A few months ago I received an email from the Rabbi of a Shul in Edison, NJ named Rabbi Gedaliah Jaffe. He wanted to start a Sunday morning class in his Shul and was looking for something Breslov to “spice up” his communities learning. He also thought that because there were members of his community who didn’t know too much about Breslov, it would be worthwhile to first host a mini Breslov Shabbaton. So off a few of us went to Congration Ahavas Yisrael in Edison, NJ to try and bring some “Breslov” to the locals.
We armed ourselves with the Breslov Research Institute books and with a good Chazan. Baruch HaShem the Shabbaton went very well. A number of small talks were given on the topics of “How Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings Enhance the Shabbat” and on “The Importance and Functionality of Prayer and Personal Prayers/Hisbodedut.” The crowd was very moved and enjoyed the davening and classes immensely. Many people told us how they had seen some things from Rebbe Nachman but never really had a chance to learn more and were very happy for the opportunity. At the end of the Shabaton the congregation joined together for some “Breslov Style” dancing, it was a great way to end the Shabbat. Sunday morning the initial class was held after davening and continues every Sunday morning, more info about the class can be found a the above Ahavas Yisrael website. A recording of the class can be found here.
We enjoyed the Shabatton immensely (perhaps more than the congregants,) if you would be interested in hosting or putting together a Shabbaton in your area please contact me at: [email protected]
Here is a recent email we received from Rabbi Jaffe:
On Parshas Nasso 5769 our shul hosted Rabbis Ephraim Portnoy, Yossi Katz, and Duvy Fried as part of a Breslover Shabbaton. They came to our shul and brought with them the warmth and fire of Breslov chassidus. Rabbi Portnoy spoke throughout the Shabbaton about the special privilege it is to serve Hashem, about the importance of always being b’simcha, and about Rebbe Nachman’s unique approach to prayer and hisbodedus. For many members of the shul this was their first expose to authentic chassidic thought and many commented afterwords how much they enjoyed the shiurim, chavrusa learning, singing, and dancing! As a follow-up to this Shabbaton our shul now has a weekly shiur given in Likkutei Moharan given by Rabbi Portnoy on Sunday mornings after davening. The fire of Rebbe Nachman is now burning in Edison, New Jersey.
Rabbi Gedaliah Jaffe
Congegration Ahavas Yisrael
Edison, NJ