Jigsaw puzzle by Nina Torr
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The Teacher of Joy
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Daniel Mróz – drawing from the archives (no. 521–522/1955)
Good Mood, Science

The Teacher of Joy

A Hasidic Way to Happiness
Mikołaj Gliński
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Mikołaj Gliński:
was an Editor at Przekroj.pl/EN. He is also a translator, co-author of a book about the Polish language “Quarks, Elephants and Pierogi”, and a senior staff writer at Culture.pl, where he writes about Polish culture for non-Polish speakers.

Though Hasidic to his core, Nachman of Breslov spent a long time trying to find his own spiritual path. He found it in stories.

Reb Nachman was born in 1772 in Medzhybizh, in today’s Ukraine. As he was a great-grandson of the founder of Hasidism, Baal Shem Tov, expectations for him were high—he was at any rate expected to become a great tzaddik. Supposedly, in his youth he tormented himself, fasted and completely shunned peace and quiet, hoping that in this way he would receive visions. At night he would run in the woods and wilderness, speaking to God.

A breakthrough in Nachman’s spiritual life came on a trip to the Holy Land. While during the journey his behavior was

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Mikołaj Gliński:
was an Editor at Przekroj.pl/EN. He is also a translator, co-author of a book about the Polish language “Quarks, Elephants and Pierogi”, and a senior staff writer at Culture.pl, where he writes about Polish culture for non-Polish speakers.
Translation: Nathaniel Espino
Publish date: 20.03.2020

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Days of the Gods
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Illustration by Karyna Piwowarska
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Days of the Gods

12 Holidays from the Indian Calendar
Paulina Wilk
Paulina Wilk:
used be an editor of the Culture & Society section. She is a writer and journalist focusing on global development.

If you feel like you could use more opportunities to celebrate, here is a list of unique holidays brought to you straight from India.

The reformed Indian calendar is a solar one, divided into 12 months, each measured from full moon to new moon. It is used along with the Gregorian one by the local administration and offices. It also serves for marking the dates of public holidays, allowing the synchronization of the passing of time for people who follow different religions, inhabit many regions, and use various traditional solar and lunar calendars. The most important holidays are those that take place during the full or new moon nights. The year is divided into six seasons, called ritu. According to Hinduism, time is a cycle, a continuous process of creation and destruction, divided into four eras. Right now, we are going through the last stage of the cycle, known as Kali Yuga: the age of darkness.

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