File:The Letter from Heaven of Rabbi Nachman.jpg

English: Reproduction of The Letter From Heaven, supposedly sent from the spirit of Rabbi Nachman that "revealed" the Na Nach Nachma phrase to Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser, a well known Breslov figure in the 20th century. Odesser was born in 1888 in Tiberias, Israel. He was among the first Breslover Hasidim in Israel, having learned about the movement from Rabbi Yisroel Halpern when he was a young yeshiva student. Odesser's parents, who were Karliner Hasidim, strongly opposed his joining the Breslov movement, and worked hard to discourage him. Young Odesser went through many hardships, but he remained steadfast to the Breslov way.

When he was 33 years old, Odesser was overcome with weakness and hunger on the Fast of Tammuz. He decided to eat. But immediately after eating, he felt great sorrow at having succumbed to his own physical temptations. After five continuous days of prayer, a powerful thought came to him: "Go into your room!" He obeyed the inner voice, went to the bookcase, and randomly opened a book. In the book was a piece of paper that he would later call "The Letter from Heaven." The paper contained a greeting, some text that referred to the Fast of Tammuz, and the Na Nach Nachma mantra. It read as follows:

It was very hard for me to descend to you, my precious student, to tell you that I enjoyed greatly from your service. And to you I say, my fire will burn until the coming of the Messiah — be strong and courageous in your service — Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'Uman. And with this I shall tell you a secret: Full and heaped up from line to line, and with strong devotional service you will understand it. And the sign is: They will say you are not fasting on the 17th of Tammuz.

Odesser believed the letter to be a message of consolation, directly from Rebbe Nachman's spirit to himself here on earth. Odesser adopted Na Nach Nachma as his personal meditation, and became so totally identified with it that he later said, "I am Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'Uman." (This quote appears on Odesser's tombstone in Jerusalem.)