קנו

Your letter I received just now at the dead of night — and it was a great comfort to me.

[Hebrew: בְּנִי חֲבִיבִי....]

My kidneys exult — praised be G-d — in the salvation of Hashem Yisborach [תַּעֲלֹזְנָה כִלְיוֹתַי תְּהִלָּה לָאֵל בִּישׁוּעַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ — the return of the great phrase from Letters 141 and 142: *ta'aloznah chilyosai* — "my kidneys exult" — from Mishlai 23:16 and Tehillim 16:7: the deepest inner organs responding with the most unreserved and pure joy to good news. Used for Yitzchok's house purchase; now used again at the news of his recovery. The kidneys — seat of the deepest counsel — rejoice with the deepest possible joy] — who has helped you until now — as you wrote in your letter — this being the third time. May Hashem thus be with you — to restore you to your former strength in fullness — in body and in spirit. And begin afresh to strengthen yourself in the ways of Hashem — and to draw near to Him, Yisborach — through Torah and prayer and good deeds — for length of good days and years — Omain, so may it be His will.

And peace to all our anshei sh'lomaynu — with great love — and especially to my dear one Rabbi Shimshon.

But I have no time now to reply at length — for the messenger arrived in the middle of my writing words of Torah that are very urgently needed to be written immediately — and they will also reach you for good — with the help of Hashem Yisborach — in the coming days in peace — when you will merit to see them in His kindness, Yisborach. And behold — you have already heard of the sufferings and humiliations [יִסּוּרִים וּבִזְיוֹנוֹת — the paired afflictions of the holiday period — *yissurim* (sufferings) and *bizyonos* (humiliations) — arising from the *machloket* directed at the Breslov community] that befell us in the days that have passed — and even so — His kindness prevailed over us — and through His wondrous salvation, Yisborach — I was in joy in these days more than in all other years — and also on Isru Chag — Hashem Yisborach arranged through His wonders — that Rabbi Shmuel Tzoreif completed a Torah scroll — and he honored me to carry the Sefer Torah into the synagogue. And we were in joy — praised be G-d — on Isru Chag toward evening — outside the synagogue — and inside within the synagogue — and we danced greatly in joy. And this too was from Hashem — for all our joys are salvations of Hashem and His great wonders — for the joy of Hashem — she is our stronghold [חֶדְוַת ה' הִיא מָעֻזֵּנוּ — Nechemiah 8:10: the verse of Ezra and Nechemiah on the first Rosh Hashana of the return from Babylon — the people weeping at hearing the Torah read publicly — and the leaders commanding: do not weep — for *chedvas Hashem hi ma'uzchem* — "the joy of Hashem — **she** — is your strength." The feminine pronoun *hi* — she — is emphatic and personalizing: the joy of Hashem is not merely an abstraction but a living presence — *she* herself is the fortress and stronghold. The grammatical emphasis transforms joy from a state into a person: a *ma'oz* — a fortified tower — who stands between the community and all that seeks to overwhelm it. Even in the face of the *bizyonos* and *yissurim* — she holds] [Nechemiah 8:10]. And now — my son — how greatly you revived my soul with what you wrote — that you were aroused to rise at midnight because of the humiliations directed at us. This is the right way — and this is how it is fitting for us to break our hearts through this — but even more so one must prevail to strengthen oneself in joy for the great part of the entire day — over the greatness of His kindness, Yisborach — that we merited to be saved from being among those who oppose the points of truth like these. Were it not that Hashem helped us — we would almost — G-d forbid — have been among them [לוּלֵא ה' עֶזְרָתָה לָנוּ — Tehillim 124:2: the Psalm of rescue — "were it not that Hashem was with us when people rose against us — they would have swallowed us alive." Here applied to the spiritual danger: were it not for Hashem's help, one might have ended up among the opponents of the truth. The gratitude is for being rescued from a spiritual fate] [Tehillim 124:2]. Blessed is Hashem who separated us from them — and illuminated for us the truth in its truth. May Hashem thus be with us — that we merit to fulfil His holy words — and to walk in His awesome ways and holy counsels — which are the counsels of Hashem that stand forever [עֲצוֹת ה' אֲשֶׁר לְעוֹלָם יַעַמְדוּ — T The words of your father — who rejoices in your salvation — and who awaits hearing all good from you always. Nussun of Breslov.

[Hebrew: נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב...]