Letter 17 י"ז

Complete healing, and peace and blessing to the honor of my dear friend, beloved to me as my soul — the delight and desire of my heart — sitting within my heart [בתווני דלבאי יתיב — Aramaic, from the Zohar / Kabbalistic liturgy: "dwelling within the chambers of my heart"] — my soul is literally bound to his soul forever — beloved to me as my very soul — the dear young man, the great rabbi, sharp-minded and well-versed in the innermost chambers of the pure and primordial Torah, for its own sake [לשמה — Torah studied purely for its own sake, without ulterior motive] — serving Hashem in truth and wholeness with self-sacrifice [מסירות נפש] — bound and cleaved literally like a solid mass with the Tzadik, the Foundation of the World, Na Nach Nachman MayUman [ננמ"ח], of blessed memory — and bound with cords of powerful love to the dear and precious fellowship of Breslov men of good name [אנ"ש] — "Many waters could not quench the love, nor could rivers sweep it away — if a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, they would utterly scorn him" [Song of Songs 8:7 — used here as an expression of the bonds of Breslov friendship, which no worldly force can extinguish] — whose every aspiration, desire, and will in the world is solely to serve G‑d, blessed be He, and to do His will, and to cleave to His Tzadikim — the distinguished Torah scholar, our Master R' Alter Ben Tzion son of Nacha, may he live and be strong. May his light shine like the brilliant light until a new light shines in Zion, and may a heart of flesh replace a heart of stone in Israel [a beautiful Messianic closing wish in the salutation itself, drawn from the prophets (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26)].

After inquiring of your good and precious welfare — beloved to me greatly — from the very depths of the depths of my heart and soul, with great love without bounds, with great love and eternal love that is never nullified, whose cause remains forever. I hereby also inform him of my welfare — I, thank G‑d, have life and peace with me. If only Hashem would grant that very soon I may look upon the face of my dear and beloved master [פני אדוני אחי יקירי — "the face of my master, my dear brother": a paraphrase of Jacob's words to Esau (Genesis 33:10), used here to express the longing to behold the face of his dear friend] — face to face in Meron, gathered together, serving Hashem in truth according to the way of Na Nach Nachman MayUman, of blessed memory. Amen, so may it be His will.

[The body of Letter 17 is missing — only the salutation and opening paragraph are preserved in the manuscript. The letter ends here as recorded in the collection.]