The management of Rabbi Nachman's grave in Uman is changing hands again: Against the backdrop of serious disagreements and intrigues between members of the local community and the site's director in recent years, Nachman El-Hadad, the latter has been dismissed from his position. Rabbi Yaakov Jan of Safed has been appointed in his place.
The annual meeting of the "International Charity Fund named after Rabbi Nachman of Breslov" [a Ukrainian non-profit organization that owns the lands of the tomb complex and the surrounding buildings], which was held in Uman this week, was attended by the directors of the Charity Fund and the presidents of the non-profit organization, David Assulin and Rahamim Safdie, along with the rabbis of the "Breslov Center" Rabbi Shalom Arush, Rabbi Eliyahu Godlevsky, and other rabbis and influential figures from Breslov Hasidism.
Meanwhile, new appointments were made, with the aim of streamlining the functioning of the "Bratslav Center" - which is responsible for the functioning of the tomb complex. The move stems from the differences of opinion that emerged in the past year between Elhadad and the Jewish residents of Uman - the Breslav Hasidim from Israel who have been living nearby for the past year.
The development stems from the local community, which includes, among others, boys who were expelled from various settings and immigrated to Uman to spend their time there. Some of the boys who roamed the site made demands of the site management: a warm and active mikveh, regular hospitality for eating and sleeping.
According to Al-Haddad, the presence of such young men in the place constitutes image damage and harms the character of the place. The community, on the other hand, blamed Al-Haddad and leveled allegations of poor management and a lack of cooperation between the managers of the place and the Jewish residents, which they claim is causing conflict between them.
Elders from the local community claimed that, naturally, the presence of boys from different backgrounds and cultures - including those who have repented or sons from distressed families - leads to unacceptable phenomena, and thus they explain Al-Haddad's opposition to the phenomenon, and the difficulty involved between the different approaches.
One day, at the height of some of the young people's anger at Elhadad, they broke into the management offices, vandalized equipment and caused damage to property. Following this, in recent months, elements within the Hasidic movement have attempted to mediate between the parties, but without success. In the end, Elhadad was dismissed from his position.
The ongoing conflict led the Hasidic rabbis to the conclusion that it was necessary that the management of the site be entrusted to figures who were loyal and accepted by all Hasidic followers, their circles and sects, and especially by the residents of the local community.
At the last meeting, it was decided to appoint Rabbis Yaakov Jan of Safed and Nathan Ben-Nun to the position. Rabbi Yaakov Jan has extensive experience with dropout youth, and extensive experience with the local community. At the end of the meeting, the parties reached agreements, declared the end of the local dispute, and formulated a long series of trust-building measures between the community and the management team.
With his official dismissal, Elhadad launched a new airline route from Tel Aviv to Vinnytsia last week. The new route will operate discounted flights twice a week, for the benefit of Hasidic Jews and those wishing to visit the graves of the righteous in Ukraine. Those close to Elhadad claim that in the two years he managed the tomb complex, he managed to transform the place into a truly magnificent structure and prepared the infrastructure for a huge and magnificent permanent structure that is planned to be built on the site and meet the needs of the thousands who visit the place throughout the year.
It should be noted that just two weeks ago, Al-Haddad took a group of journalists from all the Haredi media systems on a journey to the graves of the righteous in Ukraine, with whom he also toured the compounds he managed in Uman.
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