Nachman Goldstein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nachman Goldstein of Tcherin (1825 – 1894), also known as the Tcheriner Rav (rabbi of Tcherin, a town in eastern Ukraine), was a leading disciple of Nathan of Breslov (known as "Reb Noson"), who in turn was the chief disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty.
A child prodigy who excelled in his Torah studies even as a young boy, Goldstein was the grandson of Rabbi Aharon, the chief rabbi of Breslov in Rebbe Nachman's day, and the son of Rabbi Zvi Aryeh, the succeeding rabbi of Breslov. He grew up in the town of Breslov. However, in his youth he shied away from Reb Noson. Once Reb Noson said to him, "Nachman, who knows? Maybe the reason Rebbe Nachman worked so hard to bring your grandfather to Breslav was because of you?" After that, Goldstein became a follower of Reb Noson, and after the latter's death, became very involved with Reb Noson's works.
Goldstein raised his daughter's son, Abraham Sternhartz, after the latter was orphaned of his parents as a young child. As the grandson of Reb Noson's leading disciple and at the same time a great-grandson of Noson through his father's line, Sternhartz was privy to all the family traditions and stories about Rebbe Nachman's closest disciple. These formed the basis for his definitive collection of Breslov oral traditions, entitled Tovot Zichronot.
