מט

In the summer of 5567 mentioned above — after his wife's passing zichronah livracha — and after we had departed from him, on his return from the road to his home — the illness of the cough [hust] came upon him along the road, may the Merciful One protect. And immediately when he had his first cough, he said at once that he would pass away from this. And he immediately began to speak about his passing. And afterward he came home — and the cough illness, may the Merciful One protect, was continually worsening. And he spoke much about his illness — that it was very dangerous — and commanded [people] to pray for him. And I was not with him then — for I was detained in Mohilov as mentioned. And my companion Rabbi Naftali informed me immediately of the full bitter gravity of this situation. And when I heard — I stood trembling and astounded, stunned from hearing, trembling seized me. And he zichrono livracha spoke much about his passing: that he was supposed to have sixty warriors [around him at the moment of his passing] — as the Baal Shem Tov had had — and several other such conversations. And concerning his burial: that his desire was to travel to Eretz Yisroel — but he did not know whether he had the power to reach there. And even there no person would come to his grave, and the world would have no engagement or activity with his grave, and so on. Something of this is already recorded elsewhere [Chayay Moharan §162]. And I was not present for all of this. Afterward I came for Rosh Hashana as mentioned above, and then he said the Torah mentioned above. And after Rosh Hashana I wrote the Torah before him. And I had need to travel to Nemirov — but the matter did not work out — and I did not travel then. And I remained in Breslov until after Yom Kippur.