יג

And after the aforementioned letters were sent, it is impossible to describe at all what the she'eris hapleytah (surviving remnant) endured at the hands of the aforementioned wolves and wild beasts. And likewise, on the other hand, it is impossible to describe at all the mighty acts and wonders which Hashem Yisborach performed with Moharan"as and his people — that they should remain alive at all among these wolves. Only in Tiraevitshe, one of Moharan"as's people was harmed, for from the abundance of beatings and torments they inflicted upon him he fell gravely ill under their hands, G-d have mercy. And my father za'l, R' Nachman of Tultshin, fled from his home to Uman, for in Uman there was at that time a strong faction that had distanced themselves from the followers of Savran. For at the beginning of that summer the Rav of Savran had traveled to Uman, and when he passed by the beis midrash which Moharan"as had built there, he said to his followers with great contempt: "Zia oich tzi nemen" — (This one too — take it away!) But there was in Uman a wealthy man, R' Avraham... who was one of the anshei Hashem (men of G-d) and also possessed four medals of honor from the Kaiser, may his glory be exalted, of Russia; and he could not bear to see the torments of men so righteous. He wrote a letter to the Rav of Savran that at the very least he should not travel to Uman again. And this wealthy man also instilled fear in the opponents and warned them not to do any harm to Moharan"as's people — so that the anash dwelt there in safety. In Tultshin they greatly beat and tormented R' Yitzchak son of R' Avraham Dov, until he was persuaded by them. But immediately after the tumult subsided somewhat, as will be mentioned further on, he returned and traveled to Moharan"as. And R' Yaakov, the son-in-law of R' Moshe Chaim, also did not withstand the trial. And R' Dovid — who was known as such — was known to the opponents that he was afraid to go out at night. They tied him to a gravestone in the cemetery and told him that if he would not curse Moharan"as, they would leave him there through the night. (And one man they tied by a rope together with uncircumcised men [non-Jews] and led them through the street.)

For they did this as a sign: whoever cursed him with insults had thereby shown that he had already been persuaded by them and would no longer travel to Moharan"as. And it appears that he too did not withstand the trial. But there was one man there named R' Mordechai who was beaten with severe torments in the public street; and when he came to the middle of the market, near the tall stone column which stood there, and the opponents beat him there — he cried out with the melody of the Megillah reading and with a loud voice: "And Mordechai would not bow down and would not prostrate himself" [Esther 3:2]. And behold, the opponents wished to torment and beat R' Yitzchak the son of Moharan"as za'l, who was dwelling in Tultshin. But there was a wealthy man there named R' Yosef Hozner who saved him by his merit — for he told the opponents that R' Yitzchak was not at all a Chassid, and that his traveling to Moharan"as was from necessity, out of the honor due to a father; and through this he was saved from them.

But after the entire winter and summer had passed and the days of Rosh Hashana arrived for traveling to Uman, the wealthy man's arguments were exhausted. But since by then the fear of beatings had already passed, as will be mentioned further on, he was saved through this. And though he was very afraid that the opponents would harm his livelihood through the postal service [post], since his uprightness and faithfulness [emunah] had made him very well-liked in the hearts of the townspeople, the matter did not harm him at all.