תרעב

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Tuesday, Torah portion of "V'chanosi es asher achon, v'richamti es asher arachem" — "And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy" [ Shemos / Exodus 33:19 — portion of Ki Sisa ] — the year 5672, here in Uman. Addressed to: My dear, beloved, and precious friend [ ידידי אהובי ויקירי ], Yitzchak Meir, may he live. Your sealed letter with the marks [ markis — German marks — the currency ] — I received properly on the day of the Fast of Esther [ Ta'anis Esther ]. And while I was at the holy tziyon [ the gravesite of Rebbe Nachman ], I mentioned you for good. And also your note [ pitka ] — I read upon the holy tziyon and placed it there. May the good G-d hearken to our prayer and to your prayer, and fulfill all the desires of your heart for good. And from afar I feel the greatness of the confusion of your mind [ bilbul da'atecha ], and the heaviness and the weakness that the imagination [ hamedameh — the imaginative faculty — in Breslov thought a primary source of confusion and falsehood that must be transcended ] draws upon you in general — and in particular now, on account of the doubts of your counsel in the matter of your livelihood. Certainly many fallen fears [ yiros nefalos ] and still greater confusions than before surround you. And although I judge you to the side of merit — and in truth there is great exculpation [ limud zechus ] for you — for one who falls into doubts of counsel is certainly very bitter — the very essence of the bitterness comes from the concealment of the strengthening-teachings [ divrei hischazakus ] of our holy master, of blessed memory, from you. For in the words of our master there is sufficient [power] to sweeten and to nullify from a person all manner of bitterness, at whatever level it may be — and to revive him and to strengthen him with every kind of strengthening — so that he will fear and be afraid of nothing whatsoever in the world. Remember and do not forget — for our master, of blessed memory, has already said that one must cross this world upon a narrow bridge [ al gesher tzar ], and the main thing is not to fear at all [ the famous teaching of Rebbe Nachman: "The whole world is a very narrow bridge — and the main thing is not to make oneself afraid at all" — a foundational principle of Breslov Chassidus ]. And therefore you must strengthen yourself afresh according to his holy words that you have heard and have known FOR A LONG TIME ALREADY [מכר — of old/long since] — and even now his holy books are in your hand: turn them over and over [ hafoch bom v'hafoch bom — an echo of the Talmudic saying about Torah study: "turn it and turn it, for everything is in it" — Avos 5:22 ] — and you will certainly find great strengthening so as not to fear anything. And also regarding the matter of livelihood — you need not fear. For certainly you too, together with your wife, are counted among all created beings whom Hashem, may He be blessed, feeds and sustains — with grace, with kindness, and with mercy. And Hashem, may He be blessed, has abundant bounty also for you. But the fact that Hashem, may He be blessed, conceals from you the counsel you need in the matter of your livelihood — is certainly in order that you raise your eyes on high in truth and place your trust in Hashem, may He be blessed, and pray to Him with all your heart — as is explained in the commentary of Rashi on the verse: "And it was: when Moshe raised his hands, Israel prevailed" [ Shemos / Exodus 17:11 — Rashi explains: could Moshe's hands make war or break war? Rather, when Israel looked upward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven — they prevailed ] — look there. And know, my friend — the very essence of the trial and the testing [ nisayon v'havachanah ] of every person — in which one is tried and tested from Above, [to see] whether he is whole [ shalem ] in his faith in Hashem, may He be blessed — is in the matter of his livelihood: whether he will strengthen himself in faith in individual Divine Providence [ emunah b'hashgachah pratis ], and not forget Hashem, may He be blessed, [in considering] how things will unfold for him — and will not make, regarding the matter of his livelihood, such efforts as are against G-d and His Torah — and does not distance himself from truth and faith, however things unfold for him in the matter of livelihood — then fortunate is he! For this is the very essence of the trial and the testing mentioned above. And certainly, for such strength and such strengthening it is impossible to merit — except through a true drawing-close to the true Tzadik, and through much engagement in his holy books — for the purpose of guarding and doing and fulfilling [ lishmor v'la'asos v'lekayem ]. And the main thing: through the general counsel that our holy master, of blessed memory, has revealed — prayer [ tefillah ] and hisbodidus . And when you merit to strengthen yourself in all the above — certainly Hashem, may He be blessed, will help you in the very best and most correct manner. And be very careful not to fear at all — and not to be in worry and sadness, G-d forbid. On the contrary — strengthen yourself in joy every day. For the quality of joy [ midas hasimchah ] is propitious for all good — as is explained in the books of our master, of blessed memory, in many places. And regarding your doubts — whether to dwell in Biskovitz or in Lublin: certainly it seems to my humble opinion that it is better for you to dwell in Lublin — for many reasons. But it is impossible [to be certain, since] the hints of [Divine] Providence are hinting to you regarding a different matter. Pray to G-d that He guide you in the straight and true path — that you merit to be saved from all manner of errors and mistakes — and then you will certainly be saved with many salvations. There is no more ability at present to elaborate — and this is sufficient for now. If you look carefully at the words of this my brief letter and draw them into your heart in truth — you will find in them great and true strengthening. For they flow, with the help of G-d, from a spring of living waters — which is the light of our master, of blessed memory. Your friend and your true loving one who seeks your peace — and desires your good and your success in body, soul, and livelihood — and who blesses you to receive the festival of Passover that is coming upon us for good, with kashrut and with joy, Shimshon Barski.

ב"ה — With the help of G-d. Wednesday, Torah portion of "V'shamar lecha es habris" etc. [וכו׳] — "And He will keep for you the covenant" etc. [ Devarim / Deuteronomy 7:12 — portion of Eikev ] — 5672, Uman. Addressed to: My dear and precious friend [ ידידי ויקירי ], Yitzchak Meir, Karman. The transfer [ pereevod ] of 8=75 [ 8 rubles and 75 kopeks ] — I received today. And it is impossible to explain how you aligned with the point belonging to this very time [ hikavta el hanekudah hashayeches la'es hazos ] — for although hardship and deficiency surround me constantly, as you know — nonetheless, not all times are equal [ lo kol ha'itim shavin ]. And in these days the deficiency surrounded me to a greater degree — until I was compelled to seek for myself a great strengthening from the daas of our master, of blessed memory — to believe that even now Hashem, may He be blessed, will not abandon me — as is His way, may He be blessed, to save me at every time and every moment. Therefore, at the moment this money came to my hand, my spirit was strengthened somewhat — with the help of Hashem, may He be blessed — with a fresh strengthening — to feel and to see in practice that "the kindnesses of Hashem have not ceased, His mercies have not been exhausted" [ Eichah / Lamentations 3:22 ]. And you too certainly must rejoice and give thanks to Hashem — who has granted you merit to be a messenger [ shaliach ] in this matter. And regarding the matter of my traveling — I will tell you the truth: I have longed many times to travel to your camp and also to other places. But the obstacles are many, from several matters. And also I have received no hint from our people of Lublin — whether they too long to see me — in the aspect of: "Meshacheini acharecha narutzah" — "Draw me — after you we will run" [ Shir Hashirim / Song of Songs 1:4 — expressing the soul's longing to be drawn by the beloved ]. And therefore I have delayed until now. And now, close to the holy days of Elul and Rosh Hashana coming upon us for good — I am therefore uncertain whether to travel or not. And in particular because even now I do not feel any drawing power from the Anash of Lublin — whether they long for my coming — although according to my understanding it is very necessary for them to connect with the point of my heart, for the good of MY OWN SOUL [לטובת נפשי — first person singular: Rabbi Shimshon's own soul, not theirs]. But the Baal Davar has confused and mixed up this matter, as you know... And even so — if you truly see and understand that some awakening and renewal will spring forth for our people through my coming to Lublin — inform me. Perhaps Hashem, may He be blessed, will strengthen my mind and my heart to travel to your camp. Also, several weeks ago I received a letter from our friend Yisrael Dovid Greenhauz of Zuzhmir [ Sandomierz — a city in Poland ] — requesting that I come there, to revive them with pure sayings [ amaros teharos ] from the books of our master, of blessed memory. And in this I am certainly now uncertain — both on account of the difficulty of travel along the road, and on account of the pressure of time as mentioned above. Therefore I have handed over the entire matter to His will and His Providence, may He be blessed — as it is written: "According to the word of Hashem they encamped and according to the word of Hashem they traveled" [ Bamidbar / Numbers 9:23 ]. And may Hashem, may He be blessed, help me in His mercy to align with the truth in every detail. Your friend and your loving one who seeks your peace in body, soul, and livelihood, Shimshon Barski.