, that even when they are in this world, it is as if they are not “dressed” (-taking up a presence) in this world, see there. The name Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman is like a child – a production of Rabbi Nachman, and thus we see from this Torah that Nanach is so lofty, it cannot be considered to take up presence in this world, and therefor there would be no profanation in putting it in a filthy place – nothing from this world can touch it. The Nefesh Hachaim (R' Chaim Volozhin) wrote that there would be chasidim who would permit the study of Torah in dirty places with the claim that the Torah is so holy it cannot be profaned by any physicality. This was a very strange accusation, because usually it was the other way around, it was the chasidim that insisted on the complete safeguarding of the purity of the Torah, but nonetheless he made this strange accusation that G”F there would be chasidim that would violate the Torah with such demented logic. B”H it brought me great joy to realize that the Nefesh Hachaim did not completely speak empty words, he was in fact on to something, his argumentation is completely applicable to the holy name and song Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman! There is of course a great deal more to discuss about this, which I do somewhat in Likutay Nanach.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!