Greetings to R' Shlomo Veksler — The Betrothal; the Enclosed Letter for R' Alter

After warmly inquiring after his dear, beloved, and precious welfare — with great love, from the very depths of the heart — I hereby inform him of my welfare as well: I, thank G‑d, have life and peace with me. May Hashem grant that we merit to be very soon together in Meron, to serve Hashem in truth as He desires — and as our master Nachman [Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman], of blessed memory, and his holy disciples desire. Amen, so may it be His will.

Please forgive me for not having informed your honor of my welfare until now — and judge me favorably. Presumably your honor has already heard that I have become betrothed with the daughter of the distinguished and G‑d-fearing rabbi, wholesome and upright, our Master R' Amram Valenstein, may he live — the son of the great rabbi R' Moshe Nachum Valenstein, of blessed memory, who was the head of the rabbinical court [אב"ד — av beis din: the chief judge of the rabbinical court] in Jerusalem, the Holy City. And blessed be G‑d — the betrothal is of the very best kind. May Hashem grant that the match go well and that a generation of upright people issue from it — blessed servants of Hashem in truth, etc. Amen, so may it be His will.

I am hereby enclosing a most urgent letter, and I ask of your honor with a great request — please perform this mitzvah and personally hand this enclosed letter to the hand of the distinguished talmid chacham, man of good name and reputation, R' Alter Ben Tzion — into his hands personally, without showing it to any person whatsoever. And please write me an immediate correct reply: whether you delivered it to his hands; and what is the particular welfare of R' Alter — whether he has already left the hospital [this is the clearest statement yet that R' Alter Ben Tzion has been hospitalized; the hospital is identified as "ואליק" — presumably a Jerusalem hospital], and how his health is. All in detail. And likewise inform me of your own precious welfare, and of the welfare of all our friends, and of the welfare of my dear friend, the charming and pious young man, R' Yankel [יענקלי], may he live forever. And I await a good swift reply — at this address: Noson Chanhas, Tzfas, Eretz Yisrael — on behalf of Shmuel Horowitz.

Heartfelt greetings with great love, from the very depths of the heart, to the honor of my dear friend, the pious R' Yankel [יענקלי], may he live forever. It is a wonder to me concerning you, my dear brother — how is it that you too have forgotten me? And also my dear friend, R' Alter Ben Tzion, may he live — both of you have forgotten me entirely, completely — and even after I already sent many letters by the hand of R' Dovid Leib Kahn [a new name — a contact in Jerusalem through whom letters were routed], addressed to R' Alter Ben Tzion Kraskop — and received no reply and no word whatsoever, from the day he departed from Tzfas. And even when he sent letters to R' Noson Chanhas — he did not include even a single greeting for me. And so too did you. And a few weeks ago R' Avner wrote to me that R' Alter entered the hospital "Valick" [the name of the Jerusalem hospital — most likely Bikur Cholim or another institution identified locally as "Valick"; this is the most specific mention of the hospital's name] — and from then until now we have had no word from you at all, and we have absolutely no idea what to think. And our soul was greatly pained by this. And most of all — my soul was pained more than anything: both by your apparent anger at me — seemingly the reason I received no word from you — and by my not knowing of his welfare and his health. Therefore, my dear brother — have compassion and pity on me, and do not forget all our shared toil and trouble, always, in the service of Hashem — both in Meron and at the Western Wall and at Shimon HaTzadik and at Rachel our Mother [all four pilgrimage sites they visited together in the Holy Land — Meron, the Western Wall, the tomb of Shimon HaTzadik in Jerusalem, and Kever Rachel in Bethlehem]. Have compassion on me — and speak and pacify R' Alter; inform me whether he received all my letters, and tell him I am awaiting a reply to my letters. And for the sake of Heaven — inform me at length in detail: what is R' Alter's welfare particularly — and whether he has left the hospital. And I wait with utterly longing eyes for a reply. Send to me at R' Noson's address — on behalf of Shmuel. From me — your friend who loves you and inquires after your welfare. Shmuel Horowitz son of Feiga. I always pray for you in Meron. Your name: Yaakov Zev son of Sarah Leah. [R' Yankel's full Hebrew name and his mother's name — for prayer purposes at the holy sites]

And I hereby seal with blessing, awaiting and expecting always to hear of your good welfare. And I hereby inquire of your good welfare with a warm heart — with great love and eternal love — a love not contingent on anything, absolute and pure [אהבה שאינה תלויה בדבר בטל — "a love not contingent on any passing thing"; the signature phrase now extended with the word בטל — "nullified/absolute," emphasizing the unconditional and eternal quality of the love]. From me — the lowly and the despised truly, who does not deserve to be counted even as the least among our fellowship [זעירא דאנשי שלומינו — the smallest of our fellowship; an expression of deep humility] — who awaits the salvations of G‑d, blessed be He, in the merit and strength of the true Tzadikim. Shmuel son of Feiga Horowitz.

Postscript to Letter 15 — Heartfelt appeal to R' Yankel; prayer request with his full name