Gerer Rebbe Learned Likutay Moharan and was mikarev Rabbi Meir Shapiro to Breslov

HH look what I just found:
Here's the full story behind that manuscript variant, as recorded by Rabbi
David Avraham Mandelbaum, son of the Chassidic sage Rabbi Bentzion Moshe
Meir and a student of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva.

The Setting

Rabbi Meir Shapiro — founder of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva and originator
of Daf Yomi — was also the grandson of Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz (the "Rabbi
of Koritz"), a major figure in early Hasidism. One day, Shapiro visited the
Gerrer Rebbe (the Imrei Emet) in Gur (Gora Kalwaria), as was his custom.

When Shapiro entered, he saw the Gerrer Rebbe sitting with Likutei Moharan
— the central work of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov — open before him.

The Embarrassment

Shapiro was visibly embarrassed. Why? In the printed edition of Imrei
Pinchas (the teachings of his grandfather, the Rabbi of Koritz), there was
a passage that suggested a disagreement between the Rabbi of Koritz and the
Breslover Rebbe. Seeing the Gerrer Rebbe studying Breslov's work while
knowing his own grandfather appeared to have opposed its author put Shapiro
in an awkward position.

The Manuscript

The Gerrer Rebbe immediately noticed Shapiro's discomfort. He got up, told
Shapiro to wait a moment, went into an inner room, and returned with a
manuscript — a handwritten volume by the Rabbi of Koritz himself.

He showed Shapiro a passage from this manuscript. In it, the very same
passage was written "in the opposite way" — not as a disagreement at all,
but as an expression of great appreciation and admiration between the Rabbi
of Koritz and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.

Shapiro's face "lit up."

The Chain of Transmission

This account was preserved through a specific oral chain: it was heard from
Rabbi Alter, and also from Rabbi Moshe Lifshitz, who heard it from the Pnei
Menachem (a later Gerrer Rebbe), who heard it from his student Rabbi Rafael
Rosenbaum.

Why This Matters

This isn't just a nice anecdote — it's a concrete example of why manuscript
variants matter in Hasidic scholarship:

- Printed editions can be misleading. The published Imrei Pinchas contained
what appeared to be a rift between two foundational Hasidic masters. That
reading shaped how generations understood their relationship.
- Manuscripts preserve the "real" reading. The handwritten source — perhaps
an earlier draft, a corrected copy, or simply a version that escaped the
editorial choices of the printer — showed the opposite: mutual respect, not
conflict.
- It resolved a "historical embarrassment." For Shapiro, whose yeshiva
would later open its doors to Breslov Hasidim for their Rosh Hashanah
gatherings, this manuscript removed what could have been an uncomfortable
tension between his own lineage and his hospitality toward Breslov.

The story also has a beautiful aftermath: this very encounter — where the
Gerrer Rebbe used a manuscript to bridge Koritz and Breslov — is described
as part of what "paved the road" for Rabbi Shapiro to welcome Breslov
Hasidim into the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva for their annual Rosh Hashanah
gatherings.

NNNNM

Great blessings of Na Nach Nachmu Nachman Meuman!

always,
be,
Simcha