On Erev Shabbos I sent you my letter at length — and it certainly brought you comfort. And thanks be to G-d the letter which I wrote you has already benefited me greatly with the help of Hashem Yisborach. Set your heart well to these matters — and they will be sweet to you forever.
At this time there is nothing new to add. And may the joy of the holy festival which comes upon us for good be sweet to all of you [וְיֶעֱרַב לָכֶם — the blessing shifts here from singular to plural: Reb Nussun widens his address from Yitzchok alone to his entire household and all who surround him] — and may you merit to be completely renewed from now on — to go out from slavery to eternal freedom — from chametz to matzah [The Hebrew words חָמֵץ (chametz — leavened bread) and מַצָּה (matzah — unleavened bread) share the same three letters, with only the ח and מ transposed. Reb Nussun plays on this: chametz is the swelling and souring of the mind through foreign thoughts; matzah is the pure, unpuffed simplicity of holy thought] — so that your mind will no longer be leavened [tachmitz — תַּחְמִיץ: from the same root as chametz] chas v'sholom by any foreign thoughts — and all the more so, and ever more so, by any desire or improper thought, G-d forbid.
And fulfil: rebuke the beast of the reed [Tehillim 68:31 — g'ar chayat koneh] [A reference to the teaching in Rebbe Nachman's Likutay Moharan I, siman 5 — where chayat koneh (the beast of the reed) is interpreted as the forces of lust and impurity that must be rebuked and subdued. Reb Nussun directs his son to study that teaching in full] — as explained in siman 5, see there. And through this may you merit to joy and so forth — Omain, so may it be His will.
The words of your father — who seeks your peace with love.
Nussun of Breslov.
Overview: The briefest substantive letter of the collection so far — written on Motzoai Shabbos HaGadol, the night before Pesach. Reb Nussun references a longer letter sent on Erev Shabbos which he says benefited even himself greatly in the writing. The single Pesach blessing shifts mid-sentence from singular to plural — Yitzchok alone becomes the whole household. The chametz/matzah imagery is precise and kabbalistic: the same three Hebrew letters, transposed — the difference between the leavened mind and the pure one. The letter closes with a reference to Likutay Moharan I:5 — the teaching on subduing the forces of impurity — directing Yitzchok to study it directly rather than summarising it.