רכה

Behold —

today in my house — my brother-in-law from the holy communit

*Ba'al hayeshu'os u'va'al hanechaamos hu y'nachem* — The Master of salvations and the Master of consolations — He should console my beloved son — the desire of my heart — the veteran rabbinical scholar — our Teacher the Rabbi Yitzchok — may he live — together with all who go forth from his loins — may they live to length of days and good years — Amen — so may it be His will.

This near evening time — my brother-in-law — my friend the rabbinical scholar — our Teacher the Rabbi Yosef — may his light shine — came to me and brought a brief letter from you — and then I understood your trouble which is my own trouble — that the soul of your little daughter was taken — upon her be peace — may her soul be bound in the bond of life. [נִפְקַד נֶפֶשׁ בִּתְּךָ הַקְּטַנָּה — "the soul of your little daughter was taken" — a bereavement. Yitzchok's young daughter has passed away. Reb Nussun learns of this through the brief letter brought by his brother-in-law Rabbi Yosef. He had already sensed something from the bitterness of the crying in the previous letter] And I had no leisure to grieve and be comforted — for I was compelled to speak with him — and in the midst of this the time of *Mincha* arrived. And now I understood from before — the bitterness of the cry in your previous letter that came via Rabbi Mordechai. And the letter in Breslov has not yet arrived to my hand — as you will hear from the bearer of this letter.

And behold — to comfort you in simplicity as is the way of the world — there is no need — for from yourself you will understand that such things and such things pass over all the world — and many have suffered — may the Merciful One save us — and especially in your community in these times — may Hashem protect them from now. May the Merciful One repair their breach and the breach of His people Israel — and console them and save them with the consolations of Zion and Jerusalem.

[Hebrew: נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב...]

The words of your father who awaits always hearing good news from you. Nussun of Breslov. But the essential consolation from all the troubles — may the Merciful One save us — is the *da'as* of the Torah and the true *tzaddikim* — as it is written [Tehillim 119:50] : *"zos nechamasi v'onyyi"* — "this is my consolation in my affliction" — and so forth — and as explained on the verse [Yeshayahu 40:1] : *"nachamu nachamu"* — "comfort — comfort." And I know — my son — I know — that this — this — is the essential cry of your letter — as is explained there explicitly — that you are crying out bitterly as is fitting to cry out about this: when will you merit to return through all the hints and the calls that call you to return and draw close to Him — Yisborach? And in truth — about this one must certainly cry out — and cry out every single day. But even so — one must remember well what he warned us in many warnings — to strengthen oneself always in joy — and to turn all grief and sighing into gladness and joy — and especially at a time of trouble — G-d forbid — one must strengthen oneself even more — not to be drawn after the sorrow more than necessary — G-d forbid. Only to console and gladden oneself in all that is possible — and to turn all grief and sighing into joy. And praised be G-d — we have with which to rejoice even now — and it is impossible to express in writing — especially in these times. Remember — do not forget all that you have already heard — and more than this greatly — His mercies — Yisborach — have grown and are exalted without measure — for the kindnesses of Hashem have not ended. And I have now a beautiful discourse on this matter: the essential trial and free choice of a person is because he does not know what is being done with him. For if a person were to know all that is being done with him at every time — and where he stands and holds at every time — and how even now every good movement of his is very very precious in the eyes of Hashem Yisborach — certainly everyone would run with all their strength to Hashem Yisborach and everyone would be righteous. But the essential trial and free choice is through the concealment of the knowledge. [הֶעְלֵם הַיְדִיעָה — the concealment of the knowledge — the hidden-ness of how far one has actually come — of how precious each of one's good movements truly is in the eyes of Hashem. This concealment is not a cruelty but the very foundation of free choice: if a person truly saw how precious he is — he could not resist running to Hashem with all his heart. The concealment is the gift of free will] And therefore in truth — it is impossible in any way for a person to know in his lifetime where he stands — as I heard in his name — of blessed memory — that in this the free choice depends. But one who truly desires to have regard for his eternal purpose — it is fitting for him to strengthen himself through this very thing — and to know and understand at any rate that he does not know at all — for His thoughts — Yisborach — are very deep. And who knows how precious in His eyes are your good movements. And specifically through the fact that he is so far — through this specifically are precious in His eyes every good movement and stirring — even like a hair's breadth — especially since our master — our teacher and our rabbi — of blessed memory — already revealed much of this — and his words are living and enduring and faithful and beloved forever and so forth. And more than this there is much in my heart to speak of this — but impossible to extend in writing for several reasons. And peace to all our *anshei sh'lomaynu* with great love. And behold — just now arrived the light of day — the light of morning — the morning of Abraham [בֹּקֶר דְּאַבְרָהָם — the morning of Abraham — from *Bereishis Rabbah* 11:8: each morning of the world is illuminated with the *chesed* of Abraham — the *Chesed d'Avraham* — the pure lovingkindness of the first patriarch. The dawn is not merely a physical phenomenon but a spiritual renewal flowing from the root of all *chesed*] . And certainly now new and wonderful *chasadim* are being renewed — as it is written [Eichah 3:23] : *"chadashim labekarim rabbah emunasecha"* — "they are new every morning — great is Your faithfulness." And even so it is very difficult to begin to pray — for every day is narrow from above and wide from below [כָּל יוֹם קָצָר מִלְּמַעְלָה וְרָחָב מִלְּמַטָּה — a teaching from the Zohar: each day has a narrow opening from above — the divine influence must be drawn down through concentrated effort and prayer — but below it spreads out wide. The narrowness at the top reflects the resistance and difficulty of beginning — of the first moments of prayer and service] . But even so — one must believe that the *chasadim* are renewed every morning — as it is written [Tehillim 92:3] : *"l'hagid baboker chasdecha"* — "to tell of Your *chesed* in the morning." And through the belief in the greatness of His *chesed* and goodness at every time — upon every person — even upon the worst of the worst — through this everyone can strengthen themselves to begin fresh every day and every time. And the essential is to distance the *marah shechorah* and the sadness — and to turn all grief and sighing into joy. And we have already spoken of this greatly — but one must understand from oneself and compel oneself with all one's forces to bring in the joy of the Torah and the *mitzvos* — which we merit every day — to bring the joy into one's heart. And know and believe with complete faith that after all the troubles and the sufferings we endured — and after all the distances that we are distanced from our Father in Heaven through our deeds that are not proper — even so — *ashreinu.* *"Ashreinu — ashreinu"* — that we merit to say every day twice *"ashreinu."* [אַשְׁרֵינוּ אַשְׁרֵינוּ שֶׁאָנוּ זוֹכִים לוֹמַר בְּכָל יוֹם שְׁנֵי פְּעָמִים אַשְׁרֵינוּ — "how fortunate are we — how fortunate are we — that we merit to say every day twice *ashreinu.*" The word *ashreinu* — meaning "how fortunate are we" — appears twice in the *Aleinu* prayer: once in the first paragraph (*"ashreinu mah tov chelkeinu"* — how fortunate is our portion) and once in the second (*"ashrei adam batoach bach"*). Reb Nussun here teaches that even this simple daily utterance — the word *ashreinu* said twice in prayer — is a cause of extraordinary joy if one truly feels what it means] . And if you accustom yourself to rejoice in this — you can merit that at least once in all the days of your life you will truly feel in your heart the pleasantness of the sweetness of this joy of *"ashreinu"* — that we unify His name — and then you will understand retroactively the sweetness and pleasantness of our portion and our lot and our inheritance — and you will regret the past — that you did not strengthen yourself to be in even more and more joy — and you will give yourself life with the little joy that you merited at each time. And behold — from the immensity of my love for you — I was compelled to innovate for you words of truth now in the morning before prayer. And *"chesed l'Avraham"* — may He gladden and rejoice our soul in His salvation always. [Michah 7:20] Nussun the above-mentioned.