יא

But in truth, all that R' Shmuel Weinberg and other advocates were able to accomplish in appeasing the city authorities was because the opponents had settled in their minds to no longer pursue the strategy of informing, but had instead simply agreed upon another plan — literally to kill Moharan"as. And they scorned in their eyes to stretch a hand against Moharan"as himself; but every person who bore the name Breslover — it was also a mitzvah to kill him and spill his blood for absolutely nothing. And because of the abundance of the evil reports brought by these tale-bearers and sinners before the Rav of Savran, he agreed with them on this as well, and went further, issuing this decree over all the towns from Breslov to Uman and Tiraevitshe; and he called the scribes of the Rav and had it written in accordance with all his instructions to the heads of his followers in all those towns regarding the Breslov Chassidim, in these very words: "To oppress them, to pursue them, to destroy them, etc." And since he feared the authority of the government, the Rav of Savran resolved in his heart to prepare bribery for this purpose — even up to one hundred thousand rubles and more. And he said to his wealthy and prominent followers — who engaged in large-scale wholesale trading [mischar kantar] amounting to many tens of thousands of rubles — jokingly: "Vifil vet ir mir gibn oif Breslever mateyesh?" [How much are you willing to give me for the Breslover business?] They answered him: up to half their kantar [their wholesale trading share]. For they were tightly bound, through their false Chassidus, with the aforementioned Rav, to the point where the Rav himself had co-signed on numerous promissory notes for their loans which they were forced to take for their business. But Hashem Yisborach sent them immediately measure-for-measure — for from then onward their commerce declined until they had nothing with which to pay their debts; and the creditors demanded payment from the Rav of Savran himself, and he suffered great and enormous humiliation. And before his death he [one of the followers] said: "di hobn zetz" [pesitas haregel — bankruptcy] [i.e., "the bankruptcy has a share in his death" — meaning: the financial ruin brought on by supporting the persecution had a hand in killing him; the word zetz in Yiddish means a blow or a crash, here used in the sense of financial collapse] — for the Rav of Savran too did not long survive this, as will be mentioned further on, since He who sits in the heavens took vengeance of Moharan"as za'l from the Rav and his followers, as will be mentioned further on. And behold, from what may be understood from the words of Moharan"as za'l, it was apparent from his words that the Rav fell from his level on account of having been in a state of peleg guf (physical separation from his wife) for approximately twelve years before his death — for in the forty-fourth year of his life he was widowed, etc. And he said of him that it was fulfilled in him the pride [ga'avah] that was in Yerovam, etc. For Admor had seen him in his youth and said of him: "Aza yunger man hub ich lib" (Such a young man I love). And had he drawn close to Admor, he too would have merited the level of Moharan"as za'l. But afterward, after his fall, he turned so greatly into such a pursuer. Then Moharan"as za'l said in these very words: "Se vet shoyn muzin zayn di ge'ullah shpeyter mit hundert yohr viya zi hut gezolt zayn" — (The Redemption will now be compelled to come a hundred years later than it should have come). And given that our own eyes witness the terrible and vast destruction, materially and spiritually, which grew during these hundred years — and he caused all this, as mentioned — there is no need to elaborate further.