Can You Come Here? — The Situation at Meron

And regarding what you write — whether it is possible to come here: I very greatly desire that we be together, diligently engaged in fear of Hashem all our days. But for now I do not see a viable place for you here. A. Where would one find a livelihood? B. Here there is no one with whom to learn. At Meron there is no one at all — not the Sephardim, and not R' Noson [a Breslov companion who had previously been stationed there] — and we alone cannot remain there, because of the fear of being alone there among the non-Jews. [Yiddish:] "And the mule-driver doesn't even come there at all anymore." [Hebrew in the original:] And the donkey-driver [החמר — the muleteer who made the remote route to Meron accessible] no longer comes there at all. And there is nothing to eat. And the Sephardim will not give us the keys to the synagogue of the holy Rashbi [רשב"י — R' Shimon bar Yochai, of blessed memory, may his merit protect us and all Israel; buried at Meron]. And second — I am unable to leave the house alone, and my father would not agree in any way to my being there by myself.

[Yiddish:] "And so it has been decided for me" — [Hebrew translation in the original: הוחלט אצלי — "it has been resolved in my mind"] — that I will travel only to Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt. There one can find people with whom to study. And there I will find a dwelling. And there I will study with great diligence. And I will bring along my holy brother Aharon to study there in the Talmud Torah [Torah school], and he is very pleased with this and wishes to be together with me. And I wait and anticipate that in these coming days the arrangements in our house will be concluded, and then I will be able to travel to Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt. And I anticipate that we shall soon be together, diligently engaged in Torah and Divine service, and in the fear and service of Hashem.

"After greeting you with great love — I write to you: I have held your letter — and I am praying for you all the time. May Hashem accept our prayers favorably. Amen. So may it be His will."

"And I received your letter [R' ... may his light shine] from Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul with the check of 5 dollars for a pidyon. Although it is very hard for me to write — and time does not take me into account — for I am busy with my sessions — and composing and arranging books — both from the holy Rebbe and in general on the lineages of families of Tzaddikim and Geonim."

"In any case[עכ"פ = על כל פנים — "at least / in any case."] — it is impossible to be dismissed without anything — something to write of Jewish matters. The weekly Torah portion: 'When you go out to war' — meaning: the war against the evil inclination — which is the hardest war — as brought in Proverbs: 'one who rules his spirit — has captured a city' — that to conquer oneself is greater than conquering the greatest city. When anger comes to a person toward someone — and he holds back the anger — and does not act cruelly — neither in deed nor in speech — and he is silent because of teshuvah and atonement for sins — this is called: killing the evil inclination — as the Rebbe brings in the Torah 'Call out to Joshua' — for the essential of teshuvah is to hear one's humiliation — to be still and silent. And also: even when no one humiliates — only the shame from being far from Hashem — and receiving this with love — that it should be an atonement for sins — this is the essential teshuvah."

"For if things would always go smoothly in Judaism — one could make a mistake and think that one has already reached a level — and receive pride — which is worse than everything — as the Rebbe brings in Torah 107 in Likutay Moharan: 'Ki Seitzei lamilvama al oyvecha' — 'when you go out to war against your enemy' — which is the evil inclination — 'and Hashem your G-d will give him into your hand' — that the evil inclination will entice you in your thought — that you are already a Tzaddik — in the aspect of 'a righteous man rules in the fear of the One' — and 'Hashem your G-d is in your hand' — that is: everything you want — you already accomplish — and this is truly not good — for there is nothing worse than arrogance." [תורה ק"ז בלקוטי מוהר"ן — "Torah 107 in Likutay Moharan." LM Part 1, §107 — a teaching on the verse from Parshas Ki Seitzei: "When you go out to war against your enemy — and Hashem your G-d will give him into your hand." The Rebbe teaches: the "enemy" is the evil inclination[ק"ז = קז — the number 107. The section of LM Part 1, §107 — on the verse from Ki Seitzei and the trap of arrogance as the evil inclination's last weapon.] — and "Hashem your G-d will give him into your hand" means: when the evil inclination can no longer prevail against you through sin, it will seduce you into thinking you are already a Tzaddik — a subtle and even more dangerous trap.]

"For when the evil inclination has no more counsel with the person — it throws him into arrogance. And what is the remedy? — 'And you shall take captive his captives' — with what he wants to catch you — catch him instead. On the contrary: if it is already so — that I have arrogance — then Hashem is completely far from me. For as the person appears: the essential is when he knows his state and is lowly in his own eyes — then Hashem is with him. But however great he is — if he knows he is great — then Hashem is far from him. Therefore[א"כ = אם כן — "and therefore / if so." The logical conclusion.]: if I hold myself as great — then Hashem is completely far from me."

"And this counsel the Rebbe gives to the greatest Tzaddikim — who are already completely pure — and their greatness is truly great. All the more so simple people like us — we must look around at what happens with us — so that we should not make the mistake — only we must give ourselves life with the mercies of Hashem — which are very great — 'and I [dwell] with the crushed one' [Isaiah 57:15 — "For so says the High and Exalted One who inhabits eternity, whose Name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place — and with the crushed and lowly of spirit." The very greatness of G-d is expressed in His dwelling specifically with the lowly and crushed. The higher one is — the more one is present precisely in lowliness.] — and the merit of the true Tzaddikim who lower themselves for the honor of Hashem — to all the lowly ones — to give them life and to save them — and to heal them from all their wounds — and to delight them with all the delicacies of the world — all for the honor of Hashem — for such is the will of Hashem from the greatness of His mercies."

"And this is indeed the Torah 'Ki Seitzei' in Likutay Moharan Part 2 §82 [לק"מ ח"ב פ"ב — "Likutay Moharan Part 2, §82." ח"ב = Part 2 (Tannina); פ"ב = peh(80) + beis(2) = 82. LM Tannina, §82 — the teaching that things go "out of order" (shelo k'seder) for a person when he has arrogance — but when he nullifies himself completely before Hashem — then things proceed "in order" (k'seder) — kindness and mercy — the divine Name of Havayah in its proper sequence.] — that things go out of order for the person when he has arrogance — but when he nullifies himself completely before Hashem — that he is nothing — only everything is from Hashem — then things go for him in order — kindness and mercy — the divine Name Havayah in order. And this is the path of the month of Elul: 'I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me' — both in this Torah — and in Torah 6 'Call out to Joshua' — where 'If I ascend to the heavens — You are there' — means: when things go well with the person in Judaism — and he thinks he has already ascended to the heavens — he should know that he is still very far — for His greatness has no limit. And conversely: 'And if I make my bed in Sheol — You are there' — if he thinks he is already completely in Sheol — he should know that Hashem is there with him — for there is no despair at all in the world — and everything is only from the mercies of Hashem — and His wonders and His greatnesses (that is: His kindnesses and mercies) have no limit."

"And the strengthening must be taken: to always seek Hashem — and to seek the lost objects — to long toward Hashem — that He should help to rectify what he corrupted — and that he should be close to Hashem — and not despair from seeking — through Torah and prayer and verbal confession and good deeds[מעש"ט = מעשים טובים — "good deeds."] — all this is called seeking — and hisbodidus — and whatever he does should be for the sake of the unification of the Holy One and His Shechinah[קוב"ה = קודשא בריך הוא — Aramaic: "the Holy One blessed be He." The standard Zoharic/Talmudic designation for G-d.] — to rectify and unify what he blemished — and not to despair — even if one seeks and finds nothing at all, G-d forbid — on the contrary: one loses even much more — he should know with certainty that he will find — and in the end everything will be turned to good. So may it be His will. Amen."

[missing beginning]

"Elul is days of teshuvah from love — kindness — will and mercy — and preparation for Rosh Hashana — which is the head of the year. And everything must be with joy from love. And Erev Rosh Hashana: a pidyon — for our Chassidim — and recite the Tikkun HaKelali in connection to the Rebbe — as if one is by the Rebbe at the gravesite. And so: the verbal confession — and Prayer 4 in Likutay Tefillot. And Rosh Hashana: think good thoughts that Hashem will do good for us — and weeping from within joy — and connect oneself to all the gatherings of our Chassidim — 'in the midst of my people I dwell' — and eat rich foods and so on — 'for the joy of Hashem is your strength.' And the Ten Days of Repentance: one can rectify each day all the days of all the years — Shabbos: all the Shabbosses — Sunday: all the Sundays — and all the days of the week — and everything must be with joy and strengthening. And Yom Kippur: to confess — to draw out the arrows from the soul from the sins — these are the ten times 'al chet.' [יו"כ מתוודה זיין ארוס נעמין די פיילען פון דער נשמה פון די זינד דאס איז די 10 מאל 'על חטא' — "Yom Kippur: to confess — to draw out the arrows from the soul from the sins — these are the ten times 'al chet.'" A striking Breslov image: the sins embedded in the soul are like arrows. The ten confessional passages of "Al Chet" — each beginning "For the sin that we have sinned before You..." — are the ten acts of drawing those arrows out. Each confession extracts one arrow from the wound. The full ten repetitions of Al Chet throughout Yom Kippur = ten extractions = the complete purification.] And Sukkos with a beautiful esrog — also Simchas Torah — all is teshuvah in joy — for the essential is joy with weeping: joy over the salvations — and weeping over what is still lacking — and the joy should be more than the weeping — for 'in joy you shall go out' — and the essential is that one holds firm."

[After inquiring after your precious wellbeing with great love — I am writing to you that I received your precious letter long ago — and I am praying for you all the time. May Hashem accept our prayers favorably. Amen. So may it be His will. And I received your letter from Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul with the check of 5 dollars for a pidyon — even though it is very hard for me to write — and time does not take me into account — for I am busy with my sessions — and composing and arranging books — both from the holy Rebbe and in general on the lineages of families of Tzaddikim and Geonim.]

[In any case[עכ"פ = על כל פנים — "at least / in any case."] — it is impossible to be dismissed without anything — something to write of Jewish matters. The weekly Torah portion: "When you go out to war" — meaning: the war against the evil inclination — which is the hardest war — as brought in Proverbs: "one who rules his spirit — has captured a city" [Proverbs 16:32 — "One who is slow to anger is better than a warrior — and one who rules his spirit is better than one who captures a city."] — to conquer oneself is greater than conquering the greatest city. When anger comes to a person toward another — and he restrains the anger — and does not act cruelly — neither in deed nor in speech — and he is silent because of teshuvah and atonement for sins — this is called: killing the evil inclination — as the Rebbe brings in the Torah "Call out to Joshua" — for the essential of teshuvah is to hear one's humiliation — to be still and silent. And even when no one humiliates — only the shame from what one is far from Hashem — and to receive this with love — that it should be an atonement for sins — this is the essential teshuvah. For if things would always go smoothly in Judaism — one could mistakenly think that one has already reached a level — and receive arrogance — which is worse than everything — as our master brings in Torah 107 in Likutay Moharan: "Ki seitzei lamilvama al oyvecha" — the evil inclination — "and Hashem your G-d will give him into your hand" — the evil inclination will entice you in your thought that you are already a Tzaddik — in the aspect of "a righteous one rules in the fear of G-d — and Hashem your G-d is in your hand" — that is: everything you want you already accomplish — and this is truly not good — for there is nothing worse than arrogance. For when the evil inclination has no more counsel with the person — he throws him into arrogance. And the remedy: "and you shall take captive his captives" — with what he wants to catch you — catch him. On the contrary: if it is already so that I have arrogance — then Hashem is completely far from me. For as the person appears — the essential is when he knows his state and is lowly in himself — then Hashem is with him — but however great he is — if he knows he is great — then Hashem is far from him. Therefore: if I hold myself as great — then Hashem is completely far from me. And this counsel the Rebbe gives to the greatest Tzaddikim who are already completely pure and whose greatness is truly great — all the more so: simple people like us must look around at what happens with us — so that we should not mistake — only we must give ourselves life with the mercies of Hashem — which are very great — "and I dwell with the crushed one" — and the merit of the true Tzaddikim — who lower themselves for the honor of Hashem to all the lowly — to give them life and save them and heal them from all their wounds and delight them with all the world's delicacies — all for the honor of Hashem — for such is the will of Hashem from the greatness of His mercies.]

[And this is indeed the Torah "Ki Seitzei" in Likutay Moharan Part 2[ח"ב פ"ב = חלק ב' פרק פ"ב — "Part 2, §82." ח"ב = Part 2 (Tannina). פ"ב = peh(80) + beis(2) = 82. LM Tannina §82 — on the divine Name Havayah proceeding in order when one has humility.] §82 — that things go out of order for the person when he has arrogance — but when he nullifies himself completely before Hashem — that he is nothing — only everything is from Hashem — then things go for him in order — kindness and mercy — the divine Name Havayah in order. And this is the path of the month of Elul: "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me" — both in this Torah and in Torah 6 "Call out to Joshua" — where "If I ascend to the heavens — You are there": when things go well in Judaism — and he thinks he has ascended to the heavens — he should know he is still very far — for His greatness has no limit. And conversely: "And if I make my bed in Sheol — You are there": if he thinks he is completely in Sheol — he should know Hashem is there — for there is no despair in the world — and everything is from the mercies of Hashem — whose wonders and greatnesses (that is: kindnesses and mercies) have no limit. And the strengthening must be: to always seek Hashem — and seek the lost objects — to long toward Hashem — that He should help to rectify what was corrupted — and to be close to Hashem — and not despair from seeking — through Torah and prayer and verbal confession and good deeds[מעש"ט = מעשים טובים — "good deeds."] — all this is called seeking — and hisbodidus — and whatever one does should be for the sake of the unification of the Holy One and His Shechinah[קוב"ה = קודשא בריך הוא — Aramaic: "the Holy One blessed be He." The standard Zoharic/Talmudic designation for G-d.] — to rectify and unify what was blemished — and not to despair — even if one seeks and finds nothing at all, G-d forbid — on the contrary: one loses even more — he should know with certainty that he will find — and in the end everything will turn to good. So may it be His will. Amen.]

[Elul is days of teshuvah from love — kindness — will and mercy — and preparation for Rosh Hashana — which is the head of the year — and everything must be with joy from love. And Erev Rosh Hashana: a pidyon for our Chassidim — and recite the Tikkun HaKelali in connection to the Rebbe — as if one is by the Rebbe at the gravesite — and so the verbal confession — and Prayer 4 in Likutay Tefillot. And Rosh Hashana: think good thoughts that Hashem will do good for us — and weeping from within joy — and connect oneself to all the gatherings of our Chassidim — "in the midst of my people I dwell" — and eat rich foods and so on — "for the joy of Hashem is your strength." And the Ten Days of Repentance: one can rectify each day — all the days of all the years — Shabbos: all the Shabbosses — Sunday: all the Sundays — and all the days of the week — and everything must be with joy and strengthening. And Yom Kippur: to confess — to draw out the arrows from the soul from the sins — these are the ten times "al chet." And Sukkos with a beautiful esrog — and Simchas Torah — all teshuvah in joy — for the essential is joy with weeping: joy over the salvations — weeping over what is still lacking — and the joy should be more than the weeping — for "in joy you shall go out" — and the essential is that one holds firm.]

This forty-eighth letter — Thursday, 9 Elul 5720 (same date as Letter 47) — is addressed to two unnamed correspondents. It is written in Yiddish first and then in Hebrew translation. The dominant theme is the Torah portion "Ki Seitzei" as an allegory for the war against the evil inclination.

"Ki Seitzei" = the war against the evil inclination (§2): Proverbs 16:32: "one who rules his spirit has captured a city." Holding anger without acting = killing the evil inclination. LM Torah 6: the essential of teshuvah = hear one's humiliation = be still and silent. Receiving shame from one's own distance from G-d with love = atonement. LM §107: when the evil inclination can no longer prevail through sin, it seduces the person into thinking he is already a Tzaddik (the "righteous man rules in fear of G-d" trap). The remedy: "capture your captor" (Deuteronomy 21:10 — "and you shall take captive his captives") — use the very thought of arrogance against itself: if I think I am great, then G-d is completely far from me. LM Tannina §82: things go "out of order" with arrogance; "in order" (kindness and mercy, divine Name Havayah) with complete self-nullification. "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me" = the path of Elul. Psalms 139:8 both directions.

Elul and Rosh Hashana (§2): Elul = teshuvah from love. Erev Rosh Hashana: pidyon, Tikkun HaKelali in connection to the Rebbe, verbal confession holding LM, Prayer 4 in Likutay Tefillot. Rosh Hashana: good thoughts, joy with weeping, connection to all Breslov gatherings. Ten Days: each day repairs all its weekday counterparts. Yom Kippur: the ten confessions = drawing out ten arrows from the soul. Sukkos with esrog; Simchas Torah. Joy with weeping — joy more than weeping.

Key terms: Ki Seitzei = milchemes hayetzer — war against the evil inclination · U'moshel b'rucho miloched ir — Proverbs 16:32 — ruling one's spirit · LM §107 — arrogance = the worst fall; the evil inclination's last weapon · V'shavita shivyo — capture your captor — Deuteronomy 21:10; turn arrogance against itself · LM Tannina §82 — shelo k'seder with arrogance; k'seder with self-nullification · Ani l'dodi v'dodi li — the path of Elul · Yom Kippur — drawing out the arrows from the soul — ten times al chet · Joy with weeping — joy more than weeping

Volume One • Letter 48

📜 Translator's Summary — Letter 48 [Added by the translator]

In the aspect of "And Moses drew close to the thick cloud [ומשה נגש אל הערפל — "And Moses drew close to the thick cloud / darkness" — Exodus 20:18. When the people of Israel heard the divine voice at Sinai, they retreated in fear — but Moses drew close into the very thick cloud of divine concealment. Applied here: the obstacles (arpel — thick cloud, concealment, darkness) are not something to be avoided but to be entered and broken through — for specifically there, inside the thick cloud of concealment, is where Hashem is found most intensely.] " — that is: the very denseness of the obstacle — for there specifically — there is the divine — specifically through the obstacles the essential drawing close to Hashem is accomplished. For through this the soul is refined and purified from the physicality and the turbidity and the filth — and one makes from the obstacles beautiful and fine vessels — to receive specifically from within them all the true and eternal divine goodness and the supernal lights — for without anything it is impossible[א"א = אי אפשר — "impossible." The standard impossibility marker.] to receive. The vessels — the letters of "vessels" (keilim) are the letters of "shame/humiliation" (kelimah). [הכלי"ם אותיות כלימ"ה — "the letters of 'vessels' (keilim) are the letters of 'shame/humiliation' (kelimah)." A brilliant Hebrew wordplay: כלים (keilim — vessels, receptacles) and כלימה (kelimah — shame, humiliation, embarrassment) contain the same letters — כ, ל, י, מ — rearranged. The spiritual insight: vessels of holiness are formed through shame and humiliation. The capacity to receive divine light is built precisely through the humiliation that one endures on the path to G-d. One cannot receive without a vessel — and vessels are made of kelimah.] Through the humiliations and shames and disgraces that the person endures to draw close to Hashem — through this the vessels are made. And this is the essential of teshuvah: to hear one's humiliation — to be still and silent — through this one is refined and purified — and kills the evil inclination — and it becomes nullified in the heart from the lusts. And if the person has no humiliations from others — he must be ashamed of himself before Hashem — for being so physical and so far from Hashem — and he is still far. And he must receive these afflictions and obstacles and humiliations with love — for this is his essential rectification. And through this he merits to true teshuvah — which is the aspect of Crown — in the aspect of "Crown — wait for me, little one, and I will crown you." [כתר לי זעיר ואחוך — "Crown — wait for me, little one, and I will crown you." An Aramaic phrase from the Zohar (Zohar II:2b) — the Crown (Keter) speaks and says: "Wait for me, small one, and I will crown you." The Keter is the highest of all the Sefirot — it is the level of perfect teshuvah — and it is also the level of waiting. The Crown says to the aspirant: wait — be patient — wait for me — and then I will crown you. This is why the Rebbe teaches that teshuvah is in the aspect of Keter — and Keter is in the language of waiting (המתנה).] For one must wait — greatly greatly — almost all the days of one's life — until one merits to enter into the holiness in truth. And specifically through the waiting — and specifically through what passes over the person — and he yearns toward Hashem — and pulls himself in truth every time[בכ"פ = בכל פעם — "every time / each time." The standard phrase: b'chol pa'am.] from all the descents and the obstacles — these are holy vessels for the service of Hashem. For it is impossible to enter into holiness all at once — rather one must wait much time — in the aspect of the Omer count: seven times seven — Ahyeh times Ahyeh — in gematria equals Emes (truth). [ספירה ז' פעמים ז' אהי' פעמים אהי' בגימ' אמת — "the Omer count: seven times seven — Ahyeh times Ahyeh — in gematria equals Emes / Truth." A Kabbalistic calculation: אהי' (Ahyeh — "I will be" — the divine Name associated with Keter) has the numerical value of 21 (alef=1 + heh=5 + yud=10 + heh=5). אהי' × אהי' = 21 × 21 = 441. And אמת (emes — truth) also equals 441 (alef=1 + mem=40 + tav=400). The forty-nine days of the Omer count are the process of seven times seven — which equals the product of Ahyeh times Ahyeh — which equals Truth. To reach truth / to reach the true Keter requires passing through the full forty-nine days of counting.]