מד.

My dearest and most beloved, my longing, Mr.

Z.

Shazar — who rolls in the dust at the feet of the Tzadik to benefit from the pleasantness of his radiance, and to satiate his soul in the lustrous brilliance of the light of his Torah, to draw from there eternal life — may Hashem lengthen his years with abundant true good.

"Bruder, halt zikh, loz dikh nit op, mach zikh frish" {Brother, hold yourself, do not let go of yourself, refresh yourself} — as though you were born today! Gird your loins as a warrior, my dear beloved brother, to strengthen yourself with all your might and with all your strength, to gladden your soul greatly. And lean upon the power of the Elder of Holiness, the Elder of all Elders — for He walks before us always, at all times, and transforms everything to good: sins to merits, and illuminates for us the light of His G-dliness (Yisburach) even in the strength of the intensification of this bitter darkness that is now passing. Even though we have been ensnared as we have been ensnared — even though we ourselves are culpable — nevertheless we are fortunate, thousands and tens of thousands of times without number! Because specifically we, in such an impoverished generation, in our very days, have merited to what we have merited — which no generation since the creation of the world merited before us. For we have come to this world in this time in which a deeply hidden and concealed secret has been revealed — a novelty of novelties, so awesome and so exalted — the like of which has never existed in the world, which revealed such high and awesome things as have never been heard — teachings, conversations, and awesome stories, about which words and letter-combinations have run out to speak of their praises and their greatness and their power and their height and their stature and their splendor. And we have no mouth and no vessels to explain even a fraction of a millionth part — to the ultimate heights of the supernal heights — at what level these things reach. But even in their plain sense, they give life to all souls with the life of eternity at all times, in every generation. Remember now, my dear beloved brother, the wondrous and awesome kindness beyond end and without limit that Hashem Yisburach has done with you — to bring you close to such a holy and awesome light of all lights, to shelter in the shadow of his holiness, and to engage in his holy words. Turn them over and turn them over — in every Torah and in every conversation — certainly you will always be able to give life to yourself, and to give life to others as well, with the precious and beloved qualities of your dear and very exalted soul, in your illuminating explanations, in your impassioned words, and in the spirit of your heart, warm as a blazing flame, to spread the light of truth among men of intellect and among the masses of the younger generation. I am confident that through the strength of your heart in the truth so greatly, Hashem will grant you a long and good life, and you will succeed and merit to this — through the merit and the power of the Tzadik, who is the true King over all Israel, from generation to generation. Know and believe with complete faith that no thing and no form of service, however minor, is ever lost forever — and even a mere awakening and a good thought are never lost forever. For the very moment one arouses himself with any kind of awakening whatsoever — and all the more so when one performs some act of holiness — at once the true Tzadik, who is engaged in the repair of the souls of Israel, seizes it and brings it into the place where it is brought, for the needs of the wondrous and awesome structure which he is engaged in building, into which to bring all the scattered ones of the world — and not a single one of them shall remain outside.

My dearest and most beloved, my longing, Mr. Z. Shazar — who rolls in the dust at the feet of the Tzadik to benefit from the pleasantness of his radiance, and to satiate his soul in the lustrous brilliance of the light of his Torah, to draw from there eternal life — may Hashem lengthen his years with abundant true good.

When a person is in great straits and the evil and the sitra achra (-the other side) grow strong against him as they grow strong, to the point where he has no way to turn right or left, until it seems as though hope has vanished, Heaven forbid — and in the very extremity of his pressure and the straits of his soul he turns to Hashem Yisburach from the straits — even though that which he turns to Hashem Yisburach is only as a hairsbreadth, it is extremely precious in the eyes of Hashem Yisburach. And from the word מֵ-צָ-ר (-from the straits, maitzar) is made צֶ-מֶ-ר (-wool, tzemer — the same letters rearranged), the aspect of the thread of wool that whitens the sins on Yom Kippur.3 The true leader-Tzadik always argues merit for Israel — even for the worst of the worst and the most debased of the debased — for in all of them are found a number of good hairs (sa'aros tovos), meaning qualities through which they sometimes draw themselves from evil to good, even by a hairsbreadth. And these hairs gather together and are braided and spun and woven into the holy fringes of Tzitzis, which are the aspect of the supernal, awesome lovingkindness — the root of all thirteen attributes of mercy, where all sins are forgiven and transformed into merits. Greetings of peace with feelings of love and longing.

I am confident that through the strength of your heart in the truth so greatly, Hashem will grant you a long and good life, and you will succeed and merit to this — through the merit and the power of the Tzadik, who is the true King over all Israel, from generation to generation.

"Bruder, halt zikh, loz dikh nit op, mach zikh frish" {Brother, hold yourself, do not let go of yourself, refresh yourself} — as though you were born today! Gird your loins as a warrior, my dear beloved brother, to strengthen yourself with all your might and with all your strength, to gladden your soul greatly. And lean upon the power of the Elder of Holiness, the Elder of all Elders — for He walks before us always, at all times, and transforms everything to good: sins to merits, and illuminates for us the light of His G-dliness (Yisburach) even in the strength of the intensification of this bitter darkness that is now passing. The collector, Yisroel Dov Odesser 3 The letters of מֵ-צָ-ר (maitzar, "strait/narrow place") are the very same letters as צֶ-מֶ-ר (tzemer, "wool") — Saba points to this anagram as a mystical hint: from the very depths of one's straits grows the thread of atonement. See Isaiah 1:18: "If your sins are like scarlet, they shall be whitened like snow." נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן Even though we have been ensnared as we have been ensnared — even though we ourselves are culpable — nevertheless we are fortunate, thousands and tens of thousands of times without number! Because specifically we, in such an impoverished generation, in our very days, have merited to what we have merited — which no generation since the creation of the world merited before us. For we have come to this world in this time in which a deeply hidden and concealed secret has been revealed — a novelty of novelties, so awesome and so exalted — the like of which has never existed in the world, which revealed such high and awesome things as have never been heard — teachings, conversations, and awesome stories, about which words and letter-combinations have run out to speak of their praises and their greatness and their power and their height and their stature and their splendor. And we have no mouth and no vessels to explain even a fraction of a millionth part — to the ultimate heights of the supernal heights — at what level these things reach. But even in their plain sense, they give life to all souls with the life of eternity at all times, in every generation. Remember now, my dear beloved brother, the wondrous and awesome kindness beyond end and without limit that Hashem Yisburach has done with you — to bring you close to such a holy and awesome light of all lights, to shelter in the shadow of his holiness, and to engage in his holy words. Turn them over and turn them over — in every Torah and in every conversation — certainly you will always be able to give life to yourself, and to give life to others as well, with the precious and beloved qualities of your dear and very exalted soul, in your illuminating explanations, in your impassioned words, and in the spirit of your heart, warm as a blazing flame, to spread the light of truth among men of intellect and among the masses of the younger generation. I am confident that through the strength of your heart in the truth so greatly, Hashem will grant you a long and good life, and you will succeed and merit to this — through the merit and the power of the Tzadik, who is the true King over all Israel, from generation to generation. Know and believe with complete faith that no thing and no form of service, however minor, is ever lost forever — and even a mere awakening and a good thought are never lost forever. For the very moment one arouses himself with any kind of awakening whatsoever — and all the more so when one performs some act of holiness — at once the true Tzadik, who is engaged in the repair of the souls of Israel, seizes it and brings it into the place where it is brought, for the needs of the wondrous and awesome structure which he is engaged in building, into which to bring all the scattered ones of the world — and not a single one of them shall remain outside. When a person is in great straits and the evil and the sitra achra (-the other side) grow strong against him as they grow strong, to the point where he has no way to turn right or left, until it seems as though hope has vanished, Heaven forbid — and in the very extremity of his pressure and the straits of his soul he turns to Hashem Yisburach from the straits — even though that which he turns to Hashem Yisburach is only as a hairsbreadth, it is extremely precious in the eyes of Hashem Yisburach. And from the word מֵ-צָ-ר (-from the straits, maitzar) is made צֶ-מֶ-ר (-wool, tzemer — the same letters rearranged), the aspect of the thread of wool that whitens the sins on Yom Kippur.3 The true leader-Tzadik always argues merit for Israel — even for the worst of the worst and the most debased of the debased — for in all of them are found a number of good hairs (sa'aros tovos), meaning qualities through which they sometimes draw themselves from evil to good, even by a hairsbreadth. And these hairs gather together and are braided and spun and woven into the holy fringes of Tzitzis, which are the aspect of the supernal, awesome lovingkindness — the root of all thirteen attributes of mercy, where all sins are forgiven and transformed into merits. 3 The letters of מֵ-צָ-ר (maitzar, "strait/narrow place") are the very same letters as צֶ-מֶ-ר (tzemer, "wool") — Saba points to this anagram as a mystical hint: from the very depths of one's straits grows the thread of atonement. See Isaiah 1:18: "If your sins are like scarlet, they shall be whitened like snow."