Breslov Research Institute is a

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of classic and contemporary Breslov texts in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Established in 1979, BRI has produced the first English translation of all the works of Rebbe

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

(1772–1810) and selected works of Reb Noson (1780–1844), the Rebbe's closest disciple; studies of the Rebbe's teachings on individual subjects; contemporary Breslov

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

; and

self-help book A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from ''Self-Help'', an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-im ...

s which apply Rebbe Nachman's teachings to daily life. BRI currently has over 100 titles in print, many of which it has also translated into

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and French. BRI maintains offices in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History

The founding of Breslov Research Institute was an outgrowth of the

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

work of Rabbi

Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld Zvi Aryeh Benzion Rosenfeld (1922 – 11 December 1978) was an American rabbi and educator credited with introducing Breslov Hasidism to the United States. Teaching children, teens, and adults in New York City for nearly three decades, he inspired ...

, who is credited with bringing the teachings of Rebbe Nachman to American shores beginning in the late 1940s. While Rabbi Rosenfeld primarily taught students in the New York area and recorded his lectures on tape, he encouraged one of his students, Rabbi

Aryeh Kaplan Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan ( he, אריה משה אליהו קפלן; October 23, 1934 – January 28, 1983) was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator, best known for his Living Torah edition of the Torah. He became well known as ...

, to produce an English translation of a key Breslov text, ''Shivchei V'Sichot HaRan'' (''Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom''), in 1973, which Rabbi Rosenfeld edited. In 1979, one year after Rabbi Rosenfeld's death, his son-in-law, Chaim Kramer, established the Breslov Research Institute to continue the effort to publish Breslov teachings in English.

1980s

In the 1980s, BRI produced the first English translations of important Breslov texts, including: *''Rabbi Nachman's Stories'' (translation and commentary of ''Sippurey Ma'asiyot'', Rebbe Nachman's

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

s and stories) *''Rabbi Nachman's Tikkun'' (on the ''

Tikkun HaKlali ''Tikkun HaKlali'' ( he, תיקון הכללי, lit., "The General (or Comprehensive) Rectification"), also known as The General Remedy, is a set of ten Psalms whose recital serves as ''teshuvah'' (repentance) for all sins — in particular the ...

'') *''Tzaddik'' (translation of ''

Chayey Moharan ''Chayey Moharan'' he, חיי מוהר"ן) is the biography of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, written by his disciple and scribe Rabbi Nathan of Breslov. As the tzaddik is of central importance in Judaism and especially Breslov, and as the book is ...

'') *''Advice'' (translation of ''Likutey Eitzot'') *''The Aleph-Bet Book'' (translation of ''Sefer HaMiddot'') BRI also published ''Until the Mashiach'', an annotated chronology of the life of Rebbe Nachman, and ''Crossing the Narrow Bridge'', an original work which spelled out the main concepts of Breslov Hasidut in a down-to-earth manner. Beginning in 1984, BRI undertook the translation, annotation and commentary of Rebbe Nachman's

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ''Likutey Moharan''. In 2012, the 15th and final volume of the set was published.

1990s

During the 1990s, BRI produced a definitive biography of Reb Noson, the Rebbe's closest disciple (''Through Fire and Water''), and translated and compiled Reb Noson's prolific letters in a 4-volume set (''Eternally Yours'').

2000s

In the 2000s, BRI produced the first English translation of the ''Kitzur Likutey Moharan'' (''Abridged Likutey Moharan'') and compilations of Breslov teachings on

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethics, ethical teachings and Maxim ...

and the

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...

. A collection of the Rebbe's teachings on

tzedakah ''Tzedakah'' or ''Ṣedaqah'' ( he, צדקה ) is a Hebrew word meaning "righteousness", but commonly used to signify ''charity''. This concept of "charity" differs from the modern Western understanding of "charity". The latter is typically un ...

(charity) was published as ''More Blessed To Give'', and a collection of personal histories of men who traveled to

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

for the annual Rosh Hashana pilgrimage to Rebbe Nachman's grave was published as ''Rebbe Nachman and the Knights of the Rosh HaShanah Table''. In 2014 the Breslov

Siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ' ...

(weekday edition) was published, followed by the

Shabbos Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

Yom Tov Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

edition in 2018. The first volume of an elucidated English translation of ''Likutey Halakhot'' was printed in 2019. To date, BRI has published all the writings of Rebbe Nachman and selected writings of Reb Noson. A multi-volume translation of Reb Noson's ''Likutey Tefilot'' (Collected Prayers) has been published under the title ''The Fiftieth Gate''. BRI has also published original works by contemporary Breslov authors presenting Rebbe Nachman's teachings on prayer,

hitbodedut Hitbodedut or hisbodedus ( he, הִתְבּוֹדְדוּת, lit. "seclusion, solitariness, solitude"; Tiberian: ''hīṯbōḏăḏūṯ'' , Ashkenazi: ''hīsboydedēs/hīsboydedūs'' or ''hīsbōdedūs'', Sephardi: ''hitbōdedūt'') refers to ...

tefillin Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

s, Jewish messianism, Mashiach, the Land of Israel, the ''Sephirot, Sefirot,'' and

(burial place of Rebbe Nachman). It has produced a series of illustrated

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

based on Rebbe Nachman's parables. BRI has produced a number of audio recordings of traditional Breslov songs and melodies, plus two books of Breslov

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

References

External links

Breslov Research Institute home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breslov Research Institute Book publishing companies of Israel Jewish printing and publishing Music publishing companies Breslov Hasidism Publishing companies established in 1979 Mass media in Jerusalem Music organizations based in Israel