Reb Naftali
Date of Passing: 19-Av. Reb Naftali had been Reb Natan's friend in Nemirov and the two of them came together to meet Rebbe Nachman in Breslev...
Reb Naftali
Reb Naftali had been Reb Natan's friend in Nemirov and the two of them came together to meet Rebbe Nachman in Breslev.
Rebbe Nachman once said, "No one understands me, except Reb Natan, and Naftali a little."
Reb Naftali was a businessman when he first became attached to Rebbe Nachman. When he told Rebbe Nachman that he spent the entire day in his store, the Rebbe replied, "All day?" Reb Naftali understood him to mean that he should spend more time in study and devotion, and reduced the number of hours he spent in his store.
When he told Rebbe Nachman that he now worked only part of every day, the Rebbe replied, "Every day?" Reb Naftali subsequently restricted his activities to market-days. When he told this to Rebbe Nachman, Rebbe Nachman replied, "Do you mean that whenever there's a market-day you have to be there?" Reb Naftali understood that he was to devote himself entirely to Torah and prayer, and did so.
Rebbe Nachman told Reb Naftali that since the Hebrew letters of Naftali are the same as the Hebrew letters for Tefillin, he should pay special attention to the mitzvah of tzitzit. Reb Naftali once climbed a ladder and tore his tzitzit. He refused to moved until someone brought him a new pair. After that, he always carried a spare pair of tzitzit with him.
In his later years, Reb Naftali moved to Uman and lived in a small room above the Breslover kloyz.
When Reb Natan passed away in Breslev, Reb Naftali, who was living in Uman, stated that his close friend had died. When asked how he knew, he replied, "I had a dream in which I saw Reb Natan running. I asked him where he was running to, and he replied, 'Me? Straight to the Rebbe!'"
Reb Naftali was the last of the Rebbe's followers to pass away. He died on 19 Av, 1860.
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