קמד

For the sake of Hashem — for the sake of Hashem — snatch and eat, snatch and eat [חֲטֹף וֶאֱכֹל חֲטֹף וֶאֱכֹל — a Talmudic expression of urgency (cf. Eruvin 54a): snatch what you can while you can, as one who knows the opportunity is fleeting. Reb Nussun applies it to Torah, prayer, and good deeds: grab every moment of service before it passes] — Torah and prayer, and hisbodidus [personal outpouring to Hashem] and good deeds. And pay no heed at all, at all, to anything that passes over you.

To: Abundant peace to my beloved son, my dear one — the eminent scholarly one — our Teacher the Rabbi Yitzchok — may he live. [Yitzchok] Your letters I received — this being the third time — and I had no one

through whom to reply to you until today. And how greatly I magnified the joy over the letter from Lvov — although we still need salvation and great mercy that the good fruits we hope for will sprout from this — even so — it is good to give thanks to Hashem for the beginning of the flickering — the sprouting of the

horn of salvation [הַתְחָלַת הִתְנוֹצְצוּת צְמִיחַת קֶרֶן יְשׁוּעָה — a precise compound: *hischalat* — beginning; *hitnotzetzus* — the first sparkling or flickering; *tzmichas keren yeshuah* — the sprouting of the horn of salvation. Even the earliest possible sign warrants gratitude] in such a matter. For however it will be — certainly this is not an empty thing — that letters are now going from there regarding this matter. And may Hashem have compassion on His people and complete on our behalf as He wills and as the will of His true God-fearers. May Hashem complete on my behalf. And regarding your house which you purchased — for a good omen — you also gave joy to my heart — that you settled the matter of the neighbor. And according to your letter — the second tenant is more suitable for you than the first. And blessed is Hashem that you have already reached an agreement with him — and you have acquired your portion as you wished. And for all of this — it is good to give thanks to Hashem for the past and to request for the future. And my hands too are spread to the heavens [כַּפַּי פְּרוּשׂוֹת לַשָּׁמַיִם — the classic biblical posture of pure supplication: Moshe spreads his hands toward the heavens (Shemos 9:29); Shlomo spreads his hands at the Temple dedication (I Melachim 8:22); Eichah 1:17 — parsah Tziyon yadehah — "Tziyon spread forth her hands — there is none to comfort her." The gesture of the person who has no practical means but prayer alone — and offers that prayer with the full extension of the hands skyward. Reb Nussun cannot help with money; but he can spread his hands to the heavens on Yitzchok's behalf — and this is itself a form of genuine help] — that you merit to enter your home for good and long life and peace — and may you merit to engage there in Torah and prayer and good deeds — you and your offspring — for length of good days and years — for the generations of the world. And may there be peace in your home and freshness in your palace [שָׁלוֹם בְּבֵיתְךָ וְרַעֲנָן בְּהֵיכָלְךָ — drawing from Tehillim 92:13–14: tzaddik katamar yifrach k'erez bal'vanon yisgeh. Sh'sulim b'veis Hashem b'chatzros Elokeinu yafrichu. Od yenuvu b'seivah d'shenim v'ra'ananim yihyu — "the righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree — like a cedar in Lebanon they shall grow tall. Transplanted in the house of Hashem — in the courts of our G-d they shall flourish. They shall yet yield fruit in old age — they shall be full of sap and ra'ananim — fresh and flourishing." *Ra'anan* — the quality of freshness and green vitality — appears in this sequence of the Psalm of Shabbos, directly preceding the *od yenuvu b'seivah* blessing already given to the Lvov visitor in Letter 139. The entire arc of Tehillim 92 is being applied to Yitzchok's new home] [Tehillim 92:13–15]. May you yet yield fruit in fine old age and be like a well-watered garden — Omain, so may it be His will. And behold — praised be G-d — I now have a fine and beautiful conversation on the topic of the house of Israel — pertaining to the true eternal purpose — but there is no time to explain it in detail in a letter out in the field. And our dear friend Rabbi Naftali — may his light shine — is now here — and today or tomorrow he will travel from here — and I need to speak with him — therefore it is impossible to extend at all. And may the Master of Salvations save you and make you succeed in all that you turn to — and all those who rise against you for evil — may their counsel swiftly be broken [כָּל הַקָּמִים עָלֶיךָ לְרָעָה מְהֵרָה תּוּפַר עֲצָתָם — echoing Tehillim 33:10: Hashem hefer atzas goyim — "Hashem has broken the counsel of the nations." And the Amidah blessing *v'lamalshinim* — the blessing against those who would harm Israel —

which asks that the counsel of the wicked be swiftly thwarted. The phrasing *meheirah tufar atzatam* — may their counsel swiftly be broken — is the classic formula of protection from those who plan evil against the righteous] [Tehillim 33:10] and so forth. And may you merit always to cleave your thought to the World to Come — from every thought, word, and deed that passes over you each day [לְאַדְבָּקָא מַחֲשַׁבְתְּךָ בְּעָלְמָא דְּאָתֵי — Aramaic: the instruction to *d'veikus* — cleave your thought to the World to Come. From *every* thought, word, and deed that passes over you each day — extract the thread that leads to the eternal and cleave your thought there. No moment is too small or too mundane for this orientation] . The words of your father — who awaits your salvation and intercedes on your behalf. Nussun of Breslov. [Translator's Note: Overview: Sunday, Parshas Pinchas. Three letters received but no messenger until now. *Hischalat hitnotzetzus tzmichas keren yeshuah*. House tenant settled. *Kapai perusos lashamayim*: now identified as the classic biblical posture of pure supplication — Moshe (Shemos 9:29), Shlomo (I Melachim 8:22), Eichah 1:17 — hands spread skyward when practical help is impossible. *Ra'anan b'heichalcha*: now identified as Tehillim 92:14 — from the same Psalm of Shabbos sequence as *od yenuvu b'seivah*, already given to R' Chayyim in Letter 139. *Meheirah tufar atzatam*: now identified as Tehillim 33:10 / the Amidah's protective blessing. *L'adbeika machshavtecha b'alma d'ase*. Key Themes Kapai Perusos Lashamayim — Eichah 1:17 / Shemos 9:29 "My hands are spread to the heavens." The biblical posture of pure supplication — Moshe at the plagues, Shlomo at the Temple, Tziyon in desolation. When no practical help is possible, the hands spread skyward — and this spreading is itself genuine help.]

[Hebrew: נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב...]