סה

And also I ask to be informed about your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine — at what price and commercial transaction [מקח מכר — mekach u'mimkar — "the buying and selling" — the specific Talmudic legal term for the complete commercial transaction; from Tractate Bava Metzia which deals extensively with commercial law; not merely a "price" but the full transactional legal reality] he sold the hides — for I want to know, to give life to my soul. And also about any news from your dear co-parent-in-law Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine, from Kalibulad — for my eyes and my heart and my soul are consumed yearning to hear some news — for he is our truly beloved one in truth and in complete wholeness [באמת ובתמים — "in truth and in wholeness" — two qualities: emes — truthfulness; and tamim — completeness, wholeness, without any reservation; the love is both true and entirely without any reservation or withholding]. And also to inform about the shtreimel — for it is impossible for you to imagine the grief and suffering I have from this — that through it there will be, G-d forbid, such damage. And I took a vow of olive oil upon the soul of the Rambam — that Hashem Yisbarach help me — that the shtreimel which I lost in the spiritual sense should be found. For everything is in the way of allusions — to draw closer to doing the will of the Creator, may He be blessed. And also — when did your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, write that he is coming home in peace?

And know that blessed be G-d — the days of Purim draw near and come. And we must calculate, according to our levels, to subdue the Haman-Amalek — may his name be blotted out — and to merit the joy of Purim. For all sadness is from the side of Haman and Amalek. And we blessed be G-d are drawing close to such a Tzaddik — who inserted himself to subdue all the husks — the husks of Pharaoh and his ministers, the husks of Balaam and Amalek and Haman, and the husks of Esav and Yishmael. But we must help him with bricks and mortar — and the main thing of all is joy. For Rabbainu ז"ל warned us greatly about this. And as is explained in Likutay Halachos — and particularly the joy of Purim through clapping of hands and dancing — through this one sweetens all the harsh judgments — and one merits to receive Passover in holiness and in joy. And may Hashem Yisbarach merit us to capture the spoil of Egypt and the spoil of the Sea.

Therefore we have nothing to worry about at all — for the main thing is to trust in Hashem Yisbarach and to be in joy. For we must rejoice — to be in this holy fellowship — in which the disciple's disciple performed such a thing and transmitted to us Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple — who give life to our souls and to the souls of all Israel — and sweeten all the harsh judgments from upon us through them and through their intermediary our end will be good. Therefore: fortunate are we — how good is our portion and how pleasant is our lot and how beautiful is our inheritance — fortunate are we, fortunate are we.

Words of one who truly loves you — with heart and soul — who loves all the Anash with strong love — in thought and in speech and in deed, Nussun from Breslov

And I ask of all the Anash to pray for my wife — may the Merciful One protect her — daughter of Figa — that she have a complete healing for her eyes — for she is still not in good health — and on one eye she cannot see at all.

And also I ask to be informed about your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine — at what price and commercial transaction [מקח מכר — mekach u'mimkar — "the buying and selling" — the specific Talmudic legal term for the complete commercial transaction; from Tractate Bava Metzia which deals extensively with commercial law; not merely a "price" but the full transactional legal reality] he sold the hides — for I want to know, to give life to my soul. And also about any news from your dear co-parent-in-law Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine, from Kalibulad — for my eyes and my heart and my soul are consumed yearning to hear some news — for he is our truly beloved one in truth and in complete wholeness [באמת ובתמים — "in truth and in wholeness" — two qualities: emes — truthfulness; and tamim — completeness, wholeness, without any reservation; the love is both true and entirely without any reservation or withholding]. And also to inform about the shtreimel — for it is impossible for you to imagine the grief and suffering I have from this — that through it there will be, G-d forbid, such damage. And I took a vow of olive oil upon the soul of the Rambam — that Hashem Yisbarach help me — that the shtreimel which I lost in the spiritual sense should be found. For everything is in the way of allusions — to draw closer to doing the will of the Creator, may He be blessed. And also — when did your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, write that he is coming home in peace?

One who loves you, Nussun from Breslov Undated — late Adar 5639, approaching Purim. The lost shtreimel; a vow at the Rambam's grave. The Purim teaching on subduing Amalek through joy. The wife's eye worsening. נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן It is a wonder in my eyes — that for more than two weeks I have had no letter at all from you. And particularly since I sent you several letters sealed together in one wrapped bundle — and I have no reply whether you received the letters. And surely I have great suffering from this. And particularly — that you wrote to me that our friend Reb Aitzikel, may his candle shine, is lying on a bed of languishing pain — may the Merciful One protect him — how great is my suffering from this — very much. My eyes are consumed yearning to hear from him life and peace. And I go nearly every day to Reb Ber, may his candle shine, to ask him about letters from you — for believe me — the life of my soul depends on your love. And the sealed letter I sent you through the patron Reb Chaim Yehoshua, may his candle shine — and I do not know what to think. And it is further a wonder in my eyes — how Reb Eismar, may his candle shine, the one appointed by the Kolel of Vizhnitz, came to excuse and justify himself before me [התנצל לפני — hisnatzzel lefanai — "excused and justified himself before me" — hisnatzzel specifically means to offer one's excuse and justification, to explain one's conduct; not simply to apologize but to account for oneself and explain why things went as they did] — explaining that as it had been agreed with your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, concerning the match with his son, may his candle shine — he only needed to come here to see the daughter and to conclude matters. And in the end — someone from his acquaintances wrote to him that your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, has already made a match — congratulations — with his son at a propitious hour — with a certain person — and they call him Zivenberger. And this is a wonder in my eyes — that your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, did not write to me in order to bless him with a congratulations-blessing — for we are as beloved brothers forever and ever — and G-d forbid your grief is my grief — may the Merciful One protect you — and your joy is my joy. Therefore I ask of you to write to me whether you received my letters — and also about your health — from each and every one of the Anash — and about the match. And I have greatly asked of you to pray for my wife — may the Merciful One protect her — daughter of Figa — for what grief she has — eye pain — which is impossible to bear the sound of her crying and her moaning. In the daytime there is a little relief — and also I am not fully in good health. And the sister-in-law Miriam Sasia, may she live — blessed be G-d — her illness has eased a little — the cough — and she is drinking goat's milk and also legumes and eating meat. But not through a doctor. But her mother-in-law, the wicked one [חמותה המרשעת — "her mother-in-law the wicked one" — marshais — genuinely wicked, from the same root as rasha — the wicked person of the Passover Haggadah; the strongest possible moral characterization; she is not merely difficult but truly wicked in her conduct], is full of anger — that I do not give her all the money together. And to spite her she does not accept the infant even for a single moment. And now let us begin to speak from the great business and the partnership that is between us. In this month we must draw upon ourselves the holiness of Mordechai and Esther — in order that we have the power to erase the memory of Amalek and the wicked Haman. And this task was done for us by Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple. But we must in any case bind ourselves with good desires and with very great prayer and supplication — and not to forget that in every generation and generation they arise against us to destroy us — and the Holy One Blessed be He saves us from their hand in the merit of the Tzaddik the foundation of the world. And the holy days of Purim draw near and come — may Hashem Yisbarach merit us to fulfill all the Purim commandments in great joy — and to merit to receive the festival of Passover in holiness, sanctity, and purity — and to be careful from any trace of leaven — and the work of righteousness is peace. Words of one who truly loves you — and whose desire is bound to you at all times, Nussun from Breslov Undated — approaching Purim, 5639. Over two weeks without letters. Reb Aitzikel gravely ill. The match concluded with Zivenberger. Miriam Sasia improving but the mother-in-law is wicked. The wife's eye pain severe. נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן First I inform you — that blessed be G-d — in another three days there will come upon us and upon all Israel the illumination of the miracle that was performed for us at this time — through the illumination of the holiness of Mordechai and Esther — which is called by its holy name: Purim. There is no land [אין לאנד — ayn land — Yiddish code-switch: "no land" — meaning no country in the entire world; the Yiddish word land embedded within the Hebrew sentence to convey universality] where all the Tzaddikim of every generation and generation spoke so highly about the true depth of the essential holiness of the day [עצומו של יום — atzmo shel yom — "the essence of the day itself" — the specific Halachic-liturgical term from the laws of Yom Kippur [Yoma 85b]: "the essence of the day itself atones" — atzmo shel yom mechaper; applied here to Purim: the Tzaddikim spoke about the inherent intrinsic sanctity of the day of Purim itself, independent of any actions — the very substance of Purim as a holy day]. And particularly Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple spoke at very great length — and revealed many holy secrets from every single thing that happens on Purim — and particularly about the joy of Purim. Therefore I ask of all our beloved to pray for me as well — that I merit to rejoice in the joy of Purim. For I have a great pain — for more than two months — such that when I am sitting I cannot stand — and when I am standing I cannot sit. But I have much relief in this — for there are sometimes such and such days when I do not feel the pain as much. Blessed be the Good One and He Who does good. And my wife, may she live — for three weeks she has — may the Merciful One protect her — eye pain and headache — which is impossible to put in writing — her crying and her pain. And for more than a week one eye is sealed and sealed shut. And for almost the entire week she has not tasted the flavor of food — only the food of our Arab neighbors [מאכלינו טייע — "our Tayyeh-food" — Tayyeh is the Talmudic-Aramaic word for Arab, from the name of the Arabian Tay tribe; used throughout rabbinic literature for Arab; the writer means the food of their Arab neighbors who apparently assisted the sick wife during this difficult time] and bread — because of her great pain. May Hashem Yisbarach have mercy on her in the midst of the other sick of His people Israel. And she asked me to write to you to pray for her. And even so — sadness and melancholy is a complete prohibition — and one must strengthen oneself to be in joy. And particularly we — who have something to rejoice about — that Hashem Yisbarach had mercy on us — and revealed to us a little of the hidden light, concealed from all living — and His light is hidden and stored in his holy books. And their words are like coals of fire burning — like torches of fire — in the heart of those who study and meditate upon them. And particularly since we are bound to such a Tzaddik — who blessed be G-d gives forth and does not receive — as is explained in Likutay Halachos, Laws of Appointing an Agent to Collect a Debt, according to the Torah of the Silver Trumpets. And there you will see the greatness of Rabbainu ז"ל. And the entire Torah is built on performing the commandment in joy. Therefore we must rejoice greatly — G-d willing — in the joy of Purim. For joy itself is a commandment. Therefore we must rejoice with the joy of a commandment. Therefore I ask of all our truly beloved — G-d willing — when you merit to rejoice — bind me as well to your joy. And I too will bind my joy to your joy — so that my joy will be part of the congregation of the Anash. הכלל חאטשי דער רבי מסטרא דילן איז נישט דא אבער זיינע ספרים זענין דא מייגין מיר פריליך זיין און מיר בעדארפן זייער פריליך זיין [Yiddish with Aramaic embedded: "The general principle — even though the Rebbe from our side is not here — but his books are here — we can be joyful — and we need to be very joyful"; chatshi — Yiddish concessive: "even though, although"; mistara dilan — Aramaic within the Yiddish: "from our side" — the Breslov side; three languages in one sentence — Yiddish, Aramaic, Hebrew — itself a Purim mixture]. And my beloved friends in truth — Reb Nachman, may his candle shine, and Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine, and Reb Shmuel, may his candle shine, and Reb Aitzikel, may his candle shine, and Reb Dov, may his candle shine, and Reb Aizikl, may his candle shine, and Reb Yoel Tzvi, may his candle shine, and his brother Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, may his candle shine, and his son, may his candle shine — and all our truly beloved — let us begin from now to draw ourselves close to the light of lights and to his holy disciples — for this will be our hope forever and to eternal eternity. My friend Reb Nussun son of Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine — on Thursday past I sent you a letter — about what your father, may his candle shine, wrote to me — about the money that the patron Reb Yonah Zeitziv wishes to send — for the merit of the grape wine of the Rambam ז"ל — and within it was also enclosed a letter of congratulations to your co-parent-in-law. And I forgot to write to him that I received the letters from the wife of Reb Naftali, may his candle shine — and I received from her the sum of three bishlikim that your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, sent me — and immediately upon receiving it I blessed him and his household and all his sons and daughters. And I have greatly asked of you — for the sake of Hashem — after Purim write to me a letter how your Purim was. And also write to me what happened to my beloved friend in truth — who rescued our master and teacher Reb Nosson ז"ל from insults and acts of humiliation and contempt [מחרפות ומבזיונות — "from insults and humiliations" — two distinct categories: cherpot — verbal insults, shaming, reproach; and bizyonos — acts of contempt and degradation, humiliations; Reb Aitzikel physically protected Reb Nosson ז"ל from those who were subjecting him to both categories of mistreatment in Uman] in Uman — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Aitzikel, may his candle shine. For the sake of Hashem — write to me. And also as you wrote to me that you made yourself a shop in your home — write to me if you have any drawing of nourishment from it [יניקה — yenikah — "suckling, drawing nourishment" — from yenek — to nurse, to suckle; the organic bodily image of drawing life-sustenance; the writer asks whether the shop is actually providing him with nourishment — drawing livelihood from it as an infant draws milk] — and how was it concluded with the debt from Aba Sheinker — and with the other debts. And also I ask of you and our friend Reb Aizikl, may his candle shine — as our friend Reb Efraim, may his candle shine, wrote to me that I request of you to draw close his grandson, may his candle shine — and not to look at his bad points — for how Rabbainu ז"ל drew close Reb Elazar son of Reb Shimon — who went where he went — as is explained in the Talmud, tractate Bava Metzia. And also the grandson of Rabbi Tarfon — and afterward they made from them complete Tzaddikim. For I know that if he had a worthy wife he would already have been a proper man. And also these two weeks I had a letter from Reb Kalman, may his candle shine — and he wrote me that Reb Aizik, may his candle shine, wrote him something false — and he wrote me to ask you. And from this it appears that he has remorse. And do not forget what Rabbainu ז"ל tells in the story of the Master of Prayer — when the watchman said to him "and beyond this — what can I do — I am alone in the world?" — these words were considered by the Master of Prayer as repentance. And also you should know that Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple wanted us to build homes and not to destroy homes. And fortunate is the one who pursues the beloved. And also you should know — the one delivering this letter is going to you to get married — and he has books from the books of Rabbainu ז"ל — and he wants to draw close to us. I studied with him on Motzei Shabbos the Torah "I am Hashem your G-d." Therefore draw him close. More news there is none — only life and peace — אין פריליך זיין אין שיכרין אין פורים אין פיליאען אין ספרי רבנו ז"ל ותלמידו הק' זכותם יגן עלינו אמן [Yiddish: "and be joyful and get drunk on Purim and revel and in the books of Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple — may their merit protect us. Omain."] One who truly loves you, Nussun from Breslov Written Thursday, the Fast of Esther, 5639 (March 1879), from Teverya. The writer in severe pain; the wife's eye sealed shut for over a week; almost no food. A passionate Purim call. The famous Yiddish line: even though the Rebbe is not here — his books are here. נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן And know that blessed be G-d — the days of Purim draw near and come. And we must calculate, according to our levels, to subdue the Haman-Amalek — may his name be blotted out — and to merit the joy of Purim. For all sadness is from the side of Haman and Amalek. And we blessed be G-d are drawing close to such a Tzaddik — who inserted himself to subdue all the husks — the husks of Pharaoh and his ministers, the husks of Balaam and Amalek and Haman, and the husks of Esav and Yishmael. But we must help him with bricks and mortar — and the main thing of all is joy. For Rabbainu ז"ל warned us greatly about this. And as is explained in Likutay Halachos — and particularly the joy of Purim through clapping of hands and dancing — through this one sweetens all the harsh judgments — and one merits to receive Passover in holiness and in joy. And may Hashem Yisbarach merit us to capture the spoil of Egypt and the spoil of the Sea. Therefore we have nothing to worry about at all — for the main thing is to trust in Hashem Yisbarach and to be in joy. For we must rejoice — to be in this holy fellowship — in which the disciple's disciple performed such a thing and transmitted to us Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple — who give life to our souls and to the souls of all Israel — and sweeten all the harsh judgments from upon us through them and through their intermediary our end will be good. Therefore: fortunate are we — how good is our portion and how pleasant is our lot and how beautiful is our inheritance — fortunate are we, fortunate are we. Words of one who truly loves you — with heart and soul — who loves all the Anash with strong love — in thought and in speech and in deed, Nussun from Breslov And I ask of all the Anash to pray for my wife — may the Merciful One protect her — daughter of Figa — that she have a complete healing for her eyes — for she is still not in good health — and on one eye she cannot see at all. One who loves you, Nussun from Breslov Undated — late Adar 5639, approaching Purim. The lost shtreimel; a vow at the Rambam's grave. The Purim teaching on subduing Amalek through joy. The wife's eye worsening. נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן