One of the earliest Breslev Hasidim to live in Israel, Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser (1898? - 1994) also known as 'the Saba' spent the full nearly 100 years of his life serving Hashem with all his might according to the teachings of Rebbe Nachman. At approximately age 24, Odesser claimed to have received a letter from Rebbe Nachman who had passed away 112 years earlier. This letter known as the Petek, contained the now famous phrase Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman. Towards the end of his life Reb Odesser founded the Na Nach movement. There is much controversy amongst mainstream Breslev and other Jewish Orthodox groups regarding the reception of the Petek and the message Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odeser claimed it contained.

Kever Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser The kever of Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser is located in Har Hamenuchos, Yerushalim in Gush 11 Section 2. It is one of the most frequented kevarim in the cemetery, often visited by the Nanachs. Rabbi Yisroel Dov Ber Odesser is buried right next to his wife, who was buried there years earlier.;

His Early Years Yisroel Dov Ber was born in Tiberias, Israel in the year 1898 (approx.) to his parents Shlomo Isaac and Rivka Shindal Odesser. Tiberius of the late 19th century was a small city ruled by the Ottoman Empire like the rest of Israel. Tiberius at the time had a Jewish population of roughly 100 families. Most members of the community were followers of the Hasidk movement and descendents from the original migration led by students of the Bal Shem Tov. Initially settling in Safed, the Hasidim were soon forced to relocate to Tiberius due to opposition from the Perushim.;Miraculous Birth Sabba's passportDuring the ninth month of her pregnancy, Rivka Shindal Odesser went into sudden labor as she visited the community outhouse located at the outskirts of the city. With no one near the vicinity she helplessly gave birth to a child who fell into a pit of mud. As she was close to despair, an unknown man suddenly appeared and pulled the new born baby out of the deep pit. It was considered a great wonder that a man would be found near the women's outhouse, a location forbidden to men. Parents and Family Shlomo Isaac Odeser was a simple and religious man who belonged to the Karlin Hasidim. His father, Yisroel Ber was the leading judge of the Odessa Bais Din and a student of Rabbi Avraham Kalisker. When Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk and Rabbi Avraham Kalisker moved to Israel, Yisroel Ber Odesser Sr. was part of the group.;His Name Kever of the SabaYisroel Dov Ber was named after his grandfather who shared the same name. 'Yisroel Ber' is a combination of the name of Rabbi Yisroel Bal Shem Tov, founding father of the Hasidic movement and his main student and successor, Rabbi Dov Ber the Maggid of Mezeritch. 'Dov' means 'bear' in Hebrew and 'Ber' is its equivalent in Yiddish. It was very common for European Jews to use both the Hebrew and Yiddish words when naming after an animal. Sometimes the two names are combined into one word 'Dovber'.;Childhood in Tiberias Like many other Jewish families living in Israel at the time, the Odesser family lived in complete poverty. Shlomo Isaac, father of the Odeser family had become blind. Now besides not being able to support his wife and many children, he also became a financial burden for them. Their home was a small cave like structure built from thick stone, with no windows. Yisroel Ber and his family suffered greatly from the intense Tiberius heat. With meager earnings produced from coffee grinding, the Odesser family often had to go to sleep hungry.;Sipor Hiskarvus Sipor Hiskarvus, the story of how R' Yisroel Ber Odesser came close to the teachings of Breslov is one of epics of the Nanachs. R' Odesser himself would recite the story numerous times, often to new devotes of the Breslev movement.;In Search of Truth Just like anyone else trying to enter the Service of Hashem, Yisroel Odesser had many hardships filled with spiritual ups and downs. In order to find effective methods to rid himself of the worldly lust, Yisroel Ber would seek the guidance of all the Rabbis, Kabbalists and respected elders that could be found in Tiberius. He would lower himself under them and complain about his spiritual woes. Although some of the Rabbis were able to give him temporary inspection, none were able to provide Yisroel Ber with the complete cure he needed to properly serve Hashem.;Finding Hishtapchus Hanefesh Kever Rebbe Meir Baal HanessAfter his bar mitzvah, Yisroel Ber was enrolled in the Hasidic Yeshiva located at the grave site of Rebbe Meir Baal Haness. Once while passing by the garbage bin in the yeshiva courtyard, Yisroel Ber found in it an old book called Hishtapchus Hanefesh which was missing the beginning and end. Although he did not know it at that point, Hishtapchus Hanefesh was published by the Breslev Hasidim which were considered a very controversial group at the time.;Meeting Rabbi Yisroel Karduner Rabbi Yisroel Karduner was a fourth generation Breslov Hasid that lived in Safed. During the entire week, Rabbi Karduner would sit alone in Meron at the grave of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochi and do Avodas Hashem, it was only on the weekends that he would go home to his family.;Becoming Breslev As Yisroel Ber accompanied R' Karduner out of the house, he burst out crying and begged the older Tzadik not to leave him alone. He then told R' Karduner all about how he found the book Hishtapchus Hanefesh and how he was praying for a long time that he find some one who can guide him to the Breslev teachings. Yisroel Ber then continued to confess all his spiritual setbacks and problems. When R' Yisroel Karduner heard this he was became even more excited, he started telling the young lad all about Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, his books and his wondrous advice. These words penetrated deep into the heart of Yisroel Ber and he felt a cure like he had never felt before.;Family Opposition Word of Yisroel Ber's acceptance of Breslev was not taken to well by the Tiberias community. He was approached by a number of respected individuals who tried convincing him of the faults in Breslev. When they saw their words were falling on deaf ears and Yisroel Ber refused to budge from his convictions they decided to approach his father. A delegation of from the Yeshiva approached Shlomo Isaac Odeser and warned him that most Breslevers run wild in the woods and many of them end up insane. They warned him that this issue must be resolved now before it became to late to pull Yisroel Ber back.;Revival of the Dead In the heat of the controversy Rivka Shindal approached Rabbi Mordechai of Slonim for advice of how to deal with her sons deflection to Breslev. R' Mordechai of Slonim was the chief Judge of the Tiberias Bais Din and had a close relationship with Yisroel Dov who had studied Mishna and Zohar under him. When R' Mordechai heard the story he confirmed that Breslev was very dangerous, claiming that it had a magnetic pull and all those who entered never came back. R' Mordechai then advised Rivka Shindal to approach R' Karduner and ask him to leave her son alone and with no mentor he was soon to go back to normal.;Opposition from the Community There was much hate towards Breslev in the heart of the Tiberias community. To some of them Yisroel Ber's association to Breslov was almost equivalent to him converting to Christianity. When Yisroel Ber would walk in the streets people would cross to the other side as if he was a leaper, they would point fingers at him, mock him, throw stones at him and call him a wicked cruel murderer. From the most respected people in the city to the lowlifes they all joined to oppress Yisroel Ber. R' Moshe Karlis the head Rabbi of Tiberias issued an official Halachic ruling forbidding Yisroel Ber to remain Breslov. Rabbi Motil of Slonim the chief Judge of the city also ran a campaign against Yisroel Ber trying to force him out of his Breslev beliefs. Despite all the opposition Yisroel Ber remained strong in his beliefs and would not look at anyone or anything when it came to Rebbe Nachman of Breslev.;Student of Rabbi Yisroel Karduner Yisroel Ber Odesser spent five years studying under Rabbi Yisroel Karduner, until his mentor passed away during a plague in Tiberias. A bulk of this time period acured in the midst of World War One and the pair went through untold suffering and hardships as they served Hashem. Although he did not learn much Torah from his teacher. Yisroel Ber complexly received all the secrets of strengthening oneself in serving Hashem and finding the truth, the core of Rebbe Nachman's teachings.;The Vow Seeing the great opposition that they were facing, Yisroel Ber was afraid that eventually he would be forced to separate from teacher. He approached Rabbi Karduner and asked him to make a handshake vow that they would never separate under any circumstances. R' Karduner agreed and they made a handshake vow over the Kever of Rebbe Akiva. They committed to always stay in the same city and to meet constantly to do Avodas Hashem and talk about Rebbe Nachman of Breslev.;Marriage to Esther Mindel Kever of Saba Next to his WifeLuckily for Yisroel Ber Odesser he was engaged to Esther Mindel of Safed before he became Breslev, otherwise the chances of him getting married were slim. When Pinchas HaCohen, his future father in law heard news of his Breslev beliefs, he pushed them off assuming that Yisroel Ber would be easy to convince after marriage. Due to the financial difficulties caused by the start of World War One, Pinchas attempted to cancel the wedding claiming a lack of funds. Rabbi Karduner knowing how important it is for a person to be married according the teachings of Rebbe Nachman, went around and collected the money himself allowing the wedding to take place on time. Yisroel Dov Ber Odeser married Esther Mindel in the city of Safed in Elul 1915 (5675). After the wedding, Yisroel Ber and his wife moved into a small room alongside the home of Rabbi Karduner.;Tzvi Aryeh Rosental Tzvi Aryeh Rosental was a former student of the Chofetz Chaim that had relocated to Tiberius. He was considered one of the prime scholars amongst the younger members of the community and had studied a number of times with Yisroel Ber before he became Breslev. Tzvi Aryeh had always recognized Yisroel Ber as a seeker of truth and was very curious to know what he had discovered in Breslev that allowed him to withstand such immense opposition. Yisroel Ber introduced Tzvi Aryeh to his teacher Rabbi Yisroel Karduner and the latter was so impressed he decided to become Breslev himself.;Passing Away of Rabbi Karduner Original Tombstone of Rabbi KardunerWhen the British entered Tiberius a plague of Cholera broke out killing many of its inhabitants including all the children of the Karduner family. Rebbe Yisroel Karduner accepted the tragedy with great faith. In the end he said that he too would pass away and take the plague with him. As soon as he passed away the plague stopped but Yisroel Dov was left like an orphan without a father.;Solitude After the death of Rabbi Karduner, R' Yisroel Ber Odesser was left completely alone, the only Breslever in Teberious. He continued practicing the same methods of Avodas Hashem that he had done until now with his teach, often traveling alone to the Rashbi.;Yerushalaim Elders of Breslev first met them at the Rosha Hashana kibutz in Meron with Rebbe Yisroel Karduner. After the death of his teacher he moved to Yerushalim to be around the elders of Breslov. Not able to afford an apartment he stayed as a guest at the home of R' Shlomo Wexler for a few weeks until he found his own place near the Breslov Bais Medrash in the Old City. During this time period of two and a half years until he returned to Teberious he lived off food that his neighbor brought him from a local soup kitchen.;Rav Shlomo Eliezer Alpandri Passport photo before receiving the Petek.Rav Shlomo Eliezer Alpandri was the chief rabbi of Safed. On particularly cold winters he would come to Tiberias to immerse in the local hot springs. Rav Alfandri was considered a very holy Kabbalist by the Safardi community and the dedicated a room for him by the gravesite of Rebbbe Mair Bal Hanes. Yisroel Odesser who studied in the vicinity decided to use this opportunity to learn from this holy man. He approached Rav Alfandri and asked if he could serve him. Rav Alpandri saw that Yisroel Ber was earnest and he granted his request. After a few days Rav Alpandri happened to hear Yisroel Ber reading Likutay Tefilos with great devotion, very impressed with his level of Avodas Hashem he refused to let him serve him any longer. From that point on he considered Yisroel Ber as friends and refer to him with the prefix 'Rebbe' when he noticed that he was a man of complete truth that did not bend to anyone. Together they would study torah and talk about Avodas Hashem.When Rav Alpandri heard that Yisroel Ber only received a salary of two liras a week while the rest of the Kollel received 20, he was enraged. He angrily approached the heads of the Kollel and strongly rebuked them. From that point on the added an additional half a lira to his salary each week.;The Petek Sabba's hat.There was a time where R' Odesser could no longer support his wife and children so they moved back in with her family and he went back to Tiberias. This changed when R' Motil of Slonim gave him the room.Would continue to go to the Rashbi by himself for weeks in a row. When occasional people would come he would enter the cave of Hillel so he would not be disturbed.;Hafatza Likutay Emuna Likutay Emuna is a compilation put together by the Sabba on the topic of 'faith' from the various Breslov teachings. It was published by Keren Rabbi Yisroel Odeser, years after his passing, in a limited quantity.;

Hillulah of Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser The yortzite of Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser is on Chi (18th) of Cheshvan. Most Nanachs try to make a pilgrimage to his kever on that day. There are a number of Hafatza stands set up around the Hillulah and often food and drink is given out.;