Wikipedia's first sentence called it “rabbi and the chief disciple of rabbi nachman of breslav”. Today it says “chief disciple and scribe of rebbe nachman of breslov”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Nathan of Nemirov ( 1780 - 1844 ) also known as Nathan of Breslov, was a rabbi and the chief disciple of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav (or "Breslov"), the founder of the Breslov branch of Hasidic Judaism . His full name was Nathan ben Naphtali Steinhartz of Nemirov. To the Breslover Hasidim, he is known simply as Reb Noson. Reb Noson was born in the town of Nemirov , Ukraine in 1780 . His father, Rabbi Naftali Hertz, was a Talmud scholar of some distinction and a wealthy businessman. Reb Noson received a traditional Torah education and learned his father's business. At the age of thirteen (as was the custom), he was married to Esther Shaindel, daughter of Rabbi David Zvi Orbach, the rabbi and leading rabbinical authority of Mohilov, Sharograd, and Kremenetz (Kamenetz). Both his father and his father-in-law were staunch opponents of Hasidism .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17328672.
The opening as it stood in 2010 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Nathan of Breslov (January 22, 1780 – December 20, 1844), also known as Reb Noson , born Nathan Sternhartz , was the chief disciple and scribe of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov , founder of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty .Reb Noson is credited with preserving, promoting and expanding the Breslov movement after the Rebbe's death.Rebbe Nachman himself said, "Were it not for Reb Noson, not a page of my writings would have remained."
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369959584.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Ukrainian rabbi (1780–1844) Nathan of Breslov (January 22, 1780 – December 20, 1844), also known as Reb Noson , born Nathan Sternhartz , was the chief disciple and scribe of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov , founder of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty . Reb Noson is credited with preserving, promoting and expanding the Breslov movement after the Rebbe's death. Rebbe Nachman himself said, "Were it not for Reb Noson, not a page of my writings would have remained."
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1169022197. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “rabbi and the chief disciple of rabbi nachman of breslav”. Today it says “chief disciple and scribe of rebbe nachman of breslov”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
rabbi and the chief disciple of rabbi nachman of breslav
Now
chief disciple and scribe of rebbe nachman of breslov
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
