עז

While we were standing there waiting — and hoping that perhaps he would still come — he sent for me to come to him. And I entered to him. And he began to ask me what to do. And he zichrono livracha was sitting — and a copper basin full of much blood stood at his side. And he sat beside it on his bed. And nearly the basin was full of blood. And he began to speak with me about what to do about saying Torah. At first I answered him what to do — since it was impossible. But he zichrono livracha replied that there was compassion on the assembled — who had come in suffering and troubles and so on — and also he had been looking forward all that summer to this Rosh Hashana — that he would say Torah at Rosh Hashana in Uman. And I understood that he greatly longed to say Torah — even so. And I began to speak with him and said to him: "When you came from Lemberg you were also very, very weak — and there was no natural way for you to say Torah. And even so, Hashem Blessed be He was in your help and you said much Torah." With these words I spoke with him further. Until he replied to me: "If so — I will give over my soul for this." As if to say: according to your words I am prepared to say Torah and I am giving over my soul for this — for in truth it was an immense self-sacrifice then to say Torah with such weakness — as he almost expired at every moment. But he commanded me to place the chair on which he would say Torah close to the door — so that if he came into danger through saying the Torah and became very weak — we would be able to bring him out quickly from there. For the assembled were very, very many and in very great crowding. And I told him it would be difficult to change the placement of the chair from the place where it had already been placed — because of the great crowding of the assembled who were standing there very crowded and pressed — almost impossible to bear. He replied: "If you do not place the chair close to the door — I certainly will not enter to say Torah." And immediately I entered there and made a great commotion — and compelled the assembled to scatter — until we carried the chair from the place where it had been standing at first to the place he had commanded me: close to the door. And afterward they informed him. And he zichrono livracha entered and sat on the chair.

And we stood beside him. And the room was very full — very many people — and there was very great crowding — immeasurably hard to bear. And some could not bear it and were compelled to go out — so as not to faint. And the great majority bore the very great crowding beyond measure. And he zichrono livracha — in the very midst of his immense weakness — sat on the chair among so vast a multitude of people. And he sat a little as was his custom. And afterward he opened his holy mouth and began to say Torah — but in a quieter voice than he had always been accustomed to saying. And there was no natural way for him to complete such a long Torah in such weakness that he had — as though he might expire at any moment. But the Master of Compassion — whose thoughts for his generation are from generation to generation — took pity on us and on all of Israel for generations. And He stood in his help — until he completed the Torah by wondrous miracle.

But the conclusion of the Torah — how it is hinted in the verse Tikeu that he had begun — he did not complete at that time. Until after Yom Kippur — when he completed that verse according to that Torah before me. And the Torah he said then is the Torah Tikeu Tochecha [Blow a Reproof] [Likutay Tinyanna §8]. Study there. And afterward he commanded that a melody be played as was always his custom. And afterward he went from there to his room. And the entire night following — which was the second night of Rosh Hashana — he was very weak and in great danger. And they went to call the doctor — and the matter did not work out for him to come. And he said this was a great good — that the doctor had not come. And he said: "All who wish to spare his life should not allow a doctor to come to him." And even though he himself might command the doctor to be called — even so, they should not allow a doctor to come to him. And I was not there when he said these things. And even so I was not in agreement with them in any manner that they call a doctor to him. But they outvoted me — and called a doctor against my will on Erev Sukkos. And it is close to the truth that the doctor hastened his passing. On the second day of Rosh Hashana he did not enter to pray together with the assembled as was always his custom on Rosh Hashana. And so at that Rosh Hashana — on the first day — he had prayed with us together and eaten at one table in the house chosen for this. But on the second day of Rosh Hashana he did not even enter to pray with us — only prayed in his room adjacent to it. And certainly he did not eat together with us.