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A letter from Moharnat to our Master, Moharán — may the memory of the righteous and holy one be for a blessing.

With the help of G-d, may He be blessed May the mountains bear peace. To the hidden treasury.

The Tzaddik — the foundation of the world. He is none other than the honor of our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi. The pride of our strength. The crown of our glory. And the glory of all Israel. The head of the exile of Ariel. He is none other than the great eagle with mighty wings. In his shade we find shelter and lodge. He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up and we will live before Him [Hoshea 6:2] — and may he live on forever, until the heavens are no more. The great Gaon. The holy flame (Butzina Kadisha). The true Chassid, who deals with his Creator with love. Who gives life to the living. For Him silence is praise [Tehillim 65:2] — have I in any way completed all his praises? Were all the days ink, and so forth — his praise cannot be completed. How fortunate are we, how fortunate is our portion, that we have fallen into his portion and his lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places — yea, I have a goodly heritage [Tehillim 16:6]. And sweet is the light, and good for the eyes. How fortunate are we. How fortunate is the eye that has seen all this — the light of the seven days, hidden and stored away. From Hashem this has come about — it is wondrous in our eyes [Tehillim 118:23] — from the heavens. The honor of his holy name. Awesome and exalted, most sublime. Our Teacher and our Rabbi, the Rabbi Nachman — may the Merciful One guard him and bless him.

It shall be said with triumph — and may he live forever. After inquiring after his welfare — let it be known to our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi, that I saw a copy in the handwriting of our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi, which he sent to the shutafim (partners) — may their lights shine. For the honor of Rabbi Naftali from here sent me the above-mentioned copy to the holy community of Mohilov. Our beloved, our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi — the beloved of the Most High. And the beloved of all the souls of the House of Israel. And the beloved of our souls. What shall we say and what shall we speak? If I were to say that I would console our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi, and speak to his holy heart — who would gird his loins? And who would summon his strength to enter his head into this? The heights of the heavens — what can I accomplish? The ways of Hashem, hidden from the eye of all the living, and so forth — who can arrange words in this? Yet nonetheless — I said: come what may, I will run these words of mine to our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi. And in the greatness of his true kindness and his humility, I trusted to open my mouth and to speak before him that which Hashem places in my mouth. For surely our Master has not forgotten the times that have passed

over him from his earliest days until this very day — until Hashem helped him, so that he merited to shatter and to crush, to demolish what he demolished, to overturn what he overturned, to build what he built, and to ascend to the place to which he ascended — all of which is hidden from the eye of all the living; no eye has seen it [Yeshayahu 64:3], and so forth. And in particular what passed over our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi in the holy community of Istanbul. And Hashem always helped him, until he merited to what he merited — and in particular what he merited then. For on account of his grief it seems to him that never yet has such a time as this passed over him — as I have heard from his holy mouth that it appears so in a time of grief (Sichos HaRan, 3). And even if the truth be so — that truly never yet has such a time as this passed over him — on the contrary! From this our heart is firmly confident in Hashem, that we will yet merit to see his joy soon. For he will merit to what he awaits meriting — to see in the goodness of Hashem, as Hashem shows him the no'am zivo (the sweetness of His radiance) — and enough for the one who understands. And regarding this it is said: Shall I who bring to the birth not cause to bring forth? [Yeshayahu 66:9], and so forth. And one ought not to elaborate on this. And even in speaking this little I feared greatly. But his humility emboldens me to speak before him that which comes beneath the pen at this time. And behold, we are fulfilling his holy words — to pray on his behalf.

But may Hashem Yisborach have mercy upon us and upon all His people, the House of Israel — that we merit that our hearts be aroused, so that we may be able to pray as it is fitting to pray for such a matter as this. For if we felt even a little of it, it would be fitting for us to cry out in the marketplaces and in the streets — to arouse the mercies of Heaven upon him, and upon us, and upon all His creatures, and upon all the souls that are placed in the place to which they have descended — waiting and hoping to find shelter under his wings — who have not yet merited to lodge in his holy shade. And all the more so the greatness of the compassion that there is for us — as is known to our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi — and in particular for me, whom he raised from the lowest of the dust, and lifted from the dunghill of my poverty, and seated me among nobles [cf. Tehillim 113:7-8] — yet I am still naked without garment. And who knows if I have even yet reached the days of suckling? And we have none from whom to suckle and to draw forth abundance and to receive vitality — except through our Master, our Teacher, and our Rabbi — he is our life and the length of our days. O Lord G-d, You know — has there ever been, from the day of Creation, a compassion such as this, like the compassion that rests upon us now — and upon each one individually, as each one knows the wounds of his own heart — and all the more so the compassion upon one who has never seen good in all his days? And enough for the one who understands. Therefore it is upon us to pour out our speech before Hashem — to pour out our heart like water before Hashem. And in Hashem we trust, for we shall not be

ashamed forever — as the days in which You afflicted us, so gladden us [Tehillim 90:15] — to show us the no'am zivo (the sweetness of His radiance). And we shall satiate our souls in radiant light. In fullness of joys. As we merit to receive his holy presence. The countenance of the Atik Yomin (the Ancient of Days). In the light of the face of the living King — for us and for all Israel. And the time of Mincha has arrived — so I will be brief and bring to a close. Are these not the words of one who waits and longs to roll in the dust of his feet — to delight in the radiance of his holiness?

The lowly Nussun, son of my lord, my father, my teacher, the Rabbi Naftali Hirtz — may his light

Overview: This letter — written by Reb Nussun directly to Rebbe Nachman on the 8th of Nissan 5567, the very same year as Rebbe Nachman's first letters in this collection — is one of the most spiritually intense documents in all of Breslov literature. Reb Nussun had just seen a copy of one of Rebbe Nachman's own letters describing his suffering, and was seized with trembling. He does not offer comfort in the conventional sense. Instead he opens with a cascade of Biblical praise so dense it borders on liturgy, then speaks with extraordinary boldness about Rebbe Nachman's hidden spiritual attainments — and his own utter nothingness before him.

shine and radiate.