Rabbi Nachman's Chair an opera of tales from the Hasidim by Susan Hulsman Bingham based on stories collected and adapted by Howard Schwartz OVERTURE Scene 1 Hasidim are singing and dancing around a beautiful chair. [SLIDE #1: the chair] NARRATOR Me'ah She'arim Synagogue, Jerusalem, 1945. Bratslaver Hasidim are dancing around a beautiful chair which belonged to their beloved teacher, Rabbi Nachman, who lived long ago. The chair had been carefully dismantled by members of the community when Nazis forced them to scatter. Each Hasid took a piece of the chair and agreed to meet with it in Jerusalem after the war. Now is the great day. Not one member of the community who carried a piece of the chair has been lost, and the chair is restored as if it had never been dismantled. Scene 2 A CANTOR enters. [SLIDE #2: the Me'ah She'arim Synagogue, Jerusalem] CANTOR O Lord, most merciful One who answereth the poor, oh, Lord, answer our prayer. Oh, merciful On who answereth the brokenhearted, answer us. NARRATOR as CANTOR repeats his chant [SLIDE #3: graveyard] You hear now in the background the fervent chant of the cantor. It is said that in the palace of the King there are many rooms, and each room is secured by its own lock. Luckily, there is a master key. And what is that? The master key is a broken heart. And so you hear the cantor, heart broken, crying out to God on behalf of all Israel now and for all time. Among those broken hearts you see Reb. Nachman as a child . . . [SLIDE #4: graveyard #2] . . . praying over the grave of his great grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov. The year is about 1782. Though the Hasidim teach joyfulness in worship, Nachman suffers bouts of

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melancholy for want of hearing the voice of God. His mother, endowed with divine spirit, tried to console him. BOY Want to see God. I ask God to speak to me; he doesn't. Speak to me, I ask Him! FIEGE Calm yourself, my son. He's here nevertheless. If you saw Him, you could not bear it. You know about that. BOY I did not ask to see Him, mother, I only asked that He speak to me, answer my prayer. FIEGE And what would be His answer? "Hello" from the other side? I doubt that this would please you, now would it? Perhaps you've been hearing Him already in the music that's all around you, most of all the music in your heart. Listen to that music. "Hello" comes from every side! No less than this would please you. This I know. Yes, He speaks in the music of he grass and trees and sun and stars, and in the music in your heart. The BOY plucks a blade of grass. BOY Little blade of grass, let me hear your song. I will listen quietly, so please don't take too long. Mother says that listening will help me get along, for in your very voice may be heard the voice of God. Little blade of grass, pipe me now your tune. I am listening patiently, so now would not be too soon. Mother says that what you sing will help me get along, for in your very voice may be heard the voice of God. turning to his mother I'm ready, mother, bathed and dressed in my Sabbath best. I hope the extra soul they promised would come to me on the Sabbath will come and will open me to hear God's voice. turning to God [SLIDE #5: synagogue door] I'm ready Lord, bathed and dressed in my Sabbath best. I hope the extra soul you promised to come to me on the Sabbath will come and will open me to hear your voice. NACHMAN goes into the synagogue where the HASIDIM are preparing for the Sabbath. [SLIDE #6: synagogue interior] Come, extra soul. They told me you would come and help, open me to hear you. hearing nothing, NACHMAN hides under a table NARRATOR And so the anguished boy hides under a table in the synagogue. Years later, Nachman, as a tzaddick, made up a story about a prince who, thinking he was a rooster, took up residence under a table . . . [SLIDE #7: Shpitalnik painting of the Rooster/Prince]

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Tale: The Prince Who Thought He Was a Rooster: a Rabbi Nachman tale There was a prince who thought he was a rooster. While other princes spent their days slaying dragons, courting princesses, or learning how to rule a kingdom, this prince cast off his royal robes and spent his days crouching beneath a table, refusing to eat any food except kernels of corn. KING greatly agitated, yelling in all directions Send for the best doctors in the land! A great reward will be given to whoever cures my son. NARRATOR Doctors came from all corners of the kingdom. Each tried to cure the prince, but not one of them succeeded. PRINCE preening feathers, eating corn Cock-a-doodle-doo! (etc.) KING I am at my wits' end and fast losing hope. WISE MAN I am a wise man. Please let me try. KING Everyone has failed, so yes, do try. NARRATOR The wise man took off his cloak, to everyone's astonishment, and joined the rooster under the table. PRINCE Who are you? WISE MAN I, like you, am a rooster. BOTH Cock-a-doodle-doo! NARRATOR After some time, the wise man got out from under the table, stood at his full height, and put his cloak on. PRINCE shocked What are you doing? A rooster doesn't wear clothes!

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WISE MAN I am a rooster and I am wearing clothes! NARRATOR A few days later, the wise man took some of the food that was delivered to them every day -- food that the prince had refused to eat. WISE MAN takes a plate of food, goes under the table, and eats. PRINCE Roosters don't eat that kind of food! WISE MAN A rooster can eat any food he wants and still be a good rooster. continues eating, smacking lips, etc. Soon the PRINCE eats the tasty food. NARRATOR The next day, the wise man stopped crouching beneath the table. WISE MAN stands up proudly and walks about the room like a man. PRINCE You're not supposed to walk like that! WISE MAN I am a rooster, and I can walk however I want! continues walking upright. The PRINCE peers at him from under the table. Then he too emerges, stands up and walks. NARRATOR And so in this way the prince began to eat, dress, and walk like a man. Soon he stopped acting like a rooster altogether. end of tale And now that this tale has been told, we return to the sad little boy. Ah! One of the devotees has taken pity on the child. A HASID gently coaxes NACHMAN out from under the table and holds him in his arms. The Sabbath chanting begins; the candles are lit. [SLIDE #8: synagogue] CANTOR Ah! Upon my couch at night, I sought the one I love. I sought but found him not. I must rise and roam the town, through the streets and through the squares, seek the one I love. I sought but found him not. I met the watchmen who patrol the town and asked if they had seen the one I love. Scarcely had I passed them, when I found my love. I held him fast. . . [SLIDE #9: candles]. . . I would not let him go. MOTHER from offstage, as if in NACHMAN'S memory

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[SLIDE #10: synagogue door] Listen to that music. "Hello" comes from every side! No less than this would please you, this I know. Yes, He speaks in the music of the grass and trees and sun and stars, and in the music of all hearts. La, la, la... NACHMAN turns, leaves the synagogue. NARRATOR The boy examines a blade of grass. . . . He hears a melody. He is astounded. NACHMAN running to his mother I heard it, mother! MOTHER What did you hear, darling? NACHMAN I heard the melody of the grass! I heard its song! MOTHER What was it like? NACHMAN It is beautiful. MOTHER Can you hum it? NACHMAN No, I can't. MOTHER Then we will have to get out your great grandfather's violin, and you must find the notes on that. How about it, son? NARRATOR And so it was that the boy Nachman began playing the violin, so he could make audible the songs of creatures and plants, and so he could make known the thoughts of his heart. [SLIDES #11, 12, 13, 14 Shpitalnik leaf paintings] Transfixed, the boy picks up a leaf and listens. . . . He goes to a tree. . . [SLIDE #15: Shpitalnik tree painting] "How can I bear this beauty?" he asks himself. "Know the language of the violin!" his great grandfather, the Ball Shem Tov, whispers to him over the ages. "Song is more precious than words! Pour out your heart on the violin!" He hears the birds . . . [SLIDE #16: Nachman's study] Scene 3 The Violin Lesson

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NARRATOR Fifteen years have passed. Reb. Nachman grew up, married at fourteen, and had several children. He had a son who he thought would be the Messiah, but the son died in infancy. He blamed himself for this death, fearing that his eagerness to retain heavenly truths, revealed to him in dreams, had cost him the infant's life. Despite this sorrow, we find him now, happily engaged in family life as he gives his daughter a violin lesson. NACHMAN plays a phrase. UDEL, his daughter, mimics it but intentionally makes a mistake. NACHMAN repeats the phrase; she repeats the error. UDEL Father, I'm sick of this! NACHMAN ignores her, plays another phrase. I don't want to play another note! plays a harsh note on her violin NARRATOR NACHMAN is playing his violin as the NARRATOR speaks "With practice, you can scale the very highest peaks!" UDEL You say that of everything. NARRATOR "I have an idea," says Nachman. "I'll play a phrase. You answer." UDEL What if I don't want to? NARRATOR "You'll want to," NACHMAN plays a phrase. UDEL answers with short, harsh notes on the violin. NACHMAN tries again, this time with embellishments. UDEL responds with harsh, perfunctory scratches. NACHMAN, realizing he has failed at this approach, tries another tack. As the NARRATOR speaks, NACHMAN is miming playing the violin. He dances around UDEL, wooing her. "Every shepherd has a different tune according to the grass and to the place he tends his flock. And from the tunes of the different grasses, is made the shepherd's tune. When someone plays a beautiful tune, he attaches himself to the Almighty. Because all melodies come from the Divine, it is important that you find yours, and bring your heart joy." NACHMAN begins playing a simple, beautiful melody. UDEL watches him angrily, listens, and softens. When NACHMAN repeats the melody, she joins in, at first reluctantly but soon more willingly. Her playing sweetens. Soon they are playing together, enjoying one-another. They trade melodies. The scene ends. [SLIDE #17: books]

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Scene 4 NARRATOR as a group of HASIDIM, dressed in prayer shawls, enter and seat themselves. So you have seen how it is at home with Rebbe Nachman. Now students come and ask their Rebbe questions out of the holy books. A HASID stands. HASIDIM I have impure thoughts and cannot pray, Rebbe. NARRATOR as NACHMAN mime/dances his reply "Remain firm in spite of them. Do not question God's sending them. Do not question God's sending them. The fact that you suffer so much over them and do your utmost to escape them is itself atonement for sins. A sinner who is ashamed of his sins is forgiven." another HASID stands HASIDIM Why does a person have to go through great trials to serve God? NARRATOR "God likes to make it a challenge to find Him. At first He gives you a little something, testing to see if you are satisfied with that little. . . . Ah, this great beauty nearly won you and therefore nearly lost you. You see that this is indeed a test. Do not stop here! You must harass God. . . Do not settle for this little. . . It is as if there is a great palace with many doors. Outside each door there stands a treasure chest. Many come and, happy with the beautiful things in the chest, never go inside that palace. They never walk down its long corridors to find the King." another HASID stands and poses the question HASIDIM Can a man cause God to change his mind?

NARRATOR "Abraham changed God's mind. Even a tzaddik can change God's mind. Listen to a story . . ." Tale: The Decree: a Thirteenth Century Spanish Kabalistic tale [SLIDE #18: Angels emerging from a rock: Shpitalnik painting] RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI and his son RABBI ELEAZAR are walking. RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI Midday, but it is dark. Why is this, Eleazar, my son? Why do you suppose it is dark in the very middle of the day? What kind of weather is this, that it should get so dark at noontime? There is no evidence of a storm. No rain in sight. Just blackness, evenly spread across the sky.

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RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI trips. Ach, here, what have I stumbled over? leans down, squints to see A rock. Are we not on the Tassak Way, Eleazar? Where did this rock come from? It is far to heavy to be brought here by a man, or even two men. How strange its color. Or is its pallor due to the strangeness of the light? Suddenly ANGELS burst from the rock and speak. Neither MEN see them, though they feel their presence. RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI An angel has come to us, perhaps. RABBI ELEAZAR Yes, perhaps, Father. . . . It is not being coherent, Father. RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI Perhaps 'tis an angel who speaks to animals. RABBI ELEAZAR Or perhaps it wants to speak to a rock like itself. RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI I stumbled over it. Therefore its message must be for us. to the ANGELS Who are you? ANGELS You have guessed rightly. We are angels who want your attention. Listen very closely now. Thirty righteous ones are needed in every generation. So says our God Almighty. But since thirty seem to be lacking at this time, God in His wisdom will destroy the whole world! RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI What is this you say? God will destroy the whole world if thirty righteous ones cannot be found at this time? This cannot be the way it should be! Oh, asked Him if twenty righteous ones would be sufficient to keep Him from destroying the world at this time. ANGELS Holy One, would you consider letting the world continue if you found that there were twenty righteous ones at this time? ANGELS turn, listen, turn back. Twenty righteous ones are needed in every generation. So says our God Almighty. But since twenty seem to be lacking at this time, God in His wisdom will destroy the whole world! RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI

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What is this you say? God will destroy the whole world if twenty righteous ones cannot be found at this time? This cannot be the way it should be! Oh, asked Him if ten righteous ones would be sufficient to keep Him from destroying the world at this time. ANGELS Holy One, would you consider letting the world continue if you found that there were ten righteous ones at this time? ANGELS turn, listen, turn back. Ten righteous ones are needed in every generation. So says our God Almighty. But since ten seem to be lacking at this time, God in His wisdom will destroy the whole world! RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI What is this you say? God will destroy the whole world if ten righteous ones cannot be found at this time? This cannot be the way it should be! Oh, asked Him if two righteous ones would be sufficient to keep Him from destroying the world at this time. ANGELS Holy One, would you consider letting the world continue if you found that there were two righteous ones at this time? ANGELS turn, listen, turn back. Two righteous ones are needed in every generation. So says our God Almighty. But since two seem to be lacking at this time, God in His wisdom will destroy the whole world! RABBI SHIMON bar YOHAI Go back to the Holy One, Blessed be He, or I will consign you to outer darkness for all eternity, for all eternity! Go back to the Holy One, Blessed be He, and tell Him that there remains one righteous one! I know, for I am he! YOHAI and ELEAZAR watch intently as the ANGELS turn to God.

ANGELS One righteous one will do for this generation, so says our God Almighty. For, since this one is not lacking at this time, God in His wisdom won't destroy the whole world. La, la, la! ELEAZAR and YOHAI exit dancing and the ANGELS are left dancing wildly on the stage. End of tale. NARRATOR as NACHMAN resumes teaching [SLIDE #19: Nachman's study] "It is best not even to hint at the mysteries contained in these stories. For when something is hidden, it can accomplish the most." a HASID stands "Rabbi," someone dares to ask, "how will it be when the Messiah comes?"

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"The Messiah will come suddenly, amidst noise and excitement. Everyone will put his business aside. The banker will leave his accounts, the candle maker will leave his wax. As it says in Isaiah, 'Each will put aside his gods of gold and silver . . .'" another HASID stands "But what about you, Rabbi?" "As for me, when the Messiah comes . . ." [SLIDE #20: golden light Shpitalnik painting] NACHMAN is thunderstruck. He draws himself inward. He is moved. He begins to dance to the melody of the violin. His disciples, profoundly affected, follow him as he exits. Scene 5 [SLIDE #21: Shohet's house slide #2] NARRATOR The Rebbe's teaching is so compelling and his person so charming that many love him. One of Nachman's disciples, a Shohet, or ritual slaughterer, demonstrates his devotion to the Rebbe by building him a beautiful chair. SHOHET putting the final touches on his chair Rest here, most cherished one, and lean your back against me here. Rest yourself on this my very lap! Let these arms I've made surround you. Rest yourself, dearest Rabbi. Rest here, most cherished teacher, and let your cares fall away. There are so few ways we can thank you, so few means of showing our love for you. Take this gift, made with all the love I have in my soul. The Shohet's WIFE and three DAUGHTERS enter. WIFE Ah! This is no ordinary chair. It is so fine, so beautiful. This is the work of one who loves his master. This will be a throne for the Rebbe. SHOHET With the help of God, I made this arm, I made this leg, I made this crosspiece, all hitched with pegs. I made the supports, I made the feet, I made this arm and also the seat for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. DAUGHTER #1 He's bragging! DAUGHTERS #2 and #3 Wouldn't you brag too if you had made such a beautiful thing? SHOHET

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Come touch a leg, come feel the back, come touch the crosspiece, come trace the plaque. You can't say that I've been slack; there is not a bump or a scratch! 'Tis the best I can do for the Rebbe. ALL CHILDREN It's beautiful, Papa! WIFE, ALL CHILDREN I don't see how you do it! It is so shiny. It is so sturdy. It is so handsome. The Rebbe will love it. ALL dance a little around the chair. CHILDREN Can we take turns sitting in it, Papa? SHOHET Turns, but be careful, careful! WIFE When are you planning to take it to the Rabbi, darling? SHOHET Right away, before the Sabbath begins. [SLIDE #22: street scene] THEY lift the chair and dance out of their house. HASIDIM approach; the space becomes the synagogue. HASIDIM [SLIDE #23: synagogue interior] Ah! This is no ordinary chair! It is so fine, so beautiful. This is the work of one who loves his master. This will be a throne for the Rebbe. NACHMAN sits in the chair and immediately falls asleep. In his dream, many CHILDREN dance and sing around him. CHILDREN [SLIDE #24: flying rabbi Shpitalnik painting] One by one we approach this chair, spy our mates in the woodwork fair, far now near, lost found here, drawn together by the love of a soul for the love of the soul for the Rebbe. Two by two we approach this seat, seeking bonds of marriage sweet. Ah, my dear, I've found you here, drawn together by the love of a soul for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. HASIDIM, moved by the dream, stand. Holy Rebbe in the air, flying in dream to Jerusalem fair, far now near, lost brought here, drawn together by the love of the soul for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. HASIDIM begin to dance.

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NARRATOR The Rebbe has fallen asleep, as you can see. "Friends!" exclaims one of the disciples. "This reminds me of the tale about Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari Zal! You remember -- one of the four righteous ones! Let us imagine that it is Luria sleeping in the chair . . ." Tale: Reading the Lips of the Ari: a Kabalistic tale from Palestine [SLIDE #25: golden light] NARRATOR Rabbi Abraham Halevi enters the quarters of his teacher, the Ari Zal. RABBI ABRAHAM HALEVI Ah, sleeping! I will move ever so quietly so as not to wake him. HE looks more closely. Strange. His lips are moving. He must be dreaming. HE moves nearer in order to make out the words. ANGELS enter. ANGELS Mysteries too wonderful to imagine. Beauties too great to bear. Truths too deep and too wonderful to comprehend. The ARI opens his eyes. THE ARI What are you doing here? RABBI ABRAHAM HALEVI I found you sleeping. I moved ever so quietly so as not to wake you. Then, Sir, I saw your lips move. Sir, you were dreaming. I drew closer to you to hear what you were saying. THE ARI And did you hear anything? RABBI ABRAHAM HALEVI Mysteries too wonderful to imagine. Beauties too great to bear. Truths too deep and too marvelous to comprehend. Light filled the room! ANGELS sing "Ah!" Angels came and stood around your bed. I got confused. I thought it was the Sabbath. THE ARI If you saw all this, you understood. End of tale HASIDIM, transfixed by the story, encircle NACHMAN as he sleeps. [SLIDE #26: synagogue] NARRATOR

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"Oho!" cries Nachman, waking from his dream. "I find myself at the center of a circle of dancers! And so was my great grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, at the center of such a circle, where he danced in ecstasy . . ." Tale: The Crown of Shoes: a Hasidic tale about the Baal Shem Tov NARRATOR HASIDIM dance throughout It is the day of the Shimat Torah, which means "rejoicing over the Torah". The Hasidim want to dance in celebration. "Why," the dancers ask themselves, "is our Baal Shem Tov so sad? He does not join in the dance. His face is somber." Because of the Baal Shem Tov's sadness, the dancing began very slowly. There was an effort to use restraint, to be a little solemn, despite all. But soon the music and the delight of the occasion took over, and the Hasidim began dancing faster and faster, more and more wildly. They danced with complete abandon, feet flying, coat tails flapping, arms linked, heads bowing and tipping. And suddenly, in the middle of all this, the Baal Shem Tov burst into a great smile. He stepped to the circle, took hands, and danced. "What made you so sad, " he was later asked. "You were so sad, and then you suddenly smiled." "I smiled because, you see, while you were dancing, I was transported into the Garden of Eden. All around me were bits of tefillin and parts of prayer shawls, shreds of the coats of the Hasidim, and -- shoes! Soles! Heels! And sometimes whole shoes! 'Why are they here?' I wondered. I was puzzling over this strange thing of the shoes being in the Garden of Eden, when suddenly a shoe landed right before me. It made a great 'thud'. I looked down and saw that it was a shoe from one of our own people! 'Ah,' I said to myself, 'the shoes fly here because the dancer has become so ecstatic that he has kicked his shoe clear to the Garden of Eden!' [SLIDE #27: Garden of Eden Shpitalnik painting] And then, you will never guess what happened. The Angel Gabriel came and gathered up the shoes. 'What will you do with these shoes?' I asked. 'I will make crown out of the shoes that fly from the feet of those who dance on Shimat Torah,' he said. 'I make crowns for the Holy One, Blessed be He, to wear on His Throne of Glory.'" The HASIDIM are now dancing wildly. End of tale. [SLIDE #28: synagogue] NARRATOR The tales told by Reb. Nachman were precious. Yet no one had the thought of recording them. The Holy One, Blessed be He, was soon to remedy this situation. There was a restless believer, one who adhered to no doctrine but who searched far and wide for a teacher. He had a dream in a faraway place . . . Scene 6 Rabbi Nosson enters. NARRATOR

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Rabbi Nosson begins telling a dream he had. Soon he is in the dream. [SLIDE #29: Nosson's hometown] NOSSON On the way to the bakery to buy rolls, I wondered if this was my life's purpose: to take little rolls from one man to give to another. ANGELS enter. ANGELS Rabbi Nosson is dreaming that he's climbing a ladder to heaven. [SLIDE #30: Rabbi at top of ladder Shpitalnik painting] He climbs three or four rungs, climbs three or four rungs, then falls. Over and over he climbs, climbs the ladder to heaven. He climbs three or four rungs, climbs three or four rungs, then falls. NARRATOR The face of Rabbi Nachman appears at the top of the ladder. Nosson is transfixed. ANGELS as if the face at the top of the ladder were speaking "If you never allow yourself to give up hope, Nosson, oh Nosson, oh Nosson, oh Nosson, you will finally reach the top!" NOSSON awakens. NOSSON Who are you that you come to me in a dream? Whose face is that, shining so? Oh. to see it again to God I pray. Blessed is he whose eyes have met your eyes, and blessed is he whose eyes will meet mine, whose eyes have now looked into your eyes. Don't tell me I can find you only in a dream! Somewhere in this world you must be! And for this to God I pray. Blessed is he whose eyes have met your eyes, and blessed is he whose eyes will meet mine, whose eyes have now looked into your eyes. NARRATOR as if NACHMAN is speaking "You think it is only you who wait for God? No. God waits for you, too. Yes, he longs for you to return." Reb. Nosson searches the world over to find the man whose face he saw in his dream. . . . At last he finds the Rebbe. [SLIDE #31: street scene] [SLIDE #32: aerial view of Nachman's valley] NOSSON wanders into the synagogue where NACHMAN'S HASIDIM are praying. [SLIDE #33: synagogue] HASIDIM Like a hind crying for water, my soul cries for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When will I come to appear before God? My tears have been my food day

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and night. I am ever taunted with, "Where is your God?" When I think on this, I pour out my soul. NARRATOR Rabbi Nachman and Rabbi Nosson look at one-another. The whole world seems to come to a standstill. "Shhh!" says Nachman. "Someone is here. Someone who has wanted to be here for a long, long time. How did he get here? He got here through prayer." The HASIDIM begin to stand up to greet NOSSON. "Ut! Ut! Sit back down and listen to a story . . ." [SLIDE #34: golden dove Shpitalnik painting] Tale: The Golden Dove: a fifth Century Babylonian Rabbinical mystical tale NARRATOR Rabbi bar bar Hanna and his friends are traveling. Suddenly the Rabbi remembers that he has not said grace after their evening meal. "I want to return to that place," he says to himself. "But if I suggest this to the others, we will argue, and that will take us even farther from the place where we ate. "Brothers," he finally says, "I have forgotten a golden dove back where we ate. It is a personal treasure of my own, and I must go back for it." ANGELS sing "La!" softly offstage. "Go then," they say to him, "and fetch it if you wish." And so he sets off alone, travels far, and finds the spot. He says a blessing there. Just as he finishes, he sees something shining in the dusk. He reaches gently down, cups something warm and vibrant in his trembling hands . . . The Rabbi, greatly moved, cradles an exquisite dove of gold in his hands. Then he lets the bird go, and it flied directly to paradise. The golden dove flies to the palace of the Messiah and makes a nest there. The song of the golden dove fills the heavens. To this day, if you are quiet for awhile and if you listen with your heart, you may hear the song of the dove from highest heaven. Tale: The Precious Prayer: a sixteenth century Eastern European Kabalistic tale [SLIDE #35: farm scene Shpitalnik painting] NARRATOR It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Isaac Luria is praying in the synagogue. ANGELS offstage There is a man whose prayers have reached highest heaven. His name is Isaac Ben David, and he lives in Tiberias. ARI

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When Yom Kippur is over, I will go there to meet him. I want to learn how he prays, that I may pray the same way and reach highest heaven. The Ari travels, comes to a group of men studying in a synagogue. These may be our HASIDIM. Is there a man among you named Isaac Ben David, whose prayers have reached highest heaven? A HASID There is no one by the name here. Why not try the marketplace? CHILDREN appear. ARI Is there a man among you named Isaac Ben David, whose prayers have reached highest heaven? CHILDREN We know a man whose prayers have reached to highest heaven. And his name is Isaac Ben David. He lives in Tiberias. Now Yom Kippur is over, why not go to see him. He lives over yonder in a tiny hovel on the mountain. ARI Thank you , kindly children. I will search him out at once. ARI heads for the mountains. He reaches a poor hut. His hut is so poor, so small. ISAAC BEN DAVID comes out of his hut. ISAAC BEN DAVID Greetings, traveler. Have you come from far? You must be tired. You must be hungry. Come inside. ARI Tell me, sir. I have heard that your prayers reach highest heaven. I want to know the secret of your prayers, that I may pray this way also. ISAAC BEN DAVID But Rabbi, I cannot pray. That is the whole trouble. I cannot read, you see. I only know the letters of the alphabet from aleph to yodh. ARI But what then did you do on this Yom Kippur? ISAAC BEN DAVID I went to synagogue and saw everyone praying. I thought, What do I know? These people pray the holy words, those most holy words, and I know no words for God. I began to weep while the others said their prayers. I thought, there is only one thing to do. The holy words are made of letters from the alphabet. let me say some letters to God. I said, "Dear God, please take these letters. Make of them prayers for yourself. Make

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prayers so sweet that they rise to you like the scent of the honeysuckle, for that is the sweetest scent I know. ISAAC BEN DAVID turns away and prays in a loud, anguished voice. Aleph! Beis! Gimel! Daled! Aleph! THE ARI and the ANGELS Aleph! Beis! Gimel! Daled! Aleph! THE ARI with humble fervor Your prayers are precious to God. End of tale. [SLIDE #36: synagogue] NARRATOR Finally Rabbi Nachman and Rabbi Nosson face one-another. RABBI NOSSON I know you, for you came to me in a dream. Your face was there, shining so. Oh, to see it at last to God I give praise. Blessed is he whose eyes have met your eyes, and blessed is he whose eyes will meet mine, whose eyes now look into your eyes. NARRATOR "Yes," says the Rebbe, "We have known one-another for a long time, though it is only tonight that we meet. . . . If you will be pure and sincere, you will be able to hear a great deal from me, for I need someone to speak to. addressing all the HASIDIM You all have a share in my Torah, but Nosson has a bigger share than all of you." Rabbi Nosson becomes Rebbe Nachman's scribe, writing down every tale and dream. And now, a year later, it is Reb. Nosson who has a dream . . . Scene 7 Tale: The Fish: a Rabbi Nachman tale [SLIDE #37: fish Shpitalnik painting] ANGELS There will come a man with a fish. Buy that fish! Buy that fish! Buy that fish and bring it to the Rebbe. knocking is heard NOSSON Greeting, O you seller of fish. May I buy that fish? Buy that fish? Buy that fish and take it to the Rebbe. ANGELS NOSSON runs as fast as he can with the fish to NACHMAN'S house.

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La, la, la (etc). NARRATOR He reaches the Rebbe's house. The Rebbe flings open the door. "Did you bring the fish," he asks. Nosson holds it up. "Good," he exclaims. "Hold it up to my ear. . . . It is the sound of your father's soul!" he says. "You heard my voice in a dream. That is why you didn't turn away the fish seller. Yes, your father's soul is locked up in this fish. If we cook the fish for the Sabbath, your father's soul will be released to heaven. . . . And now, Nosson, you probably wonder," says Nachman, "why your father's soul's cry reached my mind. It came to me because of prayer. Prayer is the sword of the Messiah. It is the sword of the Messiah that cut open the fish. It is prayer that releases all of us!"

Scene 8 [SLIDE #38: window] NARRATOR Several years have passed. The Rebbe, though still young, is dying. Reb. Nosson finds him weeping in his chamber. "In my house in Bratslaw there is a book . . . [SLIDE #39: illumined manuscript] . . . into which I have poured my soul," wept the Rebbe. "It contains truths from on high, and because I was insistent on remembering them after my dream, and upon writing them down, I caused the death of my infant son. And now a voice from above speaks to me again, telling me that I must destroy the book, or else I too will die . . ." NOSSON Perhaps it is better to burn the books and remain alive. NACHMAN "The mysteries of this book must not even be hinted at. But if I die, even the truths I am allowed to reveal will be lost. This is the struggle. . . . If only you knew what it is you wrote when you took down my words." NOSSON Surely I do not know. NARRATOR "You do not know how much you do not know," said the dying Rabbi. "And as for another leader to follow me: you will not need one. I am not leaving you, but only passing from one room to another. Keep my chair near the Ark, and imagine that I am sitting in it." [SLIDE #40: open window] CANTOR

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as the BOY NACHMAN appears Oh Lord, most merciful One who answereth the poor, oh merciful One who answereth the brokenhearted, answer us. BOY NACHMAN I want to see God. I stand here and pray to Him to speak to me! Speak to me, I ask Him. I'm ready Lord, bathed and dressed in my Sabbath best. I hope the extra soul you promised to come to me on the Sabbath will come and will open me to hear your -- Little blade of grass, let me hear your song. I will listen quietly, so please don't take too long. Mother says that listening will help me get along, for in your very voice may be heard the voice of . . . Ah! I heard it, mother? MOTHER offstage What did you hear, darling? BOY I heard the melody of the grass! I heard its song! MOTHER What is it like? BOY It is beautiful. MOTHER Can you hum it? BOY No, I can't . . . The violin plays the melody of the tree and moves into the Messiah music. NARRATOR On the fourth day of the Succoth Tabernacles Festival in 1810, the soul of Rebbe Nachman returned to heaven. [SLIDE #41: blue light Shpitalnik painting] [SLIDE #42: Nachman's grave] Scene 9 [SLIDE #43: modern day synagogue] NARRATOR The Bratslaver Hasidim never sought another tzaddick. They kept Nachman's chair by the ark and communed with him as if he were sitting in it . . . The year is now 1940. One hundred thirty years have passed. The Nazis are invading. Our little community is about to be scattered . . .

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HASIDIM Rabbi, to whom have you left us? "I will not leave you," he said, "but will be with you, yes, with you always." Ah! He said he would not leave us, but we ourselves are about to be scattered. We must go our separate ways. We must leave our homes. What will we do with the chair? We cannot leave it here. We will all be scattered. And the chair will be destroyed too. SHOHET I have an idea. You take an arm. You take a leg. You take a cross piece, you take the pegs. You take the supports. You take the feet. You take an arm and you take the seat for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. HASIDIM [SLIDE #44: battered Star of David] You take a leg. You take the back. You take the crosspiece, you take the plaque. Place these pieces in your sack. Look both ways before you unpack! This was made for the love of the Rebbe. The HASIDIM take their pieces and shove them into their coats and prayer shawls. THEY scatter into the darkness. NOSSON offstage Mysteries too wonderful to imagine. Beauties to great to bear. Truths too deep and too marvelous to comprehend. (etc) NARRATOR The Hasidim teach that God created us out of His great and holy loneliness. First, He made a vessel of insurmountable beauty. Then He broke the vessel and sent its divine sparks flying deep into the universe. Each spark, each splinter, each shard is a part of God. Yet each has its own song. And so many were scattered at this time. So many lost. For the lost we say, "Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to his will. May His kingdom come, and His will be done in all the earth. Amen. May his great name be blessed forever. Amen." And so, like the splinters of God's vessel, so are the pieces of Nachman's chair scattered far from their home . . . Reb. Nachman used to say, "It is a great mitzvah to be joyful at all times." And so we thank God for this time of sorrow, because at this time, we experience an increased longing for Him." Tale: Yodea, Angel of Losses: a Rabbi Nachman tale NARRATOR It is a dark time now. In some parts of the world, there is barely a flicker of light to see by. But when it becomes so dark, Reb. Nachman taught that a presence comes among us, an angel who watches over us. This is Yodea, Angel of Losses. [SLIDE #45: Yodea Shpitalnik painting]

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ANGEL YODEA appears with his SERVANTS. They move in a dreamlike manner, miming digging. The Angel Yodea has many servants. Each servant carries a shovel. They spend their time digging, searching for losses. And haven't we suffered many losses? Even the tzaddick is himself sometimes lost. And as you know, it is necessary to search in the dark, in the realm of the unknown. And with what do we search? We search with the light of the soul. Dig into your heart! Dig into that desolate wilderness where there are no inhabitants, where there is almost no place for the Divine Presence! Dig deep, using the candlelight of the soul. For someone is indeed here in this darkness. Yes! Yodea, with his servants. Let us call upon him now, ask for help. Ask him to dig in search of our losses -- especially now, when it is so very dark. Let him dig with no illumination but the light of the soul. Rabbi Nachman taught that in every person, there is something of the Messiah. There is a spark. As we dig for losses, so we search for these sparks, gathering them into a sacred flame. Our aim in life is to find these sparks, all the pieces, and bring them home. We do this by the light of the soul. YODEA exits. The ANGELS dance the dance to and from the chair that is no longer there, as if calling it back. ANGELS [SLIDE #46: Nachman flying: Shpitalnik painting] One by one we approach this chair, spy our mates in the woodwork fair, far now near, lost found here, drawn together by the love of a soul for the love of the soul for the Rebbe. Two by two we approach this seat, seeking bonds of marriage sweet. Ah, my dear, I've found you here, drawn together by the love of a soul for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. Holy Rebbe in the air, flying in dream to Jerusalem fair, far now near, lost brought here, drawn together by the love of the soul for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. HASIDIM begin calling out from the far recesses of the auditorium. [SLIDE #47: Me'ah She'arim Synagogue, Jerusalem] HASID #1 I have an arm! HASID #2 I have a leg! HASID #3 I have a crosspiece! HASID #4 I have some pegs!

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HASID #5 I have supports. HASID #6 I have the feet! HASID #7 I have an arm. HASID #8 I have the seat! HASID #9 I have the back! (etc) NARRATOR Look! Rabbi Nachman's Hasidim are appearing! Lights come up from total darkness to reveal the silhouettes of one or two isolated Hasidim. Each is holding his piece of the chair high over his head. More appear gradually as lights come very slowly up. One by one they come, each bringing a piece of the beloved chair. One by one they come out from hiding, having remained safe through the storm, and meet here in the holy city of Jerusalem! Each one comes alone, not know if his friend will come also. Each comes hoping to see his brother, his family, his friend against after so long. And the pieces -- they arrive too! A leg, an arm, the back, the seat -- all are coming together! HASIDIM as they approach the stage I have an arm. I have a leg. I have a crosspiece. I have the pegs. I have the supports. I have the feet. I have an arm. And I have the seat for the love of the soul of the Rebbe. each hands his piece to the SHOHET, who is beginning to assemble the chair I have a leg. I have the back. I have the crosspiece. I have the plaque. Placed these pieces in my sack, looked both ways before I unpacked! This was made for the love of the Rebbe. NARRATOR This is a mystery too wonderful to imagine, too beautiful to bear, a truth too deep and too marvelous to comprehend. Ah, together the Hasidim gather, having been so lost, it having been so dark for so very long! As each HASID hands over his piece of the chair, he begins to dance. Soon all are dancing around the SHOHET who is assembling the chair. The dancing becomes wild and fervent. The chair is completed and held high. La, la, la! [SLIDE #48: the chair] NARRATOR

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as the dance continues Me'ah She'arim Synagogue, Jerusalem, 1945. Bratslaver Hasidim are dancing around a beautiful chair which belonged to their beloved teacher, Rabbi Nachman, who lived long ago. The chair had been carefully dismantled by members of the community when Nazis forced them to scatter. Each Hasid took a piece of the chair and agreed to meet with it in Jerusalem after the war. Now is the great day. Not one member of the community who carried a piece of the chair has been lost, and the chair is restored as if it had never been dismantled.

THE END