Book of STORIES (SIPUREI MAASIYOTH) b y Rebbe Nachman of Breslev - Unabridged and With Appendices - hich we have been privileged to hear from the mouth of Rabbeinu Hakadosh, W the Hidden and Concealed Light, Nachal Nove`a Mekor Chokhmah/The Gushing Stream, The Source of Wisdom [1] , HaRav Rebbe NACHMAN ztzuk"l of Breslev, great grandson of the Ba`al Shem Tov Hakadosh and composer of the books Likutei Moharan and several other compendiums. o out and see the might of your Master [2] Who has illuminated heavenly Torah G for us to enliven us as [sure as] it is this day [3 ] , for the everlasting world [4] ; and our God has not forsaken us in our servitude but has extended kindness to us [5] in each and every generation and has sent us deliverers and rabbis and tzaddikei yesodei `olam/ righteous ones, foundation of the world [6] to teach us the way. His first [mercies] have come to pass[7] and yet His mercies have not ceased [8] at any period or any time. And He has performed kindness for us, drawing water from the wellsprings of salvation[9] , ancient things, words which are the secret of the world [10] , under wonderful and awesome clothings. See and understand and look at His wonderful and awesome way, which is an inheritance to us from our holy forefathers who were during ancient times in Yisrael. or such is the way of the upper holy ones [11] , harvesters of the field[12] , who F raised their hands and hearts to God, to clothe and conceal the King’s treasure houses in story tales according to the generation and according to the times, knowing the understanding of times, to know what Yisrael should do, until [Mashiach] arises and delivers Tziyon and returns to build the ruins of Ariel, at such time as it will be said [by the ministering angels] to Ya`akov and to Yisrael [who shall again excel in belovedness by Hashem Yithbarakh before everyone’s eyes and sit before Him learning Torah from His mouth such that their place is nearer-in than that of the ministering angels], “What has God wrought?” [13] I n the year [5]575 (1815 C.E.) English translation edited by Nissim Kaufmann, PhD, Albany, NY, March 2015 2 STORIES by Rebbe Nachman Regarding This Edition As there had been a need for an accurate, freely distributable translation of Sipurei Ma`asiyoth into English, draft translations by several friends of BreslovBooks.com were carefully edited in accord with the original texts and compiled here. This translation’s text is now available under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 copyleft at the following url: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Portal:Breslov The rights to the layout of this edition are reserved by the editor, but permission is granted to distribute, print or copy it in non-profit manner. Umatzdikei harabim kakokhavim, le`olam va`ed/ And those who turn the many to righteousness shall be like the stars for ever and ever (Dan. 12:3). www.BreslovBooks.com -- All of Rebbe Nachman’s books at non-profit prices and for free download Download this book at nanach.altervista.org -- Inquiries or corrections: +1 (718) 570-6765 Thanks to R’ Yaakov Siegel haLevin"y of Far Rockaway, NY for invaluable answers, advice and help. ♦ ♦ The story sub-section headings that appear in brackets have been added by the editor as an aid for navigation and study and are not part of the original text. The original printing did not have story titles either; the stories were only headed .etc ”,ב Ma`aseh“ ”,א Ma`aseh“ The 1815 Yiddish/Hebrew first print of Sipurei Ma`asiyoth is available as a DjVu scanned image file from the JNUL Digitized Book Repository (Document Record Number 001124825) at the following url: http://aleph.nli.org.il/F/?func=direct&doc_number=001124825&local_base=NNLALL and text files are available at the Hebrew and Yiddish Wikisource websites. In the 1815 edition, the tales were followed by the texts that are known today as Shivchei haRan (but with header “Sipurei Ma`asiyoth” there), Sichoth haRan (only through #110 and with header “Likutei Moharan” there), as well as omissions from and corrections to Likutei Moharan I. The end of the preface and the beginning of Tale 1 from the 1815 printing. Table of Contents 3 Table of Contents Foreword......................................................................................................6 Preface.........................................................................................................7 Second Preface.........................................................................................10 Zoth Matzanu/ This We Found................................................................16 Tale 1: The Lost Princess........................................................................17 [The Princess Is Lost]............................................................................................................................ 17 [The Viceroy Seeks Her a Long Time, Until He Finds Her]...............................................................17 [The Advice of How She Can Be Taken Out; the Viceroy Does Not Endure]...................................18 [The Lament of the Princess; How She Can Yet Be Found]...............................................................19 Tale 2: The Emperor and the King.........................................................21 [Introduction; the Betrothal]................................................................................................................21 [The Separation]..................................................................................................................................... 21 [The Elopement]..................................................................................................................................... 21 [The Couple Get Lost]............................................................................................................................ 22 [The Merchant's Son Finds the Emperor's Daughter]........................................................................22 [The Emperor's Daughter Flees From the Merchant's Son]..............................................................23 [The King by the Sea Finds the Emperor's Daughter].......................................................................23 [The Emperor's Daughter Meets Twelve Pirates]...............................................................................24 [The King Prince; the Emperor's Daughter as “Doctor” Becomes King of the Land].....................24 [The Wedding and Conclusion].............................................................................................................26 Tale 3: The Son Who Could Not Walk.....................................................27 [The Son Who Could Not Walk Travels to Leipzig, and Robbers Ambush Him]..............................27 [The Son Who Could Not Walk Finds a Diamond Having Four Charms]..........................................28 [The Son Who Could Not Walk Is Healed, and the Robbers Repent]................................................28 [To The Two Thousand Mountains With the Demons]........................................................................29 [How a Demon Becomes a Cloud]......................................................................................................... 30 [The Sage-Elder Has No Fear of the Demons]....................................................................................30 [The King of the Demons Gives the Elder a Book of All the Demon Families]................................31 [Nothing Remains of the Demons]........................................................................................................32 [Notes Following the Story].................................................................................................................. 32 Tale 4: The King Who Decreed Conversion...........................................33 [The King Decrees Forced Conversion upon the Jews]......................................................................33 [The King's Son Allows the Anoos to Be a Jew in Public]..................................................................33 [The Son and Then Grandson of the King Become King]...................................................................34 [The Great-Grandson of the King Makes an Effigy and Conquers the World].................................34 [The Great-Grandson of the King Makes the Former Anoos Once Again Anoos]............................34 [The Great-Grandson of the King Sees in a Dream the Bull and Ram Laughing at Him]...............35 [The Great-Grandson of the King Goes to the Place of the Iron Rod and Is Cut Off].....................35 [The Sage Comes Home and the Anoos Explains That by Him Was the King Cut Off]...................36 [Notes Following the Story].................................................................................................................. 36 Tale 5: The King's Son Who Was Made of Precious Stones.................37 Tale 6: The Humble King.........................................................................39 [Notes Following the Story].................................................................................................................. 40 Tale 7: The Fly and the Spider................................................................41 [Notes Following the Story].................................................................................................................. 43 4 STORIES by Rebbe Nachman Tale 8: The Rabbi and His Only Son.......................................................44