יט

Among the opponents of Moharan"as za'l, the followers of the Rav of Savran, was also his neighbor the Rav Yonah the teacher, who on the contrary stayed silent and did not act as they did. When the Rav Yonah was in Savran, the Rav asked him: "Why are you silent and doing nothing? If so, is it true what they say of you — that you are on his side? And how is it possible that you are his neighbor, yet not involved with those who pursue him and throw stones at him?" And he answered him: "What can I do? Every time it happens that I awaken from sleep at midnight and hear his heartfelt bitterness and his crying in all manner of lamentation" — and he took as an example the verse "Who is this King of glory?" [Tehillim 24:8] (for in his great feeling at the Divine radiance [hisnots'tsus elokuso] which he had with this verse, he was accustomed each time to pause upon the saying of this verse) — "and he literally lifts my whole body and all my limbs from lying in my bed" (es tragt mich unter) — literally "it carries me up from under [my bedcovers]" — "when I hear all the above — and how is it possible when I rise in the morning and see him outside, to throw stones after him?" And now, dear reader, see and see further: how the baal davar [the Adversary] can mislead people and lead them astray — and even the famous among Israel does he mislead. As our Sages za'l expounded on the verse "for he has greatly acted" [Yirmiyahu 48:26] — that he stretched his hand against the great ones [Sanhedrin 107a]. And behold, I have already written that Moharan"as in the aforementioned journey in the winter of 5595 (1835), was delayed in Uman and remained there until after the Shabbos of Parshas Parah. And on Erev Shabbos Parshas Parah, when Moharan"as za'l was in the bath-house [mikveh] in honor of Shabbos, a man by the name of Sneior Dovid stood up against him, wishing to throw his garments into the furnace of fire; but through G-d's compassion, the men who were in the bath-house did not allow him, and he was saved from this. And when Sneior Dovid saw that his plan had not succeeded, he opened his mouth to disgrace and revile Moharan"as to his face, filling the desire of the Samach Mem who had clothed himself with all his heart and soul. And afterward, when Moharan"as left the bath-house, he reflected and said: "Certainly all this is better — a thousand times — than that bitterness of Gehinnom [purgatory] described in the Zohar." [That is: all these sufferings are a thousand times preferable to the bitterness of Gehinnom — for here one atones and is purified in this world, which is far better than the alternative.] And after the Shabbos of Parshas Parah, he traveled home to Breslov. And before Pesach, the evil pursuers greatly longed for the city authorities to assure them that on the first night of Pesach, while everyone was seated at the Seder, they would seize Moharan"as in chains and lead him to prison. And through G-d's compassion, Moharan"as za'l was saved from this as well.