He was particularly known for his creative parables,[2] drawing on Eastern European folktales to infuse his teaching with deeply kabbalistic yet universally accessible remedies, pieces of advice, and parabolic stories.

[3] Rabbi Nachman, a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, revived the Hasidic movement by combining the Kabbalah with in-depth Torah scholarship.

[4] Nachman was born on April 4, 1772 (Rosh Chodesh of Nisan) into a family of central figures in Hasidism in the town which was then Międzybóż in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now Medzhybizh in Ukraine.

[7] At the age of 13, he married Sashia, daughter of Rabbi Ephraim, and moved to his father-in-law's home in Ossatin (Staraya Osota today).

In his early years of leadership, he made each disciple confess all of his sins to him, as well as participate in a daily hour-long conversation with God.

[citation needed] Sternhartz recorded all of Nachman's formal lessons as well as transcribing his work Likutey Moharan.

In 1768, the Massacre of Uman took place, resulting in the brutal deaths of thousands of Jews, who were subsequently interred in a mass grave.

[17] Nachman died of tuberculosis at the age of 38 in the early autumn on the fourth day of Sukkot 1810, and was buried in the local Jewish cemetery.

[18] Based on the frequent fluctuations and changes in Nachman's mood, scholars have suggested that he suffered from severe depression[19][20] and from bipolar disorder.

For example, by marrying and living with one's spouse according to Torah law, one elevates sexual intimacy to an act bespeaking honor and respect to the God-given powers of procreation.

[26] In 1816, Joseph Perl wrote a denunciation of Hasidic mysticism and beliefs, in which he criticized many of the writings of Nachman, who had died six years earlier.

Austrian imperial censors blocked publication of Perl's treatise, fearing that it would foment unrest among the empire's Jewish subjects.

[citation needed] During his lifetime Nachman also encountered opposition within the Hasidic movement itself from people who questioned his new approach.

Prof. Zvi Mark has researched and attempted to decipher this document, based on disclosures from prominent members of the Breslov community.

He dictated the Sefer HaNisraf to Sternhartz, who said that he did not understand it at all and that "What I do remember is that it spoke about the greatness of the mitzvah of hospitality and preparing the bed for a guest".

[38] Nachman first ordered the two manuscripts of the book Sefer HaNisraf to be destroyed in a bargain for his life during a phase of his tuberculosis which preceded his death by two years.