Question

Hello hello
 
There are two theories that I’d be happy to hear your opinion about.
 
A) The ascent of the Baal Shem Tov’s soul, and perhaps some of his other spiritual attainments, were influenced by smoking.
It is explicit that the early Hasidim smoked a lot (“all day long, pipes of tobacco” — in Zemir Aritzim). 
“It says explicitly on Wikipedia” (…) that very large amounts of nicotine can cause hallucinations and psychoses, including an inability to distinguish imagination from reality.
In addition, someone wrote somewhere (I have no idea on what basis) that they received tobacco from Turkey, which (in his opinion — again, I don’t know on what basis) had more potent substances mixed into it than ordinary tobacco.
Also, it is explicitly said about the Baal Shem Tov that he was expert in compounding herbs, and it is possible that from there he learned to add various substances that have a stronger effect than ordinary tobacco.
Clearly there are natural psychological explanations for the idea of an ascent of the soul; people do this in India and in other places as well. 
There are also miracle stories connected with the Baal Shem Tov’s pipe. For example, that he came to a religious court that had summoned him, and showed one of the judges what worlds he had created through the pipe, and that all the judges were filled with fear of Heaven for years from the smell of the pipe. And there is a story that gentiles stole the Baal Shem Tov’s pipe, and an hour later they were found asleep on their horses.
So my question is: what do you say? Is there any historical information that could confirm or refute the idea that they received “special” tobacco from Turkey? Is there any historical-scientific possibility that their ordinary tobacco had enough nicotine to cause hallucinations and so on?
 
B) Did Rabbi Nachman of Breslov have manic depression?
Manic depression causes, among other things, excessive self-confidence, “explosive” thoughts about repairing the world, and on the other hand depressions that also include inability to enjoy things that give an ordinary person pleasure. Of course, also extreme changes in mood.
And now for quotations from Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s disciples:

A. Shivchei HaRan, “The Journey to the Land of Israel,” section 15: “And the sheer greatness of the joy he had at that moment when he entered and stood upon the holy land cannot be estimated by the mind. Even if all days were ink, etc., they would not suffice to explain even the slightest edge of it. For immediately he attained what he attained. For he said that as soon as he walked four cubits in the Land of Israel, he immediately accomplished what he wanted to attain… And in the morning they went to the synagogue, and after they returned from the synagogue, anxiety and a very broken heart beyond measure were awakened in him, and he spoke not a word with any human being.”

B. Likkutei Halakhot, Laws of Tefillin 5:5: “And as I saw with our Rabbi, of blessed memory, innumerable times — even though in the previous hour he glorified himself with great and awesome things and revealed wondrous Torah such as had never been heard, as was his way — afterward, in the very next hour, we saw him dwelling in great pain, and many times he explained his pain and conversation before us from the depth of his heart, that he was deeply distressed over how one merits being a Jew, like one who had never smelled the scent of the service of God. And one who has not seen this cannot picture it in writing. And a little of this is already explained in his printed praises. And each time he was accustomed to say that now he knows nothing at all, absolutely nothing, etc. — even though in the previous hour he had revealed what he revealed and glorified himself that he had attained what he had attained, what cannot be revealed. Even so, immediately afterward he would say that he knows nothing.”

C. Chayei Moharan, section 215: “He taught a lesson regarding his simplicity — that is, how he was sometimes a simple person, what they call a plain fellow… And he said that he knows nothing at all, and he swore on the holy Sabbath, and said in these words: ‘I swear on the holy Sabbath’ — namely regarding the above matter, that he knows nothing at all now.”

D. Shivchei HaRan, section 16: “And the sheer greatness of the level of his holiness in breaking the ‘general desire,’ which includes all evil desires, namely sexual desire, cannot be explained or told. And he said that he had trials without number, but truly this was no trial at all, for he said that this is no desire at all… until he merited to withstand all the trials and sanctified himself greatly in abstinence from this desire beyond all measure and value, until he merited to break this desire completely. To the point that he was amazed at anyone who imagined it difficult to break this desire, for he said that it is no desire at all, and he spoke much on this matter, on nullifying and despising this desire… And he greatly glorified himself in the magnitude of his strength in breaking this desire. And he was a very great and awesome holy man in this matter and said of himself that he had no desire at all. And he said that for him male and female were equal — that is, he had no struggle whatsoever from any kind of lustful thought when seeing or speaking with any woman, for everything was equal for him.”

E. Chayei Moharan, section 233: “He said: If it were not stated explicitly in the words of our sages of blessed memory (Kiddushin 30) that it is forbidden to say, ‘An arrow in Satan’s eye,’ I would say, ‘An arrow in Satan’s eye.’ And I do not at all understand the stories found in the words of our sages of blessed memory, from the Tannaim and Amoraim, that this desire was very difficult and burdensome in their eyes, as several stories are brought in the Talmud. For to me it is nothing, absolutely nothing, and is not considered a trial to me at all. Certainly there is some secret in what is found in the Torah, that this desire is a trial, for in truth it is no trial at all.”

F. Chayei Moharan, section 139: “And in Istanbul he cast himself into an extremely exaggerated smallness beyond estimation, and dressed himself in torn clothing and went barefoot and without his upper hat, and went outside and behaved like one of the lowliest of the lowly, and many other such matters of smallness and lowness that he did there for some time. And he made mock fights with other people in the manner of boys joking with one another, etc., and similar matters of jest and childishness that cannot be explained or told… And it appeared to them as though he were a deceitful man, God forbid, and they disgraced him in every sort of disgrace for several consecutive days, and he accepted all the humiliations upon himself, and on the contrary devised ways so that they would disgrace him.”

G. Chayei Moharan, section 248: “The world cannot exist without me at all.”

H. Chayei Moharan, section 250: “He said: ‘The whole world needs me — not only you, because you yourselves know how much you need me, but even all the righteous need me, for they too need me to bring them back to the right path.’”

I. Chayei Moharan, section 257: “I heard that he said, ‘I have such an attainment regarding God that I could bring the Messiah through it, but I set it all aside and took myself to you in order to bring you back to the right path.’”

J. Chayei Moharan, section 265: “I also heard in his name that he said: ‘If I were to offer straightforward interpretations in Gemara, Tosafot, and Posekim, all the scholars and great men would be lying beneath the soles of my feet — but I still have no desire for that.’”

K. Chayei Moharan, section 314: “I heard in his name that he said: The least among my people I lead on the path of a very great righteous man [from the omitted passages:] like one today… He said: Imagine to yourself, the greatest of the generation today — in the end he will certainly stand at the doorway and envy greatly those close to him, and all the more so one who merits to hand him fire to raise smoke, that is, a pipe.”

L. Chayei Moharan, section 353: “He said that he knows all the righteous who were from Adam until now — from what place they came and from what place they say Torah… But I say Torah from a place that is above those places, and even if Torah comes to me from those places, I do not want it, for I want only new things… and how he receives Torah from a place from which no person ever received.”

M. Chayei Moharan, section 380: “He said that in the alef-bet [in a book he wrote] he had the letter resh on medicine, and it was written there with all the cures, and there was no illness in the world whose cure was not written there — but he did not want to copy it and burned it.”

N. Likkutei Moharan, Part II, end of section 119: “And our Rabbi of blessed memory said: Look, everyone says that there is this world and the World to Come. Now, as for the World to Come, we believe that there is a World to Come. Perhaps there is also a this-world somewhere as well, because here it seems to be hell, for all are always full of great sufferings. And he said that there is no such thing as this-world at all.”

What do you say? Does it look fitting? How likely is it that Rabbi Nachman of Breslov indeed had manic depression, or is this an unfounded hypothesis? By the way, if so, it would seemingly also put him in a favorable light, because the praises he gives himself — that there had never been anyone like him, etc. — are generally not accepted in the Jewish world.
 
Thank you very much in advance,
Eli K.