A Desperate Cry — "Do Not Abandon Me"

[The letter begins in the middle of a sentence, as the opening is missing:] [Yiddish — the letter opens mid-thought:] "…G‑d, blessed be He, knows the truth: I have no support or hope, G‑d forbid, except through the true Tzadikim — through Rabbainu the Holy and Awesome Nachman, of blessed memory. And you brought me close to them — therefore it is a holy obligation upon you not to abandon me. And I have no hope or support except G‑d, blessed be He, and the true Tzadikim — only to you can I relate the troubles of my soul and my body. Only to you do I plead — for the sake of Heaven and for the sake of Rabbainu the Holy and Awesome Nachman — that you not abandon me. That you have compassion upon my spirit, soul, and neshamah [נר"נ — the three soul-levels] and upon my body. Oh (Gott!) — do I have any hope, G‑d forbid? G‑d forbid? Who will console me, who will have compassion on me, who will have mercy on me? I plead with you — for the love of G‑d, blessed be He, and for the love of the Tzadik, the Foundation of the World, the Rashbi, of blessed memory, and for the love of Rabbainu the Holy and Awesome Nachman — that you have compassion on me and never cease pleading, to save me from the depths of the klippos [קליפות — the forces of impurity; shells of spiritual darkness]. That you dedicate yourselves to this — never ceasing by day or by night to beseech for my wretched spirit, soul, and neshamah." [Hebrew parenthetical immediately following:] (G‑d, blessed be He, knows the truth: I have no support or hope, G‑d forbid, except through the true Tzadikim — through Rabbainu the Holy and Awesome Nachman, of blessed memory. And you brought me close to them — therefore it is a holy obligation upon you not to abandon me. And I have no hope or support except G‑d, blessed be He, and the true Tzadikim. Only to you can I relate the troubles of my body and my soul. Therefore my plea is to you — for the sake of Heaven and for the sake of Rabbainu the Holy and Awesome Nachman — not to abandon me, and to have compassion upon my spirit, soul, and neshamah, and my body. Oh! Alas — do I have any hope, G‑d forbid? G‑d forbid? Who will console me, who will have compassion on me, who will have mercy on me? I plead with you — for the sake of G‑d, blessed be He, and for the sake of the Tzadik, Foundation of the World, the Rashbi, of blessed memory, and for the sake of Rabbainu the Holy and Awesome Nachman — that you have compassion on me and never cease interceding for me, to save me from the depths of the klippos. That you devote yourselves to this — never ceasing by day or by night to beseech for my wretched spirit, soul, and neshamah.)

[Yiddish continued:] "And also that I have complete healing — for the sake of Heaven, for the sake of Heaven, and for the sake of the true Tzadikim. And for now, until we are, G‑d willing, together in Meron in the service of Hashem by day and by night — please write to me Torah words and encouragement, and inform me of your health at length, and where you are living now, and whether you have already… [text unclear — a word or phrase is missing or indecipherable here] — all at length. And how things are going with you in the service of Hashem." [Hebrew parenthetical:] (And also that I have complete healing — for the sake of Heaven, for the sake of Heaven, and for the sake of the true Tzadikim. And for now, until we are, G‑d willing, together in Meron in the service of Hashem by day and by night — in the meantime please write to me Torah words and encouragement, and inform me of your health at length, and where you are now residing, and whether you have already… all at length. And how things are going with you in the service of Hashem.)

In this portion — Vayechi — "And he placed Ephraim before Menashe" — as brought in the words of our master R' Nossan[מורנ"ת = מורנו ורבינו נתן — "our master and teacher Nossan." A variant of מוהרנ"ת.] זצ"ל in Likutay Halachos[לק"ה = לקוטי הלכות — "Likutay Halachos." R' Nossan's monumental work applying the Rebbe's teachings to all areas of Jewish law.] — that Ephraim is the aspect of "Maka Kol Kadosh" — "striking every holy one" — in the aspect of the disciple Joshua — who came from Ephraim — as in the words of Rashi זצ"ל. That is: the aspect of "striking every holy one" — to give life to oneself[א"ע = את עצמו — "himself / oneself."] and to others through the good points. And that the Holy One blessed be He[הקב"ה = הקדוש ברוך הוא — "the Holy One blessed be He." HaKadosh Baruch Hu.] "strikes every holy one" [מכה כל הק' — "striking every holy one." מכה כ"ל = מכה כל הקדוש — a Kabbalistic concept from the Zohar and Likutay Halachos: Hashem "strikes" (illuminates / activates) every holy thing. Applied here to the aspect of Ephraim / Joshua — the pupil who serves constantly at the Tzaddik's side (Exodus 33:11: "Joshua son of Nun — a young man — did not depart from the tent"). The "striking" is a powerful illumination: Ephraim/Joshua illuminates and activates the good points within every person — even the lowest — thereby giving life to all.] is more precious and needed than the aspect of Menashe — the aspect of "where is the place of His glory" — "Ayei mekom kevodo." [אי' מקום כבודו — "Where is the place of His glory?" From the Kedushah prayer: "Where is the place of His glory?" The seraphim ask — seeking to find where G-d's presence is manifest. The aspect of Menashe is this searching, yearning orientation — seeking the loftiness and transcendence of G-d. Menashe himself embodies this: his name means "he caused me to forget" (Genesis 41:51) — the forgetting of the "house of his fathers" in the service of G-d on high.] It is true that this aspect of "where is the place of His glory" — to seek every day — is also needed. And the aspect of "he caused me to forget all my toil in the service of Hashem" — and "the house of my fathers" — my lineage — as brought in the words of our master the Rebbe זצ"ל — is also needed every day[ג"כ = גם כן — "also / as well." Here: the Menashe aspect is also needed.]. But the essential is more: to give life to oneself in the aspect of Ephraim — "for He made me fruitful in the land of my affliction" — to give life to oneself through all the good points and so on.

And also in this portion — "the angel... let him bless the lads — and let my name be called upon them" and so on — see Torah 37[ל"ז = lamed(30) + zayin(7) = 37. LM Part 1, §37 — the teaching on charity to the Land of Israel and the holiness of its air.] in Likutay Moharan — that through charity to the Land of Israel[א"י = ארץ ישראל — "the Land of Israel."] — one is included in the holiness of the air of the Land of Israel — which has no sin — like the breath of the children of the schoolhouse — which is the breath of the mouth that has no sin — which protects the world — and through this [through the one who gives charity to the Land of Israel] the Patriarchs are revealed to protect the world. See there carefully.

This sixtieth letter — Wednesday, 13 Tevet 5726 (January 1966), Jerusalem — notable for the appearance of the Na Nach formula in the salutation. Two concise teachings from the weekly portion.

Ephraim/Menashe (§2): LH on Vayechi: Ephraim = "Maka Kol Kadosh" (striking/illuminating every holy one) = Joshua's aspect = giving life to oneself and others through good points. Menashe = "Ayei mekom kevodo" (where is the place of His glory) = the seeking, lofty orientation. Both are needed — but Ephraim (finding and activating good points — "for He made me fruitful in the land of my affliction") is the more essential. LM §37: charity to the Land of Israel → inclusion in the holiness of its air → no sin → like children's breath → through this the Patriarchs are revealed to protect the world.

Key terms: ננמ"ח — Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman — appearance in the salutation · Ephraim = Maka Kol Kadosh — giving life through good points · Menashe = Ayei mekom kevodo — seeking the lofty · LH on Vayechi — moreinu R' Nossan — the essential: Ephraim before Menashe · LM §37 — charity to Eretz Yisrael — holiness of the air of Israel; the Patriarchs revealed

Volume One • Letter 60

📜 Translator's Summary — Letter 60 [Added by the translator]