מו

Monday, the Torah portions of Matos and Masei [Parshas Matos-Masei — the tribal vows and the forty-two journeys; read together; late July 1878; the period of the Three Weeks approaching Tisha b'Av], 5638 — here in Teverya, may it be established and built for good.

To the honor of my friend, my son truly, our beloved, the rabbinic one, the veteran Chassid — the honor of our teacher Reb Nussun, may his candle shine.

Your letter from Wednesday of Pinchas I received today this very moment — and you gave me life — restoring my soul in every kind of soul-restorer [בכל מיני משיבי נפש — "in every kind of soul-restorer" — meshivei nefesh — things that restore the soul to its proper place; from hashiv — to restore, to return to its right state; not merely "revive" but restore what had been displaced or diminished; each piece of good news returned some part of the soul to its proper wholeness]. First — from my daughter, may she live, and her son, may his candle shine — that they left the hospital in peace. May Hashem Yisbarach save us from now on from all kinds of bad illnesses and pain. And may Hashem Yisbarach send a complete healing to your wife, may she live — and also for your brother, may his candle shine — Hashem Yisbarach knows the truth: I will rejoice in his salvation as if from my own son literally. And the second — from what you wrote to me that your brother Sender, may his candle shine, received the money from the master of the anshara [ה'אנשארא' — possibly from the French assurance — an insurance fund or guarantee company from which payment was finally received after protracted difficulty] — this also gave me life. Hashem Yisbarach knows the truth: I prayed greatly to Hashem Yisbarach for him — for he is among our beloved and among the Anash in truth. And also — that your brother Yisroel Aryeh is gathering his scattered ones little by little — may Hashem Yisbarach merit him to expand his mind in fullness — and gather his banished and driven-out ones [ויקבץ נדחיו — veyikabetz nidchav — "and gather his banished ones / his driven-out ones" — from the biblical root nadach — to be driven away, banished, thrust out in exile; the phrase yikabetz nidchav echoes Isaiah 11:12 and 56:8 — the gathering of the dispersed exiles of Israel; the writer applies the language of exile-and-ingathering to the brother's scattered financial and personal circumstances] — in the merit of the good heart he has — in the merit of Rabbainu ז"ל and his holy disciples to whom he has been attached.

Regarding what you ask of me about the matter of your traveling to the diaspora — know, my brother my friend: first one must cry out greatly to Hashem Yisbarach and may He guide us with good counsel. And my mind leans toward the view that you should travel — in order that you be, G-d willing, at Rosh Hashana — and rescue your righteous money. But even so, one must still deliberate on the matter until after the Ninth of Av. And also — what does your father, may his candle shine, say? And what does our friend Reb Nachman, may his candle shine, say — who has blessed be G-d a straight mind? Therefore I will still deliberate further with Hashem Yisbarach in prayer and supplication. And perhaps in these days your wife, may she live, will come in peace to her home in complete healing.

And regarding what you fear from the decrees — that your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, wrote to you — and particularly our friend Reb Tzvi, may his candle shine, who is a settled and composed man as it appears — surely you have nothing to fear at all — for they know the situation well. And surely if they sensed any fear, they would not have written to you to travel.

And regarding your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine — I certainly do not agree at all with the idea of his traveling to Eretz Yisroel. For I heard that our master and teacher Reb Nosson ז"ל did not agree at all with traveling before the age of sixty to Eretz Yisroel to settle. But what can I do — he has a great evil inclination about this, and the root of his evil inclination is his wife, may she live. But my view leans toward your father, may his candle shine, and our friend Reb Nachman — and I as well — writing to him together that we do not agree with his journey at all — no. For what will he do here? And your mother-in-law is not fully in her health. And particularly here — where even healthy people are weakened — and they do not know that here — a time of cheapness [עת זול — the word זול — zol — is the Yiddish word for cheap or inexpensive, embedded mid-Hebrew; the writer uses the Yiddish term naturally as part of the phrase; even what counts as cheap here is expensive by diaspora standards] is expensiveness for the children of the diaspora. And I do not know what they want. And particularly to plan their journey until after the festival of Sukkos — when the season is rain and great winds. Therefore we must warn him not to travel. And what he wants to do — and perhaps he has fulfilled all the commandments in the diaspora and wants to also fulfill the commandments that are practiced in Eretz Yisroel — to me this is literally great foolishness. And particularly to come here with his household.

And know that during the Torah portion of Balak I sent you a letter — at the time I received from you the letter about your wife, may she live — and it was a very precious letter. But it became known to me that the letter was lost — for my sister Chana gave it to a certain woman, and the woman promised her to deliver it to your hands — and in the end the woman came on Thursday of Pinchas to her home and told me that she had lost the letter. And this caused me soul-grief. And regarding what you wrote to me — that your co-parent-in-law, may his candle shine, sent me one ruble and Reb Tzvi sent me three rubles — I ask of you to send me immediately and give life to my soul — for I have literally not a single prutah. And my intention was to write to you that you lend me approximately fifty groshen — for someone sent me 20 and three gallons from Moldova — even before Passover — through Reb Yehuda Aharon from Lvov — and there is no voice and no response. And I have written four weeks ago to Lvov — and yesterday the sister-in-law Miriam Sasia, may she live, was by me — and I did not recognize her — and she told me that you sent her the sum of four bishlikim. And also with me she had from the sum three bishlikim — two and a half bishlikim — and she sent a woman to receive it for her. And in the end she told me that she tasted nothing of it [שלא טעם מהם כלום — "that she tasted nothing of it at all" — she received nothing, benefited nothing; not a single morsel of benefit reached her; the money came and went before she could even taste the smallest portion of it] — for there was not even the time of a Kriyas Shema recited over it [לא היה על הקריאת שמע ליינען — Yiddish embedded in Hebrew: "there was not the Kriyas Shema recited over it" — the Yiddish idiom meaning there was not even a moment's peace with it, not the time to recite even one short prayer; the money came and went with no moment of rest or security] — and for the bris there was not even bread. And she was compelled to give the money out of shame. And from all the celebration treats [ובכל הקונפעט — konfet — Yiddish/Polish from Italian confetto: the celebratory treats, sweets, and refreshments served at a joyous occasion such as a bris; not merely "the celebration" but specifically the party treats and sweets] she ate nothing except half a small measure of butter [חצי אנסי חמאה — half an ansi — a small measure, possibly related to the German Unze or Italian oncia — of butter; a devastatingly tiny amount of food at what should have been a festive celebration]. Therefore she asked me to write to you that you send her from their money the sum of three hundred groshen — to give life to their souls — for there is not even a pledge in the house on which to borrow.

Words of the above-mentioned,

Nussun from Breslov