Once and For All — I Am Coming to Meron With You, Without Any Excuse

[Yiddish:] "I have come to inform you once and for all that I want to be with you in Meron — without any excuse whatsoever." [Hebrew translation appended immediately in the original:] (I have come to inform you that my wish is to sit with you in Meron, without any excuse whatsoever.) And there is no way to measure or assess at all the greatness of the yearnings, the longings, the desires, the good and strong wishes [גודל הגעגועים והתשוקות והכיסופים והרצונות הטובות והחזקים — four distinct words for longing, piled one upon the other: ga'agu'im — the aching pull of the heart; tshukos — inner drives and desires; kisuyfim — precious spiritual aspirations; ratzonos — wishes and wills] that I have in this matter — truly, for it is in my very soul. [Yiddish:] "I cannot rest." And especially so for the eighth of Elul and the Days of Awe [Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur]. And there is no way to measure the great obstacles that were in my way regarding this — and yet, with the help of the Almighty, I passed through them all, and I will continue to pass through them until I have consumed them utterly, with G‑d's help. And G‑d willing, very soon, in Meron, I will tell him everything face to face.

I am greatly pained to hear from you that you have no beard and no peyos — for this is the entire divine image of the Jewish man. And as our master the Rebbe זצ"ל said: "What does a Jew have to worry about — when he will lie with his feet toward the door [after his passing] — adorned with beard and peyos?" — and in the introduction to the Tikkun HaKelali — what our master the Rebbe זצ"ל promised his people to do them a favor — he writes: "With the peyos — I will pull him out from the depths of Sheol." [וואס האט א יוד צוא זארגען אז ער וועט ליגען מיט דיא פיס צוא דער טיעהר מיט בארד און מיט פיאות — "What does a Jew have to worry about — when he will lie with his feet toward the door — with beard and with peyos?" A famous saying of the Rebbe זצ"ל: the greatest guarantee of a dignified death and afterlife for a Jew is to depart this world still wearing his beard and peyos — the visible insignia of his Jewish identity and his covenant with G-d. The feet toward the door = the traditional position of a Jewish body after death, ready to leave the room. "Lying with feet toward the door" = at the moment of death. With beard and peyos = having preserved one's Jewish identity to the very end.] And our Chassidim[אנ"ש = אנשי שלומינו — "the people of our peace / our Chassidim." The standard Breslov term for the Chassidic community.] interpret: from here is the proof that one must have peyos — in order that the Rebbe should do the favor. [If in your area no one goes with peyos — one can conceal the peyos.]

"In any case — my dear precious friend — you do not know at all and do not feel at all — how much you need to yearn for this — for a beard and peyos — more than for everything. I cannot tell you — only it seems to me that I would have given my self-sacrifice for this. And Pesach is coming — the Exodus from Egypt — to go out of the mud — may Hashem help you that you should go out from the impurity — taking hold of the beard and peyos — and you should receive the true divine image — which is the beard and peyos — which literally all of Judaism is contained within this. This I can advise you: if you have even some possibility of living with your family — even if you will not give charity as before — this is better — as long as you can wear beard and peyos — and trust in Hashem — that He will certainly help you afterward even more abundantly. For the beard — every two hairs — is a channel of abundance — so the holy Arizal זצ"ל brings."

"In any case — the first thing should be: to yearn greatly for this — to carry the divine image. And this is what you need first: to work through will — to want — and to yearn and request from Hashem — and seek all the counsels — until you merit to this. Then you will feel entirely differently in your Jewish life."

"Only in the meantime — do not be in sadness. Give yourselves life with every good point — and with the will and the longings. And the month of Nisan — the head of months — is coming — where there is joy among all the angels — and one can merit through joy to the rectification of the covenant. And it is days of teshuvah like Tishrei — only with kindness and joy and love. And in particular Pesach — the first drawing close to Hashem — with great longing and love toward Hashem — in the aspect of Abraham the man of kindness. And seek the good points — both within yourself and within others. Saying the Haggadah aloud and with intention is the rectification of the covenant. And to guard from chametz in the physical — this is a great thing — and in particular from spiritual chametz — from evil thoughts — and especially evil musings — flee from this with sit and do not act — divert your mind to another thought until the evil one passes. And so too anger and sadness — they are chametz — one must greatly give oneself life and rejoice. And afterward come the Omer — the holy days — preparing oneself for the receiving of the Torah — also with longing — and purifying oneself with the preparation — and wanting to be a G-d-fearing Jew and to receive the Torah — and knowing that your days are counted and numbered — and you must snatch for yourself every day what you can — Torah, prayer, good deeds. Also you must know that it is impossible to jump inside into holiness all at once — one must wait greatly until one can pray as is proper — the essential is to draw close to holiness — to study and to pray — this is called Pesach. And the Omer is called: to wait and count the clean days — to long and wait always — until one merits to be a truly G-d-fearing Jew — and to pray with pleasure in truth. And in the meantime — give yourselves life with what is possible — and long all the more."

[What does a Jew have to worry about when he will lie with his feet toward the door — adorned with beard and peyos. And in the introduction to the Tikkun HaKelali — what our master the Rebbe זצ"ל promised his people to do them a favor — he writes: "With the peyos I will pull him out from the depths of Sheol" — and our Chassidim interpret: from here is the proof that one must have peyos — so that the Rebbe will do the favor. (If in your area no one goes with peyos — one can conceal the peyos.) In any case — my good and dear friend — you do not know at all and do not feel at all — how much you need to yearn for beard and peyos — more than for everything. I cannot tell you — only it seems to me that I would have given my self-sacrifice for this. And Pesach is coming — the Exodus from Egypt — to go out of the mud — may Hashem help you that you should go out from the impurity — taking hold of the beard and peyos — and you should receive the true divine image — which is beard and peyos — which literally all of Judaism is contained within this. This I can advise you: if you have only some possibility of living with your family — even if you will not give charity as before — this is better — as long as you can wear beard and peyos — and trust in Hashem — that He will certainly help you afterward even more abundantly. For the beard — every two hairs — is a channel of abundance — so the holy Arizal זצ"ל brings. In any case — the first thing: yearn greatly for this — to carry the divine image. And this is what you need to first work through — will — to want and to yearn and to request from Hashem — and seek all the counsels — until you merit to this — then you will feel entirely differently in your Jewish life. Only in the meantime — do not be in sadness — give yourselves life with every good point — and with the will and the longings.]

[And the month of Nisan — the head of months — is coming — where there is joy among all the angels — and one can merit through joy to the rectification of the covenant — and it is days of teshuvah like Tishrei — only with kindness and joy and love. And in particular Pesach — the first drawing close to Hashem — with great longing and love toward Hashem — in the aspect of Abraham the man of kindness — and to seek the good points — both within oneself and within others. Saying the Haggadah aloud and with intention is the rectification of the covenant. And to guard from chametz in the physical is a great thing — and in particular from spiritual chametz — from evil thoughts — and especially evil musings — flee from this with "sit and do not act"[שב ואל תעשה — "sit and do not act." The halachic principle of passive restraint — easier than an active positive command. Applied to evil thoughts: don't actively fight them — simply refrain from acting on them and divert the mind until the thought passes.] [שב ואל תעשה — "sit and do not act." The halachic principle: a passive restraint is easier than an active positive command. Applied here to evil thoughts: don't actively fight them — simply refrain from acting on them and redirect the mind to another thought until the evil thought passes on its own.] — divert the mind to another thought until the evil passes. And so anger and sadness — they are chametz — one must greatly give oneself life and rejoice. And afterward comes the Omer — the holy days of preparation for the receiving of the Torah — also with longing — and purifying oneself with the preparation — and wanting to be a G-d-fearing Jew — and receiving the Torah — and knowing that your days are counted and numbered — and snatch for yourself every day what you can — Torah, prayer, good deeds. Also know that it is impossible to jump inside into holiness all at once — one must wait greatly until one can pray as is proper — the essential is to draw close to holiness — to study and pray — this is called Pesach. And the Omer is: to wait and count the clean days — to long and wait always — until one merits to be a truly G-d-fearing Jew — and to pray with pleasure in truth. And in the meantime — give yourselves life with what is possible — and long all the more. Your friend — wishing you all good.]

This thirty-first letter — written Thursday of Parshas Ki Sisa, from Meron, before Pesach — is addressed to an unnamed recipient (the name is left blank in the original). It is dominated by an urgent and deeply personal plea for the recipient to grow a beard and peyos — the most passionate advocacy of Jewish outward appearance in the entire correspondence.

Salutation (§1): The unusually warm and extended salutation describes the recipient as one who draws from "the spring that flows from the house of Hashem." The Rebbe's promise: a complete rectification for all who yearn to draw close — not needing to feel shame even before the greatest — "as befits the Rebbe, not according to our own deeds." The evil inclination throws itself specifically against connection to the Rebbe — because it knows this is the Jewish person's true wealth.

Aliyah counsel (§3): Cannot advise coming to the Holy Land while in debt with no livelihood — but must yearn and pray for it always until the potential becomes actual.

Beards and peyos (§§4–5): The author is pained that the recipient has no beard or peyos. Three foundations: (1) The Rebbe's saying: "What does a Jew have to worry about when he lies with his feet toward the door — with beard and peyos?" (2) The Tikkun HaKelali introduction: "With the peyos I will pull him out from the depths of Sheol" — proof one must have peyos. (3) The Arizal: every two hairs of the beard is a channel of abundance. Practical counsel: even if you can't give charity as before — grow the beard and peyos and trust in G-d to provide. If peyos are impossible openly — they can be concealed. First step: yearn for it — will it — ask G-d for it.

Nisan, Pesach, Omer (§5): Nisan = joy among all angels = teshuvah days like Tishrei but with kindness and love. Pesach = first drawing close, Abraham the man of kindness. The Haggadah aloud = tikkun habrit. Guard from physical and spiritual chametz (anger, sadness). Omer = waiting, counting the clean days. Cannot jump into holiness all at once — must wait. Pesach = drawing close to study and prayer. Omer = the patience of the wait.

Key terms: Vos hot a Yid tzu zorgn — mit bord un mit peyos — "What does a Jew have to worry about — with beard and peyos" — the Rebbe's saying · Mit di peyos vel ich em arustsihn fun Sheol Tachtiyes — "with the peyos I will pull him out from Sheol" — the Tikkun HaKelali introduction · Der bord — yeder tsvey hor — a tsiner fun shefa — "the beard — every two hairs — a channel of abundance" — the Arizal · Tzelem Elokim shel ish Yisraeli — the divine image of the Jewish man = beard and peyos · Aliyah counsel — in debt, no livelihood: cannot advise, but must yearn and pray · Nisan = yemei teshuvah k'Tishrei — rak b'chesed v'simcha v'ahavah — Nisan = teshuvah days like Tishrei but with kindness · Abraham ish hachessed — Pesach in the aspect of Abraham · HaHaggadah b'kol v'bichavana — tikkun habrit — saying the Haggadah aloud and with intention rectifies the covenant · Shav v'al ta'aseh — hesech hada'as — sit and do not act; divert the mind from evil thoughts · Pesach = likvat HaKedushah lilmod u'lehitpalel — Pesach = drawing close through study and prayer · Omer = lehamtin v'lispor hayamim nekiyim — the Omer = waiting and counting the clean days

Volume One • Letter 31

📜 Translator's Summary — Letter 31 [Added by the translator]

And afterward one counts the Omer — in holiness itself one must wait greatly — very greatly — until one merits to be as is fitting. And this is the entire matter of Pesach — Omer — Shavuos. Pesach: when one is immersed in some impurity, G-d forbid — in a pit of deep darkness — one cannot free oneself from it — only in the aspect of fleeing in haste — without any deliberation about what will come afterward — like the Exodus from Egypt of Israel. [ניסה בחיפזון — "fleeing in haste." The Exodus from Egypt was performed b'chipazon — in great haste — the bread had no time to rise (hence matzah). Applied spiritually: when one is in the grip of an impure habit or situation, the only way out is immediate, unhesitating flight — without deliberation, without calculating the consequences. Deliberation gives the evil inclination time to mount arguments against the escape.] And so too when one must go to pray and to study fixed sessions — one must flee from the matters of this world[עה"ז = עולם הזה — "this world." The standard abbreviation.] — and enter into the matter of the service of Hashem in haste — for if one waits until one is fully ready — the time will pass — and the obstacles of the evil inclination will not pass. And therefore one must in haste enter into drawing close to Hashem — fleeing from the evil inclination and the impurity.

And afterward — when one is already sitting with the book and in prayer — one needs the Omer — one cannot immediately feel the holiness as is fitting — one needs the waiting — and very much passes over him until he merits what he eventually merits — and then: the holiness of Shavuos — the giving of the Torah. And all his days he needs great waiting — and not to fall from anything — and not to abandon his longings and yearnings and his small service in the service of Hashem — however it may be — until in the end of all things he will merit — each person[כ"א = כל אחד — "each one / every person." Kol echad.] — to what he needs.

And all his longings and all that passes over him — all of it is for a great good — and in the end of all things all the longings gathered from within the darkness and the obstacles will become holy vessels — to receive within them all the eternal good — forever and ever and ever. So may it be His will. Amen.