יג

Monday, the Torah portion of Ki Sisa [Parshas Ki Sisa — the portion containing the sin of the Golden Calf and the shattering of the Tablets], four days before the light of Purim [קדם אור הפורים — "before the light of Purim" — in Jewish time-reckoning a day begins at nightfall; the word אור — light — refers to the night that opens the day of Purim; Purim begins at nightfall on the 13th of Adar; four days before that nightfall places this letter on the 10th of Adar — the writer is building toward the great joy of Purim], 5636 [= late February or early March 1876 CE].

To the honor of our true beloved ones — engraved in the walls of my heart and welling up from my mind and from my understanding — truly as my very own children [הנחקקים בקירות לבבי ונבעים במחי ובדעתי כבני ממש — "engraved in the walls of my heart, and welling / springing forth from my mind and my understanding — truly as my very own children" — the love is not merely felt but engraved — cut into the stone of his heart — and it wells up from the very depths of his mind and understanding, not only from emotion; the cascade of images is the most elaborate and beautiful opening address in the entire collection] — why, it is none other than the wondrous one himself, the veteran Chassid, the honor of the name of his Torah — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, son of Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine — and Reb Aizikl, may his candle shine — and Reb Nussun son of Reb Yekusiel, may his candle shine — may they live for length of days and good years.

Thank G-d — blessed be G-d — all of us are in life and in peace. May I merit to hear from you and from all the Anash life and peace and joy. After inquiring after your welfare — I have come to inform you that the letter from Reb Nussun son of Reb Yekusiel, may his candle shine, I received — along with the prescription [ריצעפט — rezept — a literal medical prescription sent along with the letter]. And also the letter from Reb Nussun son of Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine, from Sunday of Terumah — with the good tidings about the passports — I received. And also the letter from Tuesday of Tetzaveh, from Reb Nussun, may his candle shine, and from Reb Aizikl, may his candle shine — I also received. But I am surprised: why did you delay writing to me about the eye pain of our beloved friend, the veteran Chassid, our truly beloved — Reb Nachman, may his candle shine? For we must not be silent and still about such a matter. For we must cry out to Hashem Yisbarach with weeping and with supplication — for this is a great matter. For our friend Reb Nachman, may his candle shine, is our pride and our ornament [פארנו וזיונו — "our splendor and our adornment" — words of communal love and honor; he is the beauty and the glory of their fellowship]. And do we have many such men in Tzfas? And immediately upon seeing the letter, I and Reb Kalman, may his candle shine, went to the grave of the Tanna Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and his holy disciples, and of the holy Shnei Luchos HaBris [של"ה הק' — the acronym stands for שני לוחות הברית — Shnei Luchos HaBris — "Two Tablets of the Covenant" — the title of the great kabbalistic work of Rabbi Yeshayahu Horowitz; by this acronym the writer names both the author and the book, as was common practice; Rabbi Horowitz is buried near Tiberias], and of Rav Ami and Rav Asi [two prominent Talmudic sages of Eretz Yisroel, buried near Tiberias], and we prayed for him.

And you too — do not be silent and do not be at rest [אל תחרישו ואל תשקטו — an echo of Isaiah 62:6-7: "you who remind Hashem, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest" — the prophet's call for unceasing intercession; the writer places the recipients in the role of Jerusalem's watchmen who must not stop crying out] — to sweeten the judgments [להמתיק הדינים — "to sweeten the harsh decrees" — a kabbalistic concept: through prayer, joy, and the merits of the Tzaddikim, harsh divine judgments can be softened and transformed] upon the Anash. For people have been taken from us — on account of the gnashing of the accuser [חריקת הבע"ד — "the gnashing" of the adversary — חורק is the grinding of teeth, used in Psalms 35:16, 37:12, and 112:10 as the image of the enemy's impotent rage against the righteous; a deliberate biblical allusion]: first Reb Dovid ז"ל, and then the hidden Tzaddik [הצדיק הגנוז — "the concealed Tzaddik" — one whose holiness was hidden even from those around him; this is one of the highest posthumous honors in Breslov] Reb Nachem Zalman [זצוק"ל — zecher tzaddik v'kadosh livracha — the fullest honorific for a departed holy person]. And still the adversary gnashes his teeth upon us [חורק שנו עלינו — "gnashes his tooth upon us" — the singular שנו — his tooth — is the precise biblical usage; Psalms 37:12: "the wicked gnashes his teeth at the righteous"; the present tense: the gnashing has not stopped]: the wife of Reb Yekusiel has been swollen for a long time, and our friend Reb Nachman, may his candle shine, has eye pain, and the mother-in-law of Reb Aizikl, may his candle shine, has broken her leg. Therefore we must cry out before Hashem Yisbarach — in the power of Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple, and in the power of all the Tzaddikim — to sweeten the judgments from upon us and from upon the members of our households. Therefore we must cry out and shout with weeping and with supplication before Purim — and particularly on the Fast of Esther — and to rejoice on the holy Purim, so as to sweeten the judgments.

For this is not simply some happening — what is being done to us. For the Samech-Mem gnashes his teeth upon us. And we must arouse the power of Rabbainu ז"ל — who has already said: "And I will bring you out from between the two Samech-Mems." [a teaching of Rabbainu ז"ל: he pledged to bring his followers out from between the two hostile spiritual forces of the adversary] But his eyes are still fixed upon us [the adversary has not relented; his gaze remains hostile and watchful]. And Rabbainu ז"ל has already also waged war against the evil eye. And we must pray in the power of our righteous Mashiach to sweeten the evil eye — and particularly the evil eye directed at our friend Reb Nachman, may his candle shine. And the leg is also in the dimension of the eye — in the aspect of "the eye of the foot" [a kabbalistic connection: in the mystical dimension, "foot" and "eye" are linked as channels through which spiritual forces flow; the broken leg and the eye pain are aspects of the same spiritual onslaught]. Therefore we must strengthen ourselves against it — and gather together for some hours each day to engage in the words of Rabbainu ז"ל. And each person individually — let his main occupation be this. And you too are obligated to engage with the young people — that is, with the young man Heynich son of Reb Dov the ritual slaughterer and examiner, may his candle shine — and with the son of Reb Yoel Tzvi, may his candle shine. For "from the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength" [Psalms 8:3] — for such was the desire of Rabbainu ז"ל.

And believe me — from the day I heard of the great distress of our friend Reb Nachman, may his candle shine, and also the successive troubles of the wife of Reb Aitzikel, may his candle shine, and the mother-in-law of Reb Aizikl, may his candle shine — the pain has not been able to leave my mind even for one single moment. But I am confident in Hashem Yisbarach that surely Hashem Yisbarach Himself will bind and shape our prayer into good [יציר תפילתנו לטוב — from the root צרר: "will press together, bind, form our prayer into good" — G-d does not merely hear the prayer but takes the words and fashions them, pressing them into an effective form; the image is of a craftsman shaping raw material into something purposeful and beautiful] — in the dimension of "and He blessed and did not reverse it" [Numbers 23:20 — Bilaam's words; once G-d joins and shapes the prayer it cannot be turned back]. Only we at least must give Him words of prayer in order that He should bind them into good. Therefore — you from there and we from here — let us strengthen ourselves in prayer and supplication on every single detail: both on the needs of the soul, and on the needs of the body, and on livelihood. For all of this we need Hashem Yisbarach. And I believe in Hashem Yisbarach that surely He will hear our prayer. Only we must at all times begin with fresh desire to pray.

And regarding what Reb Nussun son of Reb Yekusiel wrote to me — that sometimes he forgets whether he is a son of the king [בן מלך — the Breslov teaching: every Jewish soul is, in its essence, a royal child who has temporarily forgotten his identity] — know that whoever has even once been at the tzion of Rabbainu ז"ל — or who engages in the words of Rabbainu ז"ל — is surely a son of the king. Only he is still being raised among the servants [still in the environment of the mundane and the lowly, which causes him to forget his true nature] — until he searches himself at least half an hour each day: "Where am I in the world?" [היכן אני בעולם — a cry of existential self-examination: where have I arrived? Where am I standing? Is this who I truly am? — a practice of daily awakening to one's royal identity] — until eventually he comes to his greatness. And the time for this is at the recitation of the Shema on the bed before sleep. Then sigh for at least half an hour. And when you engage in this for even one continuous month — surely, G-d willing, there will be some change in the very root of your desire [שנוי ברצון — "a change in the will, in the desire" — not merely behavior but the innermost direction of the will begins to shift]. And also know, my friend, my son Nussun — that you surely gave me life when you wrote that the consular affairs have risen to six percent. Would that Hashem Yisbarach grant that they rise as they were before — with even greater surpassing elevation and strength. For your money is very precious. And I have very much requested at all times that you write to me about the Anash — what they are doing — so that I should know the state of their situation. And the half-bishlik you sent for the righteous convert I received properly. And also the two bishlikim that Reb Boruch sent — I also received properly. And fortunate are you that you merited to fulfill the mitzvah of charity for the truly righteous convert — who is gravely ill. May Hashem Yisbarach have mercy on him and on all the sick of His people Israel.

And I ask of you to lend me one bishlik and exchange it for ten coins of 20, and give two to Reb Aitzikel, and two to Reb Nachman, and two to Reb Yosef, and two to Reb Aizikl, and two to Reb Dov the ritual slaughterer and examiner — for I wish to fulfill the mitzvah of sending gifts to the poor of the Anash [the Purim mitzvah of mishloach manos — gifts to the poor — extended to the needy members of the Breslov fellowship]. And also for my sister Chana, may she live — lend ten thaler [taler — the silver coin ancestor of the dollar] and make from them eighteen coins of 20 — for six portions: and also to Reb Yoel Tzvi give three coins of 20 — and the remainder to those listed above, to each one also a coin of 20. And you shall be a shliach mitzvah — and surely I will repay you with thanks and loving-kindness.

And I myself will send you as your mishloach manos — one word that I heard from our master and teacher [אדמו"ר — Admorainu v'Rabbainu — "our master and teacher" — the title given to Reb Nosson of Breslov ז"ל; this is one of the very few moments in these letters where the writer explicitly says "I heard from Reb Nosson ז"ל" — making this a direct personal transmission of a received teaching], Reb Nussun [זצוק"ל — of blessed memory] — regarding the matter of Purim — that Rabbainu ז"ל said:

"Formerly all beginnings came from Passover — and now..." — and he did not finish.

[ולא סים — "and he did not finish" — three simple words of immense significance. Rabbainu ז"ל began a teaching — "formerly all beginnings came from Passover — and now..." — and stopped. He left the sentence open. The incompleteness itself is part of the transmission: Rabbainu ז"ל deliberately left the ending unspoken, perhaps because the full meaning cannot be contained in words, or because he wished each person to complete it from within themselves. What Reb Nosson heard, and what the writer now transmits, is both the beginning of the sentence and its deliberate, meaningful silence.]

And I heard from him ז"ל that he said: And now there is Rabbainu ז"ל, from whom all beginnings flow — for it is impossible to begin to enter the service of Hashem Yisbarach except through the books of Rabbainu ז"ל. And whoever perseveres more in them will surely enter in peace and go out in peace. [יכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום — an echo of the Talmudic phrase about entering the realm of mystical knowledge safely; here applied to the books of Rabbainu ז"ל: whoever perseveres in them will enter and exit the service of G-d whole, intact, in peace] Words of one who truly loves you — awaiting to see all the Anash in full goodness,

Nussun from Breslov dwelling in the Holy City of Teverya, may it be established and built for good.