Request for Holy Books and Gratitude for Those Already Received

Peace and blessing and all good things, forever — to his honor, my beloved, my friend of my soul and my heart, [אהובי ידידי נפשי ולבבי — "my beloved, my friend — of my soul and of my heart." The most intimate salutation in the entire correspondence. Soul (nefesh) and heart (levav) together encompass the full inner person. The author places this friendship in the deepest chambers of his being.] who yearns for the service of Hashem in truth and in wholeness.

Opening Meditation — The Immeasurable Worth of This World and of This Book May Hashem grant him merit in this — that he should merit what a person can merit in this passing world that flashes by like the blink of an eye. [כהרף עין — "like the blink / twinkling of an eye." A classical biblical image for the breathtaking brevity of this world. The entire span of a human life passes as quickly as one blink — yet within that blink, the most immeasurable spiritual treasures can be earned.] And one can profit in this world specifically — beyond all estimation and beyond all telling. [שאין לשער ולספר — "beyond all estimation and beyond all telling / narrating." Two verbs: לשער — to estimate, to measure, to gauge; ולספר — to tell, to narrate, to recount. The spiritual profit available in this world cannot be measured by any instrument and cannot be described in any language.] For free choice is available to every person — to merit the highest levels — not through cleverness and schemes, but through wholeness and simplicity: to engage in Torah and prayer and binding to the true Tzaddik. [This is the Tzaddik] who left in this world neither gaze nor contemplation, nor hearing, nor smell, and so on — but rather, everything — all his powers — he gave over for the sake of Hashem. As is understood from the story of the Seven Beggars. [כמובן במעשה של הז' בעטלירס — "as is understood / as is evident from the story of the Seven Beggars." כמובן means "as is self-evidently understood" — a signal that for those familiar with the story this needs no elaboration, but for those who are not, the story is the source. The Seven Beggars is one of Rabbi Nachman's most celebrated tales in Sipuray Maasiyos: seven beggars each appear to lack a faculty — sight, hearing, speech, etc. — but each apparent lack turns out to be the supreme mastery of that faculty. All the Tzaddik's senses were entirely surrendered to G-d.] And everything that is done for the sake of this Tzaddik — every small and light thing — [even if it is only for the sake of this Tzaddik, it is already very hard — harder than all kinds of things in the world] — the rectification of all the worlds depends on it. And through this one merits: "No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You." [Isaiah 64:3] Fortunate is he who merits to even touch a matter pertaining to this Tzaddik. May Hashem grant us merit that we should have a great portion in this Tzaddik — and in particular in the printing of his holy Torah as he intended it: with deep study and depth, and to make from it prayers, [ולעשות מזה תפלות — "and to make from it prayers." A phrase previously omitted entirely. The purpose of printing the Torah teaching is threefold: (1) deep study with depth; (2) making prayers from it — drawing on its content for personal supplication and prayer, incorporating the Rebbe's words and themes into one's own heart-outpouring before G-d; (3) bringing it among the people of the Breslov fellowship. The prayerful use of the Torah teaching is a distinct and essential dimension, not merely an adjunct to study.] to bring it among the people of our fellowship — [in the printing of the Torah teachings with everything pertaining to them, everything in its proper place, as I now wish to print Torah teaching number one of Likutay Moharan — and also to study and toil in it, to observe what is written there as much as one is capable]. [כפי יכלתו — "as much as one is capable / according to one's ability." A crucial qualifier that was previously omitted. The Rebbe's path does not demand perfection — it demands effort according to one's actual capacity. The standard is not absolute compliance but faithful trying within one's real-world limitations. This softens and humanizes the entire demand: do what you can, as much as you genuinely can.]

For apart from this being the true charity for the Tzaddik himself — so that his lips can move in the grave, [שיוכל שפתותיו לדובבות בקבר — "so that his lips can move / murmur in the grave." A beautiful Talmudic concept (Yevamos 97a): whenever a Torah teaching is cited in someone's name after their death, their lips move in the grave. Publishing the Rebbe's books enables his lips to move for every reader, for every generation.] as all the Tzaddikim yearned for this — and even King David, may he rest in peace, [yearned] that a teaching of halachah be said in his name — And therefore — when one gives charity to the Tzaddik — does not this person have some connection to the Tzaddik? And the Tzaddik gives him in return for this — thousands of thousands and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of times more. And as our master the Rebbe זצ"ל said in the story of the Seven Beggars — in the story of the sixth day — that "from whomever I take, I give." [מי שאני לוקח אני נותן — "from whomever I take, I give." A quote from the sixth day's story in the Seven Beggars. One of the beggars declares: whenever I receive something from someone, I give them infinitely more in return. The author applies this to the Rebbe himself: give something toward the book — and the Rebbe gives back immeasurably more in spiritual blessing for all time.]

Apart from all this — this is a merit for the multitudes for all generations, the like of which there is none. For our master the Rebbe זצ"ל — who is the true Tzaddik and the Healer of souls until the coming of the Messiah — left within his Torah and his holy books all the healings for all the ills of all souls, and all the concealed and hidden supreme treasures [האוצרות הגנוזים העליונים — "the concealed and hidden supreme treasures." גנוזים means specifically stored away and hidden — treasure deliberately concealed, not merely uncollected. These are not spiritual riches that were merely overlooked; they are riches that were purposefully hidden by divine wisdom until the time was right for their revelation — and the Rebbe placed them within reach in his Torah and books.] that no angel or seraph, and no person who walks the earth [אינש די ביבשתא — Aramaic: "a person who walks on dry land / who lives on earth." A phrase from the Zohar and Aramaic liturgical poetry meaning any human being living in this physical world. The Aramaic gives the sentence Kabbalistic resonance.] — has reached in their completeness — he left all of this within his Torah and his holy books.

Yiddish Passage — footnote marker ⁸ in the original [The author shifts into Yiddish for this extended passage on how to properly use the Rebbe's books. His own Hebrew translation follows in §§12–18.] "And in truth — whoever touches them, however he touches them — even just [in some way] touches them — it already heals him greatly, and he merits greatly through this."

"But there is a great difference: to take the remedies exactly as the doctor prescribed them — and to make use of the treasures in the most beneficial way possible — that is: to merit to be sanctified, and to merit fully what one can merit from the Rebbe's books in completeness." "This is in no way possible except through studying the Torah [in Likutay Moharan] with deep study — as one can study when everything is printed on the folio [אוף דעם הארט — "on the folio / on the page." The Yiddish word הארט here is not "heart" but the German/Yiddish Hart — a folio, a printed page or sheet. The author is describing the physical layout of the book he is printing: the Rebbe's Torah text surrounded by commentaries, explanations, and cross-references all printed on the same folio page around the central text. This layout — everything on the page together — is what enables deep, contextual study. The author's own Hebrew translation confirms this: כשהכל מודפס על המקום מסביב — "when everything is printed in its proper place around [the text]."] — and studying it and judging oneself: whether one is observing it; and longing and praying and practicing hisbodidus so that one should merit to observe it; and seeking counsel how to observe it."

"And going with the Torah — and all matters, whether material or spiritual, should all be according to this Torah that I am studying. Through this one can merit what one can merit in this world." "A pity that the years go by — and one does not snatch what one can snatch." [אשאד וואס דיא יאהרין גייאין דורך, און מען חאפט נישט אריין וואס מען קען אריין חאפין — "a pity that the years go by, and one does not snatch inside what one can snatch inside." One of the most poignant lines in the entire correspondence. The Yiddish א שאד (a shad) conveys quiet, aching regret. The years flow past — and the irreplaceable spiritual treasure of this world remains ungrabbed.] "And so — one can already understand for oneself what a merit for the multitudes it is, that a Torah [teaching] is printed with everything pertaining to it on the folio. Even if only one single person will toil in it and merit through it whatever he will merit — it is already worth it to have self-sacrifice for this."

"[And just as R' Nossan זצ"ל said — that he cannot begin to do anything for the Rebbe's matter until he paints out for himself [מאלט זיך אויס — malt zikh oys — "paints out for himself / draws out the picture for himself." The Yiddish verb מאלן (maln) means to paint, to draw. מאלט זיך אויס means to paint the picture fully before one's inner eye — to make it vivid and present as a painter makes an image on canvas. R' Nossan does not merely "imagine" or "picture" — he literally paints the scene in his mind, with full visual detail, until it stands before him as real. This painterly specificity captures the technique of hitbonenut — intense mental visualization — that R' Nossan employs to find the strength to act.] that they are already carrying him on the purification board [דאס טהרה ברעט — "the purification board / tahara board." The board on which a Jewish body is laid for the ritual purification before burial. R' Nossan pictures himself already dead and being carried to burial — having already given his life for this cause — as the only way to overcome the overwhelming opposition of the ba'al davar.] — that is: that he is already dead and they are already carrying him to be purified and laid in the grave — because of the enormous obstacles and the strengthening of the ba'al davar upon this matter — for it is a very great thing that one does for the Rebbe's sake, and therefore the ba'al davar throws himself across it and blocks the way [דער פאר לעגט זיך דער בעל דבר אזוי אוף דערוף — "the ba'al davar therefore lays himself across it / throws himself across the path so [forcefully]." The Yiddish farlegt zikh (פאר לעגט זיך) means to lay oneself across something, blocking the way — like a guard throwing himself across a doorway to block entry. A vivid image of the ba'al davar physically prostrating himself across the path to prevent anyone from proceeding with the Rebbe's work.] so [forcefully].]"

"All the more so — I hope that I myself will toil in the book. And perhaps you too will put your strengths into the book — to study and observe [it], little by little." "And all the more so, and so much the more so [מכ"ש וכ"ש — mik"sh v'chol she'ken — "and all the more so, and so much the more so." A doubled kal vachomer — the Talmudic logical argument from minor to major, applied twice in succession: if for one person, all the more so for many; if for this generation, all the more so for all generations.] — I hope that ultimately many people will save their souls and will merit what they will merit. And in this way, for all generations, people will grow and overflow with joy [וואקסין און קוועלין — vaksin un kveln — "grow and overflow with joy / beam with flourishing delight." The Yiddish kveln (קוועלין) means to overflow with pride and joy — to beam, to radiate — the specific delight of watching something precious grow and thrive. Together with vaksin (to grow), it describes not merely development but joyful, radiant flourishing — like a parent watching a child thrive.] from this book."