Still No Reply — Urgent Appeal

First, I hereby inform him of our welfare. And this is a very great wonder to me — I have already sent him many letters, and I have not received from your honor any reply. Therefore I ask greatly, greatly of your honor to write to me immediately — right away — a clear and true answer on this matter.

And certainly — when someone does me humiliations, G-d forbid — for no reason — this too[ג"כ = גם כן — "also / as well." The standard abbreviation.] one receives with love for the atonement of sins. And all the more so — for a matter of holiness [such as going with a beard and side-locks [לילך עם זקן ופיאות — "to go with a beard and side-locks." One of the most visible markers of Chassidic/traditional Jewish identity — the long beard and the long peyos (side-locks) — which often attracted ridicule or abuse in the secular Israeli society of the 1950s. The author cites this as a practical example of bearing humiliation for the sake of holiness.] ]. And all the more so and all the more so — for the sake of drawing close to the Tzaddik — for this it is worthwhile to endure all the humiliations and suffering in the world — for through this one becomes vessels to receive the holiness of the light of the Tzaddik — and to be connected to him and included in him always — and there is made a unification between the sun and the moon — Moses and Joshua — as brought there in this Torah teaching. [יחוד בין חמה ולבנה, משה ויהושע — "a unification between the sun and the moon — Moses and Joshua." In LM Torah 6: Moses is likened to the sun (the full original light of Torah / the Tzaddik) and Joshua to the moon (the disciple / the Chassid who reflects the Tzaddik's light). The shame and humiliation endured by the Chassid for the sake of the Tzaddik becomes the spiritual process through which the moon-disciple is unified with and included in the sun-Tzaddik. The light of the moon is the light of the sun — so the Chassid who bears shame for the Tzaddik literally becomes one with the Tzaddik's light.]

"This applies to all Jews — in particular to every Breslov Chassid who wants to be a Jew and truly connected to the Rebbe — that he suffers for the sake of holiness and for the sake of the Tzaddik — shames and humiliations — this is called 'Ohel Moed' for the Tzaddik's matter. [אוהל מועד — "the Tent of Meeting." In the desert, the Ohel Moed was the Tabernacle — the sacred meeting place between G-d and Israel. In LM Torah 6: the Ohel Moed is interpreted as the place of encounter between Moses (the Tzaddik) and Joshua (the disciple). Just as Joshua "did not depart from inside the Tent" (Exodus 33:11), the Chassid's constant presence at and connection to the Tzaddik's domain — even through shame and struggle — constitutes his own "Tent of Meeting." The Yiddish: "kniptn" = to tie / connect — the Ohel Moed binds the Chassid to the Tzaddik.] Both his people — gathering together with them (and being ashamed before them — how they serve Hashem in a completely different way) — and the holy books that he studies (and being ashamed of the exalted holy levels written there — and how far, sadly, he is from them). This is the 'Ohel Moed' — which connects the person — [every Jew who is a disciple of the Tzaddik] — who is called 'Joshua' — 'the lad does not depart from inside the Tent' — to the true Tzaddik who is called 'Moses' — and one becomes 'a person sitting on the throne.'" [אדם לשבת על הכסא — "a person sitting on the throne." The fulfillment of the soul's purpose — reaching the level of the fully realized human being who has achieved his spiritual destiny. In LM Torah 6: the process of Joshua's connection to Moses — through the Ohel Moed / the Tent of humiliation and shame — ultimately elevates the disciple to the level of "a person sitting on the throne" — the highest human attainment.]

"And every Jew was created for this purpose — and in the end of all things every person will merit to this through the power of the true Tzaddik. Only — the more the person has a portion through his fulfilling the holy Torah that our master the Rebbe brings — and the more he suffers and struggles in Jewish practice — and what passes over him passes — and he fulfills 'wait' — and counts the Omer — and strengthens himself with all his powers not to fall — and is expert in the descent, the ascent, the running and the returning — and always holds himself in the paths of teshuvah — he goes higher and higher. He knows that he is still very far — and he must now begin to yearn to become a Jew — and now begin to do genuine teshuvah."

"And if he is, sadly, very far — he should not allow himself to be deceived into thinking that he can no longer merit what a Jew must merit in this world — rather he should know that he must always pull himself with force to the service of Hashem — even from the very depths of Sheol literally — and do what he can in the service of Hashem: study and pray and [perform] commandments."

"And if the prayer is not as it ought to be — let him receive the shame of the descents — for he must be very ashamed because of them — for why indeed does he look this way — let him receive this as an atonement of sins — let him fulfill 'be still and silent' — and not harbor thoughts against Hashem."

"And so all his days — one must fight with the evil inclination — and never allow oneself to be torn away from Hashem and from the Tzaddik — whether in a great ascent or in an enormous descent, G-d forbid — let him do his part — and he will certainly merit what he merits. And there will be 'the right hand of Hashem extended to receive his teshuvah' — for this is the entire intention of Elul from the writings of the Arizal. So may it be His will. Amen."

[This applies to all Israel — and in particular to every Breslov Chassid who wants to be a Jew as is fitting and truly connected to our master the Rebbe — that he suffers shames and humiliations for the sake of holiness and for the sake of the Tzaddik — this is called "Ohel Moed" for the matter of the Tzaddik — both his people — gathering together with them (and being ashamed of how they serve Hashem in an entirely different and more elevated way) — and his holy books that he studies (and being ashamed of the elevated and holy levels written there — and how far, sadly, he is from them). And this "Ohel Moed" binds the person — [every Jew who is a disciple of the Tzaddik] — called "Joshua" — "the lad does not depart from inside the Tent" — to the true Tzaddik called "Moses" — and one becomes "a person sitting on the throne." And every Jew was created for this purpose — and in the end of all things every person will merit this through the power of the true Tzaddik — only the more the person has a portion through fulfilling this holy Torah that our master the Rebbe brings — and the more he suffers and struggles in Jewish practice — and what passes over him passes — and he fulfills "wait" — and counts the Omer — and strengthens himself with all his powers not to fall — and is expert in the descent and the ascent — in the running and the returning — and always holds himself in the paths of teshuvah — as he goes and rises he knows that he is still very far — and he must now begin to be a Jew — and now begin to do genuine teshuvah. And when he is, sadly, very far — he should not allow himself to be deceived into thinking that he can no longer merit what a Jew must merit in this world — rather he should know that he must always pull himself with force to the service of Hashem — even from the very depths of Sheol literally — to do what he can in the service of Hashem: study and prayer and commandments. And when the prayer is not as it ought to be — he should receive the shame of the descents — for indeed he must be very ashamed because of them — for why does he indeed look this way — let him receive this as an atonement for sins — and fulfill "be still and silent" — and not harbor thoughts against Hashem. And so all his days — one must fight with the evil inclination — and never allow oneself to be torn away from Hashem and from the Tzaddik — whether in a great ascent or in an enormous descent, G-d forbid — let him do his part — and he will certainly merit what he merits — and there will be "the right hand of Hashem extended to receive his teshuvah" — for this is the entire intention of Elul from the writings of the Arizal. So may it be His will. Amen.]

It is good to recite during the days of Elul — all of Tanach [תנ"ך — "Tanach." The complete Hebrew Bible: Torah (Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Kesuvim (Writings). תנ"ך = ת (Torah) + נ (Nevi'im) + כ (Kesuvim). Reciting the entire Tanach during Elul as a devotional practice.] — Tikkunim — Shichos HaR"an — Sefer HaMidos — Sipurey Ma'asiyos — Chayyei Moharan — the Abridgment of Likutay Moharan — Likutay Tefillot. [A remarkable list of Breslov texts for Elul study: (1) Tikkunim — the Tikkunei Zohar (the Kabbalistic work of R' Shimon bar Yochai on the first word of the Torah); (2) Shichos HaR"an — conversations of the Rebbe; (3) Sefer HaMidos — the Book of Attributes; (4) Sipurey Ma'asiyos — the Tales of Rabbi Nachman (the thirteen stories); (5) Chayyei Moharan — the biographical record of the Rebbe's life; (6) Kitzur Likutay Moharan — the abridgment; (7) Likutay Tefillot — R' Nossan's collection of prayers based on the Rebbe's teachings.] Erev Rosh Hashana: one must give a pidyon. One must recite the Tikkun HaKelali with connection to our holy master the Rebbe in Uman — and to confess greatly — the verbal confession — and in Yiddish: "giving oneself properly to meditation — doing teshuvah on the last day with weeping and supplications and connection to the tomb of our master the Rebbe זצ"ל." The first day of Rosh Hashana: do not speak — be wise — and think good thoughts — in trust in Hashem that He will do good with us in all the good things — and be joyous: "the joy of Hashem is your strength" [Nehemiah 8:10] — "In Your Name they rejoice all the day" [Psalms 89:17] — the initial letters[ר"ת = ראשי תיבות — "the initial letters / the acronym." Rashei teivos — the first letters of each word, read together to form a new word.] spell "bachayyah" [ר"ת בכיה — "the initial letters spell 'bachayyah' / weeping." ר"ת = ראשי תיבות — the initial letters. The verse בשמך יגילון כל היום (Psalms 89:17) — its initial letters are: ב (beis) + י (yud) + כ (kaf) + ה (heh) = בכיה — "weeping." The verse about rejoicing contains within its initials the word for weeping — a sublime paradox: true weeping and true joy are not opposites on Rosh Hashana but are the same inner reality expressed differently. This is the "weeping from within joy" of the Breslov Rosh Hashana.] — and with connection to the gathering. Write me your mother's name — so that I may pray for you always. [שרייבט מיר אייער מוטערס נאמען ציא בייטען פאר אייך תמיד — "Write me your mother's name so that I may pray for you always." As noted in Letter 28 to the sick daughter: when praying for a person, one uses the person's name + their mother's name (not father's). The author asks for the mother's name to be able to pray for the recipient properly and regularly.] This twenty-eighth letter — written Tuesday, 7 Elul, from the day of the author's first ever visit to Rabbi Nachman's tomb in Uman with tremendous self-sacrifice — is one of the most historically significant and spiritually powerful letters in the collection. It opens with an astonishing personal disclosure: this letter is written on the very day the author first came to Uman — an act requiring extraordinary courage and self-sacrifice (*mesiras nefesh*) given Soviet-era restrictions. New recipient (§1): The salutation is addressed to "Avraham Yuda Yakovitch" — with the additional name Yuda — possibly the same person as the usual recipient with a fuller name. Three teachings from Sefer HaMidos on the Tzaddik are embedded in the salutation: the Messiah's coming depends on drawing close to Tzaddikim; the soul's completion depends on this; and connection to Tzaddikim is a great healing. LM Torah 6 — Three ascending levels of shame (§§3–4): The essential: diminish one's own honor / increase G-d's honor / endure humiliation in silence (LM §6). Three ascending degrees: (1) receiving ordinary humiliation with love for atonement; (2) all the more so — humiliation for something holy (wearing a beard and peyos); (3) all the more so and all the more so — humiliation for the sake of drawing close to the Tzaddik. Through this shame one becomes vessels for the Tzaddik's light, connected and included in him — unification of sun and moon (Moses and Joshua). The Ohel Moed — Yiddish passage and Hebrew translation (§§5–6): The Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting) applied to every Breslov Chassid: the shame felt among fellow Chassidim (who serve G-d so much more than he does) + the shame felt from the holy books (whose levels are so far above him) = the Ohel Moed that binds the disciple (Yehoshua) to the Tzaddik (Moshe) until he becomes "a person sitting on the throne." Every Jew was created for this. The more one suffers, fulfills the *wait* (המתן), counts the Omer, is expert in ascent and descent and ratzo v'shov — the higher one goes. When far: don't be deceived that you cannot reach your goal — pull yourself from Sheol if necessary. When prayer fails: receive the shame as atonement — fulfill "be still and silent" — don't harbor thoughts against G-d. Never be torn from G-d or the Tzaddik — in ascent or in descent. Elul / Rosh Hashana practices (§7): A comprehensive list: during Elul — recite all of Tanach, Tikkunim, Shichos HaR"an, Sefer HaMidos, Sipurey Ma'asiyos, Chayyei Moharan, Kitzur Likutay Moharan, Likutay Tefillot. Erev Rosh Hashana: pidyon, Tikkun HaKelali at Uman, verbal confession, deep teshuvah meditation on the last day with weeping and connection to the Rebbe's tomb. First day of Rosh Hashana: no speech, think good thoughts, trust in Hashem, be joyous. The acronym: בשמך יגילון כל היום = ב-כ-י-ה = בכיה (weeping) — the rejoicing verse contains weeping in its initial letters. Request for the mother's name to pray for the recipient always. Key terms: Yom shezachisi lavo b'faam harishon al tzion Rabbeinu b'Uman b'mesiras nefesh — "the day I merited to come for the first time to the tomb of our master the Rebbe in Uman with self-sacrifice" — the extraordinary date-line disclosure · Sefer HaMidos — ot Tzaddik — three teachings on Tzaddikim: Messiah, soul completion, healing · LM Torah 6 — lema'et bikhvod atzmo / leharbos bikhvod HaMakom — diminish self-honor / increase G-d's honor · Three ascending levels of shame — ordinary humiliation → for something holy (beard/peyos) → for drawing close to the Tzaddik · Yichud chama v'levana — Moshe v'Yehoshua — sun and moon / Moses and Joshua; the disciple's shame creates the unification · Ohel Moed — the Tent of Meeting; the shame among Chassidim + shame from holy books = the connection to the Tzaddik · Na'ar lo yamush mitoch ha'ohel — "the lad does not depart from inside the Tent" (Exodus 33:11); the Chassid as Joshua · Adam lasheves al hakise — "a person to sit on the throne" — the fulfillment of the soul's purpose · Elul reading list — Tanach, Tikkunim, Shichos HaR"n, Sefer HaMidos, Sipurey Ma'asiyos, Chayyei Moharan, Kitzur LM, Likutay Tefillot · Rashei teivos — bachayyah — ב-ש-מ-ך י-ג-י-ל-ו-ן כ-ל ה-י-ו-ם → ב.כ.י.ה = weeping; rejoicing and weeping are one on Rosh Hashana · Kasvos li shem imchem — l'hispalel ba'adchem tamid — write me your mother's name so I may pray for you always