“rediscovered”

In Arthur Green’s book Judaism for the World he discusses Rebbe Nachman’s grave, the site of one of the most famous Chasidic pilgrimages in the world.  During World War Two, the Ukrainian city of Uman was  destroyed, along with the Rebbe’s tomb.  He tells us:

…the old cemetery was plowed over by the Nazis, and the site was built into apartment blocks by the Soviets. Now the place of R. Naḥman’s burial has been “rediscovered”…

I find the quotations interesting.  It suggests a that the two tomb in Uman may not be Rebbe Nachman's at all. What grounds exist for such a claim?

This brought me to Against All Odds by Gedaliah Flier.  This is a fascinating book about the efforts of the author in the 1960s to reach the Rebbe’s grave behind the Iron Curtain.  He tells an interesting account on page 31 about the Rebbe’s tomb following the Second World War.  A certain Reb Zanvil searched in vain for the foundations of the small stone structure that had previously covered that grave.  He failed to find it.  Reb Zanvil pleads with God to help him find the grave.

That night, the Rebbe comes to him in a dream. Reb Zanvil implores the Rebbe, saying, don’t leave us!  The Rebbe’s says; I am not leaving... I am remaining with you.  The next morning Reb Zanvil unearths the foundation of the stone structure that once covered the Rebbe’s tomb.  These are the circumstances that Arthur Green alludes to by the rediscovered in quotes.  Although not specifically spelled out, we are led to believe that the dream gave Reb Zanvil vital information to find the tomb.

In his book, Green takes a tour of famous Rebbe’s graves. A rationalist by nature, he is more interested in the Torah they been left behind than appealing to them at their tombs.  Rabbi Green is a historian and rationalist. He probably finds the supernatural rediscovery of Rebbe Nachman’s tomb questionable.

In the end it doesn’t matter. Flier’s efforts to get behind the Iron Curtain to pray at the Rebbe’s grave are ennobling.  Without the tomb, and the Rosh Hashanah kibutz at Uman, Breslov would not be the same.  I believe Rabbi Green understands this and therefore does not explore this topic fully. 

Meaning is often found in the effort and devotion.  In the end that is all that counts.