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The Books Behind NACHMAN

Every answer begins with a source.

Every text on this site comes from one of the books here. For each book we document where the text came from, from exactly which version, what was checked in it, and what its rights status is: in the work, in the digital transcription, and in permission for this site. Whatever is not yet known is written as unknown. For the reading itself: the library.

10 books in the collection · 2,028 chapters · 9,541 passages

The shelves

Choose a book to see where its text came from, what was checked, and what is still under review.

The teachings of Rabbi Nachman

Books the site attributes to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Next to each book is the source in the collection that the attribution rests on.

The writings of Rabbi Nathan

Books the site attributes to Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov, the student of Rabbi Nachman, with the source in the collection that the attribution rests on.

Summaries and collections

Books that summarize or collect from other books. No source in the collection names their author, so they are shown without an author’s name.

Talks, stories, prayers

More books in the collection. For these too, no source in the collection names their author, so they are shown without an author’s name.

Tikkunei Zohar

The pages of Tikkunei Zohar that Rabbi Nachman and Rabbi Nathan cite explicitly. Only these are shown on the site.

How we document sources

Source of the text
The site the text reached us from (Sefaria or Wikisource), and before it, the site where it was first typed, when that is known. These are two different things, so they are recorded separately.
Edition
The exact digital version that was imported: a file at a fixed commit in the Sefaria archive, or a page and revision on Wikisource. The printed edition the text was typed from has not been documented for any book, because no source states it. It is therefore marked “under review”.
Lineage of the text
The path the text took from transcription to the collection. In the collection’s books every passage was regenerated from the pinned source file and found identical to it letter for letter, so it is always possible to go back to the version it came from.
What “checked” means
One defined thing: the text in the collection was checked word by word against the digital version it was imported from. It does not mean the wording was checked against a printed book, nor that the book is complete.
Rights status
Four separate layers: the work itself, the digital transcription, what the transcription site says about its rights, and permission for this site. Only the historical work is said to be unprotected, never the transcription. What is written here documents what was found; it is not a legal determination.
When information is missing
It says so. A detail that is not recorded is not filled in from memory, and an author without a source in the collection is not shown.

Legend

Transcription source identified
It is known on which site the text was typed, and there is documented evidence for it.
Transcription source probable
There is partial evidence for the transcription site, and it has not yet been verified.
Transcription source partly identified
Parts of the book came from different sources, and not all of them have been identified.
Transcription source not identified
It is not known where the text was typed before it reached the site it was imported from.
Checked against the digital source
Every word in the collection was checked against the version it was imported from.
Checked, and a problem was found in the source
The check passed, but the source text itself has an incorrect or duplicated passage, and it is documented.
Under review / not documented
The information is not recorded here. It was not filled in from memory.

How the site verifies a source

The original wording, not retyping
Every passage is shown from the edition that was imported. A quotation on the site’s pages is retrieved from the collection by the passage’s identifier; it is not copied by hand.
The book and place, and a permanent address
Every passage has a permanent identifier derived from the book and its place in the book, for example likutei-moharan:1.282.1. The identifier does not change between loads, so a link to a passage stays stable. Next to every passage it says in Hebrew which book it is from and exactly where, following the book’s structure, and you can search by that in Hebrew letters or in digits, with or without gershayim.
Verified quotation
On every chapter page you can select a sentence and open a verified quotation from it: the wording is retrieved from the collection and checked, with the book and place it comes from and a link to the full passage. If the wording in the collection has changed, the quotation page says so and shows no quotation.
Where is this from?
A sentence you heard or read can be pasted on the Where is this from? page, and the site looks for its source in the books of the collection.
Ask the Sources
The answer relies only on passages retrieved from the collection, and every statement shows the passage it rests on. The explanation is written by the system and is not the original text; it is a way to reach the text, not a substitute for reading it. The details of each book say whether it is used as a source for answers.
What the site does not do
  • It does not attribute a book to an author without a source in the collection. Such a book is shown without an author’s name.
  • It does not claim a book was imported in full when there is no evidence of the edition’s extent.
  • It does not show a page whose text does not match its name.
  • It does not show an answer that refers to a book or passage that was not retrieved from the collection.
  • It does not present an explanation as if it were the original text.

In the catalog, not yet in the collection

These books are known to the site but have no text in the collection. They are not shown as available books and have no page.

  • Likutei HalachotRabbi Nathan

    The work of Rabbi Nathan, arranged by the sections of Jewish law (Chayei Moharan 43).

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