Breslov Hasidic dynasty: Encyclopedia II - Breslov Hasidic dynasty - Breslov forms of meditation

Breslov Hasidic dynasty - Breslov forms of meditation

Rebbe Nachman placed great stress on meditation. One distinctively Breslov practice is called hisbodedus (hiss-BO-de-dooss), also called hitbodedut (hit-ba-de-DOOT) in Israeli Hebrew. This literally means "to make oneself be in solitude." The Breslov form of hisbodedus is a personalized form of free-flowing verbal prayer which is practiced by the individual Hasid, in addition to the regular daily services in the synagogue. Breslover Hasidim try to spend an hour alone with God each day, pouring out their thoughts and concerns in whatever language they speak, as if talking to a close personal friend. Rabbi Nachman said that the best place to do this is alone in a field or a forest, but if this is not possible, one can do it in a private room.

Some Breslovers also use a form of mantra meditation, by repeating a word or phrase over and over. Rebbe Nachman himself used Ribono shel Olam (Master of the Universe) which he pronounced with the Yiddish intonation as: Ree-BOY-noy shell OY-lahm. Many Breslover Hasidim today also use this mantra. (Some say that the Yiddish pronunciation allows one to pour every possible emotion into the "Oy" syllables.)

Other Breslovers use the Na Nach Nachma mantra, which is based on the Hebrew letters of Nachman's name. This mantra was not used by Rebbe Nachman himself, but was taught in the 20th century by Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser.

Rabbi Nachman always maintained that his high spiritual level was due to his own efforts, and not to his famous lineage or any other circumstances of his birth. He repeatedly insisted that all Jews could reach the same level as he, and spoke out very strongly against those who thought that the main reason for a Rebbe's greatness was the superior level of his soul (see Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom, Kaplan English edition, page 29).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Breslov forms of meditation", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki