Translation talk:Tales of Rabbi Nachman/1

Information about this edition
Edition:	Translation by SL, edited by Nissimnanach (talk)Nissimnanach
Source:
Contributor(s):	SL and Nissimnanach
Level of progress:	Proofread by Y.E. and re-editted by Nissimnanach
Notes:
Proofreaders:	Y.E.

Thanks to AYS for his translation

These are notes he attached:

Notes to the English-speaking editor: 1) The story omits the introductory phrase and the “amen, seleh” at the end. 2) the normal way to narrate dialogue in English has the quoted text appearing first, and the narration afterwards: “Let’s go,” he said. The original Yiddish form of narration is maintained: He said, “Let’s go.” If the text is published in English the narration form of the original should be altered to make it appropriate to the English convention, since the method of narration in the original does not constitute a form of personal expression by the author, rather he is only following the form of the language he is using. Nissimnanach (talk) 23:09, 25 September 2011 (UTC)Nissimnanach

Thanks to SL for draft

B"h In collaboration with a group, the AYS draft was replaced by the SL draft, which has now been edited by Nissimnanach (talk) 21:43, 9 October 2011 (UTC)Nissimnanach

Nissimnanach's goal for the translation has been:

1. Accuracy -- R. Natan said R. Nachman was very medayek, and we can be medayek with his words as with the Torah; this is especially important with the Tales, where we are told explicitly that whoever changes one word takes much from the story, etc.;
2. Readability -- #1 must sometimes be compromised (as little as possible) for this; and
3. Enjoyability -- make them as enjoyable as possible.

Thanks to Y.E. for Proofreading!

Our friend Y.E. did some great and painstaking proofreading and corrections, and I agreed with most of his edits but altered or revised some of them. To illustrate,

1. "And" at the beginning of sentences: Since every word of these stories was carefully weighed (see the Intros), we must be very careful and sparing in deviating from the literal translation. In general I try to keep the "and" when it occurs both in the Hebrew and Yiddish. Also, regarding the practice of each sentence beginning with "And," I heard in a shiur of R. Avigdor Miller on Varikra (And Hashem called to Moshe) that this signifies that the whole past, present, and future is one story and chain of events conducted by Hashem Yitbarakh's gracious providence for us.
2. Phrases in parentheses: Are so in the original, so I think we should keep to them.
3. Phrases in brackets: Clarification that is needed for the translation, which is not based on words in the texts should be added in brackets.
4. "... you will get money from there" -- Y.E. made this sound better by "...you will get money from within" however the text says sham or dart so let's stay with "there." There is probably a secret in this, sham implies several sodot, and "within" has other different meanings.

If Y.E. or anyone else feels strongly about these or other edits, we can discuss further... Nissimnanach (talk) 01:37, 4 November 2011 (UTC)Nissimnanach

Differences from Aryeh Kaplan's Translation, and Ongoing Improvement

It has been several years since I and some other Na Nach's were working on this translation of Rabbi Nachman's stories. I reflect on why we were doing this. We wanted to help promote the distribution of these stories and fulfill Sabba's mission to fill the world with Rabbi Nachman's books and Na Nach Nachma Nachma MeUman, and not for profit. Aryeh Kaplan's "Rabbi Nachman's Stories" published in 1985 is tremendous work that brought these stories to English speakers. However, we felt the following could be improved:

1. Kaplan's version was held in copyright.
2. His version contained many notes and commentary, but Rabbi Natan records in Sichot Haran #151, "He said regarding the tales that he told, that it would be better to not reveal of them what any of the clues hint to, for when the thing is hidden, more can be accomplished with it that is needed. But he was forced occasionally to just reveal some hint, in order they should know there are hidden things in them."
3. Kaplan's translation was sometimes loose and could be more accurate to the originals. Rabbi Nathan says in the Preface, "whoever changes one utterance from these stories from the way he himself told them, causes much to be lacking from the story."

Regarding point #3, I would like to make a brief list of these less-accuracies for comparison, reference, and ongoing improvement. Nissimnanach (talk) 18:54, 14 August 2025 (UTC)Nissimnanach

Tale 1: The Loss of a Princess

Kaplan	Yiddish original	Hebrew	Wikisource	Comment
[The viceroy] traveled back and forth for a long time, through deserts, fields and forests. He searched for [the princess] for a very long time.	אִיז עֶר גֶעגַאנְגֶען אַ לַאנְגֶע צַייט. אוּן אִין מִדְבָּרִיוֹת אוּן אִין פֶעלְדֶער אוּן אִין וֶועלדֶער אוּן הָאט זִי גֶעזוּכְט זֵייעֶר אַ לַאנְגֶע צַייט.	והיה הולך אנה ואנה זמן רב ובמדבריות ובשדות וביערים והיה מבקשה זמן רב מאד.	He went a long time, in deserts, fields and forests, and was seeking her quite a long time.[1]	"Here and there" in the Hebrew means to emphasize the Yiddish meaning that he searched everywhere — "and in deserts and in fields and in forests..."
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References

1. Note: For the sake of accuracy, I changed this to: He went a long time, and in deserts and in fields and in forests, and was seeking her a very long time. (I made many more such changes. Please feel free to change them however you see fit. Sije)