תרע"א

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Thursday, the [Torah portion of] Tzav [5671], Uman. Addressed to: My dear soul-friend, my beloved, the honored young man — bound by the root of his soul to the Tree of Life [ המקושר בשורש נפשו בעץ החיים — a sublime description: the Tree of Life alludes to the Tzadik and to the Torah's inner light; the recipient's soul is described as rooted there ] — Yitzchak Meir, may he live, Karman. [The letter opens with ellipsis, indicating an omission:] ...I am greatly astonished that you are not writing at all about anything — not about the fellowship, what is heard among them for good or the opposite, and not about yourself anything at all — whether you have awakened somewhat from your sleep that has overpowered you, as is understood from your earlier letter. And although I somewhat understand and feel from afar the smallness of your mind [ katanut mochacha ] and the weakness of your daas and the faintness of your spirit — which surround you from every side, for many reasons — and the main [cause] is on account of the stormy wind and the evil eye [ ayin ra'ah ] that the Baal Davar has introduced... among the fellowship members of Lublin against the point of the truth [ al nekudas ha'emes ]... — and they themselves do not feel that they are opposing the drawing-forth of their own vitality... And because of this you are unable to connect with people whose mind and heart incline in many directions, and they waver between two opinions [ posechim al shtei ha'se'ifim — an allusion to Eliyahu's challenge to the people on Mount Carmel — Melachim I / I Kings 18:21 ]... But because of this — to despair entirely of seeking and searching for renewal of the point within the heart, and to wallow in smallness of mind and in anger and in sadness [ובעצבות], etc. [וכו׳] — this is certainly the opposite of the truth, and this is not what our holy master, of blessed memory, teaches us in his holy books. And regarding your connection with the fellowship members of Anash in Lublin — you are compelled to conduct yourself with great wisdom. For certainly on account of the wind of jealousy and the confusion of the air that the Baal Davar has introduced — in a hidden manner, in their hearts — against my point [ al nekudasi ] — because of this their eye is evil [ einam ra'ah ] also toward you, for the inclination of your heart toward me. And you are compelled to make yourself as though you do not understand and do not feel at all what is in their hearts — and not to become angry and irritated at them. For through anger and irritation, do not act at all — and the truth will not be clarified through this. For the Baal Davar is such an angry and irritated one that it is impossible to subdue and to humble him through anger and irritation — as is explained in the words of our master, of blessed memory, in several places. And far more than what I have written to you in my letter — I have in my heart to speak with you about this matter: words of truth flowing from the holy light of our master, of blessed memory. But it is impossible to explain everything in writing. And perhaps Hashem, may He be blessed, will arrange in His good Providence that you will be able to come — if G-d wills — after the holy festival [Passover] to here, to Uman, and we will speak of this face to face, with the help of Hashem, may He be blessed. And for the present — it seems to my humble opinion that regarding your connection with the fellowship members of Lublin: you are compelled to make yourself as one who does not know and does not understand and does not feel what is in their hearts — so that you will be able to quiet and to somewhat nullify the anger and the displeasure that is in your heart against them. Even though your intention is toward the truth, and they conduct themselves with great wrongdoing against me — and they repay evil in place of good — for Hashem, may He be blessed, knows the point of my heart, that my entire intention is for the good in every detail and not the opposite, G-d forbid. Even so — the anger and the displeasure that is in your heart against them for this harms your mind and your heart greatly. And their hatred and jealousy cannot be nullified through this at all. Therefore my advice is that you conduct yourself as stated above. And very, very much do I warn you — for your true good — to look into and study with great attention the laws mentioned above: both regarding your conduct — to be saved from the evil eye, in the Laws of Purim — and regarding your strengthening and your renewal, in the Laws of Tefillin — which you very much need. And certainly you will find there rest for your weak soul, and a true renewal for your spirit and for the point of your heart. And certainly if you will be able to gather together at least with the friend Yisrael Aharon Goldman, and to study together with him in joint session [ b'tzivasah chadah ] those two laws mentioned above — it will certainly be good for you. I am not able to elaborate further in writing at present. Your friend and your loving one who counsels you for your true good — and who desires your success in spirituality and in materiality — and who blesses you to receive the holy festival [Passover] with kashrut and joy — and with a true drawing-close to the holy light of our master, of blessed memory, whose holy Name in gematria [ Hebrew numerology ] equals Pesach [ 148 — a kabbalistic allusion to the Divine Name whose value equals that of the word Pesach ] — and whose holy light takes out each and every one of those who draw close to him in truth from the exile of his evil inclination — which is the very essence of the Exodus from Egypt [ yetzias Mitzrayim ] that [occurs] within each person and in each generation. May Hashem, may He be blessed, grant us merit to draw close to his holy light in truth, Shimshon Barski.

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. The eve of the holy Sabbath [ erev Shabbos kodesh ], Torah portion of "V'hayah machanecha kadosh" — "And your camp shall be holy" [ Devarim / Deuteronomy 23:15 — portion of Ki Seitzei ] — 5671, Uman. Addressed to: My dear friend as my own soul [ k'nafshi ], the honored young married man [ avreich ], Yitzchak Meir, may he live, Karman. Your kartel [postal note] in Warsaw — I received properly. And on Monday of this week I traveled from Warsaw directly to Uman. Although I had some longing to travel to Shedlitz [ Siedlce — a city in Poland with a Breslov community ] for a day or two — but since my travel pass [ pas ] was lost in Warsaw, and the will to make any stop along the way was severed from me [ v'nifsak mimeni haratzon ] — except to travel directly to Uman — so I did. My dear and beloved friend — presumably Hashem, may He be blessed, will grant you merit in these days [ i.e., the letter was written around the time of Yitzchak Meir's approaching wedding ] to the marriage [ nisuin ] — which is the first commandment in our holy Torah [ the commandment of "be fruitful and multiply" — Bereishis / Genesis 1:28 — traditionally regarded as the first positive commandment ]. May Hashem, may He be blessed, be in your aid — that there be fulfilled in you: "Matza isheh matza tov" — "He who finds a wife finds goodness" [ Mishlei / Proverbs 18:22 ]. And the main thing: that you merit to the true and eternal marriage of holiness [ nisuin d'kedushah ] — that is, to a true drawing-close to the Tzadik of truth — and to receive from him true counsel of how to be saved from the counsel of the serpent [ atzas hanachash ] — which is the evil counsels of this world of falsehood — as is explained in the Torah [teaching] "V'eileh hamishpatim" , chapter 7, Part 1 [ a Torah teaching of Rebbe Nachman in Likutay Moharan ]. I ask you to inform me of the news happening among our people — whether they are awakening and gathering to engage in the true commerce [ masa umatan ha'emes ] — that is, in the books of our master, of blessed memory, which are our life and the length of our days [ an echo of the blessing recited over the Torah: "for it is our life and the length of our days" ]. And whether they are engaging and striving in the maintenance of our Yeshiva [ hachazakas yeshivaseinu ] as was spoken between us before my departure [ Rabbi Shimshon and the community apparently had spoken about supporting some form of Breslov study group or institution in Lublin ]. Inform me of everything in full detail. And on account of the urgency of the time of the eve of the holy Sabbath, it is necessary to be brief. Your friend and your loving one who blesses you with all good and good life [ v'chayim tovim ], Shimshon.