Come for Shabbos Chanukah — The Obstacles Are Growing

[Yiddish:] "For the sake of Heaven — I ask of you greatly to have compassion on me and to save me, and to exert yourself in prayer that I should merit to come to you for Shabbos Chanukah [the Shabbos of Chanukah] — for the obstacles are growing very much. They have not even begun yet to deal with the clothing matter [ענין ההלבשה — apparently preparations for the wedding, including clothing, have stalled completely], and it is a very distant thing for me to travel back. My mother-in-law [המחותנתע — the mother of his betrothed; the betrothal has now created family obligations that constrain his movements] complained: why did they allow me to be alone in Meron, and they had great sorrow from it." Everything depends only on prayer and longing [כסופין]. Therefore for the sake of Heaven — I ask of you greatly to have compassion on me and to pray greatly that I merit to come to you. My heart burns like fire for you. I cannot in any way extinguish the burning. If I were to merit this — it would be worth more to me than thousands and tens of thousands of gold coins. Oh (Gott!) — pray for this! What shall I say to you? My standing in matters of Jewishness is very, very low, to my great sorrow. It is a great compassion for me. I ask of you greatly — for the sake of Heaven, my dear, faithful one: do not forget me, G‑d forbid! Do not let me fall into oblivion! Remind me every time — where I stand in the world, in which world I find myself. Oh — what a pity on the two months that one could be engaged in the service of Hashem together with enthusiasm! What a great pity!

[Yiddish:] "My dear, faithful, precious one — I had thought I would attain wholeness in Meron — that is: that I would be truly G‑d-fearing and do the will of G‑d, blessed be He, in truth, and be truly close to the true Tzadik, and do true and complete repentance, and receive complete healing. And in the end — to my great sorrow — I am still so low. Have compassion and do not forget me! Do not let me fall! I do not forget you even for almost a single moment. For the sake of Heaven — exert yourself in prayer for me: for complete healing, etc., as is known; and that I be a proper Jew and be truly close to Rabbainu and to our fellowship; and to come to Uman soon and engage in the service of Hashem truly, and to break through all obstacles. For you know that I have no hope except through the miracles of G‑d, blessed be He — through prayer, through the strength of the true Tzadikim: Rabbainu, the Holy and Awesome Nachman, of blessed memory, and the holy gravesite, the Foundation of the World, the Rashbi, of blessed memory — as your honor promised me regarding this." [Hebrew parenthetical follows with the same content — omitted here to avoid full repetition; the key new elements are:] He asks for prayer for coming to Uman [this is the most explicit mention yet of Uman as a personal destination goal], and R' Alter had apparently made a specific promise about this.

[Yiddish:] "My dear brother — you know that I cannot pour out my heart to anyone except to you. If only G‑d, blessed be He, would help that we always be together, engaging in Divine service as one! Would that it were so! I would dance from joy. 'Who will give me wings like a dove — I would fly away and settle, I would wander far and dwell in the wilderness' [Psalms 55:7–8] — if only to be with you together! My warm-hearted brother — I greatly lack joy, and I am very far from G‑d, blessed be He. For the sake of Heaven — pray for me strongly, for I am in great danger in this world."

[Yiddish:] "I ask of you greatly to write to me words of encouragement and guidance in the service of Hashem. And write to me how your health is — whether you are better. And how things are going with you in the service of Hashem. And what is the situation with R' Yitzchak Mendel [ר' יצחק מנחם — a new name, a Breslov companion apparently also in Tiberias] — whether you are together in Tiberias. Write me everything at length." I ask greatly for forgiveness for my delay in writing — for we arrived Sunday night, nearly midnight [i.e., he arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday night]. And on Monday we organized ourselves in the house we had rented, and I looked for R' Yankel [יענקלי — R' Yaakov Zev, the bereaved friend of Letter 19; a heartwarming detail: upon arriving in Jerusalem, R' Shmuel's first act is to seek out the friend who lost his father]. And before that I did not want to write before seeing him first. And blessed be G‑d — we are neighbors! And we had very great joy and revival together. G‑d willing — this week we will write together one letter.

Heartfelt greetings from the depths of the heart to my dear friend, the distinguished talmid chacham, R' Yitzchak Menachem [ר' יצחק מנחם] — I have no time to write to him separately; G‑d willing, the time for it will yet come. Heartfelt greetings from the depths of the heart to my dear friend R' Yisrael Dov. R' Yankel sends greetings to all of you. From me — your dear and mighty friend, truly as his own soul: Shmuel Horowitz. Immediately — a reply.