אות - קטז

In the village of Ossyatin (241) near the city of Medvedevka — there dwelt his father-in-law (242) o.b.m. And there was his primary upbringing. And there flows a great river (243), and upon it grow reeds and rushes in very great abundance. It was his holy way of our Master, Teacher, and Rabbainu, the memory of the righteous and holy is for blessing — that he would sometimes take a small boat and sail in it alone on the great river, and there he would engage in hisbodidus [personal prayer and meditation] before Hashem Yisburach. And there he would cry out and pray greatly to Hashem Yisburach (244). And he said: even when one is in a situation and state that seems to have no way out and no possibility of escape — such as one who is sinking in a river, Heaven forbid — even so one must cry out and pray to Hashem Yisburach. For Hashem has many messengers and many ways and paths — even in the very place that seems hopeless. 241. RAK: Ossyatin — distinct from Gusyatin or Husyatin which is located in western Ukraine.

242. RAK: Rabbainu lived in the home of his father-in-law Rabbi Efraim from his wedding which took place when he was Bar Mitzvah, until he was eighteen years old. (Chayai Moharan, Place of Birth and Residence, section 2). 243. RAK: The Tyasmyn River, a tributary of the Dnieper. 244. RAK: Shivchay HaRan, His Journey to the Land of Israel, section 19.