Ullim LeTroofah – Letter Five | 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 FIVE

28th of Av, end of the month of Menachem-Av · Year 5567 (1807)
— the day on which "it is good" is doubled (Copied from Rebbe Nachman's own handwriting by R. Shmuël Horowitz of Yerushalayim, the holy city)

Editor's Introduction This letter was written by our Master, of blessed and holy memory, to his father-in-law from his second marriage — from the holy community of Brad.

With the help of G-d, may He be blessed

To The honor of my brother, my mechutan (co-parent-in-law), the beloved of my soul — he who is the head and the exalted one, the prince, the leader and the commander, the distinguished and honored nobleman, the venerable and precious one — the glory of whose name is his splendor — our Teacher the Rabbi Yechezkel Trachtenberg.

I hereby inform you of my welfare and the welfare of all the members of my household — that, blessed be Hashem, we are here on the line of life and peace. So may Hashem grant, and so may He continue to grant, that I see all the members of my household in life and in peace. I hereby inform you of my arrival home on the above-mentioned day, and that there reached me from his illustrious eminence a letter of greeting, in which it is stated and restated that she is unable to come on account of the pasport (passport / travel documents), and that the border too is closed and sealed. And it is further stated and restated that I myself should come to Kressilov.

Therefore I hereby inform him to revert to the original arrangement, and so forth — for what has passed is gone, since the time of the wedding has already passed. And as for the future, my request is — if it is the wish of his eminence — that the bond which we have bound between us should be a bond that endures. Let his splendid eminence be so gracious as to forgo his lofty and exalted honor, and to hold the wedding close to here, near our community — so that it should be close and accessible to the holy community of Breslov. And let it not be delayed past the middle of the coming month of Elul — which comes upon us for good — for I am unable to move from my place even a single parsa (a measure of distance, approximately four kilometers). And if not — G-d forbid, the mountain will have grown high between us — and enough for the one who understands.

The request is doubled: to make every effort to send me his daughter with the bridal needs — no later than the above-mentioned time — so that the chupah (wedding canopy) should take place at the fullness of the moon, and so forth. And regarding her journey here — when she is close to here, approximately three or four parsa'os away — let him see to it to send her with an escort, and I shall write to her the fixed location of the wedding. And regarding the pasport (travel document) — let him see to finding ways to come here without my passport, particularly since it is easily possible to come here without a passport. Nothing further for now — only life and peace.

Thus speak the words of one who concludes — may Hashem add to him life and length of days and good years — and thus speak the words of one who is destined to be his son-in-law, who constantly seeks his welfare with great and mighty love, and who awaits his reply by return.

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

And I say: peace and abundant salvation to his modest, distinguished wife — blessed among women in the tent is she — the wise and noble Marat [name not recorded in the manuscript] and so forth.

✦ Letters of the Year 5568 ✦

Overview: This letter marks a striking turn — Rebbe Nachman, whose first wife Sashye passed away, is here negotiating his second marriage to the daughter of Reb Yechezkel Trachtenberg of Brad. The letter is entirely practical: travel documents, border closures, the timing of the chupah, the location of the wedding, and the urgency of not missing the auspicious date of the full moon of Elul. Yet even within these mundane negotiations, Rebbe Nachman's characteristic urgency and directness come through unmistakably.

Key Themes

The Day "It Is Good" Is Doubled The 28th of Av falls on a Tuesday — the day in the account of Creation on which "and G-d saw that it was good" appears twice [Bereishis 1:10,12]. Rebbe Nachman notes this in the dateline — even the date of the letter carries spiritual significance.

Chupah at the Full Moon Rebbe Nachman insists the wedding take place at the fullness of the moon — a traditional auspicious time for marriage, symbolising wholeness and blessing. The precision of the timing reflects his deep attention to spiritual moments.

Cannot Move Even One Parsa Rebbe Nachman's absolute refusal to travel — even one parsa from Breslov — is stated twice, with increasing sharpness. His rootedness to his community at this moment was total and non-negotiable.

The Mountain Between Us "The mountain will have grown high between us" — a striking idiom of estrangement. If the terms cannot be met, Rebbe Nachman implies the match itself is in danger. The urgency is not impatience — it is a father's careful guardianship of what is spiritually right.

Note on Line 68

The original text closes Letter 5 with a section header announcing the beginning of a new group of letters: "Letters of the Year 5568." This has been rendered as a visual divider within the manuscript, as it belongs to the editorial structure of the collection rather than to the letter itself.