Background
He was born in Tulchyn, Ukraine to Rabbi Nachman Chazan, the closest disciple of Nathan of Breslov ("Reb Noson"), who in turn was the closest disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.
He was born in Tulchyn, Ukraine to Rabbi Nachman Chazan, the closest disciple of Nathan of Breslov ("Reb Noson"), who in turn was the closest disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.
Rabbi Nachman Chazan (also known as Reb Nachman Tulchyner) assumed the leadership of the Breslover community in Uman, Ukraine after Reb Noson"s death and published the rest of his teacher"s existing manuscripts, including the eight-volume Likutey Halakhot.
Abraham Chazan was a deeply devout young man who often left home right after the Jewish Sabbath to meditate and study in the forest for the entire week, subsisting only on a sack of bread. Chazan emigrated to Jerusalem, Israel around 1894. However, he returned to Uman each year for the annual Breslover Rosh Hashana kibbutz (prayer gathering).
In 1914, the outbreak of World War I forced him to remain in Russia, where he lived and taught until his death in 1917.
His students in Uman, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Bender and Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Rosen, became leaders of the next generation of Breslover Hasidim after they emigrated from Uman to Jerusalem.