Let Love Make You Bold
His story gives the rush of a terrific spy novel, teaches a ton about the history of Breslevers and most importantly – Rabbi Nachman, but ultimately this is a love story...
When the Soviets made the decision to keep people from praying at the grave site of their Rebbe, their Tzaddik, Rabbi Nachman of Breslev they had no idea what forces would be unleashed on them. One of the aforementioned forces is Rabbi Gedaliah Fleer. His autobiography Against All Odds is the story of his quest to sneak behind the curtain, risking his life to do something so simple yet so frightening to the Soviets: to stand at the tziyun (grave site) of his Rebbe and recite 10 Psalms. His story gives the rush of a terrific spy novel, teaches a ton about the history of Breslevers and most importantly – Rabbi Nachman, but ultimately this is a love story. It’s about love of Hashem and His Torah, and a love of Rabbi Nachman so great nothing would stop the pugnacious, young Rabbi Fleer from making good on the mysterious promise of his Rebbe.
What promise? Rabbi Nachman made this unusual promise to his people: Come to his grave in Uman, say a group of ten Psalms (the Tikkun HaKlali) with the promise to stay on the straight and narrow, give a little to charity, and Rabbi Nachman will pluck you from the depths of Gehinom (purgatory). But that enormously generous, unique, and mysterious promise raises many questions. How could Rabbi Nachman do this, no less from beyond the grave? And here’s a great one, why did Rabbi Nachman of Breslev want to be buried in Uman and not Breslev, where he spent most of his life? Rabbi Fleer’s attempts to answer these questions are eloquent, succinct, and as is often the case with such compelling subject matter, raise even more questions.
Uman is a place of extreme contrasts. Throughout the 1700s, roughly 33,000 Jews were martyred in Uman for refusing to convert to Christianity. Tragically, the history of the Jewish people is filled with numbers like this, numbers of murdered Jews so high one struggles to comprehend what that looks like, what that means. Four years after the last of this series of pogroms, Rabbi Nachman was born. So in the midst of the worst that humanity can offer, Hashem gives us the best that He can offer; in darkness, a blazing light. For a mere 38 years Rabbi Nachman taught about Hashem and lived Torah in such a special, joyous way he inspired Jews and Gentiles alike to live correctly, to find beauty, and to be a light to others. His promise brings us back to Uman, as if the Rebbe is there in that scary place to illustrate that light can always chase away the darkness, the gloom.
Love of Hashem and the might of Rabbi Nachman’s optimistic Torah teachings have inspired some remarkable individuals, many of whom you will meet alongside Rabbi Fleer on his quest. A few examples: Rabbi Tzvi Aryeh, a brilliant teacher, a determined spiritual leader, and Torah prodigy who was a descendant of two of Rabbi Nachman’s most distinguished followers; Rabbi Zanvil who frantically searched for Rabbi Nachman’s grave, eventually relocating it thus saving it from being razed for the construction of a housing complex; and Rabbi Yitzchak Gelbach, a descendant of Rebbe Nachman, who was sentenced to a decade in a Siberian labor camp for the crime of distributing holiday calendars to fellow Jews.
What can you say about such people of such astounding courage and resilience? You’ll find yourself telling their stories to your spouse, your kids, and to your coworkers. To hear about them through a person so enigmatic and affable as Rabbi Fleer is so much fun, you’ll devour the book in two sittings. You cheer for him from page one, because the bold people of the world create what will become the status quo. They are the folks who take risks, go against the tide, and make things happen in the face of the skeptical, creating opportunity for others, so we can look back and say, “Wasn’t it always this way?”
Rabbi Fleer : “It is my fervent hope that this book will help direct readers to their most important asset – themselves and their inner strengths – to be willing to face the challenges which confront them, to the point that they are willing to confront and overcome any obstacles they encounter.”
Tell us what you think!
Thank you for your comment!
It will be published after approval by the Editor.