The Miracle Petek

I would like to share the story of the “petek,” which I found in 1922.…

That year, I failed to fast on 17 Tammuz. As a result, I fell into a deep depression, feeling crushed inside. I was filled with such immense pain that I thought I would lose my mind.…

When I attended yeshivah on Sunday, the talmidim, who were all opposed to Breslov, mocked me and declared, “This is the end of all Breslov chassidim, in the end they all lose their minds and go insane.”

I suffered greatly from their taunting. I davened to Hashem to relieve me from my depression.… I resolved to go to my room and choose at random a sefer from my bookshelf, open it to a random page, and the Torah on that page would restore my soul. Though the words of Rabbeinu Nachman enliven the soul, it failed to restore my spirits, and my depressive state remained.

When I was about to return the sefer to the shelf, I noticed that there was a thin piece of paper with writing on it. At first, I paid no attention to this, but when I started to read it and realized that it was a letter from Rabbeinu Hakadosh [Rebbe Nachman]. Upon this discovery, I immediately experienced a complete recovery. I was filled with such happiness and rejoicing that I began to sing and dance in my room.…

That is the story of the “petek,” which I found in a miraculous fashion.

—Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser

The 1837 earthquake in the Galilee devastated the local Jewish communities, and recovery took decades. Only by the end of the 19th century was Jewish life again flourishing in Teveria, home to a strong chassidic community since the end of the previous century.

Several chassidic courts had established outposts in Teveria, most prominently Karlin and Slonim. A prominent Breslov chassid named Rav Yisrael Halperin, known as Rav Yisrael Karduner for his city of origin, arrived in Eretz Yisrael in 1903 and alternated between Tzfas, Meron, and Teveria. In Eretz Yisrael, as in Europe, Breslovers were a tiny minority of the chassidic community, often facing opposition and even hostility for their practices and beliefs. Rav Yisrael Karduner disseminated the Torah of Rebbe Nachman among the youth he encountered, and influenced some to adopt the ideals and ways of Breslov chassidus.

His closest protege was a young Teveria native from a family of Karliner chassidim named Yisrael Ber Odesser (c. 1888–1994). Eventually Odesser fully adopted the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and moved into his mentor’s home. He imbibed the teachings of the Breslov elders in Yerushalayim as well. In 1922, while he was still associated with Teveria’s Ohr Torah yeshivah, adjacent to the kever of Rabi Meir Baal Haneis, he claimed to have discovered a mysterious note, or “petek” (as it later became known). He believed it had been written by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, niftar 112 years prior.

The original note, which was either destroyed or stolen from Rabbi Odesser’s daughter’s home in 2001, contained an inspirational message from Rebbe Nachman and mystical hints regarding the redemption, including the famous phrase, “My fire will burn until the arrival of Mashiach.” The most distinctive feature of this note was the way Rebbe Nachman’s name appeared, spelled out in a kabbalistic acrostic: “Na Nach Nachma Nachman mei’Uman.”