קעו

Nussun the above-mentioned.

My beloved son — my dear son — the delight of my eyes. [ Yitzchok ]

His letter from Monday of Parshas Tetzavveh and Friday of Parshas Terumah I received just now at the hour of my arriving from the holy *tziyun* — with several of our *anshei sh'lomaynu* — and we cried somewhat with weeping before Hashem Yisborach over the distresses of our souls from long ago — and especially over the enormity of our distresses now from our enemies and pursuers — they pursue us without cause in place of our pursuing good for them. And in my home at that time was the distinguished Rabbi Mattisyahu Leib — may his light shine — from Balpole — who is also fleeing from his home because of the *machloket* — and has been sitting here for approximately two weeks — and does not know when he will return. And also Rabbi Heshil from Teplik is here now. And also in Teplik a great *machloket* erupted — but there it is somewhat in kindness — for blessed be Hashem — our side is forceful against them.

And also yesterday I received a letter from Breslov with good tidings — of how they searched for me in my home whether I had already come to Breslov. And certainly you have already heard of this — for all of these there is no one to lean on except our Father in Heaven.

And know — my beloved son — that Rabbi Shmuel Weinberg was here from Friday of Parshas Mishpatim until yesterday — and yesterday he traveled home — and I spoke with him somewhat how to conduct myself. And at present — after all the noise that they are making and frightening him — I am still strong to return to my home in peace — if Hashem wills it — soon. But at present I am waiting on a reply from the above-mentioned Rabbi Shmuel Weinberg — and to Hashem belongs the salvation.

And behold — to tell of our distresses — an army of parchment scrolls would not suffice. But the kindnesses of Hashem have not ended — that He gives us strength still to endure distresses and sufferings and humiliations like these [Eichah 3:22] — and beyond this His kindness prevailed over us — that we also rejoice somewhat — that we merited to be in his holy portion — which is the portion of Hashem His people. And may the mouths of the opponents — who make renowned false accusations — be filled with gravel — those who say G-d forbid that we do not believe in the Oral Torah — may their spirit and soul expire — for are we not studying legal codes and the four-part Shulchan Aruch every day — and this is a holy practice from our Rebbe — of blessed memory — who warned very much about this as is renowned and as is printed in his holy books. And who has revealed the secret of the Oral Torah so greatly as our Rebbe — of blessed memory — who said that the essential distinction is... and through this one can recognize a person of Israel [לִקּוּטֵי מוֹהֲרַ\"ן תִּנְיָנָא כ\"ח — LM II:28] [LM II:28] . What shall we say and what shall we speak — the L-rd has found our iniquity — but in this matter that they accuse us of — we are not guilty at all. May Hashem repay the evildoers according to their evil — and humble and fell all the enemies and pursuers beneath us quickly — and have compassion on us in His compassion for the sake of His great Name.

And behold — from the greatness of the sorrow I do not know what to write to you. And regarding your journey here — you aimed with most of your words at the truth — as it is in my heart somewhat — for certainly you cannot abandon everything now — and it is not his will — of blessed memory — in this. But I was astonished at you that it entered your mind to travel to Ladyzhin as you wrote in your previous letter — and may Hashem have compassion and mercy and save and protect us and arrange causes for good — and in Hashem we trust that in His great kindness He will give us a place and counsel to save our souls at this time — as He helped us until here in the abundance of His wonders.

And we now need even more to go with the Torah of *haYom im b'kolo tishme'u* — today if you hear His voice [הַיּוֹם אִם בְּקֹלוֹ תִּשְׁמָעוּ — Tehillim 95:7 / LM II:1: a person has in his world only that day — and through this one can bear the toil and sufferings that must be borne for the Torah and the truth] [Tehillim 95:7; LM II:1] — that a person has in his world only that day. And also to go with what our Rebbe — of blessed memory — said: *Echad hayah Avraham* — and through this one can bear the humiliations. And we are obligated to accept in our thoughts to remain established in the truth — whatever will be: until I die I will not remove my integrity from me [עַד אֶגְוַע לֹא אָסִיר תֻּמָּתִי מִמֶּנִּי — Iyov 27:5: Iyov's declaration of unbreakable faithfulness to his own truth] [Iyov 27:5] — and not to look for signs and wonders immediately — for the ways of Hashem are very wondrous — and *bechira* has very great power. But even so — in Hashem we trust that our enemies will not prevail against us at all — and certainly however it will be — Hashem Yisborach will rescue us — and in the end they will be cut off from the earth so that their memory is erased — and upon us Hashem will shine His light and kindness. And certainly all the humiliations and sufferings we have endured from them will be for great and wondrous good. And one must remember well what the Rebbe — of blessed memory — spoke of even more: one burn in Gehinnom is harder than all the sufferings in this world — and he also spoke of the pain of lying in the grave — how one lies and hears the rustling of each and every worm — this is certainly harder than the rustling of the voice of the opponents who insult. The truth is — their words pierce like sword-thrusts — but even so — the pain of the worms and Gehinnom is much harder than this. And if you are uncertain whether you have been exempted through this from Gehinnom entirely — your hearts will trust securely — that you have been exempted from most of the punishments of Gehinnom. And I hope to Hashem that all who stand in the trial in truth will certainly not see the face of Gehinnom. And especially since we were saved from the harsh Gehinnom punishment of the partisans who tear and trample holy books in mud and mire and shed the blood of Israel so greatly — they will certainly descend to the lowest level of Sheol — woe to them — woe to their souls.

And I hope to Hashem Yisborach that we will merit to rejoice greatly in the holy days of Purim that are coming upon us for good. And how much more so — that we merited to hear such awesome and wondrous things about Purim and Chanukah and Shabbas and Yom Tov — how fortunate are we — how good is our portion . And no one is found in the world who says *ashreinu* over his portion like us. Praised be G-d — we have already merited to rejoice many times in his holy Torah — and now more than before — because the concealment and hiddenness has spread so greatly — and we have escaped from the fowler's trap — and we know of such simple truth that guides Israel in wholeness and simplicity with such great wisdom. Go see the power of your Master [פּוּק חֲזֵי גְּבוּרְתָּא דְּמָרָךְ — Berachos 58a] [Berachos 58a] — that for the sake of the power of *bechira* He concealed such truth so greatly — and saved our souls.

And know — my son — that also here I do not sit in quiet — except in the house of Rabbi Naftali — may his light shine — but when I go to the *mikveh* they lie in wait for me. And praised be G-d I have been saved from them until now. And on the coming Shabbas and on Purim — if Hashem wills it — I will not take a meal at the house of Rabbi Shmuel — may his light shine — for he has made a wedding for his daughter — may she live — and his son-in-law from Zlatopolye and his *melamed* eat by him. Therefore the daughter of my sister — the distinguished woman Marat Lane — was now in my lodgings here at Rabbi Naftali — and she asked very much that I not be offended at her — and she gave money to Rabbi Naftali — may his light shine — so that I should eat by him [מָרַת לַאנֶע — Reb Nussun's niece — a woman of *chesed* who quietly ensured his basic needs were met during these dangerous weeks of hiding in Uman. The intimacy of this detail: the daughter of his sister — a family member — stepping in with her own funds so that Reb Nussun would not go hungry during the persecution. The small human kindness within the great drama] . And in every movement and every day — the distresses and humiliations are very great — but the expansions within the distresses are very wondrous [הַהַרְחָבוֹת שֶׁבְּתוֹךְ הַצָּרוֹת — the *harchavos sheb'toch hatzaros*: the expansions and reliefs experienced within the distress itself — the theme running throughout this entire Chanukah crisis arc, rooted in *b'tzar hirchavta li* (LM I:195). Here applied with touching specificity to the actual details of Reb Nussun's daily life in hiding] — for Hashem Yisborach had mercy on me and arranged for good that I have a special and beautiful and fine room here with all the necessities — praised be G-d — tea and coffee and all that is necessary for human life — and people serve with great love — Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin and the rest of our *anshei sh'lomaynu*. And also — praised be G-d — I have someone with whom to speak of our holy matters. And praised be G-d — we go almost every day to the holy *tziyun* — how great are the kindnesses of Hashem and His wonders . And therefore we have to trust in Hashem — that certainly He will rescue us from them — and there will be fulfilled: and they will fight against you and they will not prevail against you [Yirmiyahu 1:19] — only be strong and of good courage and trust in Hashem — for He will not abandon you and us — and we will merit to meet together soon face to face — and we will rejoice and be glad in His salvation — especially in the holy Purim that comes upon us for good.

All the above I wrote yesterday when your letter arrived. And now today is Friday Erev Shabbas Kodesh —

[Hebrew: נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב...]

And I already went before dawn today to the holy *tziyun* — and I was roused to this by your letter — which compelled me to go today to pour out my speech there. And I deliberately took out your letter — and remembered what is written in it — and weeping fell upon me. And then Hashem helped me that I poured out my speech somewhat before Hashem Yisborach — and I also read the two letters before Hashem Yisborach and before our Rebbe — of blessed memory — and certainly it was impossible to restrain oneself from shedding tears. And also now in writing this — although I am somewhat glad — even so tears fall from my eyes as I remember your sorrow — for I suffer over your sorrow and over the sorrow of all our anshei sh'lomaynu more than over my own sorrow . And also yesterday — one of our *anshei sh'lomaynu* read your letter — and tears flowed from his eyes. May the Master of Mercy see with the tears of our eyes — and especially the tears of the righteous woman Marat Adil — may she live — the daughter of our Master our Teacher and Rebbe — of blessed memory — and may He have mercy on us and save us quickly. And I am confident with strong trust that certainly Hashem Yisborach will save us and rescue us from their hands — and so will He rescue and save all who are strong and stand in the trial.

[Hebrew: נָתָן הַנַּ"ל...]

Nussun the above-mentioned.

[Hebrew: נָתָן הַנַּ"ל...]

But upon those who submit before them and promise to be separated from their root — from their life and their eternal hope — although in their heart the truth is to be with us — upon them the compassion is very great — for they remain bald on this side and bald on that side [קֵרֵחַ מִכָּאן וְקֵרֵחַ מִכָּאן — the Talmudic expression of one who gains nothing from either side: having abandoned the community he knew — and having gained nothing real from the opponents. Applied to those who capitulate under pressure: they lose the truth and gain nothing in return] . For truly their submission gains them nothing except that they must say falsehoods about us — and they are not willing to uproot themselves from the truth so completely — for they fear the Day of Judgment. Therefore it would have been better for them to give their souls from the beginning — and certainly it would have been better for them in this world and the next. But certainly I judge them favorably — and my heart is pained over their troubles. And from the greatness of your longing for my words I could not restrain myself from writing a little more — to rouse you and all who truly desire the truth — regarding *azus dikedushah* — holy boldness — which we now need very very greatly — to fulfil: be bold as a leopard [Avos 5:20] — and *lo nitnah Torah l'Yisrael ela mipnei sheheim azim* — the Torah was given to Israel specifically because they are bold [Beitzah 25b] — as he — of blessed memory — spoke of this greatly. And although certainly now it is impossible to be bold to their faces — for the hour favors them — even so — even in silence you need to have very great boldness. And the essential is that at any rate you should have boldness in your hearts — that you should not be ashamed — G-d forbid — in your own selves. And as our Rebbe — of blessed memory — said (Chayei Moharan 215): "Vos hobin mir zich tzu shemen?" [Yiddish: "What do we have to be ashamed of?" — the Rebbe's declaration of inner holy boldness] [Chayei Moharan 215] — for although each person must be ashamed before Hashem of his sins — in the matter of our community — that we are called by his name — in this there is nothing to be ashamed of at all. This is our portion from all our toil — this is our hope — this is our comfort — this is our salvation forever. And whoever is strong in his heart and is not ashamed in his own heart — Hashem Yisborach will help him to know how to conduct himself in *azus* against them — to respond to them in a peaceful way — and even so to pierce their hearts — that they will fall before him in their hearts. And one must ask from Hashem to know how to respond — to fulfil: know what you will answer [Avos 2:14] and so forth. But even so — I believe in what our Rebbe — of blessed memory — said: no person has a trial and obstacles that he cannot stand in — and the essential is the confusion of the mind [הָעִקָּר הוּא מְנִיעַת הַמֹּחַ — meni'as hamoyach: the confusion and disturbance of the mind — the *bitul hamoyach* — is the only real obstacle. The physical dangers, the financial pressures, the social humiliations — none of these are the true obstacle. Only the confusion of the mind — the inability to think clearly and hold to what one knows — is what actually causes a person to fall] . And even now — the essential is the confusion of the mind. And whoever returns to his heart even a tiny fraction of what was spoken between us — and of the wonders we saw in his holy books — and all the flashing of G-dliness and the flashing of the greatness of the Rebbe — of blessed memory — that I planted in you with the help of Hashem Yisborach — will certainly stand in the trial. Or he will strive to flee beforehand so that he will not need to come to the trial and to humiliation — G-d forbid — as Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin did — who fled from his home and sits here — and so Rabbi Elik of Breslov. And I hope to Hashem that they will certainly return to their homes in peace — if Hashem wills it. But even so — you should not flee immediately — only if you see — G-d forbid — that the hour demands it. But I hope to Hashem that you will not need to come to this — only that even without this you need to yearn and long and strive with all your strength to come here — and to Hashem belongs the salvation. And although I wrote above not to expect miracles specifically — even so in truth I see wondrous miracles almost every day — for it is not an empty thing that in Hashem's kindness we have been saved from them until here . Thus I trust in Hashem that He will always rescue us from them — and our enemies will not prevail against us. And certainly Hashem Yisborach will make signs and wonders in heaven and on earth — in order to humble our enemies and rescue us from their hands — not for our sake — but for the sake of the one who engages in this to plant the vineyard of the house of Israel — to bring the sustaining of Torah into the world [לְמַעַן הָעוֹסֵק בָּזֶה לִטַּע כֶּרֶם בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל — the vineyard of the house of Israel: the Rebbe's own image for his mission — to plant a vineyard of true Torah in Israel. The miracles are not performed for the individuals' sake but for the sake of this cosmic mission: the planting and nurturing of the true Torah and its adherents in the world] . But what I wrote above — my intention was not to press the moment — and the believer need not worry. But however it will be — certainly He will rescue me and all who remain with us — called by his name — of blessed memory — certainly He will rescue all of us and our enemies will not rejoice over us — only those who magnify themselves against us will be clothed in shame and disgrace — and those who desire our righteousness will rejoice and be glad and so forth. And it is enough for those who truly desire. The words of your lover in truth forever. And from the greatness of your longing for my words I could not restrain myself from writing a little more — to rouse you and all who truly desire the truth — regarding *azus dikedushah* — holy boldness — which we now need very very greatly — to fulfil: be bold as a leopard [Avos 5:20] — and *lo nitnah Torah l'Yisrael ela mipnei sheheim azim* — the Torah was given to Israel specifically because they are bold [Beitzah 25b] — as he — of blessed memory — spoke of this greatly. And although certainly now it is impossible to be bold to their faces — for the hour favors them — even so — even in silence you need to have very great boldness. And the essential is that at any rate you should have boldness in your hearts — that you should not be ashamed — G-d forbid — in your own selves. And as our Rebbe — of blessed memory — said (Chayei Moharan 215): "Vos hobin mir zich tzu shemen?" [Yiddish: "What do we have to be ashamed of?" — the Rebbe's declaration of inner holy boldness] [Chayei Moharan 215] — for although each person must be ashamed before Hashem of his sins — in the matter of our community — that we are called by his name — in this there is nothing to be ashamed of at all. This is our portion from all our toil — this is our hope — this is our comfort — this is our salvation forever. And whoever is strong in his heart and is not ashamed in his own heart — Hashem Yisborach will help him to know how to conduct himself in *azus* against them — to respond to them in a peaceful way — and even so to pierce their hearts — that they will fall before him in their hearts. And one must ask from Hashem to know how to respond — to fulfil: know what you will answer [Avos 2:14] and so forth. The words of your father and your teacher — of all who wish to hear my words — and who still walks in his integrity [דִּבְרֵי אֲבִיכֶם וְרַבְּכֶם שֶׁל כָּל הָרוֹצֶה לִשְׁמֹעַ דְּבָרַי וְעוֹדֶנּוּ בְּתֻמָּתוֹ — a remarkable closing formula: Reb Nussun addresses himself as father and teacher not only to Yitzchok his son but to all who wish to hear his words and who still walk in integrity. The phrase *v'odenu b'tumasoh* — "and still walks in his integrity" — echoes *b'tumi* from the Purim morning passage above, and recalls the Iyov verse *ad egva lo asir tumasi* of Letter 174 itself] . Peace to you — do not fear — for Hashem is with you. They will perish — they and a thousand like them — and not one word of his holy Torah shall be annulled. The words of your lover in truth forever. Overview: Thursday Taanis Esther — and Friday morning — Uman. Three passages now fully restored: (1) The *harchavos sheb'toch hatzaros* — the expansions within the distresses — the intimate daily details: Marat Lane's quiet *chesed* in providing funds, the beautiful room, tea and coffee, Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin serving, daily visits to the *tziyun*. (2) Friday morning before Shabbas: Reb Nussun went before dawn to the *tziyun*, read the letters aloud before Hashem and the Rebbe, wept, and writes now with tears. (3) The full passage on those who submit (*kereich mikan u'kereich mikan*), *meni'as hamoyach*, Rabbi Nachman of Tulchin and Rabbi Elik who fled, daily wondrous miracles, and the great declaration that Hashem will make signs and wonders — not for us personally but for the sake of the one who plants the vineyard of the house of Israel.

[Hebrew: נָתָן הַנַּ"ל...]