As such, Breslov adherents are sometimes referred to as the "dead Hasidim" (Yiddish: טויטע חסידים, romanized: toyte ḥasidim) since they have never had a formal Rebbe since Nachman's death.

Thousands of Breslov Hasidim were imprisoned or executed during Joseph Stalin's Great Purge and later during the Nazi period, both before and after Germany's invasion of Soviet Russia in 1941.

Bratslav should not be confused with Wrocław, a town now located in Poland, called in German "Breslau", and also pronounced "Breslov" in Yiddish, which was a renowned Jewish center in its own right.

[citation needed] The Breslov approach places great emphasis on serving God through the sincerity of the heart, with much joy and living life as intensely as possible.

Breslov's teachings particularly emphasize emunah (faith) and teshuvah (repentance) and that every Jew on any level of Divine service is required to yearn to return to God constantly, no matter how high or low they are situated on the spiritual echelon.

Breslover Hasidim see the study and fulfillment of Torah life as the means to a joyful existence, and their approach to worship is very personalized and emotional, with much clapping, singing, and dancing.

[8] Another specifically Breslov practice is the annual Rosh Hashanah kibbutz, a large gathering at the grave of Nachman in Uman, Ukraine, on the Jewish New Year.

The pilgrimage was officially re-instituted after the fall of Communism in 1989, and continues to this day, with upwards of 70,000 men and boys arriving each Rosh Hashana from all over the world.

Visiting the grave at any time is deemed beneficial, because Nachman said: Whoever comes to my gravesite and recites the Ten Psalms of the Tikkun HaKlali ("General Remedy"), and gives even as little as a penny to charity for my sake, then, no matter how serious his sins may be, I will do everything in my power—spanning the length and breadth of Creation—to cleanse and protect him.

Note that, at the same time, Breslovers do not restrict themselves to Nachman's commentaries on the Torah, but also study many of the classic texts, including the Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, and many others.

In fact, Nachman claimed that while even a complete simpleton can become a pure and righteous Jew, the ideal study schedule of an extremely scholarly Hasid should include the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) with its commentaries, the entire Talmud with its commentaries, the entire Shulchan Aruch (code of law), all the Midrashic works, the Zohar and Tikkunei Zohar, the teachings of the Arizal, and other kabbalistic works, all over the course of a single year.

The Breslov Siddur, published in a 2014 hard-cover edition (828 pages in length), is one of the few Hasidic siddurim available in an English language translation (and contains the original text).

[13] Today, Breslover communities exist in several locations in Israel, as well as in major cities around the world with large Jewish populations, including New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Montreal, and Lakewood Township, New Jersey.

While there are no exact statistics, according to the Breslov Research Institute, the number of core adherents in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak amounts to several thousand families, and several tens in Safed.

Concurrently, Eliezer Shlomo Schick began publishing his nearly 1,000 pamphlets distilling the teachings of Nachman of Breslov, and disseminating them to a worldwide audience.

[15] Schick founded the Heichal HaKodesh Breslov community – largely consisting of baalei teshuvah – in the Galilee town of Yavne'el, Israel, in 1985.

The Na Nach group, which follows the teachings of Yisroel Ber Odesser, conducts on-the-street outreach with its roving musical vans and dancers, and sidewalk distribution of Breslov texts.