Levy Yitzhak of Berditchev

“Beyond the Breach“

By: Michel Tessier

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

“Beyond the Breach” is a sweeping four-act theatrical fresco that crosses time and borders, connecting the small Hasidic town of Berdichev to the contemporary world. Moving fluidly between the 18th century and the present day, the play weaves together the destinies of two men linked by the same breath: Rabbi Lévy Yitzhak of Berditchev, Hasidic master, kabbalist, and passionate defender of his people, and David, his descendant and spiritual heir, reluctantly called to carry a healer’s gift.

In this intense narrative, epochs echo one another and locations overlap, as readers witness dialogues full of tenderness and tension between past and present. The Chorus, at once the voice of the village and the voice of the city, functions as a collective memory: it comments on the action, carries the pain of pogroms and prejudice, yet also holds hope and resilience.

The play explores universal and strikingly contemporary themes:
– The invisible transmission of gifts and spiritual heritage.
– Resilience in the face of hatred and prejudice, then and now.
– Healing as deep listening rather than a spectacular miracle.
– The quiet courage of remaining upright in a fractured world.

Blending Yiddish atmosphere, visual poetry, and klezmer music, “Beyond the Breach” transforms simple gestures — pouring milk, placing a stone, opening a hand — into rituals of memory and connection. Each scene becomes a passage, each line a bridge between generations, each silence a place of healing.

More than a story, it is a living meditation on what it means to carry light into the cracks of the world. This play invites readers and audiences alike to recognize that a single day of courage, a single open hand, can change everything.

Through the emblematic figure of Rabbi Lévy Yitzhak of Berditchev — renowned for his unconditional love of his people and his mystical gaze on everyday life — author Michel Tessier delivers a moving and committed work that speaks as much to memory as to the future.

“Always defend your people, even before Heaven. Seek the good, even where others cannot see it.” — Rabbi Lévy Yitzhak of Berditchev