I received your letter — and there is nothing to inform you. After your departure the joy did not linger a long time — only about two hours — and praised be G-d everyone was very joyful. And the fact that you long after the joy — this is very good [מַה שֶּׁאַתָּה מִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ אַחַר הַשִּׂמְחָה זֶה טוֹב מְאֹד — the *hisga'agu'im* — the longing — is itself a spiritual quality. The person who longs for holy joy after the gathering is one whose soul has been touched by it and wishes to return. Reb Nussun affirms this longing as a great *zechus*] — and even now — wherever you are — rejoice and be glad in His salvation. For nothing is empty of what passes over us — in the kindnesses of Hashem and His immense wonders [כִּי לֹא דָּבָר רֵיק הוּא — Devarim 32:47: "for it is not an empty thing from you." Every experience — even the ordinary — carries the divine kindness and wonders within it for those who have eyes to see] [Devarim 32:47]. And the small joy that we merited now in Breslov is a great wonder for whoever pays attention to all that passes over us in these days. And behold — I see with my own eyes that the kindnesses of Hashem have not ended [Eichah 3:22] — there is still hope that we will merit complete joy — the joy of a *mitzvah* — the true joy of Israel — in this world and the next forever.
The words of your father — who longs for joy with all his heart — for the essential is the joy. [אוּן טַאקִי פָארְט הָאפּ אוּן טַאקִי פָארְט אוּן פָארְט אוּן פָארְט הָאפּ אוּן טַאקִי הָאפּ וָואס הָאפּ הֵייסְט לוּשְׁמִיר וִויא אַזוֹי סְ'אִיז הַאבִּי הָאפּ — Breslov Yiddish: "And yet — despite all — I have hope. And truly I still have — and still and still I have hope — and truly I have hope — and what does hope mean? Let us see — however things are — I have hope." A remarkable outburst of Reb Nussun's signature defiant hope in Yiddish — the word hoff (hope) repeated seven times in seven different forms — a kind of incantation against despair] Joy and gladness shall overtake [Yeshayahu 35:10] and so forth.
Nussun of Breslov.
Overview: Sunday, Parshas Pinchas — the Sunday after the wedding. Yitzchok has left. The joy did not linger long — only about two hours — but everyone was very joyful. Yitzchok's longing after the joy is very good — *hisga'agu'im* — longing — is itself a great spiritual quality. Even now in his place he should rejoice — *ki lo davar reik kol mah she'over aleinu b'chasday Hashem.* The small joy in Breslov is a great wonder given all that passes over them. Reb Nussun sees with his own eyes: *chasday Hashem lo samnu* — there is still hope for complete joy — *simchas mitzvah* — the true joy of Israel. A remarkable Yiddish passage of defiant hope — the word *hoff* (hope) said seven times — closing with *sason v'simchah yassigu.*