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121-589: The movement has had no central, living leader for the past 200 years, as Rebbe Nachman did not designate a successor. As such, they are sometimes referred to as the טויטע חסידים (the "Dead Hasidim"), since they have never had another formal Rebbe since Nachman's death. However, certain groups and communities under the Breslov banner refer to their leaders as "Rebbe". The movement weathered strong opposition from virtually all other Hasidic movements in Ukraine throughout

242-701: A coup d'état led by Pavlo Skoropadskyi , which yielded the Ukrainian State under the German protectorate, and the attempt to restore the UNR under the Directorate ultimately failed as the Ukrainian army was regularly overrun by other forces. The short-lived West Ukrainian People's Republic and Hutsul Republic also failed to join the rest of Ukraine. The result of the conflict was a partial victory for

363-587: A famine known as the Holodomor or the "Great Famine", which was recognized by some countries as an act of genocide perpetrated by Joseph Stalin and other Soviet notables. Following on the Russian Civil War and collectivisation, the Great Purge , while killing Stalin's perceived political enemies, resulted in a profound loss of a new generation of Ukrainian intelligentsia , known today as

484-549: A 2014 hard-cover edition (828 pages in length), is one of the few Hasidic siddurim available in an English language translation (and contains the original text). Translated by Avraham Sutton and Chaim Kramer. Today, Breslover communities exist in several locations in Israel, as well as in major cities around the world with large Jewish populations, including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Montreal, and Lakewood Township, New Jersey. While there are no exact statistics, according to

605-547: A European leader in industrial production and an important centre of the Soviet arms industry and high-tech research, though heavy industry still had an outsided influence. The Soviet government invested in hydroelectric and nuclear power projects to cater to the energy demand that the development carried. On 26 April 1986, however, a reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, resulting in

726-535: A close personal friend. The goal is to establish complete unification with God, and a clearer understanding of one's personal motives and goals. A sub-group of the Breslov sect, colloquially known as Na Nachs , use the Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman mantra, which is based on a permutation of the Hebrew letters of Rebbe Nachman's name. This mantra was not used by Rebbe Nachman himself, but

847-577: A closer relationship with God. They noted that the Hebrew letters of the word Breslov (ברסלב) can be re-arranged to spell lev basar (לב בשר —the "ס" and "ש" sounds are interchangeable), "a heart of flesh", echoing the prophecy in Ezekiel (36:26): "I [God] will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (For this reason, some adherents spell the name of the Hasidut, "Breslev", stressing

968-537: A collection of 411 lessons displaying in-depth familiarity and understanding of the many overt and esoteric concepts embedded in Tanakh , Talmud , Midrash , Zohar , and Kabbalah . In the introductory section of certain editions of Likutei Moharan, the book is likened to the Zohar itself, and Rebbe Nachman is likened to the Zohar's author, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai . This is based on the citation of numerous parallels between

1089-521: A cultural trend toward romantic nationalism , a Ukrainian intelligentsia committed to national rebirth and social justice emerged. The serf-turned-national-poet Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861) and political theorist Mykhailo Drahomanov (1841–1895) led the growing nationalist movement. While conditions for its development in Austrian Galicia under the Habsburgs were relatively lenient,

1210-408: A daily basis. Rebbe Nachman claimed that every true tzaddik attained his lofty spiritual level almost uniquely because of hitbodedut . The Rebbe explained that hitbodedut is the loftiest form of Divine service, and that it is virtually impossible to be a good Jew without this practice. During hitbodedut , the individual pours out his thoughts and concerns to God in his mother tongue, as if talking to

1331-453: A final resurgence under the rule of Vladimir II Monomakh (1113–1125) and his son Mstislav (1125–1132), Kievan Rus' finally disintegrated into separate principalities following Mstislav's death, though ownership of Kyiv would still carry great prestige for decades. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the nomadic confederacy of the Turkic -speaking Cumans and Kipchaks was the dominant force in

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1452-595: A full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the outbreak of war with Russia , Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the United States , European Union , and NATO . Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic . A developing country , it is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capita and corruption remains a significant issue. However, due to its extensive fertile land , pre-war Ukraine

1573-519: A further blow to Moscow's influence in Ukraine. Finally, amid a full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine was granted candidate status to the European Union on 23 June 2022. A broad anti-corruption drive began in early 2023 with the resignations of several deputy ministers and regional heads during a reshuffle of the government. Ukraine is the second-largest European country , after Russia, and

1694-433: A joyful existence, and their approach to worship is very personalized and emotional, with much clapping, singing, and dancing. Rabbi Nachman said, "It is a great mitzvah [commandment or good deed] to always be happy". In this same lesson, he notes that even leading intellectuals in the medical field will attest to depression and bitterness being the main cause of most mental and physical ailments. Breslov teachings emphasize

1815-540: A mid-word ayin , a voiced pharyngeal fricative ʕ similar/equivalent to Arabic ع . Whenever ` is used, it refers to ayin whether word-initial, medial, or final. 'H/h' are used to represent both he , an English h sound as in "hat"; and ḥes , a voiceless pharyngeal fricative ħ equivalent to Arabic ح . Whenever 'ḥ' is used, it refers to ḥet. Resh is represented by an 'r,' though it's equivalent to Spanish 'r,' Spanish 'rr,' or French 'r,' depending on one's dialect. In all other regards, transliterations are according to

1936-509: A part of the broader Russian Civil War , devastated the whole of the former Russian Empire , including eastern and central Ukraine. The fighting left over 1.5 million people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless in the former Russian Empire's territory. The eastern provinces were additionally impacted by a famine in 1921 . During the inter-war period, in Poland , Marshal Józef Piłsudski sought Ukrainian support by offering local autonomy as

2057-462: A particular theme. An Aramaic prayer which focuses on the idea of magnification and sanctification of God's name. There are five versions of kaddish for different purposes. These blessings are also relevant to the festivals with some minor changes to the wording. When any of these blessings are done for the first time that year, the blessing of she'he'cheyanu is said. The hands are ritually washed before partaking of certain staples of life. In

2178-534: A policy of Russification , suppressing the use of the Ukrainian language and curtailing the Ukrainian national identity. The western part of present-day Ukraine was subsequently split between Russia and Habsburg -ruled Austria after the fall of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The 19th century saw the rise of Ukrainian nationalism. With growing urbanization and modernization and

2299-516: A sort of frozen state until the early hours of 24 February 2022, when Russia proceeded with an ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops control about 17% of Ukraine's internationally recognized territory, which constitutes 94% of Luhansk Oblast , 73% of Kherson Oblast , 72% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast , 54% of Donetsk Oblast and all of Crimea, though Russia failed with its initial plan, with Ukrainian troops recapturing some territory in counteroffensives. The military conflict with Russia shifted

2420-599: A way to minimise Soviet influence in Poland's eastern Kresy region. However, this approach was abandoned after Piłsudski's death in 1935, due to continued unrest among the Ukrainian population, including assassinations of Polish government officials by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN); with the Polish government responding by restricting rights of people who declared Ukrainian nationality. In consequence,

2541-804: Is Hoverla at 2,061 metres (6,762 ft), and the Crimean Mountains , in the extreme south along the coast. Ukraine also has a number of highland regions such as the Volyn-Podillia Upland (in the west) and the Near-Dnipro Upland (on the right bank of the Dnieper). To the east there are the south-western spurs of the Central Russian Upland over which runs the border with Russia. Near the Sea of Azov are

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2662-411: Is celebrated as one of eleven Ukrainian national holidays. The republic was heavily damaged by the war, and it required significant efforts to recover. More than 700 cities and towns and 28,000 villages were destroyed. The situation was worsened by a famine in 1946–1947, which was caused by a drought and the wartime destruction of infrastructure, killing at least tens of thousands of people. In 1945,

2783-579: Is located on the Bug river in Ukraine (latitude 48.82 N., longitude 28.95 E.), midway between Tulchin to the south and Nemirov to the north—9 miles (14 kilometres) from each. Bratslav should not be confused with Wrocław , a town now located in Poland, called in German "Breslau", and also pronounced "Breslov" in Yiddish, which was a renowned Jewish center in its own right. Prior to his arrival in Breslov in 1802, Rebbe Nachman lived and taught in other towns in

2904-517: Is referred to as the shul. It is affiliated with the Edah HaChareidis , and led by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter and Rabbi Shmuel Moshe Kramer . The first large-scale Breslov outreach activities were conducted by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Bender , who attracted thousands of baal teshuva followers to the Breslov movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Concurrently, Rabbi Eliezer Shlomo Schick began publishing his nearly 1,000 pamphlets distilling

3025-533: Is that if my followers really believe in me, they are not all scrupulous about being with me for Rosh Hashana. No one should be missing! Rosh Hashana is my whole mission. During his lifetime, hundreds of followers spent the holiday with him; after his death, his closest disciple, Nathan of Breslov ("Reb Noson"), organized an annual pilgrimage to his grave, starting with Rosh Hashana 1811, the year after Rebbe Nachman's death. Until World War I, thousands of Hasidim from Ukraine , Belarus , Lithuania , and Poland joined

3146-525: The Netherlands ". However, since Ukraine's declaration of independence in 1991, this usage has become politicised and is now rarer, and style guides advise against its use. US ambassador William Taylor said that using "the Ukraine" implies disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty. The official Ukrainian position is that "the Ukraine" is both grammatically and politically incorrect. 1.4 million year old stone tools from Korolevo , western Ukraine, are

3267-560: The Belavezha Accords and made Ukraine a founding member of the much looser Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), though Ukraine never became a full member of the latter as it did not ratify the agreement founding CIS. These documents sealed the fate of the Soviet Union, which formally voted itself out of existence on 26 December. Ukraine was initially viewed as having favourable economic conditions in comparison to

3388-583: The COVID-19 pandemic , which arrived in 2020, were made much harder by low vaccination rates and, later in the pandemic, by the ongoing invasion. From the political perspective, one of the defining features of the politics of Ukraine is that for most of the time, it has been divided along two issues: the relation between Ukraine, the West and Russia, and the classical left-right divide. The first two presidents, Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma , tended to balance

3509-634: The Cairo Geniza , say only 12 blessings here. On fast days in the times of the Talmud there were a number of additional blessings, and in communities today a 14th blessing is added to the Chazzan's repetition on fast days. On Shabbat and Yom Tov there is only a single blessing. During Mussaf of Rosh HaShana there are three blessings in the middle, each built around 10 verses from the Tanach around

3630-458: The Chernobyl disaster , the worst nuclear reactor accident in history. Mikhail Gorbachev pursued a policy of limited liberalization of public life, known as perestroika , and attempted to reform a stagnating economy . The latter failed, but the democratization of the Soviet Union fuelled nationalist and separatist tendencies among the ethnic minorities, including Ukrainians. As part of

3751-711: The Dnieper ( Dnipro ), Seversky Donets , Dniester and the Southern Bug as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov . To the southwest, the Danube Delta forms the border with Romania. Ukraine's regions have diverse geographic features, ranging from the highlands to the lowlands. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest

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3872-513: The Donbas , and in some larger cities such as Odesa and Kyiv, Ukraine largely remained an agricultural and resource extraction economy. The Austrian part of Ukraine was particularly destitute , which forced hundreds of thousands of peasants into emigration, who created the backbone of an extensive Ukrainian diaspora in countries such as Canada , the United States and Brazil . Some of

3993-608: The Euromaidan to oppose Yanukovych's refusal to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement . By the end of the protests on 21 February 2014, he fled from Ukraine and was removed by the parliament in what is termed the Revolution of Dignity , but Russia refused to recognize the interim pro-Western government, calling it a junta and denouncing the events as a coup d'état sponsored by

4114-705: The Executed Renaissance . Following the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, German and Soviet troops divided the territory of Poland. Thus, Eastern Galicia and Volhynia with their Ukrainian population became part of Ukraine. For the first time in history, the nation was united. Further territorial gains were secured in 1940, when the Ukrainian SSR incorporated the northern and southern districts of Bessarabia , Northern Bukovina , and

4235-759: The Hertsa region from the territories the USSR forced Romania to cede , though it handed over the western part of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to the newly created Moldavian SSR . These territorial gains of the USSR were internationally recognized by the Paris peace treaties of 1947 . German armies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, initiating nearly four years of total war . The Axis initially advanced against desperate but unsuccessful efforts of

4356-545: The Iron Age , the land was inhabited by Iranian -speaking Cimmerians , Scythians , and Sarmatians . Between 700 BC and 200 BC it was part of the Scythian kingdom. From the 6th century BC, Greek , Roman , and Byzantine colonies were established on the north-eastern shore of the Black Sea , such as at Tyras , Olbia , and Chersonesus . These thrived into the 6th century AD. The Goths stayed in

4477-643: The Metropolitanate of Kyiv under the authority of Moscow . An attempt to reverse the decline was undertaken by Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), who ultimately defected to the Swedes in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) in a bid to get rid of Russian dependence, but they were crushed in the Battle of Poltava (1709). The Hetmanate's autonomy was severely restricted since Poltava. In

4598-719: The Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem , has also brought thousands of Jews from secular backgrounds closer to Orthodox Judaism and Breslov. One of Berland's students, Rabbi Shalom Arush , went on to found the Chut Shel Chessed Institutions in Jerusalem. Arush leads a group including Sephardic followers of Breslov Hasidut, who mainly originated in the baal teshuva movement . Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld introduced Breslov Hasidism to

4719-550: The Nazis , who invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The movement was regenerated in the United Kingdom , the United States , and Israel , by those who escaped, with large numbers of Yemenite Jews and other Mizrahim joining the sect. "Breslov" is the name used nowadays by Breslover followers for the town of Bratslav , where Rebbe Nachman lived for the last eight years of his life before moving to Uman where he died. Bratslav

4840-710: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the Austrian Empire , the Ottoman Empire , and the Tsardom of Russia . The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century, but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and absorbed by the Russian Empire . Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic

4961-820: The Pontic steppe north of the Black Sea. The Mongol invasions in the mid-13th century devastated Kievan Rus'; following the Siege of Kyiv in 1240 , the city was destroyed by the Mongols. In the western territories, the principalities of Halych and Volhynia had arisen earlier, and were merged to form the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia . Daniel of Galicia , son of Roman the Great , re-united much of south-western Rus', including Volhynia , Galicia , as well as Kyiv. He

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5082-564: The Red , White , Black and Green armies , with the Poles, Hungarians (in Transcarpathia ), and Germans also intervening at various times. An attempt to create an independent state, the left-leaning Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR), was first announced by Mykhailo Hrushevsky , but the period was plagued by an extremely unstable political and military environment. It was first deposed in

5203-711: The Red Army . In the battle of Kyiv , the city was acclaimed as a " Hero City ", because of its fierce resistance . More than 600,000 Soviet soldiers (or one-quarter of the Soviet Western Front ) were killed or taken captive there, with many suffering severe mistreatment . After its conquest, most of the Ukrainian SSR was organised within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine , with the intention of exploiting its resources and eventual German settlement. Some western Ukrainians, who had only joined

5324-704: The Russian tsar for help. In 1654, Khmelnytsky was subject to the Pereiaslav Agreement , forming a military and political alliance with Russia that acknowledged loyalty to the Russian monarch. After his death, the Hetmanate went through a devastating 30-year war amongst Russia, Poland, the Crimean Khanate , the Ottoman Empire , and Cossacks , known as " The Ruin " (1657–1686), for control of

5445-450: The Second Polish Republic , which annexed the Western Ukrainian provinces, as well as a larger-scale victory for the pro-Soviet forces, which succeeded in dislodging the remaining factions and eventually established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Soviet Ukraine). Meanwhile, modern-day Bukovina was occupied by Romania and Carpathian Ruthenia was admitted to Czechoslovakia as an autonomous region. The conflict over Ukraine,

5566-413: The Shemoneh Esreh ("The Eighteen"), consisting of 19 strophes on weekdays and seven on Sabbath days and 9 on Rosh haShana Mussaf. It is the essential component of Jewish services , and is the only service that the Talmud calls prayer . It is said three times a day (four times on Sabbaths and holidays, and five times on Yom Kippur ). The source for the Amida is either as a parallel to the sacrifices in

5687-416: The Siddur , or prayer book. This article addresses Jewish liturgical blessings, which generally begin with the formula: Transliteration : Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam... Translation : "Blessed are You, L ORD our God, King of the universe..." In the transliterations below, ' is used to refer to the sh'vah, which is similar/equivalent to ə ; a mid-word aleph , a glottal stop ; and

5808-458: The Soviet Union dissolved , and declared itself neutral . A new constitution was adopted in 1996. A series of mass demonstrations, known as the Euromaidan , led to the establishment of a new government in 2014 after a revolution . Russia then unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula , and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in the Donbas between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia launched

5929-410: The lev (heart). Contemporary Breslov teacher Rabbi Shmuel Moshe Kramer of Jerusalem also noted that the gematria ("numerical value") of the Hebrew letters of Breslov (ברסלב) is 294, as is the Hebrew spelling of Nachman ben Faiga (נחמן בן פיגא) (Nachman son [of] Faiga), the names of Rebbe Nachman and his mother. The Breslov approach places great emphasis on serving God through the sincerity of

6050-457: The 10th and 11th centuries, Kievan Rus' became the largest and most powerful state in Europe, a period known as its Golden Age. It began with the reign of Vladimir the Great (980–1015), who introduced Christianity . During the reign of his son, Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054), Kievan Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural development and military power. The state soon fragmented as the relative importance of regional powers rose again. After

6171-513: The 1930s. However, as a consequence of Stalin's new policy, the Ukrainian peasantry suffered from the programme of collectivization of agricultural crops. Collectivization was part of the first five-year plan and was enforced by regular troops and the secret police known as Cheka . Those who resisted were arrested and deported to gulags and work camps. As members of the collective farms were sometimes not allowed to receive any grain until unrealistic quotas were met, millions starved to death in

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6292-408: The 1970s, Breslov works in English began to appear, most notably Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan 's Gems of Rabbi Nachman . The Breslov Research Institute , founded in Jerusalem in 1979, publishes authoritative translations, commentaries, and general works on Breslov Hasidut in the major languages spoken by modern-day Jewish communities: English, Hebrew, Spanish, and Russian. The Breslov Siddur , published in

6413-421: The 19th century, yet, at the same time, experienced growth in numbers of followers from Ukraine, Belarus , Lithuania , and Poland . By World War I , thousands of Breslov Hasidim were located in those places. After the Bolshevik Revolution , Communist crackdowns forced the movement underground in Russia. Thousands of Hasidim were imprisoned or executed during Stalin 's Great Purge of the 1930s, and killed by

6534-419: The Ashkenazic tradition and some Sephardic and other communities, it is done before eating bread. In some Sephardic rites and in the German community originating in Frankfurt it is done before drinking wine and or eating bread, alone or with the wine (such as would be done before a Sabbath or festive meal) at which time this blessing is said: After washing but before drying the hands, the following blessing below

6655-445: The Black Sea and transformed these into large commercial centers headed by the consul, a representative of the Republic. In 1430, the region of Podolia was incorporated into Poland, and the lands of modern-day Ukraine became increasingly settled by Poles . In 1441, Genghisid prince Haci I Giray founded the Crimean Khanate on the Crimean Peninsula and the surrounding steppes; the Khanate orchestrated Tatar slave raids . Over

6776-466: The Breslov Research Institute, the number of core adherents in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak amounts to several thousand families, and several tens in Safed. The original Jerusalem community was founded by emigres from Ukraine in the late 19th century, and was joined by descendants of the Yerushami Yishuv haYashan ( Old Yishuv in Jerusalem) community. It is built around the Breslov Yeshiva in Mea Shearim , founded by Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Rosen in 1953, which

6897-432: The Catholic Church with its local representatives. In 1648, Bohdan Khmelnytsky led the largest of the Cossack uprisings against the Commonwealth and the Polish king , which enjoyed wide support from the local population. Khmelnytsky founded the Cossack Hetmanate , which existed until 1764 (some sources claim until 1782). After Khmelnytsky suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Berestechko in 1651, he turned to

7018-420: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982. However, it was he and his appointee in Ukraine , Volodymyr Shcherbytsky , who presided over the extensive Russification of Ukraine and who were instrumental in repressing a new generation of Ukrainian intellectuals known as the Sixtiers . By 1950, the republic had fully surpassed pre-war levels of industry and production. Soviet Ukraine soon became

7139-430: The Cossack Hetmanate. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Russia and Poland in 1686 divided the lands of the Cossack Hetmanate between them, reducing the portion over which Poland had claimed sovereignty to Ukraine west of the Dnieper river. In 1686, the Metropolitanate of Kyiv was annexed by the Moscow Patriarchate through a synodal letter of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Dionysius IV , thus placing

7260-430: The Cossacks to be useful against the Turks and Tatars , and at times the two were allies in military campaigns . However, the continued harsh enserfment of Ruthenian peasantry by Polish szlachta (many of whom were Polonized Ruthenian nobles ) and the suppression of the Orthodox Church alienated the Cossacks. The latter did not shy from taking up arms against those they perceived as enemies and occupiers, including

7381-448: The Donets Ridge and the Near Azov Upland. The snow melt from the mountains feeds the rivers and their waterfalls . Significant natural resources in Ukraine include lithium , natural gas, kaolin , timber and an abundance of arable land . Ukraine has many environmental issues. Some regions lack adequate supplies of potable water. Air and water pollution affects the country, as well as deforestation, and radiation contamination in

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7502-413: The East Slavic tribes along the southern parts of the Dnieper River were already in the process of forming a state independently. The Varangian elite, including the ruling Rurik dynasty , later assimilated into the Slavic population. Kievan Rus' was composed of several principalities ruled by the interrelated Rurikid kniazes ("princes"), who often fought each other for possession of Kyiv. During

7623-414: The OUN to create a homogeneous Ukrainian state without a Polish minority living within its borders, and to prevent the post-war Polish state from asserting its sovereignty over areas that had been part of pre-war Poland. After the war, the UPA continued to fight the USSR until the 1950s. At the same time, the Ukrainian Liberation Army , another nationalist movement, fought alongside the Nazis. In total,

7744-502: The Rebbe's death, Reb Noson wrote down all the conversations, fragments of lessons, and interactions that he and others had had with the Rebbe. He published these in the following collections: Reb Noson also authored these commentaries and novellae: Students of Reb Noson, their students, and their students' students added to Breslov literature, with further commentaries on the Rebbe's teachings, as well as original works. See for example Nachman Goldstein § Publications . Beginning in

7865-444: The Russian Empire, such as Ossatin, Medvedevka , Zlatopol , and Odessa . But upon his arrival in Breslov, he declared, "Today, we have planted the name of the Breslover Hasidim. This name will never disappear because my followers will always be called after the town of Breslov." Later, followers said the name of the town dovetailed with the Rebbe's teachings. He encouraged Jews to remove the barriers that stood between themselves and

7986-415: The Russian part (historically known as " Little Russia " or "South Russia") faced severe restrictions, going as far as banning virtually all books from being published in Ukrainian in 1876. Ukraine, like the rest of the Russian Empire, joined the Industrial Revolution later than most of Western Europe due to the maintenance of serfdom until 1861. Other than near the newly discovered coal fields of

8107-409: The Shir Chadash community in Tel Aviv, and Shalom Sabag . The Na Nach group, which follows the teachings of Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser , conducts on-the-street outreach with its roving musical vans and dancers, and sidewalk distribution of Breslov texts. Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe . It is the second-largest European country after Russia , which borders it to

8228-413: The Soviet Union in 1939, hailed the Germans as liberators, but that did not last long as the Nazis made little attempt to exploit dissatisfaction with Stalinist policies. Instead, the Nazis preserved the collective-farm system, carried out genocidal policies against Jews , deported millions of people to work in Germany , and began a depopulation program to prepare for German colonisation. They blockaded

8349-488: The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) with its commentaries, the entire Talmud with its commentaries, the entire Shulchan Aruch (code of law), all the Midrashic works, the Zohar and Tikkunei Zohar, the teachings of the Arizal , and other kabbalistic works, all over the course of a single year. Today, many Breslov hasidim practice a daily review the Shulchan Aruch . Rebbe Nachman's magnum opus is the two-volume Likutei Moharan (Collected [Lessons] of Our Teacher and Rabbi, Nachman),

8470-400: The Temple, or in honor of the Jewish forefathers. The prayer is divided into three sections: blessings of praise for God, requests for our needs (or exalting the holiness of the day for Shabbat and Yom Tov) and finally blessings of thanksgiving. On a regular weekday there are 13 blessings that ask God for our needs. A small number of rabbis, such as David Bar-Hayim based on fragments from

8591-418: The Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations (UN), part of a special agreement at the Yalta Conference , and, alongside Belarus, had voting rights in the UN even though they were not independent. Moreover, Ukraine once more expanded its borders as it annexed Zakarpattia , and the population became much more homogenized due to post-war population transfers , most of which, as in

8712-712: The Ukrainians settled in the Far East, too. According to the 1897 census , there were 223,000 ethnic Ukrainians in Siberia and 102,000 in Central Asia . An additional 1.6 million emigrated to the east in the ten years after the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1906. Far Eastern areas with an ethnic Ukrainian population became known as Green Ukraine . Ukraine plunged into turmoil with

8833-727: The United States from the 1960s. He also arranged for the first English translation of two key Breslov texts, Shivchei HaRan and Sichot HaRan. Heichal haKodesh , the Breslov yeshiva in Williamsburg , was founded there by Rabbi Eliezer Shlomo Schick. In 1979, one year after Rabbi Rosenfeld's death, his son-in-law, Rabbi Chaim Kramer, established the Breslov Research Institute to continue the effort to publish Breslov teachings in English. Other Breslov rabbis engaged in outreach include Israel Isaac Besançon , rabbi of

8954-526: The United States. Even though Russia had signed the Budapest memorandum in 1994 that said that Ukraine was to hand over nuclear weapons in exchange of security guarantees and those of territorial integrity, it reacted violently to these developments and started a war against its western neighbour . In late February and early March 2014, it annexed Crimea using its Navy in Sevastopol as well as

9075-511: The advancement of Ukrainian science and culture. This period was cut short when Joseph Stalin became the leader of the USSR following Lenin's death. Stalin did away with the NEP in what became known as the Great Break . Starting from the late 1920s and now with a centrally planned economy , Soviet Ukraine took part in an industrialisation scheme which quadrupled its industrial output during

9196-567: The area, but came under the sway of the Huns from the 370s. In the 7th century, the territory that is now eastern Ukraine was the centre of Old Great Bulgaria . At the end of the century, the majority of Bulgar tribes migrated in different directions, and the Khazars took over much of the land. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Antes , an early Slavic people, lived in Ukraine. Migrations from

9317-773: The beginning of World War I , and fighting on Ukrainian soil persisted until late 1921. Initially, the Ukrainians were split between Austria-Hungary, fighting for the Central Powers , though the vast majority served in the Imperial Russian Army , which was part of the Triple Entente , under Russia. As the Russian Empire collapsed, the conflict evolved into the Ukrainian War of Independence , with Ukrainians fighting alongside, or against,

9438-468: The case of Germans and Crimean Tatars , were forced. As of 1 January 1953, Ukrainians were second only to Russians among adult " special deportees ", comprising 20% of the total. Following the death of Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader of the USSR, who began the policies of De-Stalinization and the Khrushchev Thaw . During his term as head of the Soviet Union, Crimea

9559-645: The circles of the Polish nobility ; others joined the newly created Ruthenian Uniate Church . Deprived of native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility, the peasants and townspeople began turning for protection to the emerging Zaporozhian Cossacks . In the mid-17th century, a Cossack military quasi-state, the Zaporozhian Host , was formed by Dnieper Cossacks and Ruthenian peasants. Poland exercised little real control over this population, but found

9680-477: The competing visions of Ukraine, though Yushchenko and Yanukovych were generally pro-Western and pro-Russian, respectively. There were two major protests against Yanukovych: the Orange Revolution in 2004, when tens of thousands of people went in protest of election rigging in his favour (Yushchenko was eventually elected president), and another one in the winter of 2013/2014, when more gathered on

9801-540: The earliest securely dated hominin presence in Europe. Settlement by modern humans in Ukraine and its vicinity dates back to 32,000 BC, with evidence of the Gravettian culture in the Crimean Mountains . By 4,500 BC, the Neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was flourishing in wide areas of modern Ukraine, including Trypillia and the entire Dnieper - Dniester region. Ukraine is considered to be

9922-484: The east and northeast. It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary , Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city , followed by Kharkiv , Dnipro , and Odesa . Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian . During the Middle Ages , Ukraine

10043-603: The fighting in World War II took place on the Eastern Front . The total losses inflicted upon the Ukrainian population during the war are estimated at 6 million, including an estimated one and a half million Jews killed by the Einsatzgruppen , sometimes with the help of local collaborators. Of the estimated 8.6 million Soviet troop losses, 1.4 million were ethnic Ukrainians . The Victory Day

10164-615: The government's policy towards the West. Shortly after Yanukovych fled Ukraine, the country signed the EU association agreement in June 2014, and its citizens were granted visa-free travel to the European Union three years later. In January 2019, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was recognized as independent of Moscow, which reversed the 1686 decision of the patriarch of Constantinople and dealt

10285-407: The heart, with much joy and living life as intensely as possible. Breslov teachings particularly emphasize emunah (faith) and teshuvah (repentance), and that every Jew on any level of Divine service is required to constantly yearn to return to God, no matter how high or low he or she is situated on the spiritual echelon. Breslover Hasidim see the study and fulfillment of Torah life as the means to

10406-450: The holiday prayer gathering. The Rosh Hashana kibbutz operated clandestinely, and on a smaller scale, under Communism , when public prayer gatherings were forbidden. The pilgrimage was officially re-instituted after the fall of Communism in 1989, and continues to this day, with upwards of 70,000 men and boys arriving each Rosh Hashana from all over the world. Breslovers also make individual pilgrimages to their Rebbe's grave at other times of

10527-465: The importance of drawing people to the "true tzadik" as the key to rectifying the world, overcoming evil, and bringing people closer to God, according to Rebbe Nachman and Reb Noson. In Breslov thought, the "true tzadik" is Rebbe Nachman himself. Rebbe Nachman also placed great emphasis on Jewish prayer . Besides the regular daily services in the synagogue , Rebbe Nachman advised his followers to engage in hitbodedut (literally, "self-seclusion"), on

10648-492: The largest country entirely in Europe. Lying between latitudes 44° and 53° N , and longitudes 22° and 41° E ., it is mostly in the East European Plain . Ukraine covers an area of 603,550 square kilometres (233,030 sq mi), with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi). The landscape of Ukraine consists mostly of fertile steppes (plains with few trees) and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as

10769-598: The likely location of the first domestication of the horse . The Kurgan hypothesis places the Volga-Dnieper region of Ukraine and southern Russia as the linguistic homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans . Early Indo-European migrations from the Pontic steppes in the 3rd millennium BC spread Yamnaya Steppe pastoralist ancestry and Indo-European languages across large parts of Europe. During

10890-518: The lives of the two sages, as well as the fact that the names "Nachman ben Simcha" (Simcha being Rebbe Nachman's father's name) and "Shimon ben Yochai" share the same gematria (numerical value) of 501. Upon the Rebbe's instructions, Reb Noson collected all the practical teachings and advice contained in the Likutei Moharan , and published them in: Rebbe Nachman's other works include: After

11011-644: The major river basins is expected to decrease due to climate change , especially in summer. This poses risks to the agricultural sector. The negative impacts of climate change on agriculture are mostly felt in the south of the country, which has a steppe climate. In the north, some crops may be able to benefit from a longer growing season. The World Bank has stated that Ukraine is highly vulnerable to climate change . List of Jewish prayers and blessings Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews . Most prayers and blessings can be found in

11132-627: The modern Hebrew pronunciation, based on the Sephardi tradition. This portion of the prayers acts as an introduction to the morning prayers. The following is the order of Nusach Ashkenaz: The Shema prayers is said every day in Shacharit and Maariv. There are always two blessings before the Shema, but after the Shema in the day there is only one blessing, and at night there are two (or three in some communities). The "standing [prayer]", also known as

11253-472: The name of Ukraine means "region" or "country." In the English-speaking world during most of the 20th century, Ukraine (whether independent or not) was referred to as "the Ukraine". This is because the word ukraina means 'borderland' so the definite article would be natural in the English language; this is similar to Nederlanden , which means 'low lands' and is rendered in English as "

11374-479: The new currency, the hryvnia , fell sharply in late 1998 partially as a fallout from the Russian debt default earlier that year. The legacy of the economic policies of the nineties was the mass privatization of state property that created a class of extremely powerful and rich individuals known as the oligarchs . The country then fell into a series of sharp recessions as a result of the Great Recession ,

11495-655: The next three centuries, the Crimean slave trade would enslave an estimated two million in the region. In 1569, the Union of Lublin established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and most of the Ukrainian lands were transferred from Lithuania to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , becoming de jure Polish territory. Under the pressures of Polonisation , many landed gentry of Ruthenia converted to Catholicism and joined

11616-480: The north, to 11–13 °C (51.8–55.4 °F) in the south. Precipitation is highest in the west and north and lowest in the east and southeast. Western Ukraine, particularly in the Carpathian Mountains, receives around 120 centimetres (47.2 in) of precipitation annually, while Crimea and the coastal areas of the Black Sea receive around 40 centimetres (15.7 in). Water availability from

11737-675: The northeast from the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The environmental damage caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been described as an ecocide , the destruction of Kakhovka Dam , severe pollution and millions of tonnes of contaminated debris is estimated to cost over USD 50 billion to repair. Ukraine is in the mid-latitudes, and generally has a continental climate , except for its southern coasts, which have cold semi-arid and humid subtropical climates . Average annual temperatures range from 5.5–7 °C (41.9–44.6 °F) in

11858-619: The number of ethnic Ukrainians who fought in the ranks of the Soviet Army is estimated from 4.5 million to 7 million; half of the Pro-Soviet partisan guerrilla resistance units, which counted up to 500,000 troops in 1944, were also Ukrainian. Generally, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army's figures are unreliable, with figures ranging anywhere from 15,000 to as many as 100,000 fighters. The vast majority of

11979-464: The other regions of the Soviet Union, though it was one of the poorer Soviet republics by the time of the dissolution. However, during its transition to the market economy, the country experienced deeper economic slowdown than almost all of the other former Soviet Republics . During the recession, between 1991 and 1999, Ukraine lost 60% of its GDP and suffered from hyperinflation that peaked at 10,000% in 1993. The situation only stabilized well after

12100-439: The post-war Soviet Union that had been devastated by both WWI and later the civil war. The NEP was successful at restoring the formerly war-torn nation to pre-WWI levels of production and agricultural output by the mid-1920s, much of the latter based in Ukraine. These policies attracted many prominent former UNR figures, including former UNR leader Hrushevsky, to return to Soviet Ukraine, where they were accepted, and participated in

12221-528: The same level as he, and disagreed with those who thought that the main reason for a Rebbe's greatness was the superior level of his soul. Another specifically Breslov practice is the annual Rosh Hashanah kibbutz , a large gathering at the grave of Rabbi Nachman in Uman, Ukraine , on the Jewish New Year . Rabbi Nachman himself said: My Rosh Hashana is greater than everything. I cannot understand how it

12342-547: The same time, Breslovers do not restrict themselves to Rabbi Nachman's commentaries on the Torah, but also study many of the classic texts, including the Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, and many others. They may also study the writings of Rebbes from other dynasties. In fact, Rebbe Nachman claimed that while even a complete simpleton can become a pure and righteous Jew, the ideal study schedule of an extremely scholarly Hasid should include

12463-685: The so- called little green men ; after this succeeded, it then launched a proxy war in the Donbas via the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic . The first months of the conflict with the Russian-backed separatists were fluid, but Russian forces then started an open invasion in Donbas on 24 August 2014. Together they pushed back Ukrainian troops to the frontline established in February 2015, i.e. after Ukrainian troops withdrew from Debaltseve . The conflict remained in

12584-684: The so-called parade of sovereignties , on 16 July 1990, the newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine . After a failed coup by some Communist leaders in Moscow at deposing Gorbachov, outright independence was proclaimed on 24 August 1991. It was approved by 92% of the Ukrainian electorate in a referendum on 1 December. Ukraine's new President , Leonid Kravchuk, went on to sign

12705-500: The start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, and finally, the full-scale invasion by Russia in starting from 24 February 2022. Ukraine's economy in general underperformed since the time independence came due to pervasive corruption and mismanagement, which, particularly in the 1990s, led to protests and organized strikes. The war with Russia impeded meaningful economic recovery in the 2010s, while efforts to combat

12826-612: The state of Kievan Rus' remains obscure and uncertain. The state included much of present-day Ukraine, Belarus and the western part of European Russia . According to the Primary Chronicle , the Rus' people initially consisted of Varangians from Scandinavia . In 882, the pagan Prince Oleg (Oleh) conquered Kyiv from Askold and Dir and proclaimed it as the new capital of the Rus'. Anti-Normanist historians however argue that

12947-558: The teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, and disseminating them to a worldwide audience. Schick founded the Heichal HaKodesh Breslov community – largely consisting of baalei teshuvah – in the Galilee town of Yavne'el , Israel, in 1985. As of 2015, that community had nearly 400 families, representing 30 percent of the town's population. Rabbi Eliezer Berland , rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Shuvu Bonim in

13068-579: The territories of present-day Ukraine throughout the Balkans established many South Slavic nations. Northern migrations, reaching almost to Lake Ilmen , led to the emergence of the Ilmen Slavs and Krivichs . Following an Avar raid in 602 and the collapse of the Antes Union, most of these peoples survived as separate tribes until the beginning of the second millennium. The establishment of

13189-670: The territory with a Ukrainian ethnic majority. Although this brought conflict with Nazi Germany, at times the Melnyk wing of the OUN allied with the Nazi forces. From mid-1943 until the end of the war, the UPA carried out massacres of ethnic Poles in the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia regions, killing around 100,000 Polish civilians, which brought reprisals. These organized massacres were an attempt by

13310-620: The transport of food on the Dnieper River. Although the majority of Ukrainians fought in or alongside the Red Army and Soviet resistance , in Western Ukraine an independent Ukrainian Insurgent Army movement arose (UPA, 1942). It was created as the armed forces of the underground Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Both organizations, the OUN and the UPA, supported the goal of an independent Ukrainian state on

13431-577: The underground Ukrainian nationalist and militant movement, which arose in the 1920s gained wider support. Meanwhile, the recently constituted Soviet Ukraine became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union . During the 1920s, under the Ukrainisation policy pursued by the national Communist leadership of Mykola Skrypnyk , Soviet leadership at first encouraged a national renaissance in Ukrainian culture and language . Ukrainisation

13552-698: The world. It is a founding member of the United Nations , as well as a member of the Council of Europe , the World Trade Organization , and the OSCE . It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO. The name of Ukraine is frequently interpreted as coming from the old Slavic term for 'borderland' as is the word krajina . Another interpretation is that

13673-909: The year. Visiting the grave at any time is deemed beneficial, because Rebbe Nachman said: Whoever comes to my gravesite and recites the Ten Psalms of the Tikkun HaKlali ("General Remedy"), and gives even as little as a penny to charity for my sake, then, no matter how serious his sins may be, I will do everything in my power—spanning the length and breadth of Creation—to cleanse and protect him. By his very payot ("sidecurls"), I will pull him out of Gehennom [purgatory]! The main Hasidic texts revered and studied by Breslover Hasidim are those written by Rebbe Nachman and Reb Noson. All of Rebbe Nachman's teachings were transcribed by Reb Noson. Additionally, Reb Noson wrote some of his own works. Note that, at

13794-665: The years 1764–1781, Catherine the Great incorporated much of Central Ukraine into the Russian Empire , abolishing the Cossack Hetmanate and the Zaporozhian Sich , and was one of the people responsible for the suppression of the last major Cossack uprising, the Koliivshchyna . After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 1783, the newly acquired lands, now called Novorossiya , were opened up to settlement by Russians. The tsarist autocracy established

13915-486: Was one of the largest grain exporters in the world . Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs, and the Ukrainian Armed Force is the fifth largest armed force in the world in terms of both active personnel as well as total number of personnel with the eighth largest defence budget in the world. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleets in

14036-618: Was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR , formally as a friendship gift to Ukraine and for economic reasons. This represented the final extension of Ukrainian territory and formed the basis for the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine to this day. Ukraine was one of the most important republics of the Soviet Union, which resulted in many top positions in the Soviet Union being occupied by Ukrainians, including notably Leonid Brezhnev , General Secretary of

14157-600: Was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor , a human-made famine . The German occupation during World War II in Ukraine was devastating, with 7 million Ukrainian civilians killed, including most Ukrainian Jews . Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as

14278-605: Was part of the Soviet-wide policy of Korenisation (literally indigenisation ), which was intended to promote the advancement of native peoples, their language and culture into the governance of their respective republics. Around the same time, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin instituted the New Economic Policy (NEP), which introduced a form of market socialism , allowing some private ownership of small and medium-sized productive enterprises, hoping to reconstruct

14399-413: Was subsequently crowned by a papal envoy as the first king of Galicia–Volhynia (also known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia ) in 1253. In 1349, in the aftermath of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars , the region was partitioned between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . From the mid-13th century to the late 1400s, the Republic of Genoa founded numerous colonies on the northern coast of

14520-499: Was taught in the 20th century by Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser . The NaNach movement, however, is highly controversial within the wider Breslov Chassidus, because they place less emphasis on learning traditional Jewish texts such as the Talmud , and for their wild dancing in the streets. 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

14641-413: Was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus' , which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including

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