Difference between revisions of "Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)"

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{{short description|'''Hasidic movement founded by [[Nachman of Breslov]], with no hereditary rebbe, large Israeli following and an annual pilgrimage to Uman'''}}
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{{short description|'''Hasidic movement founded by Nachman of Breslov in about 1802, with no hereditary rebbe, an Israeli following and an annual pilgrimage to Uman'''}}
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{{Hasidic sidebar}}
 
{{Infobox religious group
 
{{Infobox religious group
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| name = Breslov
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| name         = Breslov (חסידות ברסלב)
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| native_name = חסידות ברסלב
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| type         = [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic movement]] (no hereditary rebbe)
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| type = [[Hasidic]] movement (non-dynastic)
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| founder       = [[Nachman of Breslov]] (1772–1810)
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| main_classification = [[Hasidism]]
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| founded_date = {{Start date|1802}}
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| theology = Teachings of [[Nachman of Breslov]] (''Likutei Moharan'', ''Sichot HaRan'', tales)
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| founded_place = Bratslav (Breslov), Podolia, now Ukraine
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| structure = No single living rebbe since 1810; multiple independent courts and outreach networks
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| headquarters  = No single seat; centres in Uman (Ukraine), Jerusalem, Safed, Bnei Brak and Yavne'el
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| founder = [[Nachman of Breslov]] (1772–1810)
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| leader_title  = Leadership
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| founded_date = c. 1802 (residence in Bratslav)
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| leader_name  = No rebbe since 1810; independent teachers and groups
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| founded_place = [[Bratslav]] (Breslov), Ukraine
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| languages    = Hebrew; Breslov books also published in English, Spanish, Russian and French<ref name="Otzar" />
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| members = About 7,000 committed households (mid-2010s estimate); far larger circle of admirers and pilgrims
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| website       = [https://breslov.org/ breslov.org] (Breslov Research Institute)
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| area = [[Israel]] and occupied Palestinian territory; [[Ukraine]] (Uman); [[United States]]; [[United Kingdom]]; [[France]]
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| notes        = Also spelt Bratslav or Breslev. Size estimates vary widely (see [[#Size and following|Size and following]]).
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| language = Yiddish, Hebrew, English, French
 
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| headquarters = No single seat; historic centres in Uman and Jerusalem ([[Mea Shearim]])
 
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| website = [https://breslov.org/ breslov.org]
 
 
}}
 
}}
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'''Breslov''' (also '''Bratslav''' or '''Breslev''') is a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by [[Nachman of Breslov]] (1772–1810), a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. It takes its name from the Ukrainian town of Bratslav, where Nachman lived from 1802.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /><ref name="Otzar" /> Its practice centres on a personal bond with God through ''emunah'' (faith), ''simcha'' (joy), ''hisbodedus'' (solitary spoken prayer) and ''teshuvah'' (repentance), and on the Rosh Hashanah gathering at Nachman's grave in [[Uman]].<ref name="Otzar" />
  
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'''[[Breslov]]''' (also '''Bratslav''', '''Breslev''') is a branch of [[Hasidic Judaism]] founded by [[Nachman of Breslov]] (1772–1810), a great-grandson of the [[Baal Shem Tov]]. Adherents seek a joyous, personal bond with God through his teachings, especially daily ''hitbodedut'' (solitary spoken prayer) and the annual Rosh Hashanah gathering at his grave in [[Uman]], Ukraine.<ref name="BRIUman">Breslov Research Institute, [https://breslov.org/getting-to-uman/ Getting to Uman] ''Breslov.org'', accessed September 2026.</ref>
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Nachman named no successor, and Breslov has had no living rebbe since his death. Other Hasidim called its followers "the dead Hasidim".<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /><ref name="Otzar" /> Unlike hereditary courts such as [[Satmar]] or [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Ger]], Breslov today is a loose set of communities and networks, many built by ''baalei teshuvah'' (returnees to Orthodox practice).<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /><ref name="Rosenfeld" />
  
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[[Nachman of Breslov|Nachman]] named no successor. Followers are therefore sometimes called the “dead Hasidim” (טויטע חסידים). Distinct groups still style their own rabbis “rebbe.”<ref name="Otzar">Otzar Breslov, [https://otzarbreslov.com/ A Treasury of Breslov Torah, Stories & Advice] ''Otzar Breslov'', accessed September 2026.</ref> Unlike closed hereditary courts such as [[Satmar]] or [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Ger]], Breslov is a cluster of networks, many built by ''baalei teshuvah'' (returnees), including large numbers of so called [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] and [[Yemenite Jews]].
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The movement's main bodies in Israel and the occupied territories include the World Committee of Breslov Chassidim in Jerusalem, the Shuvu Banim yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Yavne'el community in Galilee and the Breslov Research Institute, whose director lives in the settlement of Beitar Illit in the West Bank.<ref name="Vaad" /><ref name="ShuvuSite" /><ref name="Hidabroot" /><ref name="BRIBeitar" />
  
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[[Marcin Wodziński]] put fully committed Breslov households at about 7,000 in the mid-2010s, while noting that affiliation is looser than in other courts and that admirers and occasional pilgrims far outnumber core Hasidim. Popular Israeli estimates of “100,000 or more” mix committed Hasidim with a wider cultural following.<ref name="Rosenfeld">Shlomi Rosenfeld, [https://www.shlomirosenfeld.co.il/en/kmusa/israeli-breslavers The Breslovers: Joy, Uman, and Hasidism in Israeli Culture] accessed September 2026.</ref>
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== History ==
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=== Nachman and Nathan ===
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Nachman moved to Bratslav in 1802. His circle "never numbered more than a few hundred" in his lifetime, and he was drawn into bitter disputes with other Hasidic leaders, notably Aryeh Leib of Shpole.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /> He died in Uman in 1810 without naming an heir.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" />
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His disciple and scribe Nathan (Noson) Sternhartz (1780–1844) preserved and published his teachings, including ''Likutei Moharan''. He organised the first Rosh Hashanah gathering (''kibbutz'') at the grave in 1811 and turned it into an annual pilgrimage.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /><ref name="Otzar" />
  
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== History ==
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=== Persecution and the 19th century ===
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Other Hasidic groups persecuted Bratslav Hasidim through the 19th century. In the mid-1830s the campaign was led by Moshe Tsevi of Savran (1775–1837); in the 1860s it was led by tsadikim of the Chernobyl dynasty.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /> Breslov's own history dates "fierce persecution instigated by the Savraner Rebbe", including imprisonment and exile, to 1834.<ref name="Otzar" />
  
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[[Nachman of Breslov|Nachman]] settled in Bratslav in 1802. His scribe [[Nathan of Breslov|Noson Sternhartz]] (Reb Noson) preserved ''Likutei Moharan'' and organised the first Rosh Hashanah ''kibbutz'' at the Uman grave in 1811 after [[Nachman of Breslov|Nachman]]’s death.<ref name="Otzar" /> Other Hasidic courts in Ukraine attacked Breslovers through the nineteenth century.
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=== Soviet rule and the Holocaust ===
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The movement survived Soviet suppression. Between the wars a centre in Lublin, Poland, took the place of Uman for several hundred followers.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /> Yitzchok Breiter (1886–1943) spread Breslov teaching in Poland and was murdered at Treblinka.<ref name="Otzar" />
  
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By the First World War there were thousands of Breslovers in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. [[Yitzchok Breiter]] spread the teaching in interwar Poland and was murdered at Treblinka. Soviet rule drove the movement underground; [[Michel Dorfman]] later coordinated clandestine Uman visits. Nazis and Stalinist purges destroyed most East European communities.<ref name="BRIUman" /> Survivors rebuilt in the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]] and Israel.
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According to the Breslov Research Institute (BRI), the Nazis made Uman ''Judenrein''. Under Soviet rule small groups made clandestine visits to the grave until 1989, and Michel Dorfman was the de facto head of Breslov in Russia.<ref name="BRIUman" /> The [[Soviet Jewish underground]] page covers this period.
  
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[[Eliyahu Chaim Rosen]] founded a Jerusalem yeshiva in the 1950s. [[Levi Yitzchok Bender]] (1897–1989) headed the Mea Shearim synagogue and drew thousands of returnees. [[Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld]] (1922–1978) planted Breslov in America and began English translation. [[Chaim Kramer]] has directed the [[Breslov Research Institute]] since 1979.<ref name="Otzar" /><ref name="BRIDonate">Breslov Research Institute, [https://breslov.org/donate/ Donate] ''Breslov.org'', accessed September 2026.</ref>
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=== Rebuilding after 1945 ===
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After the Second World War Breslov re-emerged in Israel and the Americas.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" />
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* Eliyahu Chaim Rosen founded the Breslov Yeshiva in Jerusalem in the 1950s.<ref name="Otzar" />
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* Levi Yitzchok Bender (1897–1989) headed the Breslov synagogue in Jerusalem and drew "thousands of baalei teshuvah".<ref name="Otzar" />
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* Gedaliah Aharon Koenig rebuilt the community in Safed.<ref name="Otzar" />
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* Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld (1922–1978) brought Breslov to the United States and began English translation.<ref name="Otzar" />
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* Aryeh Kaplan's English translation appeared in 1973, and in 1979 Chaim Kramer founded the Breslov Research Institute.<ref name="Otzar" />
  
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== Factions and leaders ==
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The historian David Biale says Breslov remained "very, very small" until the fall of Communism. Since then it "has taken off" and become "a missionizing movement".<ref name="Biale" />
  
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There is no single hierarchy. Main contemporary clusters include:
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== Size and following ==
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There is no membership count. The YIVO Encyclopedia describes Breslov today as small and fragmented, with no living rebbe, but popular among secular Jews since the late 20th century.<ref name="YIVOBratslav" /> The Israeli writer Shlomi Rosenfeld gives a popular estimate of "100,000 or more". He describes many followers as ''baalei teshuvah'', Ashkenazi or Mizrahi, in communities that each have their own rebbe.<ref name="Rosenfeld" /> Biale says many Uman pilgrims "are not really Bratslav" but "fellow travelers".<ref name="Biale" />
  
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* '''Vaad HaOlami Chasidei Breslov''' – the older Jerusalem/Mea Shearim stream; figures include [[Yaakov Meir Shechter]].
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An [[Israel Democracy Institute]] survey from July and August 2026 found that 8 per cent of adult Jewish Israelis had visited Nachman's grave at least once. The figure was 13 per cent among Mizrahi Jews and 5 per cent among Ashkenazi Jews.<ref name="RISU2026" />
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* '''Tzfat / Koenig line''' – [[Gedaliah Aharon Koenig]] rebuilt a community in [[Safed]]; [[Elazar Mordechai Kenig]] continues it.
 
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* '''[[Shuvu Banim]] / [[Eliezer Berland]]''' – yeshiva founded 1978 in [[Bnei Brak]], from 1980–82 also in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City (Hebron Road). [[Berland]] drew mass ''teshuvah''; he has faced criminal conviction in Israel and the group has been described as a cult by the Israeli Centre for Cult Victims. A student, [[Shalom Arush]], founded [[Chut Shel Chessed]] in Jerusalem.<ref name="Haaretz2010">Haaretz, [https://www.haaretz.com/2010-12-15/ty-article/upheaval-in-a-breslav-hasidic-court/0000017f-db22-df9c-a17f-ff3a4a7c0000 Upheaval in a Breslav Hasidic Court] ''Haaretz'', 15 December 2010.</ref>
 
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* '''Na Nach''' – followers of [[Yisroel Ber Odesser]] (c. 1888–1994) and the mantra ''Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman''. Visible street vans and dancing; rejected by much of mainstream Breslov. [[Odesser]] lived for periods in [[Meron]], [[Safed]], Tiberias, [[Beitar Illit]], Mevaseret Zion and Jerusalem neighbourhoods including [[Neve Yaakov]].
 
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* '''Heichal Hakodesh / [[Eliezer Shlomo Schick]] (Mohorosh)''' – “Breslov City” in [[Yavne'el]] in the Lower Galilee from the mid-1980s; about 400 families by 2015 (around 30 per cent of the town). [[Schick]] also ran halls in Borough Park, Monroe, Monsey and Williamsburg. After his death in 2015 a family court assigned communal assets to his son [[Moshe Schick]]. A 2023 BBC Storyville film alleged systematic abuse in the Yavne'el community.<ref name="JewishNews2023">Jenni Frazer, [https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/the-doc-that-shocked-israel/ The doc that shocked Israel] ''Jewish News'', 24 May 2023.</ref><ref name="Hidabroot">Hidabroot, [https://www.hidabroot.com/article/17174 Remembering the Tzadik of Yavniel] ''Hidabroot'', January 2026.</ref>
 
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* '''[[Breslov Research Institute]]''' – translation and publishing house, Jerusalem and Monsey, directed by [[Chaim Kramer]].
 
  
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== Uman pilgrimage ==
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== Leaders and groups ==
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There is no single hierarchy. The main groups are listed below.
  
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[[Nachman of Breslov|Nachman]] said his “entire mission is Rosh Hashanah.” The Uman ''kibbutz'' grew from a few dozen visitors in the early 1990s to tens of thousands, overwhelmingly Israeli men.<ref name="YnetWhy">Ynet, [https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/bjpbfv2ygx Why do tens of thousands of Israelis travel to Uman on Rosh Hashanah?] ''Ynet News'', 27 August 2025.</ref> Organisers have spoken of more than 35,000 in peacetime years.<ref name="BRIUman" /> An Israel Democracy Institute survey reported that 8 per cent of adult Jewish Israelis have visited the grave at least once (13 per cent of Mizrahi Jews).<ref name="RISU2026">Religious Information Service of Ukraine, [https://risu.ua/en/8-of-adult-jews-in-israel-have-pilgrimage-experience-at-rabbi-nachmans-tomb-in-uman_n166302 8% of adult Jews in Israel have pilgrimage experience at Rabbi Nachman's gravesite in Uman] ''RISU'', 11 September 2026.</ref>
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ Main Breslov groups and leaders
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! Group !! Leader(s) !! Base !! Notes
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|-
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| World Committee of Breslov Chassidim (Vaad Olami D'Chasidei Breslov) || Michel Dorfman (chairman); members include Yaakov Meir Shechter, Moshe Burstien, Moshe Kramer, Nosson Libermensh, Elazar Mordechai Kenig and Moshe Keonig || 36 Salant Street, P.O.B. 5944, Jerusalem || Organises the Uman pilgrimage.<ref name="Vaad" />
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|-
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| Safed community || Gedaliah Aharon Koenig; his son Elazar Mordechai Koenig || Safed || Elazar Koenig is the community's spiritual leader.<ref name="Vaad" /><ref name="Otzar" />
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|-
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| Shuvu Banim || Eliezer Berland || Rehov Hebron 32 (Maaleh Haldia), Old City, Jerusalem, P.O.B. 57251, Jerusalem 9157102; US office 551 East 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11218 || Yeshiva and community; Berland has two criminal convictions (see [[#Controversies|Controversies]]).<ref name="ShuvuSite" /><ref name="JPost2021" />
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|-
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| Chut Shel Chessed / Breslev.co.il || Shalom Arush || Jerusalem || Breslev.co.il calls Arush head of the Chut Shel Chessed institutions.<ref name="BreslevDonate" />
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|-
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| Na Nach || Followers of Israel Ber Odesser (1888–1994) || Israel || One of several movements to come out of Breslov; followers regard Odesser as the Messiah.<ref name="Folk2018" />
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|-
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| Yavne'el community (Heichal Hakodesh) || Eliezer Shlomo Schick (died 2015) || Yavne'el, Lower Galilee; Boro Park, Brooklyn || See [[#Yavne'el|below]].<ref name="Hidabroot" /><ref name="JewishNews2023" />
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|-
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| Breslov Research Institute || Chaim Kramer (founder, 1979) || 8 Avinadav Street, POB 5370, Jerusalem; POB 587, Monsey, NY 10952 || Translation and publishing.<ref name="Otzar" /><ref name="BRIDonate" />
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|}
  
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Ukraine has refused Israeli requests (including from [[Chaim Herzog]] and [[Tzipi Hotovely]]) to move the remains, calling the grave a cultural asset.<ref name="YnetWhy" /> During the Russia–Ukraine war the pilgrimage continued. In 2025–26 Israeli coverage focused on wartime state funding (reports of 10 million shekels) and on arrests of draft-age Haredi men at Ben Gurion Airport. Arutz Sheva reported about 70 Breslov Hasidim among those jailed as alleged deserters while trying to fly to Uman in September 2026; legal desks were set up at the Ashkenazi Kloiz in Uman for men fearing arrest on return.<ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/433073 70 Breslov Hassidim jailed after attempting to fly to Uman] ''Arutz Sheva'', 11 September 2026.</ref> Parallel Rosh Hashanah gatherings have been held at Adama V’Shamayim farm in [[Yavne'el]].<ref name="YnetGalilee">Ynet, [https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/hkmtaotuzl Breslov Hasidim recreate Uman in Israel] ''Ynet News'', 12 August 2026.</ref>
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=== Shuvu Banim ===
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Shuvu Banim is a yeshiva and community led by Eliezer Berland. The ''Jerusalem Post'' calls it "the Shuvu Banim sect of the Breslov hassidic community".<ref name="JPost2021" /> A history published on Berland's website says the yeshiva's students were based in Bnei Brak until the early 1980s. In 1981–82 the Atara L'Yoshna organisation obtained the former Chayei Olam yeshiva building on Maale Halediya for them. The street had been left outside the rebuilt Jewish Quarter after 1967. The organisation paid one Arab resident key money (''damei mafteach'') to leave, and several Arab families were still living in the courtyard when Shuvu Banim moved in.<ref name="RavBerland" /> The yeshiva gives its address as Rehov Hebron 32 (Maaleh Haldia) in the Old City. Its listed departments include a "Fund for the Redemption of Buildings in the Old City".<ref name="ShuvuSite" />
  
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== Israel, occupied territory and settlements ==
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In December 2010 ''Haaretz'' reported that Berland had "reinstated himself" at the head of the community. He said he had been "exploited for years by the powerful court built around him by his son and grandson".<ref name="Haaretz2010" />
  
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Breslov is unusually embedded in Israeli public life for a Haredi stream: street outreach, Mizrahi ''teshuvah'', and the Uman airlift from Ben Gurion. Stance toward Zionism and the [[IDF]] varies by faction. Core Haredi circles generally do not send sons to the army; other Breslov-influenced returnees and “hilltop” youth do serve. [[Shalom Arush]]’s [[Chut Shel Chessed]] / Breslev.co.il has run campaigns of “spiritual iron swords” and prayer with [[IDF]] soldiers.<ref name="BreslevDonate">Breslev.co.il, [https://breslev.co.il/%d7%aa%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%aa/ Donations] accessed September 2026.</ref>
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=== Na Nach ===
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Na Nach followers regard Israel Ber Odesser (1888–1994) as the Messiah, in a line of reincarnations of Nachman. The religion scholar Holly Folk calls them one of several modern movements to emerge from the Breslov tradition.<ref name="Folk2018" /> Rosenfeld describes their vans playing music and the "Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman" logo.<ref name="Rosenfeld" />
  
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=== Inside the Green Line ===
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=== Yavne'el ===
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Eliezer Shlomo Schick (known as Mohorosh) settled his followers in Yavne'el in Lower Galilee in 1986. According to Hidabroot, the community now numbers about 400 families, and a large synagogue was built there in 2012. His students also run study halls in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Bat Yam, Netivot, Tel Aviv and Beersheba. In the United States, where Schick spent most of the year, his main study hall was in Boro Park, and his students set up halls in Monroe, Monsey and Williamsburg.<ref name="Hidabroot" /> Schick died in 2015, aged 74.<ref name="JewishNews2023" />
  
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Historic centres: [[Mea Shearim]] and the Old City ([[Shuvu Banim]] on Hebron Road in the Muslim Quarter — a settler-yeshiva footprint inside occupied East Jerusalem); [[Bnei Brak]]; [[Safed]]; [[Meron]] (Rosh Hashanah at the grave of [[Shimon bar Yochai]]); [[Yavne'el]] (“Breslov City”); Ramat Beit Shemesh (Kehillas Chen Hanachal / Breslov shul appeal); Ashdod, Bat Yam, Netivot, Tel Aviv, Beersheba.<ref name="Hidabroot" /><ref name="BuildShul">Kehillas Chen Hanachal, [https://www.buildabreslovshul.com/ Build a Breslov Shul in Israel] Ramat Beit Shemesh Alef, accessed September 2026.</ref>
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== Uman pilgrimage ==
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In the early 1990s only a few dozen Hasidim travelled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. The pilgrimage now draws tens of thousands, many of them secular Israelis.<ref name="YnetWhy" /> The BRI puts the number at "more than 35,000".<ref name="BRIUman" /> The World Committee of Breslov Chassidim organises the pilgrimage.<ref name="Vaad" />
  
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=== Occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank ===
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Israel has tried to move Nachman's remains to Israel; the idea was raised by President [[Chaim Herzog]] in 1992 and by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. Ukraine refused, calling the grave a "cultural asset".<ref name="YnetWhy" />
  
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[[Shuvu Banim]]’s Old City campus sits in occupied East Jerusalem. Na Nach activity has included [[Beitar Illit]] and [[Neve Yaakov]]. [[Chaim Kramer]]’s family correspondence from the [[Breslov Research Institute]] has described rockets over [[Beitar Illit]], “the city where I live, south of Jerusalem.”<ref name="BRIBeitar">Breslov Research Institute, [https://breslov.org/in-every-generation-they-rise-up-to-destroy-us/ In Every Generation They Rise Up to Destroy Us] ''Breslov.org'', 15 April 2024.</ref> [[Beitar Illit]] is a large Haredi settlement built from the late 1980s on land taken from Palestinian villages in the Gush Etzion bloc; it is illegal under international law.
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In 2025 an allocation of 10 million shekels in wartime drew attention, as did efforts to let draft evaders travel without being arrested.<ref name="YnetWhy" /> In September 2026 the Hifkadity Shomrim organisation reported that about 70 of the 80 Haredi men held in military jails were Breslov Hasidim. They had been arrested at Ben Gurion Airport as IDF deserters or draft evaders while trying to fly to Uman. A lawyer, Shlomo Haddad, held advice sessions at the Ashkenazi Kloiz in Uman for men who feared arrest on their return.<ref name="INN2026" /> Hundreds of Breslov Hasidim planned to spend Rosh Hashanah 2026 at the Adama V'Shamayim farm in Yavne'el instead.<ref name="YnetGalilee" />
  
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David Biale and colleagues noted Hasidim or “quasi-Hasidim,” especially tied to [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] and Bratslav, on illegal West Bank “hilltop” outposts — mostly Religious-Zionist youth not recognised as Hasidim by mainstream courts. That hilltop Breslov current is politically closer to the settlement movement than to Mea Shearim quietism.
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The [[Uman]] page covers the pilgrimage in more detail.
  
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Published UK and US charity filings name “Israel” (and often Ukraine) as fields of operation. They do not publish a split between activity inside the 1949 Armistice lines, East Jerusalem, [[Beitar Illit]], or outposts.
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== Israel, the army and the occupied territories ==
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Many young Breslov men are among the Haredi draft evaders arrested by Israeli military police (see [[#Uman pilgrimage|Uman pilgrimage]]).<ref name="INN2026" /> At the same time, Breslev.co.il, the website linked to Shalom Arush's Chut Shel Chessed, runs a donation campaign called "spiritual iron swords for IDF soldiers" (חרבות ברזל רוחניות לחיילי צה"ל).<ref name="BreslevDonate" />
  
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== United Kingdom, United States and money flows ==
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=== Occupied East Jerusalem ===
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The Shuvu Banim yeshiva is in the Old City of Jerusalem, outside the Jewish Quarter. A history published by Berland's followers calls its acquisition from the Arab families living there in the early 1980s the "redemption" of the building.<ref name="RavBerland" /><ref name="ShuvuSite" /> In 2024 the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) found that Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law".<ref name="ICJ2024" />
  
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The [[Breslov Research Institute]] raises funds as US EIN 11-2524542, Israeli amuta 58-009-223-7, and through the UK [[Rabbi Nachman of Breslov Charitable Foundation]] (280174), Binyomin Moss-Barclay, 362 Lower Broughton Road, Salford M7 2HW. Addresses include 8 Avinadav Street, Jerusalem, and POB 587, Monsey, New York.<ref name="BRIDonate" />
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=== Beitar Illit ===
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In April 2024 BRI director Chaim Kramer wrote of "rockets above Beitar Illit, the city where I live, south of Jerusalem".<ref name="BRIBeitar" /> The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) says Beitar Illit was set up in 1985 on Palestinian-owned land from the villages of Husan (3,430 dunums), Nahhalin (688 dunums) and Wadi Fukin (567 dunums).<ref name="POICA2010" /> It is one of the West Bank settlements covered by the ICJ finding.<ref name="ICJ2024" />
  
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== Finances and charities ==
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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|+ UK charities using the Breslov name that list Israel and/or Ukraine
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|+ Fundraising bodies linked to Breslov
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! Charity !! Number !! Office !! Stated overseas areas
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! Body !! Country !! Number !! Address !! Notes
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Rabbi Nachman of Breslov Charitable Foundation]] || 280174 || Salford M7 || Channel for [[Breslov Research Institute]] / Israel
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| Breslov Research Institute || United States || Tax ID 11-2524542 || POB 587, Monsey, NY 10952 || BRI's US channel<ref name="BRIDonate" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Breslov Shul Trust]] || 1184303 || 38 Braydon Road, London N16 || Belgium, [[Israel]], Ukraine, United States; objects include relief of poverty in England and Wales, the USA, Israel and Europe<ref name="CCBreslovShul">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5134891/full-print BRESLOV SHUL TRUST – 1184303] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed September 2026.</ref>
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| Breslov Research Institute || Israel || Amuta 58-009-223-7 || 8 Avinadav Street, POB 5370, Jerusalem || <ref name="BRIDonate" />
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|-
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| The Rabbi Nachman of Breslov Charitable Foundation || England and Wales || Charity 280174 || c/o Binyomin Moss-Barclay, 362 Lower Broughton Road, Salford M7 2HW || BRI's UK channel<ref name="BRIDonate" />
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|-
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| Canadian Friends of Chasidei Breslov || Canada || – || c/o Mr Chaim Oliver, 7601 Bathurst Suite 904, Thornhill, Ontario L4J 4H5 || BRI's Canadian channel<ref name="BRIDonate" />
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|-
 +
| Breslov Shul Trust || England and Wales || Charity 1184303 (CIO, registered 8 July 2019) || 38 Braydon Road, London N16 6QB || Works in England, Belgium, Israel, Ukraine and the United States; objects include relief of poverty in England and Wales, the USA, Israel and Europe. Year to 31 December 2024: income £56,062, spending £54,161.<ref name="CCBreslovShul" />
 +
|-
 +
| DEJ International Heritage Foundation || United States || Tax ID 51-0541244 || 4930 Sabal Palm Blvd. Apt 303, Tamarac, FL 33319 || Collects for the Kehillas Chen Hanachal Breslov synagogue in Ramat Beit Shemesh Alef; Israeli amuta 58-041-556-9<ref name="BuildShul" />
 +
|-
 +
| Shuvu Banim (US office) || United States || EIN 13-2983832 || 551 East 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11218 || <ref name="ShuvuSite" />
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
US donors also fund a Breslov synagogue appeal in Ramat Beit Shemesh via DEJ International Heritage Foundation (Tax ID 51-0541244) and Israeli amuta 58-041-556-9.<ref name="BuildShul" /> Canadian Friends of Chasidei Breslov collect in Ontario for the same network.<ref name="BRIDonate" />
+
The Charity Commission register lists Israel and Ukraine among the Breslov Shul Trust's areas of operation. It does not say where in Israel or the occupied territories the money is spent.<ref name="CCBreslovShul" />
  
−
== Locations ==
+
== Controversies ==
 +
=== Criminal convictions ===
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Criminal convictions of Eliezer Berland
 +
! Year !! Court and process !! Offences !! Sentence
 +
|-
 +
| 2016 || Plea bargain after extradition from South Africa || Indecent assault against two women, and assault on the husband of one of them, whom he had beaten for reporting the matter to the press || 18 months<ref name="JPost2021" /><ref name="INN2021" />
 +
|-
 +
| 7 June 2021 || Jerusalem District Court, plea bargain || Fraud, extortion and exploitation of people in distress, attempted intimidation, tax offences and money laundering || 18 months (13 already served), fine of NIS 2,415,000 and compensation to victims<ref name="JPost2021" /><ref name="Ynet2021" /><ref name="INN2021" />
 +
|}
 +
Investigators said Berland had used his position in Shuvu Banim, and his followers' belief in his spiritual powers, to take money from hundreds of people.<ref name="INN2021" /> The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office said he had been convicted on his own confession and of "embezzlement of tens of millions of shekels".<ref name="Ynet2021" />
  
−
* '''Ukraine:''' Uman (grave and kloiz); Bratslav (grave of [[Nathan of Breslov]]).
+
=== Civil cases ===
−
* '''Israel / occupied territory:''' Jerusalem (Mea Shearim; Old City / Muslim Quarter); [[Bnei Brak]]; [[Safed]]; [[Meron]]; [[Yavne'el]]; Ramat Beit Shemesh; [[Beitar Illit]]; [[Neve Yaakov]]; Ashdod; Bat Yam; Netivot; Tel Aviv; Beersheba; hilltop outposts (quasi-Breslov).
+
Moishi Schick, son of Eliezer Shlomo Schick, was reported in 2023 to be "mounting a legal action to claim a massive financial inheritance from his father".<ref name="JewishNews2023" />
−
* '''United States:''' Monsey; Borough Park; Williamsburg; Monroe.
+
 
−
* '''United Kingdom:''' Stamford Hill (Breslov Shul Trust); Salford (280174).
+
=== Allegations ===
−
* '''France:''' substantial ''teshuvah'' following around [[Odesser]] and later rabbis.
+
* '''Berland, 2012–2016.''' Allegations of sexual misconduct against Berland surfaced in 2012. He left Israel and travelled in Europe and Africa until his arrest in South Africa.<ref name="INNCult2018" /><ref name="INN2021" />
 +
* '''Cult description, 2018.''' In 2018 the Israeli Center for Cult Victims, led by Rachel Lichtenstein, asked that Berland be stopped from lighting the Lag Ba'Omer bonfire at Meron. It called his group a sect and warned that new people could become "the next victims".<ref name="INNCult2018" />
 +
* '''Yavne'el, 2023.''' The BBC Storyville film ''In the Name of the Father'', directed by Bat-Dor Ojalvo, alleged sexual abuse of children, illegal under-age marriages and physical and emotional violence in the Yavne'el community, with Schick presiding from Brooklyn. After the film was shown in Israel, the police, the attorney-general's office and the education and social welfare ministries began an inquiry.<ref name="JewishNews2023" />
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
−
 
 
* [[Nachman of Breslov]]
 
* [[Nachman of Breslov]]
 +
* [[Uman]]
 
* [[Soviet Jewish underground]]
 
* [[Soviet Jewish underground]]
−
* [[Nathan of Breslov]]
 
−
* [[Yisroel Ber Odesser]]
 
−
* [[Eliezer Berland]]
 
−
* [[Shalom Arush]]
 
−
* [[Eliezer Shlomo Schick]]
 
 
* [[Hasidic dynasties]]
 
* [[Hasidic dynasties]]
−
* [[Beitar Illit]]
 
 
* [[Chabad-Lubavitch]]
 
* [[Chabad-Lubavitch]]
 
* [[Yitzchak Ginsburgh]]
 
* [[Yitzchak Ginsburgh]]
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
−
 
 
* [https://breslov.org/ Breslov Research Institute]
 
* [https://breslov.org/ Breslov Research Institute]
−
* [https://breslov.org/donate/ BRI donation pages (US, Israel, UK, Canada)]
+
* [https://www.breslov.com/vaad/ World Committee of Breslov Chassidim]
−
* [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5134891/full-print Breslov Shul Trust (UK 1184303)]
+
* [https://breslev.co.il/ Breslev.co.il (Chut Shel Chessed)]
−
* [https://breslev.co.il/ Chut Shel Chessed / Breslev.co.il]
+
* [https://www.shuvubonim.org/ Shuvu Banim]
−
* [https://www.buildabreslovshul.com/ Ramat Beit Shemesh Breslov shul appeal]
+
* [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5134891/full-print Breslov Shul Trust, Charity Commission register]
−
 
+
* [https://www.buildabreslovshul.com/ Kehillas Chen Hanachal appeal, Ramat Beit Shemesh]
−
== Resources ==
 
−
 
 
 
* [https://breslov.org/ask-a-breslover-4/ Breslov.org: Ask a Breslover]
 
* [https://breslov.org/ask-a-breslover-4/ Breslov.org: Ask a Breslover]
  
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==
 +
<references>
 +
<ref name="YIVOBratslav">Ada Rapoport-Albert, [https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Bratslav_Hasidism Bratslav Hasidism] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Otzar">Otzar Breslov, [https://otzarbreslov.com/ A Treasury of Breslov Torah, Stories & Advice] ''Otzar Breslov'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="BRIUman">Gedaliah Fleer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20260720190130/https://breslov.org/getting-to-uman/ Getting to Uman] ''Breslov Research Institute'', 15 September 2025, archived 20 July 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="BRIDonate">Breslov Research Institute, [https://web.archive.org/web/20261008232352/https://breslov.org/donate/ Donate] ''Breslov.org'', archived 8 October 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="BRIBeitar">Chaim Kramer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20260213133507/https://breslov.org/in-every-generation-they-rise-up-to-destroy-us/ In Every Generation They Rise Up to Destroy Us] ''Breslov Research Institute'', 15 April 2024, archived 13 February 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Vaad">Vaad Olami D'Chasidei Breslov, [https://www.breslov.com/vaad/ World Committee of Breslov Chassidim] ''breslov.com'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Rosenfeld">Shlomi Rosenfeld, [https://www.shlomirosenfeld.co.il/en/kmusa/israeli-breslavers The Breslovers: Joy, Uman, and Hasidism in Israeli Culture] ''shlomirosenfeld.co.il'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Biale">Jason Lustig, [https://web.archive.org/web/20240415032659/https://www.jewishhistory.fm/new-history-hasidism-with-david-biale/ A New History of Hasidism with David Biale] ''Jewish History Matters'', 2 September 2018, archived 15 April 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="RISU2026">RISU, [https://risu.ua/en/8-of-adult-jews-in-israel-have-pilgrimage-experience-at-rabbi-nachmans-tomb-in-uman_n166302 8% of adult Jews in Israel have pilgrimage experience at Rabbi Nachman's gravesite in Uman] ''Religious Information Service of Ukraine'', 11 September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="ShuvuSite">Shuvu Banim, [https://www.shuvubonim.org/ Yeshivat Shuvu Banim] ''shuvubonim.org'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="RavBerland">Rav Berland website, [https://ravberland.com/en/blog/featured-article-history-of-the-shuvu-banim-yeshiva-in-the-old-city History of the Shuvu Banim Yeshiva in the Old City] ''ravberland.com'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Haaretz2010">Yair Ettinger, [https://web.archive.org/web/20260527234552/https://www.haaretz.com/2010-12-15/ty-article/upheaval-in-a-breslav-hasidic-court/0000017f-db22-df9c-a17f-ff3a4a7c0000 Upheaval in a Breslav Hasidic Court] ''Haaretz'', 15 December 2010, archived 27 May 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="BreslevDonate">Breslev.co.il, [https://breslev.co.il/%d7%aa%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%aa/ תרומות (Donations)] ''Breslev.co.il'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Folk2018">Holly Folk, [https://cesnur.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/tjoc_2_6_3_folk.pdf The Religious Challenge of Neo-Hasidic Judaism: Contextualizing the Daniel Ambash Case] ''The Journal of CESNUR'' 2/6, November–December 2018, pp. 37–53, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Hidabroot">Hidabroot, [https://www.hidabroot.com/article/17174 Remembering the Tzadik of Yavniel] ''Hidabroot'', 18 January 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="JewishNews2023">Jenni Frazer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20250124004657/https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/the-doc-that-shocked-israel/ The doc that shocked Israel] ''Jewish News'', 24 May 2023, archived 24 January 2025, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="YnetWhy">Shilo Freid, [https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/bjpbfv2ygx Why do tens of thousands of Israelis travel to Uman on Rosh Hashanah?] ''Ynet News'', 27 August 2025, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/433073 70 Breslov Hassidim jailed after attempting to fly to Uman] ''Arutz Sheva'', 11 September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="YnetGalilee">Shilo Freid, [https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/hkmtaotuzl Breslov Hasidim recreate Uman in Israel as draft-age men fear arrest upon return] ''Ynet News'', 12 August 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="ICJ2024">International Court of Justice, [https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176 Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024] ''icj-cij.org'', 19 July 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="POICA2010">Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem, [https://poica.org/2010/03/expanding-the-settlement-of-betar-illit-warmly-welcoming-to-the-us-mideast-special-envoy-g-mitchell/ "Expanding the settlement of Betar Illit" Warmly welcoming to the US Mideast special envoy G. Mitchell] ''POICA'', 9 March 2010, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCBreslovShul">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5134891/full-print Breslov Shul Trust – 1184303] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="BuildShul">Kehillas Chen Hanachal, [https://www.buildabreslovshul.com/ Build a Breslov Shul in Israel] ''buildabreslovshul.com'', accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="JPost2021">Jeremy Sharon, [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/notorious-hassidic-leader-berland-convicted-again-670337 Disgraced hassidic leader Berland convicted again] ''Jerusalem Post'', 7 June 2021, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="Ynet2021">Gilad Morag and Haim Goldich, [https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkcGL2sc00 Disgraced rabbi sentenced to 18 months in jail under plea bargain] ''Ynet News'', 7 June 2021, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="INN2021">Arutz Sheva Staff, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/307612 Eliezer Berland convicted of extortion and fraud] ''Israel National News'', 7 June 2021, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="INNCult2018">Tzvi Lev, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/245042 'Rabbi Berland is a cult leader'] ''Israel National News'', 26 April 2018, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
</references>
  
−
<references />
+
[[Category:Hasidic dynasties]]
−
 
+
[[Category:Hasidism]]
 
[[Category:Israel]]
 
[[Category:Israel]]
 
[[Category:Zionist movement]]
 
[[Category:Zionist movement]]
−
[[Category:Yeshivas in the West Bank]]
 
 
[[Category:Zionist movement UK]]
 
[[Category:Zionist movement UK]]

Revision as of 22:48, 26 October 2026

Hasidic movement founded by Nachman of Breslov in about 1802, with no hereditary rebbe, an Israeli following and an annual pilgrimage to Uman

Hasidic dynasties
Overview

Hasidic dynasties | Haredi and Hasidic groups in the US | Chabad-Lubavitch movement

Dynasties

Belz | Biala | Bobov | Boyan | Breslov | Chabad-Lubavitch | Chernobyl | Dushinsky | Ger | Karlin-Stolin | Lelov | Munkacs | Nadvorna | Pupa | Rachmastrivka | Sadigura | Sanz-Klausenburg | Sassov | Satmar | Shomer Emunim | Skulen | Skver | Slonim | Spinka | Toldos Aharon | Toldos Avraham Yitzchak | Tosh | Vizhnitz

Founders and early masters

Baal Shem Tov | Dov Ber of Mezeritch | Elimelech of Lizhensk | Shneur Zalman of Liadi | Nachman of Breslov | Moshe Leib of Sassov

Present-day rebbes

Aaron Teitelbaum | Zalman Teitelbaum | Yissachar Dov Rokeach | Yaakov Aryeh Alter | Yisroel Hager | Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam | David Twersky | Boruch Meir Yaakov Shochet

20th-century rebbes

Joel Teitelbaum | Aharon Rokeach | Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Politics and communal bodies

Agudat Yisrael | United Torah Judaism | Degel HaTorah | Edah HaChareidis | Neturei Karta | Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations

Places

Uman | Stamford Hill | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | Kiryas Joel, New York | Bnei Brak | Beitar Illit | Modi'in Illit

United Kingdom

Satmar institutions in the UK | Belz Communities | Satmar Kolel

-
Breslov (חסידות ברסלב)
Founded 1802 Bratslav (Breslov), Podolia, now Ukraine
Founder Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810)
Leader Leadership No rebbe since 1810; independent teachers and groups
Headquarters No single seat; centres in Uman (Ukraine), Jerusalem, Safed, Bnei Brak and Yavne'el
Type Hasidic movement (no hereditary rebbe)
Languages Website Notes

Breslov (also Bratslav or Breslev) is a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810), a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. It takes its name from the Ukrainian town of Bratslav, where Nachman lived from 1802.[2][1] Its practice centres on a personal bond with God through emunah (faith), simcha (joy), hisbodedus (solitary spoken prayer) and teshuvah (repentance), and on the Rosh Hashanah gathering at Nachman's grave in Uman.[1]

Nachman named no successor, and Breslov has had no living rebbe since his death. Other Hasidim called its followers "the dead Hasidim".[2][1] Unlike hereditary courts such as Satmar or Ger, Breslov today is a loose set of communities and networks, many built by baalei teshuvah (returnees to Orthodox practice).[2][3]

The movement's main bodies in Israel and the occupied territories include the World Committee of Breslov Chassidim in Jerusalem, the Shuvu Banim yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Yavne'el community in Galilee and the Breslov Research Institute, whose director lives in the settlement of Beitar Illit in the West Bank.[4][5][6][7]

History

Nachman and Nathan

Nachman moved to Bratslav in 1802. His circle "never numbered more than a few hundred" in his lifetime, and he was drawn into bitter disputes with other Hasidic leaders, notably Aryeh Leib of Shpole.[2] He died in Uman in 1810 without naming an heir.[2]

His disciple and scribe Nathan (Noson) Sternhartz (1780–1844) preserved and published his teachings, including Likutei Moharan. He organised the first Rosh Hashanah gathering (kibbutz) at the grave in 1811 and turned it into an annual pilgrimage.[2][1]

Persecution and the 19th century

Other Hasidic groups persecuted Bratslav Hasidim through the 19th century. In the mid-1830s the campaign was led by Moshe Tsevi of Savran (1775–1837); in the 1860s it was led by tsadikim of the Chernobyl dynasty.[2] Breslov's own history dates "fierce persecution instigated by the Savraner Rebbe", including imprisonment and exile, to 1834.[1]

Soviet rule and the Holocaust

The movement survived Soviet suppression. Between the wars a centre in Lublin, Poland, took the place of Uman for several hundred followers.[2] Yitzchok Breiter (1886–1943) spread Breslov teaching in Poland and was murdered at Treblinka.[1]

According to the Breslov Research Institute (BRI), the Nazis made Uman Judenrein. Under Soviet rule small groups made clandestine visits to the grave until 1989, and Michel Dorfman was the de facto head of Breslov in Russia.[8] The Soviet Jewish underground page covers this period.

Rebuilding after 1945

After the Second World War Breslov re-emerged in Israel and the Americas.[2]

  • Eliyahu Chaim Rosen founded the Breslov Yeshiva in Jerusalem in the 1950s.[1]
  • Levi Yitzchok Bender (1897–1989) headed the Breslov synagogue in Jerusalem and drew "thousands of baalei teshuvah".[1]
  • Gedaliah Aharon Koenig rebuilt the community in Safed.[1]
  • Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld (1922–1978) brought Breslov to the United States and began English translation.[1]
  • Aryeh Kaplan's English translation appeared in 1973, and in 1979 Chaim Kramer founded the Breslov Research Institute.[1]

The historian David Biale says Breslov remained "very, very small" until the fall of Communism. Since then it "has taken off" and become "a missionizing movement".[9]

Size and following

There is no membership count. The YIVO Encyclopedia describes Breslov today as small and fragmented, with no living rebbe, but popular among secular Jews since the late 20th century.[2] The Israeli writer Shlomi Rosenfeld gives a popular estimate of "100,000 or more". He describes many followers as baalei teshuvah, Ashkenazi or Mizrahi, in communities that each have their own rebbe.[3] Biale says many Uman pilgrims "are not really Bratslav" but "fellow travelers".[9]

An Israel Democracy Institute survey from July and August 2026 found that 8 per cent of adult Jewish Israelis had visited Nachman's grave at least once. The figure was 13 per cent among Mizrahi Jews and 5 per cent among Ashkenazi Jews.[10]

Leaders and groups

There is no single hierarchy. The main groups are listed below.

Main Breslov groups and leaders
Group Leader(s) Base Notes
World Committee of Breslov Chassidim (Vaad Olami D'Chasidei Breslov) Michel Dorfman (chairman); members include Yaakov Meir Shechter, Moshe Burstien, Moshe Kramer, Nosson Libermensh, Elazar Mordechai Kenig and Moshe Keonig 36 Salant Street, P.O.B. 5944, Jerusalem Organises the Uman pilgrimage.[4]
Safed community Gedaliah Aharon Koenig; his son Elazar Mordechai Koenig Safed Elazar Koenig is the community's spiritual leader.[4][1]
Shuvu Banim Eliezer Berland Rehov Hebron 32 (Maaleh Haldia), Old City, Jerusalem, P.O.B. 57251, Jerusalem 9157102; US office 551 East 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11218 Yeshiva and community; Berland has two criminal convictions (see Controversies).[5][11]
Chut Shel Chessed / Breslev.co.il Shalom Arush Jerusalem Breslev.co.il calls Arush head of the Chut Shel Chessed institutions.[12]
Na Nach Followers of Israel Ber Odesser (1888–1994) Israel One of several movements to come out of Breslov; followers regard Odesser as the Messiah.[13]
Yavne'el community (Heichal Hakodesh) Eliezer Shlomo Schick (died 2015) Yavne'el, Lower Galilee; Boro Park, Brooklyn See below.[6][14]
Breslov Research Institute Chaim Kramer (founder, 1979) 8 Avinadav Street, POB 5370, Jerusalem; POB 587, Monsey, NY 10952 Translation and publishing.[1][15]

Shuvu Banim

Shuvu Banim is a yeshiva and community led by Eliezer Berland. The Jerusalem Post calls it "the Shuvu Banim sect of the Breslov hassidic community".[11] A history published on Berland's website says the yeshiva's students were based in Bnei Brak until the early 1980s. In 1981–82 the Atara L'Yoshna organisation obtained the former Chayei Olam yeshiva building on Maale Halediya for them. The street had been left outside the rebuilt Jewish Quarter after 1967. The organisation paid one Arab resident key money (damei mafteach) to leave, and several Arab families were still living in the courtyard when Shuvu Banim moved in.[16] The yeshiva gives its address as Rehov Hebron 32 (Maaleh Haldia) in the Old City. Its listed departments include a "Fund for the Redemption of Buildings in the Old City".[5]

In December 2010 Haaretz reported that Berland had "reinstated himself" at the head of the community. He said he had been "exploited for years by the powerful court built around him by his son and grandson".[17]

Na Nach

Na Nach followers regard Israel Ber Odesser (1888–1994) as the Messiah, in a line of reincarnations of Nachman. The religion scholar Holly Folk calls them one of several modern movements to emerge from the Breslov tradition.[13] Rosenfeld describes their vans playing music and the "Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman" logo.[3]

Yavne'el

Eliezer Shlomo Schick (known as Mohorosh) settled his followers in Yavne'el in Lower Galilee in 1986. According to Hidabroot, the community now numbers about 400 families, and a large synagogue was built there in 2012. His students also run study halls in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Bat Yam, Netivot, Tel Aviv and Beersheba. In the United States, where Schick spent most of the year, his main study hall was in Boro Park, and his students set up halls in Monroe, Monsey and Williamsburg.[6] Schick died in 2015, aged 74.[14]

Uman pilgrimage

In the early 1990s only a few dozen Hasidim travelled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. The pilgrimage now draws tens of thousands, many of them secular Israelis.[18] The BRI puts the number at "more than 35,000".[8] The World Committee of Breslov Chassidim organises the pilgrimage.[4]

Israel has tried to move Nachman's remains to Israel; the idea was raised by President Chaim Herzog in 1992 and by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely. Ukraine refused, calling the grave a "cultural asset".[18]

In 2025 an allocation of 10 million shekels in wartime drew attention, as did efforts to let draft evaders travel without being arrested.[18] In September 2026 the Hifkadity Shomrim organisation reported that about 70 of the 80 Haredi men held in military jails were Breslov Hasidim. They had been arrested at Ben Gurion Airport as IDF deserters or draft evaders while trying to fly to Uman. A lawyer, Shlomo Haddad, held advice sessions at the Ashkenazi Kloiz in Uman for men who feared arrest on their return.[19] Hundreds of Breslov Hasidim planned to spend Rosh Hashanah 2026 at the Adama V'Shamayim farm in Yavne'el instead.[20]

The Uman page covers the pilgrimage in more detail.

Israel, the army and the occupied territories

Many young Breslov men are among the Haredi draft evaders arrested by Israeli military police (see Uman pilgrimage).[19] At the same time, Breslev.co.il, the website linked to Shalom Arush's Chut Shel Chessed, runs a donation campaign called "spiritual iron swords for IDF soldiers" (חרבות ברזל רוחניות לחיילי צה"ל).[12]

Occupied East Jerusalem

The Shuvu Banim yeshiva is in the Old City of Jerusalem, outside the Jewish Quarter. A history published by Berland's followers calls its acquisition from the Arab families living there in the early 1980s the "redemption" of the building.[16][5] In 2024 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law".[21]

Beitar Illit

In April 2024 BRI director Chaim Kramer wrote of "rockets above Beitar Illit, the city where I live, south of Jerusalem".[7] The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) says Beitar Illit was set up in 1985 on Palestinian-owned land from the villages of Husan (3,430 dunums), Nahhalin (688 dunums) and Wadi Fukin (567 dunums).[22] It is one of the West Bank settlements covered by the ICJ finding.[21]

Finances and charities

Fundraising bodies linked to Breslov
Body Country Number Address Notes
Breslov Research Institute United States Tax ID 11-2524542 POB 587, Monsey, NY 10952 BRI's US channel[15]
Breslov Research Institute Israel Amuta 58-009-223-7 8 Avinadav Street, POB 5370, Jerusalem [15]
The Rabbi Nachman of Breslov Charitable Foundation England and Wales Charity 280174 c/o Binyomin Moss-Barclay, 362 Lower Broughton Road, Salford M7 2HW BRI's UK channel[15]
Canadian Friends of Chasidei Breslov Canada – c/o Mr Chaim Oliver, 7601 Bathurst Suite 904, Thornhill, Ontario L4J 4H5 BRI's Canadian channel[15]
Breslov Shul Trust England and Wales Charity 1184303 (CIO, registered 8 July 2019) 38 Braydon Road, London N16 6QB Works in England, Belgium, Israel, Ukraine and the United States; objects include relief of poverty in England and Wales, the USA, Israel and Europe. Year to 31 December 2024: income £56,062, spending £54,161.[23]
DEJ International Heritage Foundation United States Tax ID 51-0541244 4930 Sabal Palm Blvd. Apt 303, Tamarac, FL 33319 Collects for the Kehillas Chen Hanachal Breslov synagogue in Ramat Beit Shemesh Alef; Israeli amuta 58-041-556-9[24]
Shuvu Banim (US office) United States EIN 13-2983832 551 East 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11218 [5]

The Charity Commission register lists Israel and Ukraine among the Breslov Shul Trust's areas of operation. It does not say where in Israel or the occupied territories the money is spent.[23]

Controversies

Criminal convictions

Criminal convictions of Eliezer Berland
Year Court and process Offences Sentence
2016 Plea bargain after extradition from South Africa Indecent assault against two women, and assault on the husband of one of them, whom he had beaten for reporting the matter to the press 18 months[11][25]
7 June 2021 Jerusalem District Court, plea bargain Fraud, extortion and exploitation of people in distress, attempted intimidation, tax offences and money laundering 18 months (13 already served), fine of NIS 2,415,000 and compensation to victims[11][26][25]

Investigators said Berland had used his position in Shuvu Banim, and his followers' belief in his spiritual powers, to take money from hundreds of people.[25] The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office said he had been convicted on his own confession and of "embezzlement of tens of millions of shekels".[26]

Civil cases

Moishi Schick, son of Eliezer Shlomo Schick, was reported in 2023 to be "mounting a legal action to claim a massive financial inheritance from his father".[14]

Allegations

  • Berland, 2012–2016. Allegations of sexual misconduct against Berland surfaced in 2012. He left Israel and travelled in Europe and Africa until his arrest in South Africa.[27][25]
  • Cult description, 2018. In 2018 the Israeli Center for Cult Victims, led by Rachel Lichtenstein, asked that Berland be stopped from lighting the Lag Ba'Omer bonfire at Meron. It called his group a sect and warned that new people could become "the next victims".[27]
  • Yavne'el, 2023. The BBC Storyville film In the Name of the Father, directed by Bat-Dor Ojalvo, alleged sexual abuse of children, illegal under-age marriages and physical and emotional violence in the Yavne'el community, with Schick presiding from Brooklyn. After the film was shown in Israel, the police, the attorney-general's office and the education and social welfare ministries began an inquiry.[14]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Otzar Breslov, A Treasury of Breslov Torah, Stories & Advice Otzar Breslov, accessed 26 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Ada Rapoport-Albert, Bratslav Hasidism YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 26 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shlomi Rosenfeld, The Breslovers: Joy, Uman, and Hasidism in Israeli Culture shlomirosenfeld.co.il, accessed 26 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Vaad Olami D'Chasidei Breslov, World Committee of Breslov Chassidim breslov.com, accessed 26 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Shuvu Banim, Yeshivat Shuvu Banim shuvubonim.org, accessed 26 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Hidabroot, Remembering the Tzadik of Yavniel Hidabroot, 18 January 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chaim Kramer, In Every Generation They Rise Up to Destroy Us Breslov Research Institute, 15 April 2024, archived 13 February 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gedaliah Fleer, Getting to Uman Breslov Research Institute, 15 September 2025, archived 20 July 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Jason Lustig, A New History of Hasidism with David Biale Jewish History Matters, 2 September 2018, archived 15 April 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.
  10. ↑ RISU, 8% of adult Jews in Israel have pilgrimage experience at Rabbi Nachman's gravesite in Uman Religious Information Service of Ukraine, 11 September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Jeremy Sharon, Disgraced hassidic leader Berland convicted again Jerusalem Post, 7 June 2021, accessed 26 October 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Breslev.co.il, תרומות (Donations) Breslev.co.il, accessed 26 October 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Holly Folk, The Religious Challenge of Neo-Hasidic Judaism: Contextualizing the Daniel Ambash Case The Journal of CESNUR 2/6, November–December 2018, pp. 37–53, accessed 26 October 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Jenni Frazer, The doc that shocked Israel Jewish News, 24 May 2023, archived 24 January 2025, accessed 26 October 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Breslov Research Institute, Donate Breslov.org, archived 8 October 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Rav Berland website, History of the Shuvu Banim Yeshiva in the Old City ravberland.com, accessed 26 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Yair Ettinger, Upheaval in a Breslav Hasidic Court Haaretz, 15 December 2010, archived 27 May 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Shilo Freid, Why do tens of thousands of Israelis travel to Uman on Rosh Hashanah? Ynet News, 27 August 2025, accessed 26 October 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Israel National News, 70 Breslov Hassidim jailed after attempting to fly to Uman Arutz Sheva, 11 September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Shilo Freid, Breslov Hasidim recreate Uman in Israel as draft-age men fear arrest upon return Ynet News, 12 August 2026, accessed 26 October 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 International Court of Justice, Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 icj-cij.org, 19 July 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.
  22. ↑ Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem, "Expanding the settlement of Betar Illit" Warmly welcoming to the US Mideast special envoy G. Mitchell POICA, 9 March 2010, accessed 26 October 2026.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Breslov Shul Trust – 1184303 Register of Charities, accessed 26 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Kehillas Chen Hanachal, Build a Breslov Shul in Israel buildabreslovshul.com, accessed 26 October 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Arutz Sheva Staff, Eliezer Berland convicted of extortion and fraud Israel National News, 7 June 2021, accessed 26 October 2026.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Gilad Morag and Haim Goldich, Disgraced rabbi sentenced to 18 months in jail under plea bargain Ynet News, 7 June 2021, accessed 26 October 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Tzvi Lev, 'Rabbi Berland is a cult leader' Israel National News, 26 April 2018, accessed 26 October 2026.
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