ד

The 15th of Menachem Av [Tu B'Av — the 15th of Av, a joyous day associated with love and renewal; it falls in late July or August. It was considered in the Breslov community as the beginning of the fifty-day preparation period leading to Rosh Hashana], 5635 [= 1875 CE] — Teverya, may it be established and built for good.

To the honor of my beloved friend, truly and utterly, like my own son — the wondrous, veteran Chassid — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, may his candle shine.

Thank G-d, and blessed be G-d — I, and my wife, and my mother, and my sister are, blessed be G-d, in life and in peace. May we likewise merit to hear of the health of each and every one of you — life and peace, with length of days and good years. Omain Netzach Selah Va'ed [אנס"ו — "Omain, forever, Selah, and ever" — a fuller formula of affirmation than simply "Omain Selah"].

These two weeks I have written you a letter, and in it I wrote you several matters that require your reply — and also your health: my soul and my ears have been spent with longing to hear [כלתה נפשי ואזני לשמע — literally "my soul and my ears have been consumed with longing to hear" — both soul and ears are straining toward them across the distance]. For here the despondency [mara shchorah — "black bile" — the classical term for melancholy and dread; here: a dark mood of anxiety spreading from bad reports] has grown exceedingly great, from your settlement — as people are saying that things are not well with you. May Hashem Yisbarach have mercy on all the cities of Israel and Judah with His great and abundant mercies. And believe me, my friend — when I have had no word from you for several days, my eyes are spent and longing for any good tidings. For your love is driven deep into my heart — within the very walls of my heart and within the innermost part of my mind — for I have here no beloved ones, no close and dear and beloved and dependable companions such as you. For your soul is bound to my soul with a strong and mighty bond — for we are from one pasture [mir'eh echad — we were nourished and formed from the same source: Rabbainu ז"ל], and one Father we all have [Genesis 42:11 — the writer uses Yosef's brothers' declaration in its deepest sense: we are all children of one heavenly Father, and disciples of one Rebbe].

For the sake of Hashem, my brother and my companion — for the sake of Hashem: you, and my beloved Aizik, may his candle shine — do not forget that today the holy Days of Awe begin [Yomim Noraim — in the Breslov reckoning, the fifty days from the 15th of Av through Yom Kippur constitute the full arc of preparation and return; today, the 15th of Av, is the opening of that arc]. And we must begin the paths of teshuvah [return to G-d — the word means "return," not merely regret] afresh. And we are unable to begin teshuvah except by the way that Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple have instructed us — that is: to study the books of Rabbainu ז"ל with fresh desire [cheshek chadash — a new kindling of longing and passion], and to believe in them that they have the power to heal our souls. And to say many Tehillim [Psalms] and many prayers with fresh desire — with wholeness [temimus — sincerity and wholesomeness, without calculation or cleverness] and with simplicity [p'shitut — plain straightforwardness; in Breslov teaching, simplicity is not a deficiency but a crown]. And to draw upon ourselves the path of the simple man [ha'ish ha'poshut — the plain, unpretentious person who serves G-d without intellectual sophistication; a deeply honored ideal in Breslov teaching] in the bond with Rabbainu ז"ל. And to be bitter — in great weeping [l'hismarmer b'vchiyah gedolah — to cry out with a broken, bitter heart; not despair, but longing] — over the fact that we have grown distant from our Father in Heaven.

And through this, the hope drawn from the Infinite Light, Blessed be He [Or Ain Sof Boruch Hu — the kabbalistic term for G-d's boundless light, the source of all being and all repair] will be drawn upon us — as is explained in Likutay Halachos [the great work of Reb Nosson of Breslov — the writer points his friend directly to this source] — from which even very badly blemished people [anoshim pegumin me'od — those whose souls carry deep and severe damage] can receive their tikkun [repair, rectification], and there is no person in the world for whom there is no tikkun from there. Only we must engage in this with fresh desire, and prepare ourselves to receive the tikkun. And in particular since the days of ratzon [ymei ratzon — days of divine favor and goodwill, when Heaven is especially open and receptive] are approaching and coming — therefore we must engage only in ratzon [note the wordplay — lashon nofel al lashon: ratzon means both "divine will/favor" and "desire/longing" — we must fill these days of divine favor with our own passionate desire and longing] — and in k'sufin [Aramaic: yearning, longing] and in passionate desire [hishtokkekus — intense spiritual craving and thirsting] for Hashem Yisbarach. And these are also the days of teshuvah [another wordplay: teshuvah means both "return to G-d" and "response / answer" — these are days when our return calls forth G-d's answering response]. Therefore we must at all times say with a full mouth: "Return us in complete teshuvah" — for "a word in its time — how good it is" [Proverbs 15:23]. And be strong and courageous — in Torah, in prayer, and in joy — for such is the way of Rabbainu ז"ל.

And for the sake of Hashem — at all times write me letters, and I, G-d willing [אי"ה — im yirtzeh Hashem], will write to you — for my soul greatly longs for you. And also I and our friend Reb Kalman, may his candle shine, are praying for you every day. Today — this very day — we went to the tomb of the holy Tzaddik Reb Nachman [Reb Nachman of Horodenka — the grandfather of Rabbainu ז"ל, buried in Tiberias; his tomb was a place of great significance for Breslov Chassidim], the grandfather of Rabbainu ז"ל — and we prayed on behalf of all the Anash. May Hashem Yisbarach hear our prayer. And you too — pray for us, and for my wife, may she live — for not even two days have passed that she has been fully well. May Hashem Yisbarach send her a complete healing — for she is literally my Zevulun before me [Zevulun was the tribe that supported Yissochor materially so that Yissochor could devote himself entirely to Torah; the writer calls his wife his Zevulun — she enables and sustains his spiritual life by running the home].

And I also request of you: perhaps you could write a letter to your father-in-law, may his candle shine, and ask him where my son-in-law Yisroel, may his candle shine, is dwelling with my daughter — and also about my son Yitzchak, may his candle shine — and about my daughter Chaikeh with her husband Shmuel, may his candle shine — what they are doing. And what is heard from your brother-in-law [גיסך — gischa — specifically a brother-in-law: a sibling's spouse, or a spouse's sibling] Morainu v'Rabbainu Moshe, may his candle shine — to revive my soul. And also write to your brother Sender, may his candle shine, or to your father-in-law, may his candle shine, to send me the one ruble [a Russian silver coin — the currency used by Russian-origin Jews in Ottoman Palestine] that he wrote to me he was sending for olive oil for the Rambam's tomb. And I have already kindled it for now from my own pocket — for your father-in-law forgot to send it to me, and your father, may his candle shine, knows that he did not send it. And I for now kindled it in exchange for the pidyon [redemption — a sum given as a spiritual redemption on a person's behalf; here the lamp-kindling at the Rambam's tomb serves as a pidyon] that he wrote to me about, from his enemies — and I prayed for him. May Hashem Yisbarach hear my prayer for him and for all the members of his household.

And I wrote since Shavuos [the festival of Pentecost — approximately seven weeks before this letter's date] two letters to Troyits, and I have received no letter at all — and I am unable to advise myself whether to write to them, for I am economizing on the postage money [post gelt — Yiddish: postage money; in this period one could pay the recipient's postage in advance, and the writer is careful with every coin] that must be paid for the letters. Therefore I ask of you: convey greetings of peace on my behalf, and ask them to write to you — about my son-in-law Yisroel, may his candle shine, and about my daughter, may she live, and about my grandchildren, may they live [שיחיו — sheyichyu — "may they live"], and about my son Yitzchak, may his candle shine, and about my daughter Chaikeh, may she live, together with her husband Shmuel, may his candle shine, together with his sons, may they live. And also about my daughter-in-law — the wife of my son Yitzchak — whether she has given birth, and what she gave birth to. And please do this for the sake of my wife — for she is asking this of you, and she weeps and wails. And she does not need any further reason to weep — for even without this she is already filled with sufferings from her great and terrible illness. And she trusts in you that you will certainly do this for her sake. And write. [The single word ותכתב — "and write" — stands alone at the end of this plea, direct and raw: a cry more than a request.] And also: perhaps you have heard from my co-parent-in-law [חותני — chosni — specifically a father-in-law or a co-parent-in-law: the father of one's child's spouse, a distinct relationship from a brother-in-law] Reb Tzvi of Slaveh [a town in Eastern Europe] — what has he done? Please write to me also about this — for he is among our true beloved.

Words of one who truly loves you, Nussun, son of our teacher Yehuda [זללה"ה — may the memory of the holy and righteous be a blessing]