יח.

B.H., Midnight of Erev (-day before) Rosh

Chodesh (-first of the month) Marcheshvon 719 (Monday, 13 October, 1958). To my dear and cherished like the apple of my eye who desires and tunnels to hold (/grasp) in the point (-core) of truth, Mr. Z. Shazar , Shalom and calls of joyful singing and salvation in the chambers of his heart, the right (hand) of Hashem is exalted, the right (hand) of Hashem does valor, veterans (/skilled/teachers) of faith.

Men darf zich zayir yugin men zul nuch kennen epess chappin . The temporal days go and come, and with every single day it comes closer to the day of death, and it is ineluctably necessary without doubt to go this way, be it sooner or later, but in any event everything will transpire like a fleeting shadow, and nothing is left of the person except what he prepares for himself for after his death for the eternal world.

And it is necessary at any rate from now to begin to have mercy on ourselves with true mercy to prepare our steps to the future world, and to prepare provisions for such a distant journey, and we are full of big transgressions and caustic sins, and bad desires, and many faults, without measure or calculation or count, and we are very extremely distant from the tachlis (-ultimate purpose), and we still haven't withdrawn from the mundane to the holy even the width of a thread, and it is necessary to hasten and escape for our souls from the trappers' snare. And so let us strengthen and gird ourselves with great alacrity to run away and flee to the tzadik upon whom is contingent the complete rectification of our souls and the entire hope and redemption of Israel! The true tzadik shines the radiance of the rutzoan (-will, desire) with so much force until it illuminates forever and will not be stopped by all the types of darkness and opaqueness that transpire over a person, for through this (the tzadik ) raises from apostasy to rutzoan (-will, desire)! Even when a person is extremely distant from all the holiness of (the people of) Israel and from all the Torah, and many days and years pass by in his degeneration, each one according to the matter that he is stuck in, even if he is stuck in what he is stuck in extremely evil and filthy places where there is no stance when one falls there, and Heaven forbid it is possible to drown there, however, as long as a person has strong resolve not to fall from any descent in the world, and he doesn't despair of himself, and he hopes always to Hashem Yisburach with hope after hope, and he looks up on high and screams to Hashem Yisburach, then he is guaranteed that certainly in the end he will ultimately return to Hashem Yisburach. And this is something that is impossible for a mouth to verbalize, and to explain, and to relate to what extent he must strengthen himself always wherever he is, even if he fell as he fell, may the Merciful One save us, because it seems to every one

that we aren't referring to him with our words, because he has such impediments, and is stuck in his earthly desires and his trap so much to the extent that for such a person such as himself it is impossible to truly return to Hashem Yisburach, because he has already been so very trapped so many days and years in what he was trapped until he doesn't believe there is return (for him) from the darkness. This is what it seems like to everyone. And Rabbainu o.b.m . disputed this very much, and he screamed with a call of great depth, " Gevald ! Zayet ayech nit mi- ya - ish , kain yee-oosh iz goor nit far handin , afeeloo vee ahin etlicher iz gifallen , because there is a phenomenon that everything is turned around to the good!" The main avoaduh (-devotion, service, work) of the tzadik is to cull and raise the good from the depth of the evil, and he raises even the extremely fallen souls through finding for them merit, even for the completely wicked, the overly execrable, to the extent that they left the general collective of Israel through their bad conduct, as long as the name of Israel is called upon them, [the tzadik ] still searches, and seeks, and finds some iota of merit, and through this he raises them from the depth of evil, and the good is culled and the evil rejected and completely nullified.

And this is the aspect of the revelation of Messiah. The principle is, that dominion is in the hand of the tzadik to effectuate endeavors as he pleases, and the essential dominion is to illuminate and arouse the heart of Israel to the service of Hashem Yisburach. Therefore, the main thing is that one should bind (himself) to the true tzadik , and from him he will receive strength, and illumination, and arousal for Hashem Yisburach until he returns to Hashem in truth.

There is a supernal field where all the neshamos (-souls) grow, and these souls need the master of the field to engage in their rectification, and it is necessary for each one who desires to have mercy on his soul to supplicate and beseech copiously before Hashem Yisburach all his days that he should merit to draw close to this tzadik who is the master of the field, who looks upon each one to bring him to the true tachlis (-ultimate purpose) which is entirely good and entirely One! The transcriber and organizer who solicits his wellbeing and his salvation at all times with full heart in truth.

Yisroel Dov Odesser Even though the klipa (-husk, evil external force) of Haman Amulaik waylays on the true tzadik to conceal him completely Heaven forbid, even still the scheme of Hashem is what will prevail and You are exalted forever Hashem and forever You have the upper hand and He blessed He completes His agenda. And specifically through the utter intensification of the force of the concealment through His light is overly exalted and raised aloft afterwards and ultimately in the end all this is turned around for the good and the world is rectified to perfection through it. The transcriber mentioned above. מכתב יח ב"ה, חצות ליל ער"ח מרחשון תשי"ט ליקירי וחביבי כאישון עיני החושק וחותר לאחוז בנקודת האמת, מר ז.שזר, שלום וקול רינה וישועה באהלי ליבו, ימין ה' רוממה ימין ה' עושה חיילים מלומדי אמונה. מען דארף זיך זייער יאגין מען זאל נאך קענין עפיס חאפין (צריך הרבה יגיעות שיוכל עוד לחטוף משהו).

Whoever wishes to walk in the path of truth and has compassion upon his truly true life — he must be very strong and a very great warrior — to stand like an iron pillar against the disputants who dispute against the great Tzadik. Who wish to distance him from the true Tzadik — who is able to descend to the very depth of the fall and the descent of each and every one, and to elevate him from there through his wondrous wisdom to the ultimate ascent.

Our entire repair is only through the great Tzadik — the one and only wonder — who is able to descend, etc., as mentioned above. And if the entire world were to nullify themselves before him in perfection — then everything would already be entirely repaired. But not only — to our sorrow — are they not nullifying themselves before him; rather, on the contrary, they dispute against the Tzadik. And they speak insults and blasphemies and mockery and slander and falsehoods against the Tzadik and the truly worthy ones — until the truth is cast to the ground. And through this all the corruptions of the world are caused — and from this is the essential prolonging of the exile. And now all our hope is that everything will be repaired through our righteous Moshiach — who will reveal the light of the true Tzadik in the world. And through this everything will be repaired — and the dispute will be nullified — and there will be a wondrous peace in the world.

Who can express the heroic deeds of Hashem and His immense wonders — that He performed with us and with all Israel — that we have merited that you were chosen as the President of Israel through the salvation of Hashem and His kindnesses.

I greatly exult in the heroic deeds of Hashem, in His immense wonders — that He performed with all Israel: that you were chosen through the merit and power of the Tzadik — after several years — to invest all… that you have merited to recognize and to see and to recognize and to cleave to the true Tzadik — the new light, who has revealed new awesome and wondrous lights beyond all reckoning — to teach true knowledge to every person in the world! May Hashem so continue His kindness — to save you forever.

See and behold — how greatly Hashem Yisburach has performed His great kindness with you: that you gave your soul and invested all your mind and your heart — to recognize and to cleave to the true, holy and awesome Tzadik — the new light, who reveals wondrous and awesome novelties beyond all reckoning — the like of which have never been heard before — to give us life through them, even in the very ultimate complete darkness of these latter days. When Israel now strays greatly in the errors of all those who have turned back from Hashem Yisburach — after the vanity of heresies and false faiths. See — only to receive the honor, and to elevate it to the King of Honor — to Hashem of Hosts, Who is the King of Honor. It is impossible to express all that is in my heart in this matter. And all of this so that you should be able to bring to fruition your powerful longing — to make known and to publicize in the world. Now, now the time has arrived that you can… that we are in his affairs and the very ultimate ultimate of our lowliness — in which we have wondrously descended beyond all measure.

You do not know, my dear beloved brother — to what extent this awesome kindness reaches — that we have merited that every single word……

[Letter 17 breaks off here in the source text.]

May Hashem strengthen your heart and magnify your daas — to think and to long to have mercy upon Israel with true mercy, to illuminate their eyes with the light of the true Tzadik. For we need salvation and very, very abundant mercy — that we merit to go out from the depths of the sea that spreads in these generations — at the end of this last exile. For which you have merited — having been chosen after several years. [This letter opens mid-sentence in the source text.]

Israel Dov Odesser