ט

Friday, the 6th day of Chanukah, 5636 [= December 1875] — Teverya, may it be established and built for good. [The writer has returned to Teverya from Tzfas.]

To the honor of my friend — the wondrous young Torah scholar, veteran Chassid — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, may his candle shine — together with peace upon all the members of his household.

Thanks to G-d for our lives — all of us are in the way of life and peace. May I merit to hear from you and from all the Anash life and peace — Omain Selah.

Your letter from Wednesday of Mikaitz [the same day Letter 8 was written — both letters crossed each other in transit] and also from this past Sunday — both reached me. And know that the money from Reb Chaim Yehoshua I received today at midday, and your letter I received in the morning — and enclosed within it was the letter from your dear father-in-law, may his candle shine, and from our shared son-in-law [מחתנו — mechassnainu — "our son-in-law" in the first-person plural — reflecting the Breslov understanding that all the family bonds of the Anash are shared among the whole fellowship] Nussun, may his candle shine, and from our friend Reb Tzvi of Kaliblad, may his candle shine. And it was a reviving of my soul. But would that Hashem Yisbarach swiftly save us — to hear the good tidings of the redemption of the soul of your brother-in-law Moshe, may his candle shine. And surely I pray at all times for his salvation in the midst of all the children of Israel — and particularly for our true beloved. "Hashem has made known His salvation, before the eyes of the nations He has revealed His righteousness" [Psalms 98:2]. And I am confident in Hashem Yisbarach that surely He has already saved him from the hand of all his enemies. But even so, we must continue to pray for the Anash — for we have nothing to lean upon except our Father in Heaven. And our only strength is in the mouth alone [ואין כחנו אלא בפה לבד — the writer voices this as his own living conviction, drawing on the Talmudic teaching that Israel has no strength but prayer and Torah — "the voice is the voice of Yaakov"; not a quotation set apart but his own declaration].

And I am surprised: I wrote to you asking whether perhaps you have any letter from Troyits — from your father-in-law and from my son, may they live. And you — blessed be G-d — did a great mitzvah, and particularly in regard to my wife, may she live — you gave life to her soul to a very great degree. But at the end of your letter you wrote to me: "perhaps there is some letter with you from Troyits — send it to me." And I did not know its meaning. But afterward, in the very moment of writing my letter, it occurred to me: perhaps at the time you wrote your letter on Wednesday of Mikaitz the letter from Troyits had not yet arrived — and therefore your distinguished self wrote and asked me about some letter. And now when the two letters arrived together it was a wonder to me. But even so — if any letter from Troyits should come to me, I will certainly let you know.

And also regarding the sum of fifteen rubles that is with you — however much it comes to in money after the currency exchange — and I must tithe the money, as you know [לעשר המעות — to separate one tenth of one's income as a tithe; a widely observed Jewish practice of giving a tenth of all earnings to charity and good causes] — and however much the tithe comes to from the said sum: take into your hand two portions of the tithe and distribute it among the Anash as you see fit — to each member of the Anash — and the third portion send to me, for our friend Reb Kalman, may his candle shine, along with the money that belongs to me.

For our friend Reb Kalman, may his candle shine, is a great pauper and destitute [עני ואביון גדול — ani v'evyon — the biblical pair used throughout Psalms and Prophets: the poor and the utterly destitute — the writer uses both words, as the text demands both] — beyond what can be put into writing. For from the day he arrived here he has not eaten even on Shabbos so much as meat — only the bread of adversity and the water of affliction [לחם צר ומים לחץ — a deliberate citation of Isaiah 30:20: "bread of adversity and water of affliction" — the writer consciously reaches for this verse to give the full prophetic weight to what he is describing]. And the ger [a convert to Judaism] is also upon his neck [meaning: the convert is also his dependent, relying entirely on him for support]. And there is not one person in the entire city who asks: from where do these people live? [מהיכן ירקות אלו חיין — "from where do these vegetables live?" — a Talmudic idiom meaning: how do these people sustain themselves? No one notices, no one asks] And I have urgently requested of all the Anash — and particularly of our friend Reb Nachman, may his candle shine — that they pray for him, that Hashem Yisbarach have mercy on him with every manner of mercy. And he is truly an upright man. And the ger as well — he is a righteous convert [גר צדק — ger tzedek — one who converted sincerely for the sake of Heaven alone], and he does not wish to be separated from Reb Kalman. And Reb Kalman is soft-hearted — what can he do? Therefore on his account he suffers great hardship. And from last week — when I came to know the full depth of his destitution — I gave him one bishlik, and also my sister gave him one bishlik. And he sits day and night, shut and locked away [סגור ומסגר — completely enclosed, sealed in — wholly devoted to Torah and prayer, removed from the world], devoted entirely to Torah and to prayer. And I go to him every day and study with him the books of Rabbainu ז"ל. Therefore I wish to sustain him with some material gift as well — only right now I am sustaining him with the words that flow from our holy master and teacher [הננמ"ח — the honorific abbreviation for Reb Nosson of Breslov].

And on Monday I studied with him the Torah: "The days of Chanukah are days of thanksgiving" [a specific teaching of Rabbainu ז"ל connecting Chanukah with hodaah — thanksgiving and acknowledgment — which shares its root with the name Yehudah — Judah — and with the word hoda'ah — confession and gratitude]. And I also studied with him Law 6 of the Laws of Shabbos in Likutay Halachos, Part 3, Orach Chaim [Orach Chaim — "the way of life" — the first section of the Shulchan Aruch, dealing with daily life and prayer; Reb Nosson's Likutay Halachos follows the same four-section structure]. And you too, and my friend Reb Aizik — you can look at this law and give life to yourselves [ותחיו עצמכם — the plural reflexive: you yourselves, actively, give life to your own souls through studying this passage — the life flows from the text into you] — for these are our life and the length of our days. And it is upon this that we must spend our days and our years. And surely it will be good for us in the end — for these words are literally the miracle of Chanukah itself: that the Shechinah descended below ten — for people of our level, lights such as these! Happy are we — how good is our portion! [אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו — a direct citation of the joyful liturgical declaration sung in the morning prayers: Ashrainu mah tov chelkainu — every reader would have recognized this immediately as the morning prayer's cry of joy and gratitude; the writer applies it as his spontaneous response to these words of Torah] — only when we rise early and stay late [משכימים ומעריבים — mashkimim u'ma'arivim — an allusion to Proverbs 8:34: "blessed is the person who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors" — the language of one who rises early and stays late at the door of Torah] in the houses of Torah and prayer. And the books of Rabbainu ז"ל are houses of Torah and houses of prayer.

And also to your father, may his candle shine — who is truly my brother — please convey greetings of peace on my behalf [תפב"ש — t'foras bish'lom — an imperative: "you should convey greetings of peace" — addressed directly to the recipient as a command of love]. And say to him: let him not worry at all — for surely Hashem Yisbarach will not forsake him. Only my counsel is: if Hashem Yisbarach has granted him the merit of knowing such a light as this — let him spend the greater part of the day on this, and surely he will succeed forever. For every day that I study the chidushim [new insights and teachings] of Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple — almost every day it rises in my mind to go outside and call out with a great voice: Know that such a thing exists in the world! But I have already heard from Rabbainu ז"ל that he said this will not help. But I have settled it in my mind to call out at least to our true beloved — and there, surely, I will accomplish some effect, both for myself and for them. And blessed be G-d that already all the books of Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple have been completed [printed and available; the full corpus of Breslov literature has now been published]. And blessed be G-d — we have something with which to spend our days and our years. And surely it will not be in vain — G-d forbid. And surely it will be a goodness for our souls, and our spirits, and our neshomos [נפשותינו ורוחותינו ונשמותינו — the three levels of the soul in Kabbalistic teaching: nefesh — the vital soul; ruach — the spirit; neshamah — the higher soul; the writer invokes all three: the goodness will penetrate every level of one's being]. And it will also be a great goodness beyond what can be explained in writing — and the one who is wise will understand.

Words of your true beloved,

Nussun, son of our teacher Yehuda [זללה"ה]

And write to me at all times any news about our pious friend Reb Nachem Zalman, may his candle shine, and about Reb Aitzikel, may his candle shine, and about his wife, may she live — what they are doing. And also what is heard from your father's consular affairs, may his candle shine. And also write to me whether our friend Reb Abaleh [an affectionate diminutive of Avraham], may his candle shine, was present for Rosh Hashana — since you wrote to me that his righteous wife [זוג' הצדקת — "his righteous wife"] departed this life on the eve of Rosh Hashana. Woe to us for our loss! [אוי לנו על שברנו — "woe to us for our brokenness" — shever is the word used in Lamentations for the shattering of Jerusalem; the writer applies it to this personal loss — a genuine cry of grief, not a formula] May she rest in peace upon her resting place, in the midst of the souls of the righteous women [בתוך נשמות הצדקניות — among the souls of the holy righteous women — a beautiful burial blessing]. And convey greetings of peace to your wise son Morainu v'Rabbainu Sender Chaim, may his candle shine — may Hashem Yisbarach give him life and length of days and good years. My wife, may she live, and my sister, may she live, convey greetings of peace to your mother, may she live, and to the wife [מ' יד"ל], may she live, and to her son, may his candle shine. Words of the above-mentioned.