רעט

The words of your father.

[Hebrew: אֲהוּבִי בְּנִי חֲבִיבִי....]

Nussun of Breslov.

Abundant peace — to my beloved son — my dear one — the rabbinical scholar — our Teacher the Rabbi Yitzchok — may he live.

He received his letter with the letter from Rabbi Ephraim — and it was a great comfort. Just now there is nothing new to add — but because he knows the immensity of his yearning to hear words of truth — he said to inform him a little of their speech on the past Shabbas Kodesh — about the great virtue of speech and conversation before Him Yisborach.

And he mentioned what he saw in the Midrash Parshas Vayikra chapter 2 — which brings there the verse (Yirmiyahu 31): *"ha'ben yakir li Ephraim — im yeled sha'ashu'im — ki midei dabri vo zachor ezk'rennu od"* — "Is Ephraim My precious son — is he a child of delight — for as often as I speak of him I do earnestly remember him." [Yirmiyahu 31:19] And it says there: what kind of child of delight — as a son of two or three years — and one said as a son of four or five years. And the commentators explained there: one said as a son of two or three years — that even though such a child cannot speak except in hint — and speaks half-speech — even so his father is delighted with him in his words and fulfils his desire. And one said as a son of four or five years — that then his speech is complete and he asks his father from a full mouth — give me such-and-such a thing — and his father fulfils his request. And even though it is not explained there in the commentary that fully — he explained the matter further — for he in his poverty drew from this much arousal for our matter — for what the Rebbe warned us to pour out one's speech before Him Yisborach every day. For praised be G-d he understood from this Midrash immense strengthening and arousal for this — for it is understood and explained from this that even when a person is unable to speak at all before Him Yisborach and to pour out one's speech well — even so it is precious in His eyes Yisborach — even if he speaks in hint and in half-speech — like a child of two or three years — and sometimes Hashem Yisborach helps and one speaks complete words — like a child of four or five years. And thus Israel are precious in His eyes when they speak and converse their needs before Him — and they are called a child of delight. And look there at what is said there on the conclusion of the verse — *"ki midei dabri vo — dei diburi vo"* — as it were: My speech about him is itself sufficient for him [כִּי מִדֵּי דַבְּרִי בּוֹ דֵּי דִּבּוּרִי בּוֹ — Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 2 — a homiletical reading of the verse: the word "midei" is read as "my speech / my attention" — and the phrase becomes: whenever I speak of him — that very speaking is itself sufficient for him. The act of Hashem turning His attention to Ephraim — to Israel — has its own healing power even before any specific act. And inversely: whenever Israel speaks to Hashem — even in the weakest of whispers — that very speaking is precious to Him] — understand the immensity of the preciousness of the speech there. And it is impossible to express in writing — especially since the bearer of this letter is very pressing and the obligation to be brief. But from yourselves you will understand hints from this to strengthen yourselves in speech and conversation between a person and his Creator at every time — as you will be able. Certainly it is better to speak explicitly with complete words — but also when they cannot speak well — the speech — the whispering — the murmuring — is precious in His eyes Yisborach — like a child of delight who is two or three years old. And understand well to fulfil all this in simplicity — for it is your life forever — for it is impossible to pass through this world in peace — except through what he wrote here — for our strength is only in the mouth.

And may Hashem gladden your hearts — and may you merit to receive the holy Pesach coming upon us for good — with holiness and with kashrus and with great joy.

The words of the one who writes in pressing haste.

Nussun of Breslov.

[Hebrew: דִּבְרֵי אָבִיךָ וְרַבְּךָ....]

[Hebrew: נָתָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב...]

Overview: Thursday, Parshas Tzav — Breslov. To Yitzchok. He received his letter with the letter from Rabbi Ephraim — great comfort. Just now there is nothing new to add — but because he knows the immensity of his yearning to hear words of truth — he said to inform him a little of their speech on the past Shabbas Kodesh — about the great virtue of speech and conversation before Him Yisborach. And he mentioned what he saw in the Midrash Parshas Vayikra chapter 2 — which brings the verse (Yirmiyahu 31): "ha'ben yakir li Ephraim — im yeled sha'ashu'im — ki midei dabri vo zachor ezk'rennu od." And it says there: what kind of child of delight — as a son of two or three years — and one said as a son of four or five years. And the commentators explained: one said as a son of two or three years — that even though such a child cannot speak except in hint — and speaks half-speech — even so his father is delighted with him and fulfils his desire. And one said as a son of four or five years — that then his speech is complete and he asks his father from a full mouth — give me such-and-such — and his father fulfils his request. He explained the matter further — drawing much arousal for our matter — for what the Rebbe warned us to pour out one's speech before Him Yisborach every day. For praised be G-d he understood from this Midrash immense strengthening — for it is understood and explained from this — that even when a person is unable to speak at all before Him Yisborach — even so it is precious in His eyes — even if he speaks in hint and in half-speech — like a child of two or three years — and sometimes Hashem helps and one speaks complete words — like a child of four or five years. And thus Israel are precious in His eyes when they speak and converse their needs before Him — and they are called a child of delight. And look there at the conclusion of the verse — "ki midei dabri vo — dei diburi vo" — as it were: My speech about him is itself sufficient for him — understand the immensity of the preciousness of the speech. It is impossible to express in writing — especially since the bearer is very pressing. But from yourselves you will understand hints from this — to strengthen yourselves in speech and conversation between a person and his Creator at every time — as you will be able. Certainly it is better to speak explicitly with complete words — but also when they cannot speak well — the speech — the whispering — the murmuring — is precious in His eyes — like a child of delight of two or three years. Understand well to fulfil all this in simplicity — for it is your life forever — for it is impossible to pass through this world in peace — except through what he wrote here — for our strength is only in the mouth. And may Hashem gladden your hearts — and may you merit to receive the holy Pesach coming upon us for good — with holiness and with kashrus and with great joy.

Yesterday close to Minchah he received his letter from the hand of his brother — his son Rabbi Shachna — and he had no time to read it — for he had already begun to pray Minchah — and read it after Maariv. And his bowels stirred for him — from the immensity of the mercy upon him — for all his letters are full of cries and voices and yearnings to return to Hashem Yisborach in truth. And he knows that most people — even in previous generations — had such things pass over them thousands and tens of thousands of times — as he heard and understood from his holy mouth — and as he himself saw and heard and understood from tens of thousands of people and from holy books. And he has already spoken greatly about this — and what more shall we say — have not our Sages said explicitly (Sukka 52a): every day and day the yetzer of a person renews itself against him — and were it not that Hashem helps him — as it says (Tehillim 37): "v'Hashem lo ya'azvennu b'yado." But even so there is no one who spoke so much about this and helped through his words eternally — like our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe. Therefore it came to his mind that he has nothing to reply to him — since his words have already been spoken greatly — and already printed and written greatly. But even so it is impossible for the house of study to be without novellum — and in particular this is the essential — lest the matters become old — G-d forbid — for it is forbidden to be old and stale — G-d forbid — rather every day they should be truly as new. And this is the foundation of all the Torah — as we are commanded about this in the *parasha* of Shema — *"asher anochi m'tzav'cha hayom"* — and our Sages interpreted: *"b'chol yom yih'yu b'einecha kachadashim"* — "every day may they be in your eyes as new." And about this he came to remind him and to urge him — my beloved son — that you should see every day to fulfil this anew — that the words of his holy mouth should be in your eyes as truly new. The words of the one who writes in pressing haste. Nussun of Breslov. And above all — all our life-force and our hope and our joy is through the power of the elder of elders — the holy ones — praised be G-d — we have and we have on whom to rely. Remember this and take courage and be strengthened — for all He has done with us. Were it not that he had revealed only the Torah "Azamra" — dayeinu. [אִלְמָלֵא לֹא גִּלָּה אֶלָּא הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת אֲזַמְּרָה דַּיֵּינוּ — echoing the form of the Dayeinu song of the Seder — Reb Nussun says: were it not that the Rebbe had revealed to us only the teaching of Azamra — finding good points in oneself and in others — that alone would have been dayeinu — sufficient. All the more so that he revealed awesome Torahs and wondrous stories and holy conversations besides] All the more so and all the more so that he revealed awesome Torahs and wondrous stories and holy conversations. And certainly he will complete what he began — to awaken us from our sleep. For still he stands and prays for us — with all the tzaddikim who dwell in the dust — for without this we would have no sustaining at all — as it is written in the holy Zohar: "ilmalei t'filos hatzaddikim she'meisu al hachayim — lo iskayem alma k'rega" — were it not for the prayers of the tzaddikim who have died on behalf of the living — the world would not endure for a moment. [Zohar III 70a] And all his intention in this letter is to fulfil the mitzvah of "v'shinantam l'vanecha" — and in particular before Pesach when one needs to answer the son who asks — in particular in the way of wisdom — praised be G-d — against the four sons the Torah spoke — one is wise and so forth — that in our days such awesome things were revealed which are the acronym SHACHARIT. [שַׁחֲרִי"ת — an acronym formed from Shin-Chet-Resh-Yud-Tav — Sh'tika (silence), Chacham (the wise son), Rasha (the wicked son), Yodea lish'ol (the one who does not know to ask), and Tam (the simple son) — as revealed in the Rebbe's teachings, showing the four sons as a spiritual roadmap for the path of teshuva and emunah. Reb Nussun calls this awesome — "ashrei oznayim shekach shom'os"] And the essential is what is written there (Likutay Moharan 30): that the greater the sick person — the greater the Rebbe needed — who can introduce into him also the perception of divinity. And praised be G-d in His chesed — we do not dispute this true Rebbe — and we strive to draw close to him — and he draws us close in His mercies at every time in awesome and wondrous ways.