כו

Monday, the Torah portion of Vayetzei [Parshas Vayetzei — "And he went out" — Yaakov's flight from home, the vision of the ladder, the years of labor for Lavan; it falls in November or early December], 5638 [= November or December 1877 CE] — here in Teverya, may it be established and built for good.

To the honor of our ohavainu — and my soul is bound to his soul [ונפשי קשורה בנפשו — "and my soul is bound to his soul" — the direction matters: it is the writer's soul that reaches toward and binds itself to the recipient's; the writer is the one doing the binding, his soul reaching across the distance in active attachment] — the veteran Chassid — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, may his candle shine — together with peace upon your father, our ohavainu, the veteran Chassid — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine.

Thanks to G-d for our lives — here all of us are in life and in peace. May I merit to hear from you and from all the Anash — every single one, they and the members of their households — good tidings, life and peace, in complete health. Omain Netzach Selah Va'ed.

Your letter from Monday of Toldos I received on the Thursday mentioned. And I am greatly surprised that you did not receive my letter from Monday of Chaiyei Sarah — which I sent to you through Reb Dov to Reb Chaim Yehoshua, and he dispatched my letter on Wednesday through the postal channels, forwarded to Reb Chaim Yehoshua — and I have no explanation whatsoever for why the letter was not given to you. And there I wrote to you about the money — what remains from the sum of one hundred and three groshen and one bishlik that I owed you: there remains with you still 1014 groshen. And further I asked of you to lend on account of my sister half a bishlik — making the total seventeen and a half groshen.

And from these do thus: one good grosh [גר' טוב — a "good grosh" — a full-weight, genuine coin; the qualifier "good" was important in an era of debased coinage] give to the wife of Reb Aizik, may his candle shine. And one good grosh to Reb Meir, may his candle shine. And one bishlik to Reb Dov the ritual slaughterer and examiner, may his candle shine. And what remains — approximately nine groshen — divide half to Reb Meir, may his candle shine, and half to Reb Aitzikel, may his candle shine. And further I wrote to you many things that I must urgently know from you — whether there is any letter from your father-in-law and from your son-in-law Reb Tzvi, and whether you had any letter from our friend the nagid Reb Abaleh, may his candle shine. And also for what reason there is dispute from your dear brother Yisroel Aryeh, may his candle shine — may Hashem Yisbarach send him a complete healing — to prevail peacefully with his father-in-law Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine.

And also if you are writing some letter to your father-in-law, may his candle shine — write on my behalf a letter to your brother-in-law Nussun, may his candle shine, or to your father-in-law, may his candle shine — that they should see to obtaining some letter from my daughter and from my son-in-law and from my wife's sons — without any excuse. For the strength to endure has already faltered [כבר כשל כח הסבל — kvar kashal koach ha'sevel — "the strength to bear has already stumbled / given way" — the word kashal means to stumble, to falter, to have one's legs give way under one; not a sudden collapse but the gradual failing of the capacity to endure, like someone whose knees buckle beneath them] from the weeping and grief of my wife, may she live. For even the good tidings you wrote to me about your brother, may his candle shine — I danced from joy in private [ורקדתי מחמת שמחה בצנעה — "and I danced from joy — in private, in concealment" — the writer received good news and danced with joy, alone, in secret, so his wife would not see his joy and ask questions that would lead to her learning more painful truths] — and I did not inform her. For I told her that you too have no letter from there [כי אני אמר שגם אתם אין לכם שום מכתב משם — the writer did not merely withhold the news from her; he actively told her a specific comforting falsehood: "you too have nothing from that direction" — so she would feel less alone in the silence; a small mercy performed at cost to his own honesty] — and in this way I comfort her a little in her grief.

And also I wrote three weeks ago a letter to my sons, may their candles shine, and also to your father-in-law, may his candle shine, in Troyits — and I wrote on your behalf a letter — and I greatly admonish your father-in-law and mother-in-law, may she live [ואני מוכיח חמיך וחמותך תח' מאד — "and I greatly admonish / rebuke your father-in-law and your mother-in-law" — the word mokhiach means to formally admonish and rebuke; it is the act of tokhechah — the Torah obligation to reprove one's fellow; this is not merely scolding but a formal moral act, and me'od — greatly — intensifies it: the writer performs this tokhechah in full measure] in my letter on your behalf. Therefore I ask of you — write yourself a request on my behalf — for I no longer know how to write. For from Passover — certainly I wrote seven letters, and there is no voice and no response [אין קול ואין עונה — an echo of Elijah's taunt of the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel [I Kings 18:26]: "there was no voice and none answered"; the silence feels as empty and frightening as that of a false god].

And also there in my letter that I sent you on the said Monday — I wrote to you about Reb Kalman, may his candle shine — how until the first of Cheshvan he had no neighbor, and from the first of Cheshvan he has a neighbor. And I received from him all the books of Rabbainu ז"ל, and the table with the ready-state [הטארבע עם גרייט — di tarbe mitn greyt — Yiddish: "the table with its fittings / readiness" — the table together with whatever was prepared and fitted upon or with it], and the sideboard [והמידנצע — di midentsye — Yiddish: a sideboard or buffet cabinet], and the quarter-chest [והקווארט — der kvart — Yiddish: a quarter-sized chest or crate], and the glazed vessel with the flasks [וגליזיר ובוטל עם פלעשיר — glazir un botl mitn flesher — Yiddish: a glazed container and a bottle together with flasks], and the lamp. And the remainder stayed with him. And also if there is a trustworthy person through whom I can send his tallis and the table-fitting — let him write to me through whom to send, and I will send it to him.

And also write what the wife, may she live, did. And also Reb Dov, may his candle shine. And also the wife of Reb Nachman, may his candle shine — for I have already written several times to write to me about the wife of Reb Nachman, and I have no news at all — and I have great suffering from this.

And also — as I heard here that the consular certificates from Egypt are favorable, and the people of our settlement received on their account the profit last week — therefore write to me: from where are your consular certificates? Perhaps there will sprout for you as well some salvation — and give life to my soul. For He Who says to His world "enough!" will also say to your troubles "enough!" [האמר לעולמו די יאמר לצרותיכם ג"כ די — an echo of the Talmudic teaching [Chagigah 12a] that G-d created the world by the power of the divine Name Shaddai — meaning: the One Who said to His creation "enough / dai" and stopped its expansion; the same divine Name will say to your suffering: "enough"]. And from now may your glory and your fortune be raised — both in your health and in your livelihood — and may He gladden you with all goodness.

And regarding the wife, may she live — do not worry at all. Hashem Yisbarach will surely be your help and heal you — and may your grief not linger. Only be in joy — and tell her too not to be in sadness. Only one must greatly multiply in earnest supplication and in prayer [להרבות בעתר ובתפילה — two distinct forms of divine address: atar — עתר — intense personal entreaty, pouring-out prayer; the word appears in Genesis 25:21 when Yitzchak "entreated" for his wife — it carries the sense of abundant, repeated, pleading supplication; and tefillah — תפילה — the structured prayer; both must be multiplied; the writer deliberately names both, not as synonyms but as two complementary modes of reaching G-d] before Hashem Yisbarach — I from here and you from there — until Hashem looks down and hears our prayer. For we have nothing to lean upon except prayer and supplication. For all healers are worthless [כי הן רופאי אליל כלם — an echo of Job 13:4: "you are all physicians of worthlessness"; applied here to the doctors of the day: only G-d heals; the physicians are without power] — when Hashem Yisbarach gives salvation, the salvation will be complete in every particular. Hashem is good to all — both in livelihood and in healing and in children. And even for Torah and prayer — we have nothing to lean upon except on Him, may He be blessed.

And if you received my letter from Reb Chaim Yehoshua, may his candle shine — write to me a reply on everything that is explained there. And also a reply on this letter.

And know that I have now learned from where the matter sprouted — that the brother-in-law Morainu v'Rabbainu Moshe became such an opponent [מתנגד — misnaged — an opponent of Chassidus generally and Breslov in particular; the word carries the full weight of the historical opposition between rationalist opponents of Chassidus and Chassidim] — it is from the brother of Reb Dov, may his candle shine, who speaks with him almost every day in great opposition — the likes of which one does not hear even in Shpole [Shpole — a town in Ukraine associated with the harshest known opposition to Breslov Chassidus; to say "one does not hear such things even in Shpole" is to say this opposition exceeds the most extreme known opposition]. For the sister-in-law Sasia, may she live, told in the home of my sister, may she live, that every day he comes with different words against me. And there is also another ritual slaughterer who is a neighbor to your son-in-law — and Shmuel Heynich goes to him — and Moshe too goes there in their name — and they shame Rabbainu and the Anash there. Earth to their mouths! [עפרא לפומיהו — Aramaic: "dust to their mouths" — a strong Talmudic imprecation against those who blaspheme or speak against holiness; the writer switches to Aramaic for this curse]

And the great hardship she endures is beyond reckoning — for they live only from the consular transaction that you send them. And even so she holds herself in the Name [היא אוחזת עצמה בשם — "she holds herself in the Name" — she clings to the Name of Hashem as her only anchor amid great poverty and opposition] — and no other person knows what is being done to her. And Shmuel Heynich is a great poor and destitute man — who has not even bread of adversity and water of affliction [לחם צר ומים לחץ — an echo of Isaiah 30:20: "bread of adversity and water of affliction" — the very poorest of existences; the writer uses the biblical phrase to measure the depth of his destitution] literally — and a great debtor, with no place where he is not indebted, and no one from whom he can still borrow. And yet with his falsehoods he speaks well of himself always.

And I will close with a good word: Gott hat oysgefirt un vet oysfirn [Yiddish: "G-d has led forth and will lead forth" — a simple closing declaration of faith and trust; G-d led us out before and will continue to lead us forward]. And our enemies will see and be ashamed — and with us He will make a sign for good.

Words of one who truly and wholeheartedly loves you, who desires your good, and always seeks your welfare, Nussun from Breslov