מד

Friday, the eve of the holy Shabbos, the Torah portion of Chukas [Parshas Chukas — the Red Heifer, the deaths of Miriam and Aharon, the striking of the rock; late June or early July], 5638 — here in Teverya.

To the honor of our beloved [או"נ — ohavainu — "our beloved"; a standard honorific title of affection used throughout these letters for cherished members of the Breslov fellowship], my strong friend, the wondrous young Torah scholar — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Nussun, may his candle shine — together with peace upon your dear father, the great rabbi, the wondrous and exceptional, the veteran Chassid, discerning and wise, etc., etc. — Morainu v'Rabbainu Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine.

Only to Hashem is the trust — and everything is in particular divine providence. [אך לה' הבטחון והכל בהשגחה פרטיות — this letter opens directly with a spiritual declaration, without the usual health blessing; hashgachah pratis — not general or abstract providence but the precise, individual, particular care of G-d for each specific person in each specific moment] And I need to pray to Hashem Yisbarach that He bring the divine flow of abundance from outside the Land inward. And worries accomplish nothing at all — only blessed be G-d, day by day. And for tomorrow one need not worry at all — for each day is a new creation, and in His goodness He renews each day always the work of Creation — and in His goodness — specifically, precisely [ובטובו דיקא — u'v'tuvo dika — "and in His goodness — specifically, precisely" — the Aramaic-Yiddish emphatic dika: creation is renewed specifically through divine goodness, not mechanically but precisely through love; the word insists on the personal, intentional quality of the renewal]. And particularly we — what do we need to worry about? When we place upon the table a treasure of the fear of Heaven — the treasure of the free gift [האוצר של מתנת חנם — "the treasure of the free gift" — the books of Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple given freely, without condition or cost; a treasure one did not earn but was given; placed on the table before us — domestic, accessible, right here] that Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciple left us — we are able to revive our souls at every single hour with one prescription [בריצעפט — rezept — Yiddish/German: a medical prescription; the writer uses the precise medical term — a doctor's written prescription — to describe what follows; the Breslov books are the prescription for every ill of body and soul] — namely: study the book Likutay Moharan, and the book of Middos, and Kitzur Likutay Moharan, and Chayei Moharan, and Sipurei Maasiyos, and Shivchei HaRan, and Likutay Halachos, and Likutay Etzyos, and Likutay Etzyos Chadash, and the second edition [מהדורה תנינא — mahadura tanina — Aramaic: "the second edition / recension" — the standard Talmudic term for a second, revised version of a text], and Likutay Tefillot, and Shemos HaTzaddikim. And these strengthen us to engage in Torah, Mishnah, Shulchan Aruch, Aggadah, Midrash, the holy Zohar, and the other holy books, and Psalms, and hisbodidus. Do we have any leisure to worry? Are we not required to receive the prescriptions with explicit, detailed attention to each element [לקבל הרעצפטין בפרוש — "to receive the prescriptions bifeirush" — the word bifeirush means explicitly, clearly, with careful articulation of each component; not merely "fully" but with the precise, careful attention one gives to reading each item of a medical prescription, noting every ingredient and dosage] — and further — what one has on the heart to recount before the Almighty [און ווייטער וואס מען האט אויפן הארץ דערציילט פארן אייבערשטן — Yiddish: "and further — what one has on the heart — to recount before the Almighty" — the writer slips from Hebrew into Yiddish for the most intimate line; what is in the heart must be told to G-d; the Yiddish word dertseilt — to recount, to tell as a story — echoes the practice of telling G-d everything from Letters 28 and 31]? And may Hashem Yisbarach fill all our needs for good.

Words of those who truly love you, who always seek your welfare, who desire your success and await quickly and soon a reply on the letters, Nussun from Breslov