Siman 184

(18.) While he was in Lemberg he handed over the book Likutay Moharan to one man who had come to him from Medvedivkeh, and he commanded this man to travel to our land to print the book. And so he did. And in the beginning he pondered and deliberated much in his mind about this — for in previous years we were careful to conceal and hide the writings of his Torah teachings from the world. But afterwards he commanded me to copy them in order — for at first the Torah discourses were written by me in scattered booklets out of order. And afterwards in the year 5565 [1804/5] he commanded me to copy them in order and to make a volume from them. And he warned me to hasten in this. And Hashem Yisburach was my help, and I copied them nicely in order. And I brought the booklets before him and they were very pleasing in his eyes. And afterwards I gave them to the bookbinder here in Breslov to bind them nicely — and this was on Friday, the eve of the holy Sabbath. And I was compelled to stand over the craftsman to guard during the binding that no foreign hands should handle it. And afterwards Rabbainu o.b.m. sent one of his people to stand over the craftsman to guard — so that I could come before him to speak with him. And at once I came before him, and he spoke with me greatly and truly revived me. And on that day I heard the beginning of the revelation of the matter of the ten Psalms of Tehillim that are the Tikun for a nocturnal emission, G-d forbid. And because of this matter he was prevented from sleeping that same Friday eve — only he spoke with me greatly first while lying on his bed, and afterwards he rose from his bed and sat at the table in his large room and spoke with me greatly and with everyone until close to evening. Although his custom was always to go to the bathhouse just after midnight — now he sat and spoke with us until close to evening. And he said then: "How difficult it is to be a leader" [in Yiddish: "vi shver es iz tzu zain a giter Yid"] — for is not this binding of the book that they are now binding... and the meaning of his words is that everything that is done in the physical world — even this binding of pages into a book — has its deep spiritual significance. And he elaborated on this.