Pronunciation and Meaning of The Phrase
During his lifetime, Rebbe Nachman spoke of a "Song of Redemption" that would be revealed before the coming of the Jewish Messiah. This song would be in a "single, double, triple, quadruple" form. (Likutei Moharan II, #8). The Na Nach Nachma phrase has such a structure (keeping in mind that Hebrew often omits the vowels) and is based on the Rebbe's name, "Nachman":
- Na (One Hebrew letter: Nun) -- נ
- NaCH (Two Hebrew letters: Nun-Chet) -- נח
- NaCHMa (Three Hebrew letters: Nun-Chet-Mem) -- נחמ
- NaCHMaN (Four Hebrew letters: Nun-Chet-Mem-Nun) -- נחמן
- Me'Uman (a double entendre: it can mean "from Uman" -- Rebbe Nachman's burial place and can also mean "believed" or "accredited.") -- מאומן
The phrase is pronounced with a soft A sound as in "ah" and a guttural KH sound as in German "ach." It is usually accented as follows:
Nah-nakh-nakhmah-nakhman-meh-oo-mahn.
Speakers of Yiddish have also noted that na nach can mean "now to," which would loosely translate the phrase as "Now to Nachman from Uman," that is, traveling to the Rebbe on pilgrimage to his gravesite or in one's heart.
Read more about this topic: Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman
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