# עח

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Source: https://ajew.org/reader/alim-litrufa/2/78


## Segment 1

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בָּרוּךְ הַשֵּׁם, יוֹם א' נָשׂא תקצ"ב.

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My beloved son, my dear one. [Yitzchok] Your letter I received at this hour. And regarding the
 zaigril [clock] — know that it was running a
 little fast — by approximately eight minutes over twenty-four hours.


## Segment 2

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אֲהוּבִי בְּנִי שֶׁיִּחְיֶה, הַיּוֹם שָׁלַחְתִּי לְךָ מִכְתָּבִי עַל יְדֵי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִטּוּלְטְשִׁין. נָא לְהוֹדִיעֵנִי אִם קִבַּלְתָּ מִכְתָּבִי, הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ יַרְחִיב לִי וּלְכֻלָּנוּ שֶׁלֹּא יְבַלְבֵּל אוֹתָנוּ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם הַפַּרְנָסָה מֵעֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, וַחֲזַק וֶאֱמַץ בְּנִי חֲבִיבִי וּבְטַח בַּה' שֶׁיִּתְהַפֵּךְ הַכֹּל לְטוֹבָה בְּעֶזְרַת הַשֵּׁם.

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Therefore
 see to it that the craftsman has it run properly — neither too fast nor too slow
 — only twenty-four hours over twenty-four hours. And may Hashem Yisborach help
 us that we merit
 to keep the measure of day and the measure of night — so as
 not to lose any hour
 [לִשְׁמֹר מִדַּת יוֹם וּמִדַּת לַיְלָה לִבְלִי לְאַבֵּד
 שׁוּם שָׁעָה — the practical becomes theological: the clock that keeps exact
 time is the metaphor for human life itself. Every hour is precious; to lose an
 hour is a real spiritual loss],
 G-d forbid. And on account of the entry of Shabbos it is impossible to extend. May the One Who has compassion on Tziyon have compassion
 on us
 [מְרַחֵם צִיּוֹן — the central liturgical phrase of
 the Tisha B'Av and Three Weeks prayers, framing the entire letter's theological
 movement from mourning toward consolation]
 — that we merit to accomplish through the
 kinos the petition of
 Return us to You, Hashem, and we shall return
 
 [הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ ה' אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּב — Eichah 5:21,
 the closing verse of the book of Lamentations — so beloved that the
 congregation reads it aloud twice on Tisha B'Av. Reb Nussun identifies it
 as the essential purpose of all the kinos: they are all contained
 within Megillas Eichah, composed by Yirmiyahu in the holy spirit — and all
 of Eichah leads to and is contained within t


## Segment 3

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דִּבְרֵי אָבִיךָ הַדּוֹרֵשׁ שְׁלוֹמְךָ תָּמִיד בְּאַהֲבָה.

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his final cry of return]
 
 — for this is the essential purpose of the recitation of the
 kinos — all of them are contained within
 Megillas Eichah which Yirmiyahu the prophet composed in the holy spirit — and which concludes at the end with Return us and so forth. And the essential thing is that we fulfil
 pour out your heart like water before the face of
 Hashem
 [שִׁפְכִי כַמַּיִם לִבֵּךְ נֹכַח פְּנֵי ה' — Eichah
 2:19: one of the most concentrated expressions of personal prayer in all of


## Segment 4

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נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב

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Nussun of Breslov.


## Segment 5

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נָא לְהִשְׁתַּדֵּל לַהֲשִׁיבֵנִי מִיָּד, וְאִם אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁתִּשְׁלַח מִיָּד אֵיזֶה סַךְ מִכִּיסְךָ עַל סְמָךְ שֶׁתְּקַבֵּל מֵרַבִּי שִׁמְשׁוֹן, אִם יִרְצֶה הַשֵּׁם מַה טּוֹב. כִּי מֵאֵלֶיךָ תָּבִין שֶׁאֲנִי צָרִיךְ לְהָכִין עַל שָׁבוּעוֹת הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה, וַאֲנִי צָרִיךְ לַחֲשֹׁב מַה שֶּׁצְּרִיכִין עַל שָׁבוּעוֹת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בִּשְׁבִיל קִבּוּץ קָדוֹשׁ כָּזֶה הַבָּאִים לִשְׁמֹעַ דְּבַר ה'. וּבְוַדַּאי רָאוּי שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה לִי שׁוּם טִרְדָּא מֵהֲכָנָה גַּשְׁמִיּוֹת. וְלַה' הַיְשׁוּעָה שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הַכֹּל עַל נָכוֹן מֵאִתּוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ.

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Scripture. The heart poured out like water — completely, unreservedly, until

nothing is held back — in direct presence before Hashem. Applied not only to
 Tisha B'Av lamentation but to daily personal speech before Hashem]
 — until we arouse His mercies each day — and He returns to
 us and has compassion on us and consoles us and gladdens us
 [וְיָשׁוּב אֵלֵינוּ וִירַחֲמֵנוּ וִינַחֲמֵנוּ
 וִישַׂמְּחֵנוּ — four verbs in deliberate sequence that trace the entire arc
 from Tisha B'Av mourning to ultimate joy. Yashuv — returns — echoes
 hashivenu (Eichah 5:21); y'rachamenu — has compassion —
 echoes rachem throughout Eichah; y'nachhamenu — consoles us
 — echoes the opening word of Shabbos Nachamu's Haftorah (nachamu,
 nachamu ami — Yeshayah 40); and y'samchenu — gladdens us —
 is the final arrival at joy that neither Eichah nor the prophetic consolations
 name directly. Compressed into four words, Reb Nussun traces the complete
 movement: Tisha B'Av crying out → Hashivenu → Shabbos Nachamu consolation →
 full joy in divine service]
 — until we merit to serve Him, Yisborach, in joy always. And may the merit
 of the holy Shabbos protect us to reach all of this speedily — for it is not
 an empty thing
 all that is being done with us each and every day in these
 times — in the footsteps of the Mashiach
 [בְּעִקְבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא — Talmudic Aramaic (Sotah 49b)
 for the generation immediately preceding the messianic era, characterised by
 the specific trials of the faithful. Reb Nussun identifies the community's
 struggles as the particular experiences of this threshold generation]
 — in the general and in the particular, with each and every person. And we
 need to sustain ourselves with all kinds of delights that
 restore the soul
 [כָּל מִינֵי מַטְעַמִּים הַמְשִׁיבִין אֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ
 — the delights that restore the soul: the teachings of the Rebbe, personal
 speech before Hashem, and most of all the holiness and joy of Shabbos, which
 protects and sustains through even the most difficult generation]
 — and most of all through the holiness and joy of the holy Shabbos which
 protects everything. Nussun of Breslov.