Pesach Blessings for the Family

First, my dear mother — I hereby inform you of my welfare: blessed be G‑d, it is good. And I hereby bless you all with a festival that is kosher in the fullest and most complete sense of kashrus [ritual fitness], and joyful with every kind of joy — that is: [Yiddish:] "That the heart should be joyful" — from an abundance of goodness, wealth, honor, and much pleasure from every direction. And very soon — that we all be together, all of Israel in Jerusalem, to celebrate the festival of Pesach in our Holy Temple. And may we all merit together to see and to rejoice and to exult and to be glad very soon in the joy of Israel and the joy of Hashem and His Torah — in the joy and consolation and rebuilding of Zion and Jerusalem, and the exaltation of the glory of Israel and the glory of the Torah — speedily in our days. Amen. So may it be His will.

His letter I have indeed received — from [the Torah-reading portion of] Chayei Sarah. And I have also fulfilled your request to perform a pidyon [Pidyon — פדיון — literally "redemption." In Breslov and Chassidic practice a pidyon (pidyon nefesh — "redemption of the soul") is a spiritual intervention performed by a holy person on behalf of another — typically involving a donation accompanied by prayer and spiritual work. Here the author performs a daily pidyon on behalf of the recipient's wife, who is experiencing difficulty with pregnancy.] on behalf of your wife, may she live. [תחי' = תחיה — "may she live." The standard blessing appended to the name of a living woman in traditional correspondence and speech — the feminine equivalent of נ"י (may his light shine) used for men. A wish that she should continue to live and flourish.] And every single day I perform a pidyon for her and request on her behalf in all the prayers. And may it be the will [of Hashem] that she should have a complete healing and recovery, and give birth at her time to lasting offspring. [זרע של קיימא — "lasting offspring / enduring offspring" — a Talmudic phrase (Yevamos 64a) for children who survive and thrive — implying the recipient's wife had previously experienced pregnancy loss, and the prayer is specifically for children who will live and endure.] So may it be His will. Amen.

His honor should look in Sefer HaMidos of our master the Rebbe זצ"ל, the letter Mem — under the entry "Mipelas" [מפלת — "Mipelas" — "miscarriage / pregnancy loss." A specific entry in Rabbi Nachman's Sefer HaMidos dealing with this topic, organized alphabetically by subject.] — it is written there that it is good for her to carry a magnet upon herself, and also that she should not walk wearing gold ornaments — see there for further matters on this.

And there is also a prayer in Likutay Tefilos, Part 2, Prayer 19 — to request on behalf of a woman that she should not miscarry. [Likutay Tefilos — לקוטי תפלות — "Collected Prayers" — compiled by Rabbi Nossan of Breslov, based on the teachings of Rabbi Nachman. Part 2, Prayer 19 addresses this specific need.]

And there is a segulah [Segulah — סגולה — a spiritually propitious practice believed to be especially effective for a particular spiritual or physical need, transmitted from holy authorities] from the Arizal — that the husband should recite every night before sleep Psalm 20 [קפיטל כ' — kapitel 20 — the Yiddish word kapitel (from German Kapitel = chapter) refers to a chapter of Psalms. Psalm 20 — "May Hashem answer you in the day of distress…" — is used in Jewish tradition as a protective prayer, particularly for those facing danger or difficulty.] — "May Hashem answer you [in the day of distress]…"

And likewise I received the letter from [the Torah-reading portion of] Vayeitzei together with the money — 92 dollars by cheque — for the tefillin of our dear friend R' Moshe Aharon Ohrbach, may his light shine. And behold — the Torah portions have already been completed, and I have already received them at my home — the portions for Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. And the housings will be completed in another three weeks — and with G-d's help we will then be able to send them to you.

May Hashem help that we should merit the radiance and light of the minds [Hitnoztzus v'or hamochin — התנוצצות ואור המוחין — "the radiant sparkling and light of the minds." Mochin (מוחין) — literally "brains / minds" — is a Kabbalistic term for the higher levels of consciousness and divine awareness the soul can attain. Hitnoztzus — the sparkling, glittering radiance of divine light — is a specific term from the Zohar for the quality of this illumination as it enters the mind.] — which are the essential [power] of the tefillin — and the essential holiness of Chanukah: the Inauguration of the Temple. [Chanukas HaBayis — חנוכת הביהמ"ק — "the Inauguration / Dedication of the Temple." The word Chanukah means inauguration or dedication. The author now develops the inner meaning: the Temple is not only a physical building — it is the mind of the Jewish person in holiness.]

For every mind of a Jewish person that is in holiness is in the aspect of the Holy Temple. [בחי' — bechinas — "in the aspect of / partaking of the nature of / in the dimension of." A crucial Kabbalistic term: bechinas does not mean "is identical to" but "partakes of / has the quality of / is in the category of." The mind of the Jew partakes of and mirrors the holiness of the Temple — and when it is pure it embodies that holiness in miniature.] And if, G-d forbid, one brings into the mind evil thoughts and evil imaginings — this is in the aspect of the destruction of the Temple, G-d forbid. [Churban Beis HaMikdash — חורבן בית המקדש — the Destruction of the Temple. Every time a Jew allows evil thoughts to dwell in his mind, he is in a mystical sense enacting the destruction of the Temple within himself. The converse: purifying the mind is rebuilding and rededicating the Temple.] For there is no distress like the distress of the soul. And the soul of a Jew is exceedingly delicate and spiritual. And it is hard for it to bear the yoke of even a single sin [עול עון — "the yoke of sin." The word עול (yoke) is deliberately chosen: sin is a physical weight, a burden laid on the back of the soul — like a yoke on an ox. Even a single sin, borne even for a single day, constitutes a genuine and crushing weight on the delicate Jewish soul.] — even for a single day.

And the essential compassion for the soul of a Jew is: to spare it, and to pity it, and to have mercy upon it [לחוס ולחמול ולרחם — three distinct gradations of compassion: לחוס — to spare / to hold back from causing harm (the protective, preventive form of compassion); לחמול — to pity / to feel tender, gentle compassion; לרחם — to have deep, womb-like mercy (from rechem = womb — the most intimate and unconditional form of compassion). Together they describe the full range of loving care one must have for one's own soul.] — to bring it out from sins — by bringing into it knowledge and the radiant sparkling of the holy Torah, through which one is rescued and saved from sins. [ניצולין — "rescued / saved / delivered." From the root נצל — to save, rescue, deliver from actual danger. Not merely "avoided" but actively saved — like someone pulled from physical peril.] And this is the entire matter of Chanukah — the Inauguration of the Temple, as above.

[Continues in Yiddish:] "That the mind shines in Jewishness. [דאס מוח שיינט אין יודשקייט — "the mind shines in Jewishness." The mind illuminated by Torah shines — radiates — within one's entire Jewish life, giving it light and vitality from within.] And this one merits through the holiness of Yom Kippur — through the atonement of sins."

"'For whatever quality of Yom Kippur one has — such a Chanukah one has.' [ווארין וואס א יום כיפור מהעט, אזא חנוכה האט מען — "For whatever [quality of] Yom Kippur one diminishes into / atones for — such a Chanukah one has." The Yiddish me'et (מהעט) means "has diminished / has reduced / has atoned away" — the more one has truly atoned on Yom Kippur — diminished the power of sin over oneself — the greater the Chanukah illumination one merits. Yom Kippur atonement and Chanukah illumination stand in direct, measurable proportion.] That is: the Inauguration of the Temple as above — that the mind illuminates in Jewishness — and this one merits through the holiness of Yom Kippur — through the atonement of sins — for according to the Yom Kippur that one merits — such a Chanukah one merits."

As brought in all of this in Torah 7 of Likutay [Moharan] Tannina — "For He who has compassion upon them will lead them" [Isaiah 49:10 — the opening verse of the Torah teaching being expounded] — see there at length.

And this must be practiced every single day — Yom Kippur: to request forgiveness from Hashem for the sins; and to confess every day before Hashem for the sins and transgressions; and to feel distress over them; and to request compassion from Hashem that He should atone for them. And through this the mind is purified and becomes in the aspect of Chanukah.

"That is: to serve Hashem with luminosity [אלעכטקייט — alekhtikayt — the same coinage seen in Letters 2 and 3: combining אלע (all / everything) with ליכטיקייט (luminosity / radiance) — the all-pervading divine light that fills everything. Serving Hashem with alekhtikayt means serving with radiant, all-illuminating aliveness — not mechanically or from habit but with the full light of a purified mind.] and with vitality and joy."

"This one must pour out one's heart before Hashem every single day — and sometimes weep oneself out completely [אמאל זיך אוס וויינען — "sometimes to weep oneself out / to cry oneself out entirely." The Yiddish oysveyn zikh (אוס וויינען) means to cry oneself out to the very end — a total, cathartic weeping that continues until the heart is completely emptied through tears. The prefix אוס- (out / through / to completion) signals that this is not ordinary crying but the full discharge of grief or longing through tears — until nothing remains in the heart but emptiness and peace. This practice of total self-emptying through tears before G-d is deeply embedded in Breslov spirituality.] — and thereafter [דער נאך — dernokh — "and thereafter / and afterward / and then." After the heart has been poured out and the tears have been wept — only then does one turn to the formal service: study, prayer, and commandments. The sequence is precise: inner outpouring first, formal service second.] perform the service of Hashem: study and pray — and [perform] commandments with vitality and joy. So may it be His will. Amen."

That is: to serve Hashem with light and vitality and joy — which requires pouring out one's heart before Hashem every single day (and sometimes through weeping) — and afterward to engage in the service of Hashem: to study and to pray — and [to perform] commandments with vitality and joy. So may it be His will. Amen.

"Now let us write a little about your question — why one draws close to the Rebbe who has already [passed], after his histalkus — and not to a living Rebbe, and so on. The truth is: that Hashem does not unify His Name upon a living person [אז השי"ת איז ניט מיחד זיין נאמען אוף קיין לייבידיגען מענטש — "that Hashem does not unify / unite His Name upon any living person." The Kabbalistic concept of yichud hashem — the unification of G-d's Name — refers to the complete resting of divine presence and spiritual power upon a person. The claim is: G-d does not fully rest His Name and presence upon any living person — only upon the departed holy ones whose souls have been fully purified and who have ascended beyond the limitations of the physical body.] — as it stands:"

"Behold, He does not believe in His holy ones…" [Job 15:15 — "Behold, He does not trust even in His holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in His eyes." Applied here: G-d does not fully place His trust and Name even in living holy people — only in the departed Tzaddikim who have been fully purified does His Name rest completely.]

Now we will write a little about what you asked — why one draws close to a Rebbe who has already departed after his histalkus, and not to a Rebbe who is alive in his full life. [בחיים חיותו — "in the fullness of his living / alive in his full vitality." Not merely "alive" but alive in the fullness of his vitality — the doubling of the root חיים/חיותו emphasizes the contrast: the fully living Rebbe with all his physical presence vs. the departed Rebbe who has transcended physical limitations.] The truth is that Hashem does not unify His Name upon a living person — as it is written: "Behold, He does not believe in His holy ones."

And also it is written: "As for the holy ones who are in the earth — and the mighty — all my delight is in them" [Psalms 16:3] — specifically [those in the earth / the departed]. [דייקא — "specifically / precisely / and this is the very point." The author adds this Breslov marker of emphasis: the verse says בארץ — "in the earth" — which is read as "in the ground / in the grave." And G-d's all-encompassing delight rests specifically and precisely upon them — those who are in the earth, the departed holy ones. The word דייקא signals: this is not incidental wording but the essential point of the verse.]

And it is written in the Talmud: "The Tzaddikim are greater in their death than in their lifetime." [Chullin 7b — the power of the Tzaddik increases after death, not diminishes, because the soul freed from the body operates at a higher level of spiritual power.]

And also Moses our Teacher said: "When I go out of the city I will spread out my hands [to G-d]." [Exodus 9:29 — said by Moses to Pharaoh during the plague of hail]

Our master the Rebbe זצ"ל interpreted this verse as referring to himself [אמר זאת רבינו ז"ל — "our master the Rebbe said this" — i.e., he applied the verse homiletically to his own situation. Just as Moses said "when I go out of the city I will spread out my hands" — meaning: when I leave the confines of this physical place, I will be able to intercede fully — so too the Rebbe said: when I "go out" of this world through my histalkus — when I leave the limitations of the physical body — then I will spread out my hands in intercession, and then I will complete what must be completed with the rectification of souls.] — meaning: after his histalkus he will then request mercy, and then he will complete what must be completed regarding the rectification of souls. And so our master the Rebbe זצ"ל said this about himself — that even though he did not complete in his lifetime the rectification of souls in completeness — after his histalkus specifically, he will complete it in the utmost completeness. [One of the most remarkable declarations of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov: he explicitly promises that his work of rectifying souls — which could not be fully accomplished while limited by a physical body — will be completed specifically after his passing, when his soul operates without those limitations. A direct personal promise about his own post-mortem spiritual activity. Amen.] Amen.

And behold — [continuing the answer to the difficulty from the previous letter] — we said that the greatness of the soul of Moses our Teacher, may he rest in peace, surpasses all the great and awesome Tzaddikim — even such as Jacob our father, may he rest in peace, the choicest of the Patriarchs, [בחיר שבאבות — "the choicest / most select of the Patriarchs." A traditional honorific title for Jacob: the word bechir means chosen, selected, the finest — implying he was considered the greatest and most spiritually complete of the three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). Despite this supreme status, even Jacob could not achieve the ultimate rectification of his sons without Moses.] who could not rectify his sons — such as Reuven, Shimon, Levi, and Yehudah — for he left this to Moses our Teacher, may he rest in peace, that he should rectify them. As brought in the Talmud and Midrash regarding Yehudah — that his bones were rolling [in his coffin]. And in the holy Zohar regarding Reuven, Shimon, and Levi — see the Zohar, Parshas [Vayechi]…

Afterward we see the greatness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, may his merit protect us — who was in his generation the essential soul of Moses and the Tzaddik of the generation. And in particular — even greater than Moses himself in certain dimensions. [ובפרט יותר גדולה מאצל משה בעצמו — "and in particular — greater even than Moses himself." A bold statement, explained immediately: not that R' Shimon's essential soul-level was higher than Moses, but that in certain specific dimensions of spiritual achievement, the later manifestation of the soul of Moses surpassed the earlier one — because the soul grows and the world is prepared by each previous manifestation to receive more light.]

For the light was revealed afterward to a greater degree — for the Tzaddik goes and grows ever greater and greater each time. [הצדיק הולך וגדול בכל פעם יותר ויותר — "the Tzaddik goes and grows greater each time, more and more." The progressive verb form (הולך — going, proceeding) signals ongoing continuous growth — the soul of Moses does not merely repeat itself but deepens and expands with each generation, revealing more light than the previous manifestation could.] To Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, may he rest in peace, permission was given to reveal the hidden Torah — that was not given to any other Tzaddik or to any prophet. [Torah shebenistar — תורה שבנסתר — the esoteric / hidden Torah: the Zohar, the Tikkunim, the entire Kabbalistic tradition. This permission was exclusive to R' Shimon — no prophet, not even Isaiah or Ezekiel, received it.] And also: there was no divine decree [[גזירה] — the word "decree" appears in square brackets in the original — the author's editorial note indicating that this word was apparently accidentally omitted from the source text he is citing, and he supplies it to complete the sense. A גזירה (gezeirah) is a divine decree — a heavenly judgment that has been sealed. The claim: there was no sealed divine decree in all the world that R' Shimon did not annul.] in the world that he did not annul — and with his speech alone he accomplished everything — more than Moses our Teacher, may he rest in peace, who needed to be [on the mountain] forty days and forty nights. [Moses needed forty days and forty nights of total immersion to receive the Torah and effect atonement for Israel (after the Golden Calf — Exodus 34:28). R' Shimon could annul decrees with a single utterance — based on the statement of R' Meir about R' Shimon in the Zohar: what Moses required forty days to accomplish, R' Shimon accomplished with his speech alone. A testament to the ever-increasing power of the soul of Moses in its successive manifestations.] As explained in the Zohar — where R' Meir said this about R' Shimon — see there. And many, many more things about his greatness. [And with G-d's help — after Hashem helps us to print Torah teaching number one of Likutay Moharan which we wish to print — we will make efforts to print a book on the greatness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Lag B'Omer; and likewise on our master the Rebbe regarding the greatness of the true Tzaddik — at length, from all the books: Torah, Prophets, Writings, and all the other books. May Hashem grant us merit for this.] And likewise, here in the Land of Israel — on the 7th of Adar, the day of the passing [פטירת מרע"ה — petiras Moshe Rabbeinu — "the passing of Moses our Teacher." The 7th of Adar is the traditional date of Moses' death. The author uses פטירה (ordinary passing) for Moses — maintaining the distinction from Letter 7: פטירה for Moses, הסתלקות (mystical ascent) for R' Shimon and the Rebbe.] of Moses our Teacher, may he rest in peace — and [since people] are unable to come to his grave [Moses is buried in an unknown location in Moab (Deuteronomy 34:6) — hidden so that his grave would not become an object of worship. Therefore Jews cannot visit it.] — people come from all over the Land of Israel to the tomb of the divine Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, may his merit protect us, and perform the lighting and prayer and joy — as on Lag B'Omer itself. For Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is the soul of Moses. [And also Moses himself is present at the place of R' Shimon — as brought in the Zohar and Tikkunim and Ra'aya Mehemna [Ra'aya Mehemna — רע"מ — "the Faithful Shepherd" — a section within the Zohar in which Moses himself (the Faithful Shepherd) appears and speaks with R' Shimon. The author cites this as evidence that Moses' own presence is found at R' Shimon's tomb — countless times in the Zoharic literature, Moses comes to R' Shimon.] countless times without number — that Moses our Teacher comes to R' Shimon זצ"ל.] And the awakening there is great and awesome. [For there is always great vitality and awesome holiness — the holiness of the Tzaddik, called the Holy of Holies [קדושת הצדיק שיקרו מקדשי קדשים — "the holiness of the Tzaddik that is called / designated the Holy of Holies." שיקרו = שנקרא / שקוראים — "that is called / that they call." This is a title or designation: the tomb of R' Shimon is called the Holy of Holies — the innermost chamber of the Temple, the most sacred space on earth — not as a literal equation but as a recognition of its supreme holiness. The word שיקרו (that it is called) marks this as a traditional designation, not a direct identification.] — at the holy tomb of the divine Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, may his merit protect us. And whoever has not tasted this cannot understand it. And all the more so at a time of awakening as above — with many people — such as the 7th of Adar, the hillula [Hillula — הלולא — the Aramaic word for the yahrzeit celebration of a holy person. A hillula is a day of joyous spiritual awakening and celebration — the anniversary of the day the holy person's soul ascended to its highest level. In Aramaic, it literally means "rejoicing."] of Moses our Teacher. And all the more so, and so much the more so — on Lag B'Omer itself — it is impossible to estimate or reckon at all in the mind, for whoever has not merited this.] And each person — according to his love for the Tzaddik, and his toil and his laboring exertion, [טרחתו ויגיעתו — "his toil and his laboring exertion." Two distinct words: טרחה — trouble taken, effort invested, bother willingly accepted; יגיעה — labor, physical and mental exertion, the hard work of striving. Together they describe the full investment of a person in their spiritual pursuit — both the willingness to go to trouble and the actual labor of doing so.] and the breaking of his obstacles — feels accordingly. [כל חד כפום דמשער בליבי' — Aramaic: "each one according to what he measures / estimates in his heart" — from the Zohar. The holiness is objectively present; one's capacity to feel and receive it is proportional to one's own inner preparation and love.] Fortunate is the eye that has seen this! And thank G-d — there were times that I felt vitality and holiness and divine G-dliness — [such] that if I merit in the future [to have] no less than this — it is more than worth it, and worth it, [כדאי וכדאי — "worth it and worth it." The double emphatic: not merely worth it but doubly, absolutely so. The author testifies that he has personally tasted the holiness of Miron — and if the World to Come offers no less, it is worth everything to strive for.] to rejoice in this. In any case — it is clear as the noonday sun [ברור כשמש בצהרים — "clear as the sun at noon." A classical Hebrew idiom for something so self-evident it cannot be disputed — as unmistakable as the sun at its highest point.] that from the beginning of the world until Moses our Teacher — there was no Tzaddik like this who could rectify all souls and bring about the rectification of the world in completeness. And [no one] as compassionate as this — who would have compassion even on the lowest of souls [הנפשות הנמוכות ביותר — "the very lowest of souls / the most lowly and fallen of souls." This is the hallmark of both Moses and his successors: their compassion extends not only to elevated souls but specifically to the most degraded and hopeless — those whom no one else would reach down to help.] — as Moses our Teacher who opened for us the light of knowledge and gave us the Torah, and so on and so on. And likewise — from Moses our Teacher until Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai — there was no true Tzaddik like him who could rectify the world in complete fullness — and who could elevate the Divine Presence — the union of the Holy One blessed be He and His Divine Presence, face to face [Yichud Kudsha Brich Hu u'Shechintei panim b'panim — the supreme spiritual achievement: the complete, direct, face-to-face reunification of the masculine and feminine aspects of divinity (as it were) — G-d and His indwelling Presence — through R' Shimon's spiritual work. This is described as the highest possible accomplishment of any Tzaddik.] — as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai — who did what he did and accomplished what he accomplished and rectified what he rectified. [And as the holy Zohar writes — in Aramaic: "You, R' Shimon — you are in the dust — and you guide the world — and so on." [אנת ר"ש בלי בעפרא ואנת מנהיג עלמא — Aramaic: "You, R' Shimon — you are in [= buried in] the dust — and you guide the world." אנת = you; ר"ש = R' Shimon; בלי = variant of בלא / in the; עפרא = dust (Aramaic); ואנת = and you; מנהיג = guide / lead; עלמא = the world (Aramaic). This is the Zoharic source for the saying quoted in Letter 7 from the Yiddish tradition: physically buried in the dust, yet spiritually guiding the living world. Burial in the dust does not end the Tzaddik's leadership — it transforms its mode.] Fortunate are we that we have merited to such holy and sacred Tzaddikim — for solely on account of this did Hashem create the world — for He saw that there would be Tzaddikim like these who could rectify the world in completeness.] [And with G-d's help — we will print a book on the greatness of Moses our Teacher, and likewise on the greatness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, may his merit protect us, and likewise on the greatness of the Arizal, and the Ba'al Shem Tov זצ"ל — and our master the Rebbe זצ"ל together with his disciple Mohara"n Tatz [מוהרנ"ת ז"ל = מורינו הרב נתן — our teacher the Rabbi Nossan — i.e., Rabbi Nossan Sternhartz of Breslov (1780–1844), the chief disciple of Rabbi Nachman and the one who recorded, published, and transmitted all of the Rebbe's teachings. Without R' Nossan, none of Rabbi Nachman's Torah would have been preserved. The author refers to him with the honorific מוהרנ"ת — an abbreviation combining his title (מורינו הרב) with his name (נתן).] זצ"ל — and their other disciples — and other Tzaddikim, each one individually and in full detail [כל א' בפרוטרוט — "each one in full individual detail / itemized one by one." The Hebrew perotrut (from the root פרט — detail / individual item) means in granular, itemized detail — each Tzaddik receiving his own separate, thorough treatment.] — apart from the greatness of the true Tzaddik in general, which will be a separate book [בכלליות — "in general / in the general sense." The author envisions two kinds of books: one treating the specific greatness of each individual Tzaddik (each one in detail — Moses, R' Shimon, the Arizal, the Ba'al Shem Tov, the Rebbe, R' Nossan, etc.) and a separate book treating the concept of the true Tzaddik in general — the universal principles of what makes one of the unique singular souls of the generations, applying specifically to the chain described throughout these letters.] whose intention is specifically for the unique singular ones of the generations mentioned above.] May Hashem grant us merit to print it — and then we will know what we have merited: that we have Tzaddikim like these — and how to love them, and to cleave to them, and to bind ourselves to them, and to draw down their righteousness and their holiness and their merit upon us forever. [ולהמשיך צדקתם וקדושתם וזכותם עלינו לנצח — "to draw down their righteousness and their holiness and their merit upon us forever." ולהמשיך from המשכה — the Kabbalistic concept of drawing down divine energy from the upper worlds into this world. Through loving and cleaving to the Tzaddikim, one draws their accumulated righteousness, holiness, and merit down as a flow of blessing into one's own life and into the world.] So may it be His will. Amen. [And with G-d's help — in the coming letter we will speak of the Arizal and the Ba'al Shem Tov — and afterward of our master the Rebbe זצ"ל — and so on.] [The answer to the question about the departed Rebbe continues to unfold through the sequence: Moses → R' Shimon → Arizal → Ba'al Shem Tov → Rabbi Nachman. Letter 9 will continue this chain.] This eighth letter, written on the first day of Chanukah 5715 (December 1954) from Jerusalem, is the most varied letter yet — four distinct threads woven together. Practical matters (§§2–4): A daily pidyon on behalf of the recipient's wife, may she live — who struggles with pregnancy loss. Three specific remedies: (1) Sefer HaMidos "Mipelas" — carry a magnet, avoid gold ornaments; (2) Likutay Tefilos II, Prayer 19; (3) A segulah from the Arizal — Psalm 20 (kapitel 20) every night. The Rabbeinu Tam tefillin for R' Moshe Aharon are nearly complete. The Chanukah teaching (§§5–9): Drawing on Likutay Moharan II, Torah 7: Continuing the answer about the departed Rebbe (§§10–11): Three new proofs: (1) "He does not believe in His holy ones" — G-d does not unify His Name on a living person; (2) "The holy ones who are in the earth — all my delight is in them — specifically"; (3) "The Tzaddikim are greater in their death than in their lifetime." And the Rebbe's own declaration — applied to Moses' verse "when I go out of the city I will spread my hands": after his histalkus specifically, he will complete the rectification of souls in the utmost completeness. The greatness of R' Shimon and the vision for future books (§§12–20): The soul of Moses grows with each manifestation — R' Shimon could annul decrees with a single utterance, more than Moses needed forty days to accomplish. The 7th of Adar: people in Israel go to Miron because R' Shimon is the soul of Moses, and because Moses himself is present there. The holiness of Miron is called the Holy of Holies. The grand vision: books on the greatness of each Tzaddik — Moses, R' Shimon, the Arizal, the Ba'al Shem Tov, Rabbi Nachman, and Moharnat (R' Nossan) — each in full detail, plus a separate general book on the true Tzaddik. And the goal: to know how to love them, cleave to them, bind to them, and draw down their accumulated merit upon us forever. Key terms in this letter: Tachi / תחי' — "may she live"; the blessing for a living woman · Kapitel — a chapter of Psalms (Yiddish-German) · Bechinas — "in the aspect of"; partaking of the nature of, not identical to · Churban — the Destruction; of the Temple, and of the mind through evil thoughts · Ol avon — the yoke of sin; a crushing burden on the delicate soul · Lachos, lachmol, larachem — to spare / to pity / to have deep mercy: three gradations of compassion for the soul · Nitzolim — rescued and saved; delivered from danger · Oysveyn zikh — to weep oneself out completely; cathartic total self-emptying through tears · Dernokh — thereafter; the precise sequence: outpouring first, formal service second · Yichud hashem — the unification of G-d's Name; His full presence resting on a person · B'chayyim chayyuso — "alive in the fullness of his life/vitality" · Daikah — specifically / precisely: the departed holy ones are the ones in whom G-d's full delight rests · Bechir she'ba'avos — "the choicest of the Patriarchs": Jacob's traditional title · Gezeirah — a divine decree; the sealed heavenly judgment that R' Shimon could annul with his speech · Shyikaru kedoshei kedoshim — "that is called the Holy of Holies": a designation, not a direct equation · Hillula — joyous yahrzeit celebration · Ant R' Shimon beli b'afra v'ant manhig alma — Aramaic from the Zohar: "You, R' Shimon, are in the dust — and you guide the world" · Perotrut — in full individual detail, each one itemized · Biklaliyus — in general; the general concept of the true Tzaddik · Moharnat — מוהרנ"ת = מורינו הרב נתן = Rabbi Nossan Sternhartz of Breslov · Hamshachah — drawing down; the Kabbalistic concept of bringing divine energy from the upper worlds into this world