The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 

Some Breslov Nigunim

The first nigun is an upbeat waltz, while the second is pure deveikes and sits much lower in the kishkes. I learned the first nigun in Uman when I was there for Rosh Hashanah in 2003. After hearing it once during Rosh, I thought I might not get another chance to learn it. As I was leaving Uman after all was done, I went back to my hostel to collect something I had forgotten. Standing there in the courtyard was the person who could teach me. Everything was like that in Uman: continual hashagachah pratit (the feeling that everything was being guided by providence). That was also the first year I went to Burning Man, where I had a similar experience. That was quite an intense end to summer! I learned the second nigun from Shaul Magid on Fire Island some years before that. It is one of the most complex nigunim I know (though the Pastakh is even harder)!


both sung by Reb Duvid

Waltz:

Deveikes (devekut) nigun:

Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006