Ethical Transcendence and Hasidut: Towards a Practical Theology of Hebrew Catholic Spirituality

The famous Jewish writer on Hasidism, Martin Buber, wrote: “Among all movements of the same kind, certainly none has, as much as Hasidism, heralded the infinite Ethos of the now.”[1] This “infinite Ethos of the now” refers to the Hasidic way to holiness in the ordinary activities of the ordinary believer in the here and now. The French Jewish post –modernist philosophy and Talmudist, Emmanuel Levinas, refers to “an original ethical event” in which theology and sanctification would rendezvous and interact.[2]  Glenn Morrison a Catholic of Jewish background uses this Levinasian concept of “ethical transcendence” in developing his “Trinitarian praxis of Holiness” for Catholic theology.[3] This essay will seek, through a form of Levinasian post-modernist ‘bricolage’,[4] a rendezvous of Levinas and Hasidut (the ethical teachings of Hasidism) for a Hebrew Catholic “praxis of holiness”. This “praxis of holiness” is a practical spirituality appropriate for those Hebrew Catholics (or Catholic Jews) who desire to live out their election as Israelites in the Church in a Jewish manner.

            The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states that “the Old Covenant has never been revoked”.[5] The United States Bishop’s Catechism until recently taught that the Mosaic Covenant had eternal validity for the Jewish people:  “Thus the covenant that God made with the Jewish people through Moses remains eternally valid for them” [the Jewish people].[6]  Cardinal Leo Burke, the President of the Apostolic Signatura (High Court of the Vatican), stated in an interview in 2010 to the Association of Hebrew Catholics:

...We see this kind of understanding that certain observances are not contrary to the faith. Circumcision is not a denial of the Catholic faith. A certain care about eating some foods out of respect for others doesn’t deny your Catholic faith... There should not be anything in Jewish practice which is in itself a denial of the Catholic faith because everything that our Lord revealed to His chosen people was in view of the coming of the Messiah. So all of those rituals and practices understood properly are going to be able to be carried out and practiced by Hebrew Catholics, once again, with a fully Catholic faith...[7]

The late Cardinal Jean Marie Lustiger of Paris himself a Hebrew Catholic, who insisted on his continuing Jewishness, wrote:

...the Old Testament has not been “invalidated”...by the coming of the Messiah, but, on the contrary, has been made accessible and open to Gentiles, who without him, would not have had access to it... The Old Testament is not a propaedeutic teaching, a literary preface, nor a collection of themes and symbols: it is a true pathway, both necessary and relevant- relevant, not because of its anecdotal connections, but by communion and obedience to God, the present spiritual reality of entry in to the mystery of the Election...[8]

            Buber considered Hasidism the latest and highest development of Jewish mysticism and that it transformed the Kabbalah into ethos.[9] Father Lev Gillet a famous Russian Orthodox priest[10] of the first half of the 20^th century wrote about Hasidism as important in developing a Jewish form of Christian spirituality.[11] He considered that the Hasidic concept of the mediation of the Tzadik (Rebbe) between men and God to be one area of fruitful convergence.[12]  Israel Koren writes that Buber’s interpretation of Hasidic thought “represents an interesting meeting point between the disciplines of Kabbalah and Hasidism and that of twentieth century Jewish thought.”[13] An authentically Hebrew Catholic spirituality relevant to our times would also need to take this approach in a post-modernist or post-post modernist world.

            The concept of Tzadik and Messiah are crucial to any such Hebrew Catholic theology and spirituality. Hasidism calls the Messiah the Tzemach Tzadik (the Righteous Branch) based on Jeremiah 33:15 and Zechariah 6: 12. Gershom Scholem downplayed the messianic element in Hasidism however Mor Altshuler believes that the messianic concept is central to Hasidism.[14] Altshuler states that the tradition of the Tzadik as Messiah did not begin with with the Baal Shem Tov (the founder of modern Hasidism). [15] The soul of the Messiah in Kabbalah is associated with Adam Kadmon (the Primordial Man). This Divine Man’s body parts are associated with the ten Sefirot in Kabbalah which has at its source three sparkling lights.[16] In Hasidut these ten Sefirot (Attributes/ emanations)[17] and three lights (alluded to in Genesis 1 as the ten sayings and the three fiats) become associated with the thirteen aspects or qualities of Divine Mercy (alluded to in Exodus 34:6-7).  Rabbi Yitzach Ginsburgh teaches:

...Another way of explaining the differing emphases of Kabbalah and Chassidut is to say that Kabbalah focuses on the "vessels" (kelim) of Creation while Chassidut deals with the "lights" (orot) that fill these vessels. This distinction is apparent even in the names attached to these two mystical traditions: The word Kabbalah in Hebrew is derived from the root kabal, "to serve as a receptacle or vessel," while the word Chassidut is constructed from the root chesed, "lovingkindness," an attribute often referred to symbolically as the "light of day."...[18]

These lights are the inner lights or powers of the soul.[19] The ultimate soul is the Soul of the Messiah who is Adam Kadmon.[20] Every human is made in the image of this Adam Kadmon. The Rabbis link this ‘soul or spirit of the Messiah’ with the mention in Genesis 1 of the spirit of Elohim hovering over the waters.[21]

            The thirteen midot (qualities)of  hasidut (lovingkindness or mercifulness) are shiflut (lowliness), emet (truth), temimut (sincerity), bitachon (confidence/ boldness), rachamim (compassionate mercy), yirah (fear/ awe), ahavah (love), simchah (joy), Bitul (humility/ total self negation), yichud (union), taanug (pleasure), ratzon (will), emunah (faith/ trust).[22] Through an ascent of these ethical qualities of service to the ‘other’ the Hasid serves the ‘Other’ (Avodah Hashem/ the Work of God). This is a process of Levinasian ‘ethical transcendence’ following the mystical path of the reshimu (trace or imprint)[23] which leads to each Hasid (merciful one) becoming a tzadik (righteous one) through union (devekut/ yichud) with the transcendent “Other” who is encountered immanently in the ‘other’.[24] The lived-out manifestation of the Hasidic qualities (middot) leads to a life of ‘tikun ha’kelali’ (universal reparation) and tikun ha olam (repair of the world). This Hasidic life of merciful acts and deeds of reparation parallels the concept of the  Eucharistic life mentioned by Morrison as part of his “trinitarian praxis of holiness”.[25] This “trinitarian praxis of holiness” is part of the process of divinisation and doing the acts of everyday life while living in the Divine Will.[26]

            Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan believed that Hasidut was the logical extension of the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Kabbalah brought man to God, Hasidism brought God to man.[27] Kaplan writes:

...The gateway to God is thus opened to everyone- even the lowliest of the low. All that is asked is that a person truly desire God-with all his heart- and that he do his very best to worship and serve Him. There is no place so degraded that God cannot be found there, and no person so wicked that he does not have a spark of Truth. All that one must do is grasp onto that spark, and he can climb Jacob’s ladder to the loftiest heights...[28]

The array of the Sefirot (with its paralleling Midot) is ‘Jacob’s ladder’ in Jewish mysticism and the New Testament hints that the person of the Messianic ‘Son of Man’ is ‘Jacob’s ladder’.[29] This is a spiral (lullim) ladder (sulam) like the stairways in the Temple, like the side-curls (payot) of the Hasid, and like the triple braids of the challah (Sabbath bread).[30]  The Midrash Mekilta states "The Torah could only be given to Manna eaters."[31] The Melkilta states that the true interpreters of Torah are the manna eaters who are linked to the heave-offering eaters (Terumah offering). The Terumah is the dough-bread or challah offering.[32] Thus the concepts of the manna and challah are united as types of the Eucharistic Bread. These both allude to the Eucharistic sacrifice and communion of the New Covenant.

            Matthew 13:33 states “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.”[33] We can give this parable a Levinasian and Morrisonian interpretation of ‘trinitarian praxis’. The three measures (portions) or braids represent the three points of the Trinitarian praxis - eschatology, Eucharistic life and ethical transcendence.[34] I would add that ethical transcendence is also the mystery of the Incarnation and Annunciation in God’s thought in immemorial or primordial time of Genesis 1, representing the Divine Blueprint.

            The first sefirah on Jacob’s Ladder is Malkhut / Shekhinah (Kingdom / Presence ) and one enters the kingdom through the midot (quality or measure) of shiflut (lowliness). This is the lowliness of a Messiah who comes riding on a donkey[35] and a lowly handmaid (shifcha).[36] Hasidic Rebbe Levi Yitzchok teaches:

...For this reason, the God revealed at the Red Sea was that of a young man [lad under the age of puberty]. A young man does not have any hair, and God appeared without any garments and not clothed in spiritual universes...This is alluded to in the teaching , ‘A maidservant [shifcha associated with Miriam] saw at the Red Sea what Ezekiel did not see in his visions’...”.[37]

This lowliness is especially associated by Hebrew Catholics with the lowliness of Our Lady in the Magnificat.[38] This concept of shiflut could be summed up as ‘humble thyself’.[39]  Shiflut also is the concepts of modesty, considerateness and sympathy.[40] The next step on the ladder is emet (truth) via the path of tav (the way of the cross) which could be summed up as ‘know thyself’. This is not just a cerebral knowing of truth but an active truth. The final three letters of the immemorial Creation account in Genesis 2:3 “BarA ElohiM la’asoT “ (God created to do) spell out the Hebrew word for truth- emet.  The Talmudic Sages believe this means we are called to be co-workers with God in the ‘doing’ (reparation/ tikkun) of His Creation.[41] This is associated with the Tzadik of Truth (tzadik emet). This Tzadik is also linked to the Hidden Tzadik of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s teaching and stories, who is associated with the concept of Joseph and Messiah son of Joseph.[42] This is the Tzadik who is granted the power to decree that God’s promises to Israel would be realised and put into action. [43] Everyone has the potential within their soul to be united to the Hidden Tzadik and participate in this work of transforming potential into actuality.

            The third stage on this journey of the soul of the Hasid is to the level of sincerity (temimut). This is the level of the Tam (simple, down-to earth person) who is also considered as ‘complete’.[44] Temimut has a Trinitarian application of sincerity of will (a trace of the Father), sincerity of heart (a trace of the Son) and a sincerity of action (a trace of the Spirit).[45]  The Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman and Jacob Frank all stressed their desire to be ‘tam’ or a simple Jew. The fourth stage of Hasidut is bitachon which is having boldness or confidence in asking God for what one or others need.[46] The fifth stage is rachamim (compassionate mercy) in which one identifies with the life situation of the ‘other’ even though he appears unworthy of that compassionate mercy. At the stage of rachamim one feels so much for the ‘other’ that he sees himself as an extension of the ‘other’.[47] This has a real Levinasian thrust to it.

            The next two stages are yirah (reverential fear or awe) and ahavah (love) that are like two wings of a bird.[48] These two midot together, lead to compassionate mercy which is linked to the sefirah of Beauty (Tiferet). The word ahavah (love) is thirteen in gematria and ahavah is linked to the sefirah of chesed and the thirteen aspects of Divine Mercy. Simchah (joy) is the eighth stage and one of the major qualities that outsiders notice about the Hasidim, especially the Breslov Hasidim.  This joy is called omek acharit (depth of the future) which is the joy of the world-to-come and can be linked to the concept of eschatology in Morrison's “Trinitarian praxis of holiness”. This future or eschatological joy manifests in the ‘now’ as Eucharistic life and leads one to healing of wounds and hurts and their roots in the immemorial past of ethical transcendence. It a sense this is where joy and melancholy rendezvous.[49] One medical study reported in 1990 19 cases of personality disorders among the Breslov Hasidim. Of the 19 cases only one was born into a Breslov family, the rest were adult converts, many who had served in the army. This study reveals little, except that wherever there is spiritual life and loving acceptance of those who are different, they will be drawn to that life and seek healing there. [50] Gillet states that the free, happy and cheerful disposition of the Hasidim remind him of Franciscan joy.[51] The trust in Divine Providence and seeing all is for the best “good” in Hasidism is also like the early Franciscan spirituality.[52]

            The ninth level is called Bitul (self negation or selflessness) associated with the Sefirah of Wisdom (Hokhmah). There are two aspects to this higher humility of Bitul. Bitul ha yesh is the lower Bitul in which one can work on surrendering their independent being or somethingness (yesh). This may have a Levinasian application.[53] The higher form of bitul is bitul b’metziut in which one is given the gift to become “nothing’ and spiritually and mystically merged with all Creation.[54] The tenth aspect of Hasidut is Yichud (union/ togetherness) which Catholic mysticism calls the mystical betrothal or marriage. This is linked to the Hidden Sefirah of Da’at (Knowledge of the Divine Will).[55] Beyond this are the three sparkling lights (tzach tzachtzachot) associated with ta’anug (Divine Pleasure or Desire to Create), ratzon (Divine Will to Create) and emunah (Faith or Trust). This is another form of Trinitarian praxis. Ginsburgh links the term Emunah to Man hu (literally Who is He) and Manna[56] and for the Hebrew Catholic this gives the concept of emunah a Eucharistic focus.

             It is now time for Hebrew Catholics to experiment with their own form of Hebrew Catholic spirituality and theology that could include an Hasidic paradigm that would be appropriate to a post-modernist generation,[57] that could enrich the whole Church- both Jews and Gentiles.  I consider the Breslov teachings of Rebbe Nachman and his openness to others the best form of Hasidism for a start in this endeavour but also drawing from other Hasidic and non-Hasidic strands of Judaism, and from Catholic mysticism and spirituality. The Modern Orthodox (Dati Leumi) under the inspiration of Rav Shagar has successfully used, through a post modern lens, Rebbe Nachman and certain aspects of Hasidut and the teachings of Rav Kook, for a new flowering of creativity in spirituality in the areas of poetry, art and music.[58] This would be also an effective approach for Hebrew Catholic theology and spirituality.

            There is much more detail needed in order to fully understand Hasidut and the lifestyle of the Hasidim in their numerous dynasties with their differing emphases. Along with a Hasidic input, Levinas’ philosophical concepts, that have a Jewish origin, could be a helpful philosophical source for the development of a Hebrew Catholic theology and spirituality. Then with the development of Levinas’ concepts in Catholic theology by Morrison into a “Trinitarian praxis of holiness”, united with the best of the phenomenological approach, could lead to an exciting adventure in this development of a living and life-giving form of Hebrew Catholic theology and spirituality. Hasidism and especially the concepts of Breslov Hasidism have universal (catholic) appeal. This may help bring us to that time when the mother-form of Catholic Faith[59]- the church of the circumcision[60]- will be returned to its ‘full’ glory and place of honour in the ‘fully’ universal Church (Kehilla K’lali).[61] This ‘fullness’ of a mystical ‘resurrection from the dead’ should lead to a new flowering of creativity in art, music, poetry, science, dance and literature as well as an outpouring of spiritual and mystical fire in tune with the earlier Hasidic and Franciscan movements that will bring great joy to the ordinary believer whether Jew or Gentile.

 [1] Quoted in Lev Gillet, Communion in the Messiah, (Cambridge: James Clarke & co, 1942), 147.

[2] Glenn Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis” (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Duquesne University Press, 2013), 212.

[3] Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis”, 211-212.

[4] Liesbeth Korthals Altes, “A Theory of Ethical Reading” Theology and Literature: Rethinking Reader Responsibility (Palgrave Macmillan; Gordonsville VA, USA, 2006), 17.

[5] CCC 121

[6] It was removed recently from the Catechism due to the confusion of some Catholics that it was promoting a “dual covenant”. The Bishop’s spokesman stressed that it was not being removed because it was theologically wrong but they had decided it needed more theological explanation than was appropriate in this kind of Catechism.

[7] “An Interview With Archbishop Raymond L Burke” The Hebrew Catholic No. 88, (Winter 2010-2011), 34.

[8] Cardinal Jean Marie Lustiger, The Promise, (USA:Erdmans Publishing, 2002), 72-3.

[9] Gilya Gerda Schmidt, Martin Buber's Formative Years: From German Culture to Jewish Renewal, 1897-1909 (Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1995), 97.

[10] Father Gillet drew on the teachings of Paul Levertoff a former Hasidic Jew who became an Anglican priest and was one of the editors of the Socino “Zohar”..

[11] Gillet, Communion in the Messiah, 141-147.

[12] Gillet, Communion in the Messiah, 147.

[13] Israel Koren, The Mystery of the Earth: Mysticism and Hasidism in the Thought of Martin Buber (Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 210), 189.

[14] Mor Altshuler, Messianic Secret of Hasidim, (Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2006), 3.

[15] Altshuler, Messianic Secret of Hasidim, 4.

[16] St Faustina of the Divine Mercy revelations also speaks of these three lights within the Godhead and God’s attributes.

[17] St Maximus the Confessor calls them energions or logoi. Blessed Raymond Lull also calls the Attributes logoi.

[18] Rabbi Yitzach Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powers.htm

[19] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powers.htm

[20] Rabbi Raphael Afilalo, Kabbalah Dictionary: Translation and Explanation of the Kabbalah (Kabbalah Editions; Quebec, 2005), 25,46-7.

[21] Genesis Rabbah viii. 1.

[22] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powers.htm

[23] Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis”, 212-217.

[24] Ephraim Meir, “Judaism and Philosophy: Each other’s Other in Levinas” Modern Judaism, Vol. 30 #3 (Oxford University Press, October 2010), 357.

[25] Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis”, 226-7.

[26] As found in the writings on Divine Will of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.

[27] Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, The Light Beyond: Adventures in Hasidic Thought, (New York/Jeruslaem:Maznaim Publishing corporation, 1981), 2.

[28] Kaplan, The Light Beyond: Adventures in Hasidic Thought, 3.

[29] John 1:51

[30] Linked to the parable of the leaven discussed in the next paragraph.

[31] Midrash Mekilta, Beshalach 17.

[32] Rabbi C Chavel (translator), Ramban Nachmanides: Commentary on the Torah, Genesis (Brooklyn, NY: Shiloh Publishing House, 1999), 20-21.

[33]  KJV. Also found in Luke 13:21.

[34] Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis”, 210-54.

[35] Sanhedrin 98a based on Zechariah 9:9 whee it states that the Messiah is a humble Tzadik

[36] Associated with Rachel. Miriam the sister of Moses and Our Lady.

[37] Kaplan, The Light Beyond: Adventures in Hasidic Thought, 48.

[38] Luke 1:46-55

[39] James 4:10 and Exodus 10:3

[40] Gillet, Communion in the Messiah, 143.

[41] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powemet.htm

[42] Likutey Moharan 67

[43] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powemet.htm

[44] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powtemim.htm

[45] In Hebrew Temimut ha ratzon (sincerity of will), temimut ha lev (sincerity of heart) and temimut ha ma’asseh (sinceirtity of action).

[46] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powbitac.htm

[47] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powracha.htm

[48] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powyirah.htm

[49] Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis”, 210-54.

[50] “A very Narrow Bridge:Diagnosis and Management of Mental Illness among Bratslav Hasidim” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, Vol 27 (1), (Spring 1990), 124-131.

[51] Gillet, Communion in the Messiah, 143.

[52] Rabbi Ozer Bergman, Where Earth and Heaven Kiss: A Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Path of Mediation, (Jerusalem/ New York:Breslov Research Institute, 2006), 188-189.

[53] Morrison, “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis”, 36-37.

[54] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powbitul.htm

[55] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powyichu.htm

[56] Ginsburgh, Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God, http://www.inner.org/powers/powemuna.htm

[57] Alan Jotkowitz, “And Now The Child Will Ask: The Post Modern Theology of Rav Shagar” Tradition 45.2 (Summer, 2012), 51.

[58] Jotkowitz, “And Now The Child Will Ask: The Post Modern Theology of Rav Shagar”, 61.

[59] Louis Bouyer, The Church of God: Body of Christ and Temple of the Spirit (USA: Fransican Herald Press, 1982), 568.

[60]  Lustiger, The Promise, 125.

[61] Romans 11

 Bibliography

“An Interview with Archbishop Raymond L Burke” The Hebrew Catholic No. 88, (Winter 2010-2011), 34.

“A very Narrow Bridge: Diagnosis and Management of Mental Illness Among Bratslav    Hasidim” Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, Vol 27 (1), (Spring 1990), 124-131.

Catechism of the Catholic Church USA: CEPAC, 1994.

Afilalo, Raphael (Rabbi). Kabbalah Dictionary: Translation and Explanation of the Kabbalah Kabbalah Editions; Quebec, 2005.

Altes, Liesbeth Korthals. “A Theory of Ethical Reading” Theology and Literature: Rethinking Reader Responsibility (Palgrave Macmillan; Gordonsville VA, USA, 2006), 15-28.

Altshuler, Mor. Messianic Secret of Hasidim, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2006.

Bergman, Ozer (Rabbi) Where Earth and Heaven Kiss: A Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Path of       Mediation, Jerusalem/ New York: Breslov Research Institute, 2006.

Bouyer, Louis. The Church of God: Body of Christ and Temple of the Spirit USA: Franciscan          Herald Press, 1982.

Breslov, Rebbe Nachman of. Likutey Moharan Vol 8 (Lessons 64-72), Jerusalem/New York:         Breslov Research Institute, 2005.

Chavel, C. (translator), Ramban Nachmanides: Commentary on the Torah, Genesis Brooklyn, NY: Shiloh Publishing House, 1999, 20-21.

Gillet, Lev. Communion in the Messiah, Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, 1942.

Ginsburgh, Yitzach (Rabbi). Basics in Kabbalah: The Powers of the Soul to Experience God,             http://www.inner.org/powers/powers.htm

Jotkowitz, Alan. “And Now The Child Will Ask: The Post Modern Theology of Rav Shagar” Tradition 45.2, Summer, 2012, 49-66.

Kaplan, Aryeh (Rabbi). The Light Beyond: Adventures in Hasidic Thought, New York / Jeruslaem: Maznaim Publishing Corporation, 1981.

Koren, Israel. The Mystery of the Earth: Mysticism and Hasidism in the Thought of Martin             Buber (Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 210), 189.

Lustiger, Jean Marie (Cardinal). The Promise, USA:Erdmans Publishing, 2002.

Meir, Ephraim. “Judaism and Philosophy: Each other’s Other in Levinas” Modern Judaism, Vol. 30 #3 Oxford University Press, October 2010.

Morrison, Glenn. “A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Duquesne University Press, 2013.

Schmidt, Gilya Gerda. Martin Buber's Formative Years: From German Culture to Jewish             Renewal, 1897-1909 Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1995.

The Lost Princess and the Master of Prayer: The Narratives of Rebbe Nachman from a Hebrew Catholic Perspective

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov is one of the most significant spiritual leaders and storytellers of Jewish Hasidism of the last 200 years. Anthony Kelly, an Australian theologian, speaks of the concept of ‘creative theological imaginings’[1] and Rebbe Nachman uses his ‘creative imaginings’ to clothe the deepest wisdom of Judaism and Jewish Kabbalistic Mysticism  in stories or folktales that can speak to all people of the inner journeys of the heart.[2] The name BReSLoV can be rearranged in Hebrew to be BaSaR LeV (heart of flesh). This essay will discuss the role of narrative and storytelling in the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in regards to the concepts and stories of “The Lost Princess” and “The Master of Prayer”. These stories reflect Rebbe Nachman’s deep understanding of Jewish spiritual life focused on the concepts of the Hidden Tzadik (tzadik nistar) and the Tzadik of the Generation (tzadik dor) in the search for the “Lost Princess”. The Rebbe teaches that “people may be asleep all their lives, but through stories told by a true Tzadik, they can be awakened.”[3]

            Andreas Mauz in his article “Theology and Narration: Reflections on the ‘Narrative Theology’ - Debate and Beyond” discusses the role of argumentative theology and narrative theology. He believes each of them has its appropriate place in theological discussion and development. He writes that today the role of narrative is better appreciated in theological circles.[4] Sandra Heinen and Roy Sommer write that, unlike in the recent past, today narrative is the vortex around which different disciplines circle coming into an ever closer proximity.[5]  Mauz also discusses the ideas of Johann Baptiste Metz. Metz is a Catholic theologian who writes from a positive perspective about narrative theology. Metz considers storytelling to be a Jewish strength and that after the Shoah theology is in need of a ‘Jewish corrective’. In this regard he also mentions the Hasidic tales of Martin Buber.[6] Martin Buber retold the stories of both the Baal Shem Tov[7] and his great-grandson Rebbe Nachman of Breslov[8] opening up a new appreciation of Hasidism among secular academic scholarship.

            Liesbeth Korthals Altes  in “A Theory of Ethical Reading” gives the whole concept of narrative a Levinasian focus on ‘ethical reading’. She writes of Levinas and other post-modernists writers providing a ‘poststructuralist bricolage’ to the concept of ‘ethical reading’.[9] Rebbe Nachman draws from many diverse and different sources to come to a unified yet multi-layered meaning is a form of bricolage and I would suggest that likutey could also be translated as bricolage. The main book of the mystical teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov is called “Likutey Moharan”.  Likutey means gleanings or collected sayings and MoHaRaN is an acronym for Morenu Ha Rav Nachman (Our teacher the Rebbe Nachman). Rebbe Nachman also uses a form of bricolage in forming his stories. They draw on the Bible, Talmud, Mussar, Kabbalah, Hasidut,[10] Romanticism[11], philosophy, Frankism[12] and the folktales of his time.[13] The tales of “The Lost Princess” and “The Master of Prayer” are both ‘quest narratives’[14] with similarities to the famous Arthurian and Eucharistic “Quests for the Holy Grail”.[15] Rebbe Nachman himself stated before telling the story of “The Lost Princess”:

 ...Many hidden meanings and lofty concepts are contained in the stories the world tells. They are however deficient since they contain many omissions. They are also confused and are not told in correct sequence. What begins the story may be told at the end, and the like. Nevertheless the folk tales the world tells contain many lofty hidden mysteries...[16]

Rodger Kamenetz’s in his book “Burnt Books: Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka” states that Rebbe Nachman (and Kafka) “believed deeply in the imagination, in the power of stories to waken the soul”.[17] Others writers believe that Rebbe Nachman held a negative view on the imagination.[18]However it is not the ‘creative imagination or mind’ that Rebbe Nachman is negative about but the ‘fantastical imagination’ which entertains sinful and sexual imaginings which he also calls the evil inclination[19]. He believes that the imagination is in need of purification and this purified imaginative faculty produces faith (emuna)[20].

            Rebbe Nachman’s stories of “The Lost Princess” (told in 1806) and “The Master of Prayer” (told in 1810) are stories about the loss, quest and finding of the Lost Princess, whom many identify with ‘Emuna’ (Faith).  The quest or journey allows for the purification that is needed for the final encounter with the lost Princess. Many Rabbis and other interpreters also associate the lost Princess with the “Shekhinah”.[21] As Shekhinah she is also associated with Devekut (Cleaving/ Nearness ).[22] She is also associated with the Sabbath Queen, Bride,[23] Matronita, the Soul and Kneset Yisrael (Community or Lady of Israel). She is all of these and more. Others identify her mystically with the “beautiful foreign woman” of Deuteronomy 21:10-14.[24] Both St Cyril of Jerusalem and the “Zohar” associate this ‘beautiful foreign woman’ (Captiva Gentilis) allegorically with the Exodus and Election of Israel.[25] Rabbi Isaac Luria (the great Ari) states that she is “from the root of Israel, abducted into the captivity of the shells”. She could thus be associated with the daughter of  Hokhmah (Wisdom as the male Abba) and Binah (Understanding or feminine wisdom as Imma) who becomes lost among the Gentiles (Greeks) as Sophia or Philosophia  and who will one day be purified and restored to Israelite dignity. This would be a kind of mystical and philosophical marriage of Jerusalem and Athens as envisioned by Levinas[26] and others. 

            A Hebrew Catholic perspective may see this woman as the Virgin Mary or the Church of the Gentiles as the created feminine Sophia.  The tale of “The Lost Princess” is based on a Russian folktale called “The Enchanted Princess” according to Talberg.[27] It is interesting that Jacob Frank’s (presumed?) daughter Eva Frank was said to be a Russian Princess. Some say she was an illegitimate daughter of the Empress Catherine II the Great and a Russian Prince.[28]  Others state that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Empress Elisabeth of Russia and her lover Prince Alexiey Rasumovsky.[29]  Yehuda Liebes states that many of the ideas and stories of Rebbe Nachman have their source in the teachings and stories of Jacob Frank.[30] Rebbe Nachman’s famous story of the “Rooster Prince” is also found in Jacob Frank’s writings[31]in “The Words of the Lord” 143.[32]  

            Liebes also states that the concept of the ‘lost virgin’ appears in both Frank and Rebbe Nachman. Thus the Russian folktale and Rebbe Nachman’s story of  “The Lost Princess” may have as its origin Eva Frank as a Russian Princess, mixed with the Frankist devotion to the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa- the Black Madonna or Dark Lady and Queen of Poland.[33]Was the lost Princess originally the Lady of Czestochowa[34] who had been lost to the Jewish people but embraced by the Church of the Gentiles (Edom/ Rome)? Did the story of Eva Frank as the daughter of an Eastern Queen or Empress originate because Jacob Frank said she was the spiritual daughter of the Lady of Czestochowa? Eva Frank after the death of her father in 1791 was influenced in a negative way to return to Sabbatean practices and instead of devotion to the Holy Virgin of the icon of Czestochowa these Sabbatean Frankists replaced her with portraits or icons of Eva who they now called the “Holy Virgin”. It was after this that the secret Jewish Frankists (who had remained in the Jewish community) parted ways with Eva and Rebbe Nachman refers to her as Lilith and under the influence of Shabtai (Saturn/ Satan). Rebbe Nachman refers positively to Frank as the "choice silver of the tongue of the Tzadik" (keseF nivchaR leshoN tzadiK)[35] from Proverbs 10:20.  The last letters in Hebrew spell out the name Frank. 

            The tale of “The Lost Princess” tells of the quest of a Viceroy seeking the Princess, after many adventures he finds her on a gold mountain in a pearl castle. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan links this gold mountain to the golden Ark of the Covenant in the heavenly Holy of Holies.[36] Kaplan also links the pearl castle to the Heavenly Holy of Holies as well as to the Talmudic reference to Abraham having a daughter and a pearl. He is also states that this pearl also represents Wisdom.[37] Both Shimon ben Yohai (the traditional author of the Zohar)[38]and Jacob Frank[39] described the special light (charism/ gift) they had as a pearl. For the Hebrew Catholic the visual imagery is clear. The gold mount or mountain is the golden monstrance and the pearl is the round full-moon shaped Eucharistic host (that looks like a shining white pearl)- this is the Pearl of great price[40]. The mystics of the Zohar see the Shekhinah in the image of the full-moon. During the 17^th and 18^th centuries movements for Eucharistic Adoration were growing in Europe. The Frankists became a spiritual leaven for promoting such mystical and spiritual practices.

            According to the Breslov Chasidim just before the Messiah comes, the Jews will find the Lost Princess. Most commentators such as Rabbi Nathan the chief disciple of Rebbe Nachman associate the Lost Princess with the Shekhinah in Exile. Rabbi Shalom Arush however refers to her as the Sabbath Queen and as Emuna (Faith).^[41] He has written two very practical books on attaining spiritual growth by a focus on Emuna (Faith). In his books “The Garden of Yearning: the Lost Princess” and “The Garden of Emuna: A Practical Guide to Life”^[42] he emphasises how one should yearn or desire this level of faith. The Lost Princess is also associated with the coming Kingdom (malkhut).^[43] This Lost Princess represents the highest level of total Emuna. Thus this Princess represents the highest level of Sanctity rooted in total Emuna of dwelling in Divine Will. 

            Thus the Lost Princess can be read in different ways that are interconnected. The Lost Princess can represent the sanctity lost by Adam and Eve.[44] This lost sanctity, associated with Shekhinah or Lost Princess in Exile, is that of living in the Divine Will on earth by faith (emuna).[45] The Lost Princess also represents that lost or fallen daughter of Adam and Eve who has by grace regained the gift of Living in Divine Will. Many Catholics associate this daughter with the servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. Israel is the one (the Viceroy in the tale) who seeks and desires reunion with this Lost Princess that he searches for throughout the ages. The way to receive this ancient but new sanctity is to desire it. The tale of “The Lost Princess” relates a form of immemorial history that alludes to chronos history of both the world and Israel as recorded in the Bible.[46] Schwartz believes that the tale of “the Lost Princess” reflects the corporate Jewish experience through reliving the archetypal experiences alluded to in the text of the tale.[47]

            Rabbi Perets Aurebach in his article "In the Wilderness" discusses the story of “The Lost Princess” in regards to the spiritual journey or quest of the soul.[48] He, unknowingly perhaps, links this journey to a concept of Trinitarian praxis.[49] He alludes to the mystical and kabbalistic understanding of the three boxes that make up the Ark of the Covenant as the three Heads of the Divine Will (Keter/ Ratzon).  The outer gold box represents the Ancient of Days (Atik Yomim/ Holy Spirit) who is accessed through the concept of delighting (ta’anug) in the Lord in charismatic praise associated with the ‘field’ or ‘orchard’. The wooden inner box called gulgalta (skull) represents the Long or Patient Face (Arich Anpin/ Son) who is accessed through secluded prayer (hitbodedut) of yearning or desiring the Divine Will (ratzon) hidden by the trees of the forest. The innermost gold box represents the Unknowable Head (RaDLA/ the Father) who is accessed through total self nullification (bitul) through the wilderness or wasteland that is the dark night of the soul. Rabbi Aurebach  writes: 

...In Rabbi Nachman’s story, “The Lost Princess,” the Viceroy follows a side-path through forests, fields, and wildernesses in search of the Lost Princess. Tefilah (prayer) is a quest of searching for the Shechinah (Divine Presence), which represents the sefirah of Malchut (“Kingship”). It catapults the soul to Keter (“Crown”), the ultimate source of Malchut. “Triple-header.” Keter expresses through three heads: RaD”LA (“Unknowable Head”), Atik (“Primordial One”), and Arich Anpin (“Vast Countenance”). Arich, from which arises our deepest feeling of yearning, is called the “root of the emanated.”  One connects to it through yearning – through “tree-hitbodedut” in the forest. Atik, which is the root of delight (oneg), is the “end of the Supernal Emanator.”  One links to it through meditation in the delightful “field of holy apples” (another symbol for the sefirah of Malchut/Kingship). RaD”LA, which is related to bitul, remains aloof. One accesses it through hitbodedut in the wilderness–the place of complete ego-nullification....[50]

            In the tale of “The Master of Prayer” it speaks of a male Child of the Lost Princess. Rabbi Kaplan states that the Child represents “Malkhut” (kingdom/ Kingship) which like Shekhinah is represented by the moon. He also associates the Child with chesed (loving kindness or mercy).[51] This Child is the Hidden Tzadik (Tzadik nistar) that Rebbe Nachman mentions in his “Likutey Moharan” and the Master of Prayer is the Tzadik of the Generation (Tzadik dor). It is clear that Rebbe Nachman saw himself as a Master of Prayer as the Tzadik or Rebbe of the Generation. Some Breslovers see Rebbe Nachman as also the Hidden Tzadik but Rebbe Nachman himself associated the Hidden Tzadik with the concept of Joseph.[52] Rebbe Nachman is pointing to the Holy Child associated with the sons of Joseph (as fish / nuna) in the “Zohar”.[53]

            The Master of Prayer is a singer of songs and a teller of tales that reach people at every level of their spiritual development. He shares in the spirit (charism) of the Hidden Messiah son of Joseph while not being that Messiah himself.[54] “The Master of Prayer” begins:

Once there was a master of prayer. He was constantly engaged in prayer, and in singing sons and praises to God. He lived away from civilisation. However he would visit inhabited areas on a regular basis. When he came he would spend time with the people, usually those of low status, such as the poor. He would have heart to heart discussions with them, speaking about the goal in life. He would explain that the only true goal was to serve God all the days of one’s life, spending one’s days praying to God and singing His praise...He would speak to an individual at great length, motivating him, so that his words entered the other’s heart, and the individual would agree to join him. As soon as a person agreed with him, he would take him and bring him to his place away from civilisation. For this purpose the Master of Prayer had chosen for himself a place far from civilisation. There was a river flowing there, as well as fruit trees, whose fruit he and his followers would eat. He was not at all concerned about clothing...Whenever people wanted to join him, he would take them to his place...where their only activities would be praying, singing praise to God, confession, fasting, self-mortification, repentance and similar occupations. He would give them books of prayers, songs, praises, and confessions...[55]

This Master of Prayer would also select those from among his followers who were leaders and he would send them forth on missions to also preach and teach the goal of life to those trapped in materialism and idolatry.[56] Rebbe Nachman saw himself as a Master of Prayer who is the Tzadik of the generation.  Every true Tzadik of the generation is not recognised (except by his few followers) in his generation. He is ridiculed and doubted by his generation and only recognised after his death.[57] However Rebbe Nachman did not fully see himself as the Master of Prayer in the story. Schwartz also believes that in the tale of  “The Lost Princess” the viceroy represent the Tzadik of the generation who brings together the mystical union of the Messiah and the Shekhinah.[58]  He also notes that the Messiah and the Shekhinah in these tales are both in Exile. Is it the role of the Jewish Tzadik to restore the Messiah and the Shekhinah to Israel? 

            The whole concept of the mystical “Hand” with five fingers[59] in the tale alludes to the “Hand of Miriam” or Hamsa and the icon of the Virgin at Czestochowa. The Mighty Warrior in the tale refers to the concepts of Joseph and Yesod (Foundation) according to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.[60] Does this Mighty Warrior represent the Czar of all the Russias as the Josephite anointed one (mashiach) of Ephraim who is also called the Anointed for War? There are historical records that part of Rebbe Nachman’s secret teachings about the coming of the Messiah, that he spoke about the Messiah and Russia and what would come to pass in the future.[61]

            “The Master of Prayer” tale tells us that the Master of Prayer would disguise himself and appear as a merchant or a pauper. When his disguise was discovered he fled.[62] Was the original model for the Master of Prayer Jacob Frank and his successor and grandson –in-law Reb Sender of Shekhlov (also known as Benjamin Broide, Ephraim Brody and Alexander Margoliot)?  Reb Sender was the Tzadik of the hidden Frankists who remained in the Jewish communities? Rebbe Sender (as Rabbi Ephraim of Brody) was the father-in-law of Rebbe Nachman. People, from his time and after, accused Rebbe Nachman of being a Sabbatean and a Frankist. These people have misunderstood and slandered Jacob Frank and the early Frankists (Zoharists) and thus seek to discredit Rebbe Nachman and his teachings as well. I indeed believe Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was a secret Frankist who abhorred the Sabbatean heresy and was concerned in making reparation (tikkun) for their sexual perversion of Jewish mysticism. 

            Rebbe Nachman knew that his Jewish flock were not ready for the deeper teachings or the reunion of Jews and Christians so he chose to hide his teachings in the form of stories and mystical narratives which people of different levels of understanding could access. He had seen the failure of those Frankists who had openly embraced baptism and Catholicism to preserve the Jewish inheritance, and was horrified with Eva Frank and her followers who relapsed into Sabbatean heresy. Judaism teaches that every word and phrase of Scripture has 70 faces and Rebbe Nachman’s stories and writings also share in this multi-faceted approach. Rebbe Nachman has allowed me to grow into a deeper spiritual person and to integrate my Jewish and Catholic sides in a way that at first seemed impossible. This internal integration means that I automatically think as a Hebrew Catholic and have developed my own kind of Hebrew Catholic Breslov spirituality. These two tales of “The Lost Princess” and “The Master of Prayer” have made a deep impression on my soul and I have only touched lightly on their meanings in this essay. Each time one reads his stories, new insights of Torah are created that enrich ones internal spiritual life. “The Master of Prayer” concludes with the hope  of all souls:

...The Mighty Warrior then sent for the Master of Prayer, who gave them a means of repentance and rectification, and thus purified them. The King ruled over the entire world. The whole world returned to God and occupied itself only with Torah, prayer, repentance and good deeds. Amen May this be His Will. Blessed be God forever. Amen and Amen...[63]

---

[1] Anthony Kelly, Eschatology and Hope, (New York: Orbis Books,2006), 185.

[2] Likutey Moharan Vol. VII 60:6

[3] Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, (Jerusalem/New York: Breslov Research Institute, 2005), xxi.

[4] Sandra Heinen (editor) and Roy Sommer (editor), Narratologia: Narratology in the Age of Cross-Disciplinary Narrative Research (Walter de Gruyter; Berlin, 2009), 275-278.

[5] Heinen (editor) and Sommer (editor), Narratologia: Narratology in the Age of Cross-Disciplinary Narrative Research, 1.

[6] Heinen (editor) and Sommer (editor), Narratologia: Narratology in the Age of Cross-Disciplinary Narrative Research, 266.

[7] see Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, (New York: Schocken Books, 1947).

[8] see Martin Buber, Tales of Rabbi Nachman, (New Jersey: Humanities Press International, 1988).

[9] Gaye Williams Ortiz (editor) and Clara A.B. Joseph (editor), Theology and Literature: Rethinking Reader Responsibility (Palgrave Macmillan; Gordonsville VA, USA, 2006), 17.

[10] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, xvii.

[11] Chanani Haran Smith, Tuning the Soul; Music as a Spiritual Process in the Teachings of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav  IJS Studies in Judaica  Volume 10 (Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2009), 59.

[12] Yehuda Liebes, Studies in Jewish Myth and Jewish Messianism (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 148-50.

[13] Howard Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, Judaism 43.3 (Summer 1994), 242.

[14] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 242.

[15] Dr. Julian Ungar-Sargon, The Absent Seventh Beggar: Rabbi Nachman’s Final Parable, <http://jyungar.com/theological-essays/>.

[16] Eli Talberg, Tikun ha-Brit: View of the Torah on Sexual Development of a Man <http://algart.net/en/tikkun_ha_berit/tikun_ha_brit.html#relig_2>

[17] D.G. Myers, “Don’t Eat that Lotus” Commentary 131.2 (Feb 2011), 69.

[18] Smith, Tuning the Soul; Music as a Spiritual Process in the Teachings of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav, 55.

[19] Zvi Mark, Mysticism and Madness: The Religious Thought of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (London/ New York: Continuum, 2009), 12.

[20] Mark, Mysticism and Madness: The Religious Thought of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, 8.

[21] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 242.

[22] Talberg, Tikun ha-Brit: View of the Torah on Sexual Development of a Man <http://algart.net/en/tikkun_ha_berit/tikun_ha_brit.html#relig_2>

[23] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 242.

[24] Casten L Wilke, “The Soul is a Foreign Woman: Otherness and Psychological Allegory from the

 Zohar to Hasidism” The Bible and its World, Rabbinic Literature and Jewish Law, and Jewish Thought Volume 1 (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 2008), 129-130.

[25] Wilke, “The Soul is a Foreign Woman: Otherness and Psychological Allegory from the

 Zohar to Hasidism”, 132, 134.

[26] see Ephraim Meir, Levinas’s Jewish Thought: Between Jerusalem and Athens  (Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2008).

[27] Talberg, Tikun ha-Brit: View of the Torah on Sexual Development of a Man <http://algart.net/en/tikkun_ha_berit/tikun_ha_brit.html#relig_2>

[28] Rachel Elior, Encyclopaedia Judaica Frank, Eva (The Gale Group, 2008).

[29] Pawel Maciejko, The Mixed Multitude: Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement, 1755-1816, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011), 237.

[30] Liebes, Studies in Jewish Myth and Jewish Messianism, 148-50.

[31] This collection must be read with discernment as some of it is authentically from Jacob Frank and other parts additions by the Prague Sabbateans (who later joined Eva Frank) posing as Frank.

[32] Liebes, Studies in Jewish Myth and Jewish Messianism, 149.

[33] Maciejko, The Mixed Multitude: Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement, 1755-1816, 169.

[34] Legends states that this icon was painted by St Luke himself.

[35] Likutey Moharan 29:11

[36] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 17.

[37] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 18.

[38] Zohar 1:11b

[39] “Words of the Lord” 151 and 245. Lenowitz, Harris. The Collection of the Words of the Lord (USA: University of Utah, 2004).

[40] Matthew 13: 45-46

[41] Rabbi Shalom Arush, The Garden of Yearning: the Lost Princess, (Israel: Munah Outreach, 2007), 24.

[42] Rabbi Shalom Arush, The Garden of Emuna: A Practical Guide to Life, (Israel: Munah Outreach,2007).

[43] Arush, The Garden of Yearning: the Lost Princess, 23.

[44] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 244.

[45] Rabbi Ozer Bergman, Where Earth and Heaven Kiss:A Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Path of Mediation, (Jerusalem/ New York:Breslov Research Institute, 2006), 188-189.

[46] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 244.

[47] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 244.

[48] Rabbi Perets Aurebach, In the Wilderness, <http://asimplejew.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/guest-posting-by-rabbi-perets-auerbach.html>

[49] Glenn Morrison, A Theology of Alterity: Levinas, von Balthasar and Trinitarian Praxis (Pittsburg: Duquesne University Press, 2013), 3.

[50] Aurebach, In the Wilderness, <http://asimplejew.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/guest-posting-by-rabbi-perets-auerbach.html>

[51] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 278.

[52] Likutey Moharan 67.

[53] Daniel Chanan Matt (translator), Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment, (New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1983), 174.

[54] Rabbi Chaim Kramer, Mashiach: Who? What? Why? How? Where? And When?, (Jerusalem/New York: Breslov Research Institute, 1994), 26-28.

[55] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 247-250.

[56] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 250.

[57]  Rabbi Chaim Kramer, Crossing the Narrow Bridge: A Practical Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings, (Jerusalem/ New York: Breslov Research Institute, 1989), 348-352.

[58] Schwartz, “The Quest for the Lost Princess: Transition and Change in Jewish Lore”, 246.

[59] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 266-271.

[60] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 261.

[61] Zvi Mark, The Scroll of the Secrets: The Hidden Messianic Vision of R. Nachman of Breslav, (Brighton MA: Academic Studies Press, 2010), 28-30.

[62] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 261.

[63] Kaplan, The Lost Princess and Other Kabbalistic Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, 317.

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