אות - קצ

He said: many times he pictured for himself matters of death — as if he is literally dead — until he felt the taste of death literally. And I myself also heard that he said: in his youth he would picture for himself his death and how they would weep for him etc. And he would picture well all the matters of death. And he said it is a craft to picture this well for oneself.

Once he entered the house and answered and said: What should one do when standing before a great mountain of fire, and on the other side of the mountain there is laid a good and precious and very very desirable treasure. But it is impossible to come to the treasure except by crossing through the mountain of fire. And the compulsion to come to that desirable and precious treasure etc. Afterward some days later he again spoke of this, and laughed and said: I have already come to know this matter — what to do about it.

Once I spoke with him o.b.m. about this matter — that people do not wish to believe that there are currently to be found great Tzadikim in levels like the earlier generations. He answered and said: if one believes in Hashem Yisburach one must believe that there are Tzadikim as well. For just as Hashem Yisburach certainly exists — so too Tzadikim certainly exist in every generation. And understand well.