Segment 1
פט
בְּעֶזְרַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, יוֹם א' תָּבוֹא תקצ"ב.
אֲהוּבִי בְּנִי שֶׁיִּחְיֶה, קִבַּלְתִּי מִכְתָּבְךָ הַיּוֹם, וְהָיָה לִי לְנַחַת גָּדוֹל, כִּי הָיִיתִי מְצַפֶּה לָזֶה, כִּי נִפְלֵאתִי שֶׁבְּכָל שָׁבוּעַ הֶעָבַר לֹא רָאִיתִי כָּל תְּמוּנָה מִכְּתַב יָדְךָ, כָּעֵת הֶחֱיִיתַנִי בִּדְבָרֶיךָ, בִּפְרָט מַה שֶּׁלָּמַדְתָּ בְּבֵית הַפָּאשְׂט [הַדֹּאַר] וְכוּ'; כִּי בְּאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי, שֶׁתַּחֲטֹף עִתִּים וְיָמִים לַתּוֹרָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בְּכָל מִינֵי עֵצוֹת וְתַחְבּוּלוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם. וְכָעֵת כְּבָר שָׁכַבְתִּי לִישֹׁן, עַל כֵּן אֵין בְּפִי מִלָּה לְהַרְחִיב הַדִּבּוּר, בִּפְרָט כִּי בְּקָרוֹב נִתְוַעֵד יַחַד בְּאוּמַאן אִם יִרְצֶה הַשֵּׁם. וְיִרְאֶה לִכְתֹּב לִי מִבְּנֵי הַנְּעוּרִים שֶׁבִּקְהִלַּתְכֶם אִם כֻּלָּם נְכוֹנִים לִנְסֹעַ לָבוֹא לְיוֹם הַכֶּסֶא לְאוּמַאן אָז טוֹב לָהֶם, יוֹתֵר מִזֶּה אֵין לְחַדֵּשׁ עַתָּה.
דִּבְרֵי אָבִיךָ הַמַּעְתִּיר בַּעַדְכֶם.
נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב
To: My beloved son — may he live. [Yitzchok]
I received your letter today — and it was a great comfort to me — for I had
been waiting for this — as I was filled with wonder that throughout all of last
week I saw no sign of your handwriting. Now you have
revived me with your words — in particular regarding
what you studied in the post-house
[בֵּית הַפָּאשְׂט — the postal station: a meeting place
and waiting room where travellers stopped between journeys. Yitzchok had
snatched moments of Torah study even there — precisely the spirit of
chatof v'echol urged in Letter 86]
and so forth — for in these things I delighted — that you snatch moments and
days for Torah and good deeds through all the strategies and devices in the
world. And now I have already lain down to sleep — therefore there is no word
in my mouth to extend the speech — especially since soon we will gather together
in Uman, if Hashem wills.
And let him see to write me regarding
the young men of your community
[בְּנֵי הַנְּעוּרִים — the youth, the young men in
the vigour of their years. The term ne'urim carries its full biblical
resonance from Koheles 11:9 — s'mach bachur b'yaldusecha — "rejoice,
young man, in your youth" — the very passage Reb Nussun cited in Letter 68 on
the urgency of not letting youth pass unlived. In Breslov tradition, the
gathering of the young men at Uman for Rosh Hashanah is a specific spiritual
priority: they come at the peak of their ne'urim — the season of life
when the encounter with the Rebbe's tziyon can shape everything that
follows]
— whether they are all prepared to travel and come for
the Day of the Throne to Uman
[יוֹם הַכֶּסֶא לְאוּמַאן — Rosh Hashanah at Uman:
yom hakesse — the Day of the Throne (the day of the covered moon) —
one of the biblical names for Rosh Hashanah from Tehillim 81:4: tiku
bachodesh shofar, bakesse l'yom chagenu — "blow the shofar on the new
moon, on the covered moon for our festival day." The name kesse refers
to the moon being covered/hidden on the new moon. Reb Nussun uses this ancient
biblical designation to call the community to the Rebbe's resting place]
— then it is good for them. Beyond this there is nothing new to add now.
The words of your father — who prays on your behalf.
Nussun of Breslov.
The words of your father — who prays on your behalf.
Nussun of Breslov.
[Translator's Note: Overview: The last letter of 5592 — written at bedtime in
Parshas Tavo, weeks before Rosh Hashanah. Yitzchok has studied Torah in the
post-house — the fulfilment of Letter 86's *chatof v'echol*. The call to Uman
uses the ancient biblical name *yom hakesse* (Tehillim 81:4). The term *b'nei
hane'urim* — the young men — echoes
Segment 2
מִכְתָּבִים דִּשְׁנַת ה' אֲלָפִים תקצ"ג
Koheles 11:9: they come to Uman in the
vigour of their youth, at the very season Reb Nussun cited in Letter 68 as the time not to waste. And the year-divider marks the transition to 5593.]