Ullim LeTroofah – Letter Four | Leaves for Healing

Ullim LeTroofah

עלים לתרופה

Leaves for Healing

The Sacred Letters of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and Reb Nussun of Breslov, of blessed memory

LETTER FOUR

Year 5567 (1807) · Written from the holy community of Zaslav

Editor's Introduction A verbatim, letter-for-letter copy of a letter in the handwriting of our Master himself, of blessed memory, which he wrote to all our anshay shlomaynu (fellowship of followers) during the time he resided in Zaslav in the year 5567.

I hereby inform all our anshay shlomaynu that I have grown weary of dwelling in Breslov — on account of the greatness of the troubles and the ordeals that have swept over me. And now I shall be moving from tent to tent — not to settle, but merely to sojourn. Therefore my plea and my request of you is that my toil which I have toiled with each and every one of you should not be in vain — for I have placed my very soul in my palm for the sake of the good of your souls. Hashem is righteous, and I have acted wickedly [cf. Shemos 9:27] — and my own deeds have brought upon me the sufferings, and the death of my precious children, and the machlokes (strife) and the kitrugim (prosecuting accusations). Yet nonetheless — I knew, and I knew well, that the very endeavor in which I engaged with you — to draw you out from the teeth of the Samech-Mem (the Sitra Achra — the Other Side) — it was on account of all these things that he fixed his eyes upon me with rage, and gnashed his teeth against me.

And therefore, my beloved brothers and friends — be strong and courageous in the fear of Hashem — each one according to his strength and his particular level. And let not my toil be in vain. And guard the Torah of Moshe, the servant of Hashem, as I have taught you. And know that even though I am now far from you — this is nothing other than a distance of bodies. There is no distance, G-d forbid, between our souls — for we are close. My beloved brothers and friends! I implore you, I implore you — that these words of mine, with which I have entreated you, should be near to you day and night.

I hereby inform you that I am currently residing in the holy community of Zaslav, and here I shall remain, if G-d wills it, for approximately three months.

Are these not the words of one who loves you — who writes with tears, from the greatness of the joy that is in my heart — that the Holy One, blessed be He, has granted me iron strength to bear the yoke of such sufferings and wanderings as these.

Nachman, son of our Teacher the Rabbi Simcha — may his Rock protect him and give him life.

Postscript — On His Health

I hereby inform you that, blessed be Hashem, I am on the line of health — without engaging in any physical remedies.

Nachman, as above.

Overview: This letter, addressed to the entire Breslov community, is one of the most raw and self-revelatory documents Rebbe Nachman ever committed to writing. He announces his weariness with Breslov, his intention to wander, his profound sense that his own sins caused his sufferings — including the deaths of his children — and yet closes with tears of joy at his iron endurance. Every sentence is a world.

Key Themes

Tears of Joy in Suffering The closing is extraordinary: Rebbe Nachman writes the letter with tears — but they are tears of joy, not grief. His joy is that G-d has given him iron strength to endure. Pain and joy are not opposites in Breslov — they coexist in the soul of the Tzaddik.

"I Have Acted Wickedly" Rebbe Nachman's declaration — Hashem is righteous, and I have acted wickedly — is a direct echo of Pharaoh's confession in Shemos 9:27. The Tzaddik accepts full responsibility for his sufferings rather than casting blame outward. This is tzidduk ha'din (justification of Divine judgment) at its most personal.

The Samech-Mem Rebbe Nachman names his adversary directly: the Samech-Mem — the acronym for Sitra Achra, the Other Side — "gnashed his teeth" against Rebbe Nachman because Rebbe Nachman was pulling souls away from his domain. The Tzaddik's suffering is the direct cost of his spiritual work.

Distance of Bodies Only "This is nothing other than a distance of bodies — there is no distance between our souls." This principle — that the Tzaddik's spiritual connection to his followers transcends physical proximity — became a cornerstone of Breslov practice after Rebbe Nachman's passing, and remains so to this day.

Wordplay and Roots

The root י-ג-ע (toil / labor) appears twice in close succession — "my toil which I have toiled" (yegi'i asher yaga'ti) — a deliberate biblical doubling that intensifies the Tzaddik's declaration of how much of himself he expended for his followers. Compare Bereishis 31:42: yegi'a kapai — the labor of my hands. Here Rebbe Nachman echoes that same register of exhausted, hard-won effort.