ALEPH Canada is dedicated to reclaiming the Jewish people’s sacred purpose of partnership with the Divine in the inseparable tasks of healing the world and healing our hearts.
In Reb Zalman's words: Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav, a great grandson of the founder of Chasidism, the Ba'al Shem Tov, was born in 1772 in the Ukraine.The Tales of Reb Nachman, stories within stories, parables, paradoxes, teachings – must have been told in Yiddish, then transcribed and translated into Hebrew by Reb Nathan. Reb Nachman dealt with the mysteries of the Kabblah, conveying his teachings in the medium of stories about beggars, kings, and magical lands.
These stories are unique among Chassidic rebbes.
The Seven Beggars is reputed to be his favorite, although he himself never composed the story of the seventh beggar.In 1969, I taught a course in the Psychology of Religion at Brandeis University. Responding to an assignment, Richard Siegel wrote "The Story of the Seventh Beggar." The spirit of his tale was so convincing, so genuinely inspired, that I have printed and now recorded it as a legitimate sequel to the others.
When the soul surprises the mind, we have a good story.
