קג

To: My beloved son, my dear one. [Yitzchok] Your letter I received on the night of Shabbos Kodesh before the Kiddush —

[Hebrew: אֲהוּבִי בְּנִי חֲבִיבִי....]

as well as the letter from my friend Rabbi Hera — may his light shine — and

it was a comfort to me. And now there is nothing new to add. And behold — to revive you with true words — the time does not now permit it. And you have already heard much that suffices to revive and gladden your soul at every time — however it is, however it is. For all that we spoke much about — that one must revive oneself through every good point — and especially in the matter of what we merited and that we were saved from opposition to the very truth itself — all of it is not mere empty words — but the essential thing is to walk by them and fulfil them. And the essential thing — at the time when a person is truly distressed because of his failings — precisely then he needs more to revive himself through all of this — and to turn the grief and sighing into joy — for all that grows stronger upon him — the grief and sighing — and seeks to cast upon him sadness and melancholy because of what he has done — he should turn all of it into joy. And let him say in his heart: on the contrary — even so I merited and even so I do not oppose at all. And even if I am dark in my deeds — I am comely through the deeds of our awesome Rebbe — of blessed and holy memory — and also in my own deeds there are comely ones [אִם שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי בְּמַעֲשַׂי נָאוָה אֲנִי בְּמַעֲשֵׂי רַבֵּנוּ — from Shir HaShirim 1:5: Shechorah ani v'navah — "I am dark but comely." The verse of the beloved who acknowledges her darkness — tanned by the sun, dark as the tents of Kedar — while asserting her comeliness: "yet comely as the curtains of Shlomo." Rashi explains: the dark tents are the deeds that are flawed; the comely curtains are the holiness of the Shechinah's dwelling. Reb Nussun applies it as a daily spiritual practice: even one whose own deeds are dark may say — I am comely through the holy deeds and teachings of the Rebbe, and even in my own deeds there is some comeliness. Darkness and beauty coexist in a single breath — the verse does not demand perfection as the condition of beauty] [Shir HaShirim 1:5 — see Rashi there]. And I have already spoken — praise be to G-d — much about this matter on the nearby Shabbosos that have passed. Please, my beloved son — go in this path to revive and gladden your soul at every time — and to turn the grief and sighing precisely into joy — and through this you will still be able to strengthen yourself to engage in Torah and prayer with joy. And to Hashem is salvation — that everything will be turned for good. And all the sins will be turned to merits — all of it through his merit and his great and very awesome power [וְכָל הָעֲווֹנוֹת יִתְהַפְּכוּ לִזְכֻיּוֹת — all sins transformed into merits through the Rebbe's merit and power. The weight of direct transmission: kasher shamati mipihu hakadosh b'ferush — as I heard from his holy mouth explicitly. Not deduction but a direct statement the Rebbe made in Reb Nussun's personal hearing, preserved here] — as I heard from his holy mouth explicitly. And this suffices for now. The words of your father — who waits and hopes to revive you and gladden

[Hebrew: נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב...]

you in the salvation of Hashem — who merited to draw living waters such as these from the springs of salvation [אֲשֶׁר זָכִינוּ לִשְׁאֹב מַיִם חַיִּים כָּאֵלֶּה מִמַּעְיְנֵי הַיְשׁוּעָה — a direct quotation of Yeshayahu 12:3: u'sh'avtem mayim b'sasson mima'ayanei ha'yeshuah — "and you shall draw water in joy from the springs of salvation." This verse is the central verse of the great water-drawing ceremony — Simchas Beis HaSho'evah — on Sukkos, perhaps the single most joyful moment in the entire Temple calendar. The Mishnah (Sukkah 5:1) declares: "whoever has not seen the Simchas Beis HaSho'evah has never seen joy in his life." Reb Nussun's closing signature — "who merited to draw living waters from the springs of salvation" — places the entire act of letter-writing within the framework of Yeshayahu's Messianic vision of supreme joy: the letters themselves are drawn from these very springs]. Nussun of Breslov. [Translator's Note: Overview: Parshas Pekudei, Monday. *Shechorah ani v'navah* (Shir HaShirim 1:5) with Rashi — darkness and beauty in one breath. *Kol ha'avonos yithapchu lizchuyos* — heard from the Rebbe's holy mouth explicitly. The closing signature is now identified as Yeshayahu 12:3 — *ushavtem mayim b'sasson mima'ayanei ha'yeshuah* — the verse of *Simchas Beis HaSho'evah*, the most joyful moment in the Temple calendar. Letter-writing itself placed within the framework of Messianic joy. *Tov lagever* (Eichah 3:27-28) with its fuller context: *yeshev badad v'yiddom* — bear the yoke, sit in stillness — the counsel of Eichah transformed into the counsel of focused aspiration toward Torah and prayer. Key Themes Shechorah Ani V'navah — Shir HaShirim 1:5 / Rashi "I am dark but comely." Dark in my own deeds, comely through the Rebbe's deeds — and even in my own deeds there is comeliness. Darkness and beauty held together in one breath: the verse that does not demand perfection as the condition of beauty.]

[Hebrew: נָתָן הַנַּ"ל...]