שעז

Great peace — to my beloved son — my dear one — may his light shine. He received his letter on Sunday — but had no one to reply via — for the mission of the messengers was cancelled. And he should inform him if he has — G-d forbid — any aspect of worry from this. For according to the truth of their words — which have already been spoken between them — flowing from the wellsprings of salvation — it is fitting that no worry at all reach him from this — even if there were — G-d forbid — some lack in his livelihood — and moreover — in his view it is a complete misunderstanding. Even so — let him write to him of this too. Hashleich al Hashem y'havecha v'hu y'chalkelecha — "Cast your burden upon Hashem and He will sustain you" — nar bitachon — "only trust" — thus he heard from his holy mouth — as he has already told them with Hashem's help. And behold — Rabbi Nachman who bears this letter — already received permission from him yesterday — without a letter to him — for he was preoccupied then — and it was from Hashem that he returned to his home — as he will tell him. Now he said to fulfil his good longing — and to write him some few words — that Hashem Yisborach will arrange. And behold — he had great comfort from his letter — and good to give thanks to Hashem Who until now helped him to bring his son — may he live — to the mitzvah of beginning to put on tefillin. May the Master of Mercy open his heart in His Torah — and place in his heart His love and His fear — and so forth — for this is the essential. And to reply to his question in the adjacent letter — praised be G-d — he has already preceded to reply himself. And certainly his words are correct. And you gave him life in your letter — which he read today a second time — in what you wrote that one must begin fresh — "kammatz alef" — and so on. Yes — certainly — this is the matter. Would that they merit to go in this all their days — in all that passes over them — that however it will be — however it will be — they merit every day and every time to awaken anew. For this is the essential of all essentials — as they were warned on this in the portion of K'rias Sh'ma — "asher anochi m'tzav'cha ha'yom" — in every single day they should be as new in your eyes — as our Sages of blessed memory said. And likewise — at the beginning of the giving of the Torah it is written: "ba'yom hazeh ba'u midbar Sinai" — and Rashi explained: "that every day it should seem as though today you received the Torah." And likewise Rashi explained on several verses in the Torah — such as "ha'yom hazeh nihyisa l'am" — "today you have become a nation" — and so forth — and very much more. And our Rebbe — of blessed memory — cried out these words with a deep and strong voice: "Alt tar men nit zain" — "One must not be old" — as is printed in Sichos HaRa"n 51. And in particular — to begin every time to fulfil what they spoke of — in the aspect of Chash-Mal — which each person must follow — as is explained in Likutai Halachos — Laws of Theft chapter 5. And many of the anshei sh'lomaynu have already told him — that praised be G-d — his words of the past weeks helped them — namely: to begin to be silent and to plough before Hashem Yisborach — with great longing for Him — and with great compassion on oneself — that I have become so so so distant — until I do not know at all from where to begin to speak. In the aspect of: "ki ein millah bilshoni — hein Hashem yadatt kulah — ne'elamti lo eftach pi" — "for there is no word on my tongue — behold Hashem You know it all — I am struck dumb — I will not open my mouth" — and so forth. [Tehillim 139:4; Tehillim 38:14] For it already seems to him that he has begun many times — and still he is so so distant — and so forth — as each person knows in his own soul. And Hashem Yisborach — Who is full of abundant mercies always — will most likely have compassion on you and open the mouth of one as mute as himself — as you — truly truly — like the mute who opens to speak. And as they spoke in Niemrov on the verse "borei niv s'fasayim" — "Who creates the fruit of the lips" — that Hashem Yisborach creates literally anew the fruit of the lips — so that they can express their conversation — even in the very intensity of the remoteness — however it is — even if it were so a thousand times — for His greatness has no end. And in particular — because in truth they believe and can a little see and understand — that even so — in any case — certainly no word and no cry is ever lost — even from the very lowest depths of hell — literally — as was heard from his mouth explicitly countless times. And they must believe this with complete faith. [This is one of the most foundational and electrifying teachings of the Rebbe — repeated countless times — and transmitted here with the full weight of Reb Nussun's own testimony: he heard it explicitly from his holy mouth — that no word of prayer — no cry — no groan — no sigh — is ever lost — even if it comes from the most fallen person in the most fallen state — even from the very lowest depths of hell — literally. Every utterance reaches heaven. Every word counts.] For any person can understand for himself — that if he had not strengthened himself in these cries and good longings — certainly he would have been far worse and worse without measure. And there is no end to the aggression of the Adversary — who seeks to destroy and to utterly uproot a person — G-d forbid — as several souls have already sunk because of this. And the essential is because they did not strengthen themselves in all the above. And blessed be our G-d Who had compassion on us in this orphaned generation — in this weak generation — about which more than any other generation it is said: "vaterd pela'im ein ozer lah" — "she descended in wonders — with none to help her" [Eichah 1:9] — which was said about all the days of this bitter exile — and in particular about these generations — as they see and understand from afar what happens in the world — the evil deed done under the sun — in particular in these times. Were it not for Hashem Who was with them — Who had compassion on them — and sent them a holy and new light — awesome and exalted like this — which acts and acts with them — what it acts — and strengthens them in His mercies with seven flavors of taste — such as these. It is upon them to give thanks and to praise and to laud Hashem Yisborach always — and to walk in His ways — to fulfil His holy words — to begin at every time anew — as above — and to trust in His great power — and to strengthen themselves always in good joy. For great is Hashem and His greatness has no end. And all will be turned for good. Blessed are we — that we merited to shelter and to abide in the shadow of his holy wings. They will not be shamed — all who shelter in him. And let him extend peace to all our anshei sh'lomaynu — and in particular to his dear veteran friend Rabbi Yaakov — may his light shine. Also to you it is given to read this letter — and all such letters. And set your heart very very well to his words — and see to come to them soon for the holy Shabbas — that it may go well with you forever. The words of your father — who speaks from the walls of his heart — and awaits salvation. Nussun of Breslov.