There are no coincidences.
Every event in our life has meaning—whether we are able to connect the dots or not. Every sight we see, every person we meet, even every word we hear, exists to help us draw closer to our true purpose.*
In English a ‘play on words’ can be amusing or interesting; in Hebrew, the Holy Tongue which God used to Create the world, a word-play can give us a glimpse into a life-changing secret. By exchanging vowels (and sometimes consonants) or numerical values, Hebrew word-play helps us gain insights into the world and ourselves.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov tells us one of the essential qualities of a Breslover Chasid:
“In time to come the whole world will be Breslover Chasidim.
“The Midrash comments on the verse in Ezekiel (36:26), ‘I will give you a LeV BaSaR, a heart of flesh.
“Don’t [read it as] BaSar, ‘flesh’, but as BoSeR, ‘glad.’ Everyone will be glad at the good fortune of his friend.
“The letters of the words LeV BoSeR, ‘a glad heart,’ spell out the word BReSLoV.”
—Tzaddik: A Portrait of Rabbi Nachman, BRI
