תרצ"ד

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Monday, [Torah portion of] Chayei Sarah , 5694, Uman. Addressed to: My dear son, Nosson, may he live — and to all his household, may they live. [Letter opens with ellipsis:] ...May Hashem, may He be blessed, have mercy and expand [ yarchiv ] for us in His great mercies. At present we are sustained every day through new miracles [ nisim chadashim ]. And one must always trust in Hashem, may He be blessed. And this is the main thing: to recognize every day the kindnesses of Hashem, may He be blessed, and His mercy — and not to worry from one day to the next [ miyom l'chaveiro ]. And to strengthen oneself with all force always — in faith and in joy. And to guard oneself greatly from the falsehood and the impurity that now wander about in the world — and even from the errors that wander about among the God-fearing and the believers among the children of Israel — even among some of Anash who are far from the truth to its truth — from those too one must guard oneself greatly. And there is much to say about this — but this is not the place to explain it for many reasons, etc. [וכו׳] Your father who blesses you with all good in materiality and spirituality, Shimshon Barski. ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Wednesday, [Torah portion of] Va'era , 5694, Uman. Addressed to: My dear son, Nosson, may he live — and to all his household, may they live. [Letter opens with ellipsis:] ...And may we always merit to recognize and to feel the kindnesses of Hashem, may He be blessed, and His great mercy — that He bestows upon us at every time and every hour and every moment, etc. [וכו׳] — and this is certainly in the merit of our master, of blessed memory, etc. [וכו׳] And strengthen yourself anew in faith and trust in Hashem, may He be blessed — in general and in particular — regarding livelihood. For it is explained in the book Sefer HaMidos [ a work of Rebbe Nachman, also known as Aleph-Beis — an alphabetically arranged collection of teachings ] — entry Banim [children] — paragraph 3 — in these very words: "A person has no need to worry about the livelihood of his children — for as they grow, their livelihood grows with them" [ Sefer HaMidos, Banim 3 — a teaching of Rebbe Nachman ]. May Hashem, may He be blessed, help us to believe completely in all the words of the true sages — and in particular in the words of the true Tzadik. Our health and our livelihood are certainly in kindness and mercy — but we need greater mercy still — in such a manner that we will be saved from afflictions. And this is in the hand of Hashem, may He be blessed, alone — and He will have mercy upon us always. Your father who blesses you in spirituality and materiality — and who always prays to Hashem, may He be blessed, on your behalf, Shimshon Barski.

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Monday, [Torah portion of] Terumah , 5694, Uman. Addressed to: My dear son, Nosson — and to all his household, may they live. [Note: The usual formula "may he live" after "Nosson" is absent here] [Letter opens with ellipsis:] [ Yiddish — main body: ] Without excuse — do not forget the magnitude of the kindness and the mercy of the good gift — that Hashem, may He be blessed, has granted you merit to have: children, may they live. For truly — this is a free gift [ matnas chinam ] — and you should always believe and trust in Hashem, may He be blessed — that He will provide livelihood for you and for the children, may they live. You should take care [ acht geben ] that the children, may they live, should not be caught, G-d forbid, in matters of prohibition that are taking place at this time [ a reference to the spiritual and religious dangers under the Soviet regime ]. And in particular — save them from the false opinions and the false wisdoms that are operating in the world at this time. And may Hashem, may He be blessed, have mercy upon us and guard us from all manner of illnesses and afflictions and from all manner of fears — and give to you and to all your children length of days and years — and good livelihood in ample provision and in pleasure and with kashrut — and all good in materiality and spirituality. And in particular in the coming days — which is the month of Adar — in which one must increase in joy [ Talmud, Ta'anis 29a ]. Your father who blesses you with all good in materiality and spirituality, Shimshon Barski.

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Tuesday, [Torah portion of] Shemini , 5694, Uman. Addressed to: My dear son, Nosson — together with all his household, may they live. I am here to inform you that with us, blessed be G-d, there is life and peace. May Hashem, may He be blessed, help us and save us — to hear and to make heard only good always. I am greatly astonished that we have received from you no letter for such a long time. Therefore I ask you to inform us immediately of your wellbeing, your health, and your livelihood — and from each of the children, may they live, for length of days and good years. Without excuse — always look at the expansions and the kindnesses that Hashem, may He be blessed, does with you — and distance from your boundary sadness and worries in every manner of distancing. Do not look at the deficiencies and the trials at all — for deficiencies and trials pass over all the people of the world — even over the wealthy — who, from the holy daas of our master, of blessed memory, know nothing — and do not know with what to give themselves life — and their lives are no life at all. But we — Hashem, may He be blessed, in His mercy has granted us merit to know a little of his holy daas and his holy counsels — and we need to fulfill them in general and in particular: the quality of joy — and in particular to distance from oneself sadness and melancholy [ yarah shechorah ] — for upon this depends the very essence of Judaism. And we need to always strengthen ourselves in joy — and give thanks and praise always to Hashem, may He be blessed, for the kindnesses and goodnesses that He does with us. And always strengthen ourselves in materiality with the verse "In my distress You have broadened me" [ Tehillim / Psalms 4:2 ] — as per the explanation of our master, of blessed memory. And in spirituality — strengthen oneself always with the Torah teaching "Azamrah le'Elokai b'odi" — "I will sing to my G-d while I yet exist" [ Tehillim / Psalms 146:2 — the Torah teaching of Rebbe Nachman based on this verse in Likutay Moharan ] — which our master, of blessed memory, warned very much to always go with this Torah teaching in order to be saved from sadness and from smallness of mind [ katanut hamoyach ] — which is a great blemish even when it comes from spirituality. And on both paths mentioned above — namely: "In my distress You have broadened me" and "I will sing to my G-d while I yet exist" — one can live a life of rest in spirituality and materiality. And all my vitality and existence is only through these two paths — in all that passes over me. And this is all my strengthening. And so you too should do. And when you fulfill all the above — with the help of Hashem, may He be blessed, you will always find kindnesses and expansions in materiality — and many good points in spirituality. Your father who blesses you — together with all your household — with all good in materiality and spirituality — and for the reception of the festival of Passover with kashrut and joy, Shimshon.

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Wednesday, [Torah portions of] Tazria-Metzora [ תו"מ — abbreviation ], 5694, Uman. Addressed to: My dear son, Nosson, may he live — and to all his household, may they live. Your letter from this past week we received. And I am here to inform you that certainly Hashem, may He be blessed, does great kindnesses and great mercies for us — in materiality and in spirituality. And for the festival of Passover — Hashem, may He be blessed, provided for us matzos and wine of the vine and meat and fish and the rest of the necessary needs — all in ample provision. And for the future — one must strengthen oneself anew in faith in Providence and true trust — and believe that Hashem, may He be blessed, will not abandon us, etc. [וכו׳] Your father who always seeks mercy on your behalf, Shimshon Barski.