טז

Monday, the New Moon of Shevat [Rosh Chodesh Shevat — the first day of the month of Shevat; the late winter month that contains Tu BiShvat — the New Year for Trees; it falls in late January or early February], 5637 [= January or February 1877 CE — a new year; more than six months have passed since Letter 15; this is the first letter of 5637] — here in Teverya, may it be established and built for good — written from the home.

To the honor of our friend — why, it is the veteran Chassid, the wondrous and exceptional, our ohavainu, etc., the honor of the name of his Torah — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine — together with his wife and all the members of his household. [This letter is addressed to the father — Reb Tzvi — not to his son Reb Nussun as in most letters; it concerns a wedding in the family]

With a good omen! [מז"ט — mazal tov — the letter opens with this joyous blessing before any other greeting, as is customary when congratulating on a celebration]

May Hashem Yisbarach raise up and elevate your fortune and your glory — higher and higher — in this world and in the World to Come. Omain Netzach Selah Va'ed. Your precious letter, which I received with the request regarding the wedding — I received properly. And it was a gently reviving of my soul [למשיבת נפש — the feminine construct form — l'meshivas nefesh — rather than the more usual l'meshiv nefesh; the feminine form gives the reviving a quality of gentle, tender restoration — like a mother comforting a child] — that my beloved brother and friend merited to be joyful in such an immeasurable mitzvah joy [שמחה של מצוה כזו שאין לה שעור — "joy of a mitzvah such as this one that has no measure"]. And the fruits of the holy one [פרות הק' — an allusion to the Mishnah in Peah: certain acts of which one "eats the fruits in this world while the principal stands for the World to Come" — the wedding-mitzvah belongs to this category] are eaten in this world while the principal stands for the World to Come.

And it would have been right for me to travel as well — to be as one together [בצותא חדא — Aramaic: "as one together"] to rejoice in the joy of my brother. But for several reasons I am unable to travel. One — on account of expenses, for the time is pressing for me right now [שהשעה דחוקה לי — "for the hour is pressing / tight for me" — a time of financial constriction]. And if it were a time of breathing-room for you in another way [עת רווח — eis revach — "a time of breathing-room, a time of relief from pressure" — the precise opposite of שעה דחוקה — a pressing tight hour; revach means relief, spaciousness, the easing of constriction; and באפן אחר — "in another way, in different circumstances"] — I would have traveled at your expense. But I know that right now you too are under pressure — until Hashem will look down and have mercy upon you — to extract the holy sparks [הניצוצות הקדושים — sparks of divine light that fell into the material world and are held captive; releasing them is itself a sacred act] that lie sleeping within your honestly earned money [המנחים בהמעות — ha'manichim ba'hama'os — "those that lie resting within the money" — from the root נוח — to rest, to lie; the holy sparks are not merely "in" the money but lying at rest within it, sleeping and waiting to be awakened and liberated; a vivid, precise image] from the depths of the klippos [קלפות — the kabbalistic husks and shells of impurity that surround and entrap the holy sparks; the money they are owed is held captive within these forces until justice releases it]. For according to the words of Rabbainu ז"ל in the Torah Heichal HaKodesh [היכל הקודש — "the Holy Palace / Sanctuary" — a specific Torah of Rabbainu ז"ל in Likutay Moharan], and according to his holy disciple in the Laws of Debt Collection, Law 3 [a specific law in Likutay Halachos directly relevant to the money dispute they are pursuing] — it is explained that through judgment one can subdue the evil and extract all the holy sparks. And study deeply into this law [ותעינו בהלכה זאת — v'sa'aynu — from the root עיין — to peer closely, to examine with the eye, to study with deep attention; the same root as ועינתי in Letter 12 — not a casual glance but a penetrating, sustained examination] and you will find rest for your souls. And believe that surely in the power of Rabbainu ז"ל — if you engage in this — surely you will break the evil and you will extract the good. And also the hardship of the journey is difficult for me too.

And although my desire is very strong to see at all times beloved brethren such as these — whose love is driven into my heart — and I love you with a strong love such that all the waters in the world could not extinguish the sparks of the love of our hearts [כל מימות שבעולם לא יוכלו לכבות רשפי אהבת לבבנו — an allusion to Song of Songs 8:7: "many waters cannot quench love" — rishfei ahavah — "sparks of love" — are the very words of the Song; the writer consciously invokes the language of the Song of Songs for the love between these brothers] — therefore my desire is very strong. But I am still unable to bring it from potential into actual [להוציא מכח אל הפעל — the same Aristotelian-kabbalistic phrase used earlier regarding prayer; here applied to the physical journey: the desire exists in potential but cannot yet be actualized]. Therefore I promise you that G-d willing, on Thursday — on the day of the wedding canopy [יום החפה — the day of the chupah — the actual wedding ceremony; Ashkenazi weddings were traditionally held on Tuesdays or Thursdays] — I will also rejoice in your joy. And you should see to it to rejoice greatly — for Hashem Yisbarach has helped you to marry off an orphan [להשיא יתומה — "to bring a bride who is an orphan to the wedding canopy" — one of the greatest mitzvos of hachnasos kallah; the mitzvah is magnified enormously when the bride is an orphan]. And with Rabbainu ז"ל the mitzvah of hachnasos kallah [הכנסת כלה — bringing a bride into joy, enabling and celebrating a wedding — one of the great acts of gemilus chassadim] was among the greatest of all the commandments — so I heard from our master and teacher [אדמו"ר] Reb Nussun [of Breslov — זצוק"ל; another direct personal transmission from Reb Nosson ז"ל, heard by the writer himself — the second such transmission in these letters, the first being the Purim teaching in Letter 13]. And the essence of the mitzvah is when it is done in joy.

And may Hashem Yisbarach give you joy in your hearts — until "his heart lifts his feet" [עד שיהיה לבו נשא את רגליו — an allusion to Genesis 29:1: when Yaakov heard that Rachel was Lavan's daughter "he lifted his feet" — Rashi explains: his heart lifted with joy, and that joy carried his feet forward; the writer applies this: may the joy be so great it translates spontaneously into physical movement] — to dance greatly, and to sweeten all the harsh decrees — even from your money and from all the decrees in the world. For Rabbainu ז"ל said: if you will be joyful it will be a great good for the world. [the joy of the Breslov Chassid is not private; it radiates outward and benefits the entire world; one of Rabbainu ז"ל's most striking and characteristic teachings] And we must believe in every single word of Rabbainu ז"ל — for none of it is simple; within each word there are secrets, and secrets of secrets [רזין ורזין דרזין — Aramaic: "secrets and secrets of secrets" — the kabbalistic language of layered hidden meaning]. And even so we must fulfill them in simplicity and in wholeness — with clapping of hands and with dancing — with hands and with feet [המחאת כף ורקודין בידים וברגלים — the full physical expression of joy: clapping the palms, dancing with the hands and with the feet; G-d is served through the whole body]. And Rabbainu ז"ל will make of this what he knows [רבנו ז"ל יעשה מזה מה שהוא יודע — a sublime statement of trust and partnership: do your part with full physical joy, and Rabbainu ז"ל will do with it what only he knows how to do]. And I am sending a derasha geshank [דרשה גישאנק — derasha geshank — Yiddish: "sermon-gift" or "wedding gift" — a monetary gift presented at a wedding, traditionally accompanied by a Torah discourse; the conventional Ashkenazi wedding gift] — one bishlik. And I give them long life and good life and all the gifts that are given to the known couple. And all the weddings in the world are an allusion to this wedding [כל החתנות שבעולם הם רמז מזה החתנה — every wedding in the world is a hint and shadow of this one; the writer elevates this particular humble wedding to cosmic significance — it is the archetype, not merely one instance]. And particularly for those who believe in these words — surely the allusion is very great. One must truly, properly carry it through in great joy! [באדארף מען טאקע אהאילי טוהן בחדוה גדולה — Yiddish: ba'darf men take ahayli tun in chedvah gedolah — "one truly, properly must do it — carry it through — in great joy!" — the writer breaks into the intimate Yiddish vernacular for this final exclamation; take means "truly, really"; ahayli is an intensifier meaning "properly, the real thing, in full measure" — not just to be there but to conduct oneself fully and properly; the Yiddish carries an urgency and loving insistence that the sacred Hebrew cannot quite match at this moment]

More news there is none — only life and peace.