Your letter I received twice. One on the end of Wednesday — at great length — and by the kindness of Hashem I had already anticipated to respond to it on the eve of Wednesday — in which Hashem sent under my pen to strengthen you to be always in joy on account of who has not made me a gentile and so forth. In my opinion that letter surely gave you very great life — but it appears it did not reach you until the Friday close to the entry of the holy Shabbos. Let me know if you received it. And on Friday your letter reached me once more.
And I was greatly astonished at you — that there rises in your heart fear regarding the matter of the Atchered (conscription order) — for it is only needless black melancholy. May Hashem Yisborach in His mercy have compassion on His people and rescue them from now on from this bitter decree. But far be it from you to be needlessly frightened — and to confuse yourself away from your small engagement in the service of Hashem.
If you wish to share in the sufferings of Israel — it is surely beautiful for you to pray and cry bitterly over this decree. But everything according to the ways that our holy Master, of blessed memory, taught us — that is: to set aside an hour each day to cry out over the troubles of his soul — and then to include within it also this cry of ours — that in our days such a bitter decree has been issued — perhaps He will have compassion — perhaps He will show mercy. But even now one must strengthen oneself to be the whole day in joy — on account of the good points that still exist in us. I awakened — and I am still with You [Tehillim 139:18]. Please, my beloved son — do not draw upon yourself, G-d forbid, needless black melancholy. And far be it from you to move from your place on account of this. Peace to you — do not fear. And likewise all your other worries and melancholy — all needless — and they help nothing and damage greatly, G-d have mercy.
And behold — at first I had great grief from your letter from Tuesday where you elaborated in your grief. But I found there too what my soul loves — the good points of yours — that you give yourself life in the ways of our Master, our Teacher and Rebbe, of blessed memory — with a little hisbodidus and crying out. This is my consolation in my poverty — this is my portion from all my toil — that I have already instilled in you a little of the truth of his counsel and his holy words. Would that you receive everything — and walk in all his ways. And the essential is to listen well to the voice of his encouragement — that which encourages and urges and warns more and more to gladden ourselves at every time — however it may be.
See, my beloved son, the wonders of the Perfect of Knowledge — that He implanted remembrance and forgetting in the heart of a person. For behold — how many times I have strengthened you with my words — and I did not remind you to rejoice in the matter of the ten chapters of Psalms. For He made everything beautiful in its time [Koheles 3:11] — that the power of forgetting can cause a person to forget something he is accustomed to — and all of it is for great good. For His thoughts are very deep. But He has given us free choice — and it is upon us to remind ourselves each time of all the good He has bestowed upon us — in this awesome and most exalted matter that we merited to shelter in the shadow of such a holy, awesome, and most exalted one.
And behold I wanted to write you some discourse that I spoke yesterday at the Third Shabbos Meal — which would be greatly needed by you. But the prayer of Shacharis has arrived. And even what I wrote was from the abundance of love that disrupts the order — and there is yet a vision for the appointed time, if G-d wills it.
The words of your father — who longs for your friendship and awaits hearing from you words of joy and gladness.
Nussun of Breslov.
My beloved son — I have asked that you send me three new rubles as a loan — and soon you will receive them from Rabbi Shimshon. Please fulfil my words as much as possible — for the hour presses upon me greatly. May Hashem Yisborach have mercy. And even from this — do not have black melancholy. Only turn it into joy — that despite everything — thank G-d — I had several guests for the holy Shabbos — and all of them ate kugel (pudding) and kolatch (large braided loaves) — and we also spoke words of Torah — words of truth and upright certainty — and so forth.
Nussun, as above.
Overview: One of the most warmly human letters in the collection. Two letters received within days; a conscription order terrifies his son; Reb Nussun responds with pastoral genius — include the communal fear within your personal hour of hisbodidus, but stay in joy the rest of the day. The ten chapters of Psalms — Rebbe Nachman's promise of the Tikun HaKlali — appears here as the essential practice. A Shalosh Seudos discourse is interrupted by Shacharis. The letter ends with a request for a loan — and the reassurance that despite poverty, guests ate kugel and kolatch and words of Torah were spoken.