Segment 1
בָּרוּךְ הַשֵּׁם, יוֹם ה' עֵקֶב [כ"א אב] תקפ"ט.
With the help of G-d, may He be blessed To my son, my dear friend, the veteran — our Teacher the Rabbi
Yitzchok — may his light shine and radiate.
Segment 2
רַב שָׁלוֹם לַאֲהוּבִי בְּנִי חֲבִיבִי מוֹרֵנוּ הָרַב יִצְחָק נֵרוֹ יָאִיר.
Peace
and all good. Your letter I received last week. And you gave me life with your
words — in what you wrote that my words have made an impression
upon you. For this is my portion — when I merit to hear that the
Segment 3
יָנוּחוּ בְּרָכוֹת עַל רֹאשְׁךָ בְּנִי חֲבִיבִי כִּי שִׂמַּחְתַּנִי בִּישׁוּעָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשַּׂרְתַּנִי בְּמִכְתָּבְךָ אֲשֶׁר קִבַּלְתִּי הַיּוֹם. מִי יִתֵּן וְאֶזְכֶּה לִשְׁמֹעַ תָּמִיד בְּשׂוֹרוֹת טוֹבוֹת מֵאִתְּךָ וּמִכָּל הַנִּלְוִים אֵלֵינוּ וּמִכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל.
words of the ever-flowing stream, the source of wisdom, act with
His great kindness. And behold — now I have no free time at all —
and the bearer of this letter will tell you. You will also receive the enclosed letter from Rabbi Chayyim
Nachum — may his light shine — in order to give you life with
good tidings from your friends. And in this you will also see
the salvation of Hashem — how Hashem Yisborach
never abandons us forever. And if some matter of salvation
delays — one must wait for it — for everything has its time — and
one is compelled to wait for everything. For in this world one
must endure very greatly — and the essential
thing is to wait and to be still for His salvation always — and
Segment 4
וְהִנֵּה אַתָּה רוֹאֶה בְּעֵינֶיךָ מַה נֶּאֶמְנוּ דְּבָרֵינוּ אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְנוּ הַרְבֵּה בָּעִתִּים הַלָּלוּ שֶׁצְּרִיכִין רַק לְהַמְתִּין לִישׁוּעַת ה'. וְהִנֵּה אָנוּ רוֹאִים יְשׁוּעַת ה' בְּכָל יוֹם וּבְכָל עֵת. וְגַם בְּבִנְיַן הַבַּיִת אֲנִי רוֹאֶה יְשׁוּעוֹת ה' בְּכָל יוֹם, אַךְ אַף עַל פִּי כֵן צְרִיכִין לְהַמְתִּין תָּמִיד בְּכָל דָּבָר בִּכְלָל וּבִפְרָט וְהָעִקָּר בְּהַיְשׁוּעָה הָעִקָּרִית לִזְכּוֹת לְהִתְקָרֵב לַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ בֶּאֱמֶת. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְמַהֵר לְהִזְדָּרֵז הַרְבֵּה בָּזֶה, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן גַּם צְרִיכִין לְהַמְתִּין הַרְבֵּה. וְכַמְבֹאָר בְּדִבְרֵי אֲדוֹנֵנוּ מוֹרֵנוּ וְרַבֵּנוּ זַ"ל (לִקּוּטֵי מוֹהֲרַ"ן ו) מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זַ"ל (יוֹמָא לח: לט.) הַבָּא לִטָּהֵר מְסַיְּעִין לוֹ אוֹמְרִים לוֹ הַמְתֵּן. וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בְּעָנְיִי כְּבָר הִמְתַּנְתִּי הַרְבֵּה הַרְבֵּה, וְעֵינֵינוּ כָּלוֹת כָּל הַיּוֹם, לִישׁוּעָתוֹ הָאֲמִתִּיּוֹת. וּכְבָר רָאִיתִי יְשׁוּעוֹת ה' הַרְבֵּה בְּלִי שִׁעוּר, אַךְ אַף עַל פִּי כֵן בַּמֶּה שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא נוֹשַׁעְתִּי אֲנִי מַמְתִּין עֲדַיִן עֲדַיִן, עַד יַשְׁקִיף וְיֵרֶא ה' מִשָּׁמַיִם. חֲזַק בְּנִי וַחֲזַק וּזְכֹר הֵיטֵב וְאַל תִּשְׁכְּחִי כָּל גְּמוּלָיו, וְלַה' הַיְשׁוּעָה לַעֲזֹר וּלְהוֹשִׁיעַ לְךָ יְשׁוּעָה שְׁלֵמָה אֲמִתִּית וְנִצְחִית, וְיִרְאוּ שׂוֹנְאֵינוּ וְיֵבוֹשׁוּ וְכוּ'.
not to question His qualities, may He be blessed, at all.
And in the end Hashem will save in all matters — for one must
fulfil the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, literally, as
they warned us to always say [Berachos 60b]:
Whatever the Merciful One does — He does for the good. And behold you see what passed over your brother-in-law — may
his light shine. And although my innards yearn for him — for
the compassion toward him is immense — yet even so, surely
Hashem is righteous — and who shall say to
Him: what are You doing?
[cf. Koheles 8:4] And surely
it is for great good. And I greatly marvelled at you, my son —
for I heard from my friend Rabbi Leibli, the son-in-law of Rabbi
Reuven — that you began to harbour doubts in this matter, and
so forth. Far be it from you, my son, to
begin to question in this — for you do not know at all
what is being done in the world with each and every person. The principle is that it is forbidden to begin to enter these
doubts and investigations at all. Only to believe with complete
faith that Hashem is righteous and His judgments are upright —
and everything is on account of free choice. And surely
every person has free choice — and
everything that passes over any person — whether for good or
for the opposite, G-d forbid — all of it is hints and
proclamations that he should return to Him.
And in particular to question over another person whose
situation you do not know at all. But even what passes over
yourself — if at times you cannot understand the hints and the
proclamations — you must believe. And through this Hashem
Yisborach will help you and illuminate your eyes — how to
return to Him — and to flee and run to Him always from all that
passes over you. And through this He will help you and save
you always. And may there be fulfilled: El Shaddai will
give you compassion
[Bereishis 43:14] — that the
mercy should be in our hands, and so forth.
The words of your father — greatly preoccupied — who awaits
your salvation.
Nussun of Breslov.
Part Two — To His Nephew, Rabbi Yitzchok Ayzik
Your letter I received. And if you have eyes of truth — from this
too you ought to be aroused and draw close to Hashem Yisborach —
and run to Him always. For you see the greatness of the kindness
that Hashem Yisborach did with you — in that you came within our
borders. And above all the goodnesses that Hashem Yisborach did
with you through me — above all of these rises this goodness and
kindness: that I informed you that there is
no place to flee from the blows of this world — except to Hashem
Yisborach alone. Would that you merit to walk in this
always — for it is not an empty thing from you — for it is your
life. And there is much to elaborate on this — but the time of
Minchah has arrived.
And the young men are now engaged with great toil — throwing out
the mud and mire that fell into my house on account of the rains.
And this too is for the good. Apart from very great matters that
rest now in my thoughts. But even so — it is necessary to respond
to each and every one of you with a proper answer. With all this
effort — perhaps Hashem will be with us in His great power to
grant us always to lift our eyes on high — in all that passes
over us — until we merit to return to Him in truth in its truth.
Segment 5
דִּבְרֵי אָבִיךָ הַכּוֹתֵב מִתּוֹךְ טִרְדָּא וּמְצַפֶּה לִישׁוּעָה.
The words of your uncle and friend — who desires your good and
success in this world and the next — for eternity.
Nussun, as above.
Segment 6
נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב
Nussun of Breslov.