לב

Begun: Friday, a good day [יום טוב — "a good day" — Purim has just been celebrated; the Megillah calls Purim "days of joy and feasting a

nd a good day"], Adar Sheni [the Second Adar of the leap year; Purim is celebrated in Adar Sheni; this is Purim itself or Shushan Purim], 5638, according to the minor reckoning — Teverya, may it be established and built for good. Completed: Sunday, the Torah portion of Shemini — as the letter explains.

To the honor of our ohavainu — and truly my son [וממש בני — "and truly my son" — the word mammash deepens the fatherhood: truly, literally, in every sense his son] — and in truth [וב"א — either u'v'emes — "and in truth" — or possibly u'ven ahov — "and a beloved son"; both readings are consistent with the text; the accumu

lated titles of love deepen with each word] — the honor of the name of his Torah — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, may his candle shine — together with peace upon your father, may his candle shine — and may he shine like the light of the sun [ויופיע כאור שמש — "and may he shine forth like the light of the sun" — an unusual and beautiful blessing for the father's greeting: a prayer for radiance and vitality] — and together with peace upon your wife, may she live, and upon your precious and wise son Morainu v'Rabbainu Sender Chaim, may his candle shine, for length of days and good years. Omain Netzach Selah Va'ed. Thanks to G-d for our lives — blessed be G-d, blessed be G-d — all of us are in life and in peace. May I merit to hear from you life and peace from within good tidings — and a life-giving token for our soul [ואות נפשנו — "and a sign / token for our soul" — the word os — sign, token, letter-character — used here for something that gives proof and vitality to the soul; a tangible token of connection; it may also be a gentle wordplay on os as a letter of the alphabet — the letter itself is the life-giving token, the written sign that the soul lives]. Omain Netzach Selah Va'ed. So may it be His will.

After inquiring after your welfare as is right and proper — I am astonished at you: what has held back the fruit of your pen from me? [מה מנעת פרי עטך ממני — "what has held back the fruit of your pen from me?" — the letters are the living, organic fruit of the pen; something that has been withheld from one who hungers for it] For these two weeks I have had no letter from you at all — and the greatness of my suffering is beyond reckoning and beyond estimating. And it is not enough that I suffer from the withholding of letters from Troyits — from my sons — at least I had the letters from you from time to time as a reviving of my soul. For believe me — I have knotted your love into my heart [קשרתי אהבתך בלבי — kasharti ahavtecha b'libi — "I have knotted / tied your love in my heart" — the verb kashar means to tie, to knot, to bind physically; not a metaphor of feeling but a physical image: the love has been knotted like a cord knotted tightly around something; it cannot come loose] — truly like a beloved son before his father. And now that for such a long time I have seen no letter from you, my suffering has increased. And particularly my wife, may she live, at all times asks me: what is this that I have no news at all from Tzfas? May Hashem Yisbarach know what is happening there — may Hashem Yisbarach grant that it be for good. And particularly since I have written from the first of this Adar a fourth letter — and every time the postal courier comes, I or my wife, may she live, or my sister, may she live, goes and asks of Reb Dov, may his candle shine, about the letter from you — and he has nothing. Therefore it is a wonder to me. And it was not my intention to write to you until I received some letter from you — but yesterday there came a young scholar, Morainu v'Rabbainu Shalom, may his candle shine, who is a nearby neighbor to you — and I asked him about you — and he told me that blessed be G-d on Purim you were joyful in your home.

And this gave me life. But now the wonder is even greater to me — why I have no letters from you. And on the Fast of Esther I went specifically to Reb Yosef Azler, may his candle shine, and asked him about you — and he swore to me that you are, blessed be G-d, all of you in life and in peace. And he told me that you said to him that you have for me money — the sum of twelve rubles — namely from Reb Abaleh, may his candle shine, the sum of ten rubles, and from my son Morainu v'Rabbainu Moshe Efraim the sum of two rubles. And believe me, my strong friend — I have no wonder at all about the money. But it is a wonder to me about your letter — that before Purim I should have had no letter at all from you. For you know that I am here alone — "Avraham was one" [אחד היה אברהם — Ezekiel 33:24; Avraham was alone — one person — yet he sustained the entire world; the writer applies this to himself: he is alone in Tiberias within the Breslov community, as Avraham was alone in his generation; yet the single one contains and sustains multitudes] — for even on the holy Purim, blessed be G-d, I danced all day and rejoiced within myself [ושמחתי בעצמי — "and I rejoiced within myself / by myself" — b'atzmi: alone; the joy was genuine and full, danced out bodily all day; and yet entirely alone; the word carries both triumph and solitude at once] — and blessed be G-d I was in great joy. For blessed be G-d we have in what to rejoice — for Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple knew what Purim is and what one can merit through the holy Purim. Blessed be G-d — with clapping of hands and with dancing, and with all the commandments that are in practice on Purim. And I am here alone — and therefore, if at least I have a letter from you, I give myself life.

Therefore — for the sake of Hashem — immediately upon seeing my letter, write me a letter back and give life to my soul.

And perhaps you did not receive my letters — but at least the one letter I sent through the wife of Reb Chaim Yehoshua — that one you surely received.

And on account of the urgency of before the prayer I will be brief — and say peace. From me [מנאי — mina'i — Aramaic: "from me" — not the usual Hebrew mimeni; a natural Aramaic code-switch in the closing formula, as throughout these letters], your beloved, Nussun from Breslov Added Sunday, the Torah portion of Shemini: Today is Sunday of Shemini — for I did not manage to find the postal courier on Friday and the letter remained with me until today. And this morning there came to me a woman — the wife of Reb Yaakov the Doctor from Tzfas, may it be established and built for good — and she brought me a letter from Thursday of Vayikra. And there it is written that you sent me several letters through the trusted one. And I went here to Reb Dov, may his candle shine, and showed him the letter — and he told me that he did not receive even one. And I know the truth: that if he has any letter he immediately gives it to me — if the letters were not already lost there, before reaching him, the letters [the writer fully trusts Reb Dov; therefore the only explanation is that the letters were lost in transit in Tzfas before they ever reached Reb Dov; the loss is not Reb Dov's fault]. And also I do not know whether you received the one letter through the wife of Reb Yehoshua that I sent through Reb Dov, may his candle shine. And in what you wrote to me that blessed be G-d your son is in good health — you gave life to our souls. But would that Hashem Yisbarach send swiftly and soon a complete healing to your wife, may she live — to her two hundred and forty-eight limbs and her three hundred and sixty-five sinews [לרמ"ח אבריה ושס"ה גידיה — the traditional Talmudic enumeration: the human body has 248 limbs and 365 sinews, corresponding to the 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments of the Torah; to pray for "all her limbs and all her sinews" is to pray for every single part of the body, leaving nothing out; the entire body prayed-for in the language of the entire Torah]. And we have great grief from this and we pray for you at all times. And also for your son, may his candle shine — may Hashem Yisbarach hear our prayer quickly and soon. And write to me how the joy of Purim passed for you — for through this all harsh judgments are sweetened. Thanks to G-d for our lives — blessed be G-d, blessed be G-d — all of us are in life and in peace. May I merit to hear from you life and peace from within good tidings — and a life-giving token for our soul [ואות נפשנו — "and a sign / token for our soul" — the word os — sign, token, letter-character — used here for something that gives proof and vitality to the soul; a tangible token of connection; it may also be a gentle wordplay on os as a letter of the alphabet — the letter itself is the life-giving token, the written sign that the soul lives]. Omain Netzach Selah Va'ed. So may it be His will. After inquiring after your welfare as is right and proper — I am astonished at you: what has held back the fruit of your pen from me? [מה מנעת פרי עטך ממני — "what has held back the fruit of your pen from me?" — the letters are the living, organic fruit of the pen; something that has been withheld from one who hungers for it] For these two weeks I have had no letter from you at all — and the greatness of my suffering is beyond reckoning and beyond estimating. And it is not enough that I suffer from the withholding of letters from Troyits — from my sons — at least I had the letters from you from time to time as a reviving of my soul. For believe me — I have knotted your love into my heart [קשרתי אהבתך בלבי — kasharti ahavtecha b'libi — "I have knotted / tied your love in my heart" — the verb kashar means to tie, to knot, to bind physically; not a metaphor of feeling but a physical image: the love has been knotted like a cord knotted tightly around something; it cannot come loose] — truly like a beloved son before his father. And now that for such a long time I have seen no letter from you, my suffering has increased. And particularly my wife, may she live, at all times asks me: what is this that I have no news at all from Tzfas? May Hashem Yisbarach know what is happening there — may Hashem Yisbarach grant that it be for good. And particularly since I have written from the first of this Adar a fourth letter — and every time the postal courier comes, I or my wife, may she live, or my sister, may she live, goes and asks of Reb Dov, may his candle shine, about the letter from you — and he has nothing. Therefore it is a wonder to me. And it was not my intention to write to you until I received some letter from you — but yesterday there came a young scholar, Morainu v'Rabbainu Shalom, may his candle shine, who is a nearby neighbor to you — and I asked him about you — and he told me that blessed be G-d on Purim you were joyful in your home. And this gave me life. But now the wonder is even greater to me — why I have no letters from you. And on the Fast of Esther I went specifically to Reb Yosef Azler, may his candle shine, and asked him about you — and he swore to me that you are, blessed be G-d, all of you in life and in peace. And he told me that you said to him that you have for me money — the sum of twelve rubles — namely from Reb Abaleh, may his candle shine, the sum of ten rubles, and from my son Morainu v'Rabbainu Moshe Efraim the sum of two rubles. 📜 And believe me, my strong friend — I have no wonder at all about the money. But it is a wonder to me about your letter — that before Purim I should have had no letter at all from you. For you know that I am here alone — "Avraham was one" [אחד היה אברהם — Ezekiel 33:24; Avraham was alone — one person — yet he sustained the entire world; the writer applies this to himself: he is alone in Tiberias within the Breslov community, as Avraham was alone in his generation; yet the single one contains and sustains multitudes] — for even on the holy Purim, blessed be G-d, I danced all day and rejoiced within myself [ושמחתי בעצמי — "and I rejoiced within myself / by myself" — b'atzmi: alone; the joy was genuine and full, danced out bodily all day; and yet entirely alone; the word carries both triumph and solitude at once] — and blessed be G-d I was in great joy. For blessed be G-d we have in what to rejoice — for Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple knew what Purim is and what one can merit through the holy Purim. Blessed be G-d — with clapping of hands and with dancing, and with all the commandments that are in practice on Purim. And I am here alone — and therefore, if at least I have a letter from you, I give myself life. Therefore — for the sake of Hashem — immediately upon seeing my letter, write me a letter back and give life to my soul. And perhaps you did not receive my letters — but at least the one letter I sent through the wife of Reb Chaim Yehoshua — that one you surely received. And on account of the urgency of before the prayer I will be brief — and say peace. From me [מנאי — mina'i — Aramaic: "from me" — not the usual Hebrew mimeni; a natural Aramaic code-switch in the closing formula, as throughout these letters], your beloved, Nussun from Breslov Today is Sunday of Shemini — for I did not manage to find the postal courier on Friday and the letter remained with me until today. And this morning there came to me a woman — the wife of Reb Yaakov the Doctor from Tzfas, may it be established and built for good — and she brought me a letter from Thursday of Vayikra. And there it is written that you sent me several letters through the trusted one. And I went here to Reb Dov, may his candle shine, and showed him the letter — and he told me that he did not receive even one. And I know the truth: that if he has any letter he immediately gives it to me — if the letters were not already lost there, before reaching him, the letters [the writer fully trusts Reb Dov; therefore the only explanation is that the letters were lost in transit in Tzfas before they ever reached Reb Dov; the loss is not Reb Dov's fault]. And also I do not know whether you received the one letter through the wife of Reb Yehoshua that I sent through Reb Dov, may his candle shine. And in what you wrote to me that blessed be G-d your son is in good health — you gave life to our souls. But would that Hashem Yisbarach send swiftly and soon a complete healing to your wife, may she live — to her two hundred and forty-eight limbs and her three hundred and sixty-five sinews [לרמ"ח אבריה ושס"ה גידיה — the traditional Talmudic enumeration: the human body has 248 limbs and 365 sinews, corresponding to the 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments of the Torah; to pray for "all her limbs and all her sinews" is to pray for every single part of the body, leaving nothing out; the entire body prayed-for in the language of the entire Torah]. And we have great grief from this and we pray for you at all times. And also for your son, may his candle shine — may Hashem Yisbarach hear our prayer quickly and soon. And write to me how the joy of Purim passed for you — for through this all harsh judgments are sweetened. Begun Friday, Purim or Shushan Purim, Adar Sheni 5638 (late February or early March 1878); completed the following Sunday, Parshas Shemini. The letter sat two days because the postal courier could not be found. Lost letters, the Purim joy danced alone all day, and a prayer for 248 limbs and 365 sinews. נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן