by Zvi Mark
Messiah in all but name:
(From Haaretz)
By Immanuel Etkes
Rabbi Nachman regarded himself as having all the necessary qualifications to be the Messiah.
What kept him from fulfilling his messianic potential was a lack of recognition.
The tremendous gap between his self-image and the public's failure to recognize
his eminence was something that haunted Rabbi Nachman all his life. In his own eyes,
he was not only the greatest tzaddik of his day, but the greatest tzaddik of all times.
Even when his health deteriorated and he knew the end was near, he did not despair:
He might not fulfill his messianic mission in his lifetime, but his teachings would
continue to have influence after his death. "My fire will burn until the coming of
the Messiah", he poetically put it...
One of the properties that Rabbi Nachman attributes to the niggun is the
ability to bring back souls who have "fallen into apostasy". But the real role
of the niggun, it seems, is to draw listeners into a dance so pleasurable and
uplifting that they forget all else. The power of the niggun induces a state
of mystical ecstasy. And here we find that the mission of the future Messiah
will also be achieved through the niggun: "He will produce new musical instruments
and melodies because he will be a great master of the niggun. "These musical
innovations will so charm and delight people that they will accept his authority".
I choose for this page an improvised piece of mine - New Song
with
Techelet Ensemble
from our album
The World to Come
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