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We are presenting collected letters of Reb Noson ,
the outstanding disciple of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. (Letters printed in Eternally Yours )
With thanks to G=d, Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Elul, 5599, Breslov. Greetings to my dear, learned son, Reb Yitzchak, may he live. I received your letter just now. I have not finished praying yet, since I was a little weak as I often am after Shabbat, and I prayed late. You should know now that, thank G=d, I already received a new travel permit and I intend to travel, G=d willing, tomorrow after midday. I am quite determined not to delay any longer than that. May G=d in His kindness help me to travel to the place I will travel to [i.e. Uman] and to prostrate myself in the place that I will [i.e. Rebbe Nachman's gravesite]. The truth is that I have no idea at all how high this reaches. But this I know clearly, with G=d's help - that I need to travel there constantly, and especially on the extremely holy, awesome and fearsome Rosh HaShanah. I also need to arouse and fortify you with all my strength and with all kinds of words of truth in the world, so that you too will merit to be there. It is your very life! While you do already know a little about this, it is necessary now to start anew, especially on Rosh HaShanah which is the essence of new starts for the better. There is an enormously great amount to be said about this, but there is not enough time or paper. I also received the letter from Reb Mordekhai along with the one gold piece - all before I got up to pray the Musaf Prayer of Rosh Chodesh Elul - and I read the letter carefully. They informed me that their calf is lost and that it will require great compassion if the heifer is to give milk. May it be His will that it be so. All our suffering and our souls' bitterness is a result of the sin of the [Golden] Calf. We need the heifer to atone for her son, the calf, as Rashi comments (Numbers 19:2). It is all in order that blood should coagulate and turn into milk. Thus far you have done business trading in leeches. If you merited to do business as you should, the leeches ought to have removed the bad blood from within you, until it became pure blood, i.e. honestly gotten [kosher] money - "Jewish money." For damim [in Hebrew] has two meanings: money and blood (Megillah 14b). Turbulent blood which is hard to purify, brings on measles, G=d save us, all kinds of illnesses, G=d save us, all difficulties in making a living, all controversy, and all humiliation and "spilling of blood" - and you are praying about all of these right now. You need great salvation for your son to have a speedy and full recovery. May the Master of Compassion, the Creator of Cures, soon carry out your requests. Reb Mordekhai is asking to be saved in the future. Everyone needs our G=d's salvation! May G=d fulfill all the requests of Israel for good. All this is the order of mystical meanings for the month of Elul which involve subduing the blood in the left hollow of the heart. The means of accomplishing this is to change DaM, blood, to DoM, silence, by suffering humiliation and "bloodshed" from many directions (Likutey Moharan I, 6:2). The fact that each person holds himself in low esteem and it seems to him, G=d forbid, G=d forbid, that there is no hope - this too is a type of "bloodshed" [i.e. embarrassment at one's own deeds]. He must just bear everything, no matter what. And if, G=d forbid, I am not going to attain the Next World - the truth remains the truth, and I desire and yearn only for the absolute truth. For in the end, my day of reckoning will come, and I will have to lie on the ground. They will place the potsherds on my eyes; and my body will wither in the grave and will become dust, worms and maggots. If nowadays it is an embarrassment and a joke to talk about this - especially since now there are so many "wise men" who are in possession of "knowledge" - nonetheless, thank G=d, His kindness to me has been abundant and I know the secret of all these "wisdoms." But they are falsehood and lies, sheer vanity. In the end, a person will have to give a final accounting. But all the same, G=d forbid that a person should become discouraged through this. This is the whole idea underlying the mystical meaning of Elul, "knowing how to move - how to run and how to return," as in the verse "if I ascend to Heaven, You are there; if I go down to hell, You are here" - the concepts of "entrance and exit." How very much I have spoken about this, and how very much it is necessary to fortify oneself in it! Reb Mordekhai, whom I mentioned above, writes me that it still seems to him that there is no hope, G=d forbid. But if this were so, "You would not leave life for anyone else to exist!" For believe me and know - there are much worse people than you. And they too have to encourage themselves with these mystical meanings of Elul and to really practice at all times "if I go down to hell, You are here." Then they would enjoy good forever. The essence of all the upset and the great accusation being leveled against us lies in the fact that our great Rebbe, of sainted memory, wants to revive people who are dead, who literally are like corpses. These are the people who have lost all heart because of the enormous wrong they have done, and who are literally like dead bodies. I, in my destitution, also know a little bit about this - how very much more does the Rebbe himself know! All the tremendous racket that is being made over us is only because of this. For the Rebbe with his great power is engaged in their rectification and their rescue; and the essence of it is that he wants to shine into them the idea that "the whole world is full of His glory - Rise up and sing, you who dwell in the dust!" And they rebel against receiving his favor. But what do we have to do with this? Each person will go his own way and we, through His amazing kindness, will fulfill (Songs 3:4), "I caught hold of him and I will not let go, until..." The carrier is in a hurry and I have to cut this letter short, as I am extremely busy. Know that, nonetheless, it is necessary to strengthen oneself in joy at all times. This is the main source of [inner] strength; for "Joy in G=d is your stronghold." The words of you father, friend and teacher, who desires the eternal rectification of your soul. Amen. May it be His will. Noson of Breslov With G=d's help, Wednesday, 11th of Tevet, 5600. Let the hills bear greetings to my honored and learned friend, the illustrious and distinguished Reb Asher Moshe, may his light shine! Your short letter arrived yesterday between Minchah and Maariv and you can imagine my great pain which cut me to the quick. My heart pounded! My insides shook! How very pained I am for you, for a number of reasons. The first reason is the pain and suffering itself that has surrounded our friend, Reb A.B., on every side. May G=d have compassion and quickly deliver him. More than this, I am pained by the attacks of our enemies who are vengefully gnashing their teeth, as is written, "They hiss and gnash their teeth, and say, `We have swallowed him up'," G=d save us. But G=d will surely not abandon him into their hands. Most of all, though, was my great distress over the confusion and constricted thinking that this situation produced in you - for lack of understanding is worse than all else. It is explained in the Rebbe's holy teachings that lack of understanding alone is the essential source of the pain that people have from all types of suffering and want. For if the understanding were complete and a person knew that everything was being directed by G=d for his [own] good, he would certainly not be pained in the least. To the contrary, he would be filled with joy over all the suffering and hardship that he goes through, because "everything the Merciful One does, He does for the best" (Berakhot 60b). Without a doubt, G=d intends to bestow a wondrous favor. Especially since we see with our own eyes that every person is full of suffering, as is mentioned in all the holy books and as is said in the Midrash on the verse (Genesis 43:14), "May G=d Almighty give you compassion." These are the words of the Midrash: "Rav Alexandri said, No person is without suffering. Happy is the man whose suffering comes to him from the Torah, as it is said, `And from Your Torah You will teach him'." Look carefully at what is written there at the beginning of that Midrash, "Happy is the man whom You chastise, G=d..." And if a person is about to get angry, "and from Your Torah You will teach him." What is written in the Torah about Avraham? "I will bless you and I will make your name great." As soon as he left, though, famine struck him. But he did not get angry or complain. You too, if suffering comes upon you, should not get angry or complain" (see Bereishit Rabbah, 92:1). Look it up there. You already know that all barriers are really only in the mind. Someone whose mind holds firmly to the absolute truth will surely not be troubled by his thoughts as a result of the tribulations and hardships which pass over him. Rather, a Jew, when he experiences pain, G=d forbid - even physical pain or pain over his children, G=d save us, not to mention pain over mere money - would never even consider the possibility that this happened to him because he put on tefilin or gave money to charity or the like. To the contrary, a righteous Jew, even if he is a simple person, seriously considers that all his pain and suffering, G=d forbid, is because of some shortcoming in his service of G=d. Either he did not put on his tefilin with the appropriate concentration and frequently took his mind off the fact that he was wearing them, or he did not give charity with a whole heart as he should have, or in some other way he did not do what he was supposed to do. Now, understand well how this applies to the matter at hand. According to the mistaken opinion of those who oppose a holy, awesome and exalted light such as our master, teacher and Rebbe of holy, sainted memory - our Rebbe, who revealed original Torah teachings in the world, the likes of which have never been heard and which give life to every soul, great and small alike - even if tremendous sums of money were being paid out for travelling to Uman, one should still not go. And it goes without saying that they would be unwilling to suffer and to break down barriers in order to do so. But through His kindness, G=d has opened our eyes and allowed us to know a little of the truth and great holiness of the Rebbe. Therefore, we know the importance of one movement made just to draw close to us - not to mention to study the Rebbe's holy books and to practice one true word of his teachings, for instance, forcing oneself to pray according to his holy advice or saying Psalms with concentration [kavanah]; and even more so in order to travel to his holy gravesite - about which he made a great promise that he would do us an eternal favor. It does not take much to understand that it is more than worth suffering everything and breaking down all the barriers in the world for one iota of all this! At the very least, you should not accept the error and folly of the What is more, we see that the mitnagdim and the opponents also experience the bitter cup of pain and suffering beyond all measure. May G=d have compassion on all of Israel, in these times especially, when many troubles surround us on every side, as a group and as individuals. There is no moment without its blemish, as is discussed at length in the Shelah. You can look it up. Our life and our continued existence every hour of every day is only by amazing and awesome miracles, as our Rabbis of blessed memory, said, "These are His mighty acts! These are His marvels!" (Yoma 69). All our vitality is only through the point of the true tzaddik, as in, "Were it not for the salt, the world would be unable to endure the bitterness," as is written in the lesson "You commanded justice" (Likutey Moharan I, 23:3). I trust in the Rebbe's great power, that G=d will certainly not abandon Reb A.B., may he live, just as He did not abandon me or any of us amidst all the hardship that came upon us - and especially upon me. Were I to describe it, no-one would believe it possible to endure everything that I have suffered. But all the same, when I really think about it, I see the truth - that all my compatriots who defiantly refused to draw near and to taste the holy light [of the Rebbe], all passed their lives in much greater pain and bitterness than I did. Most of them are dead - and the ones who are still alive are full of various sorts of suffering, G=d save us - and they have nothing from which to draw encouragement. The main thing, though, is to pass the test of the moment by not listening to the evil words of the opponents to truth, and by not adopting, G=d forbid, any false reasoning which turns the truth on its head. He must look at all times only toward the absolute truth and fulfill (Psalms 119:59), "I considered my ways, and I turned my feet to Your testimonies." There is a great deal in my heart, thank G=d, to say on this subject. I am overflowing with true, pure and resplendent words, with G=d's help. But thousands of pages would not be enough to explain them and you already know something of them anyway from the Rebbe's holy books and from the teachings I have innovated on them, through G=d's wondrous kindness. Now, my dear friend, fortify yourself and be strong and strengthen our friend, Reb A.B.! Read this letter carefully and from these words you will infer a great many things. I trust in G=d's kindness that He will surely not abandon him; He has not abandoned him and He will not abandon him. Just fortify yourself determinedly! Grab and eat! Grab and eat the bread of Torah every day amidst all the distractions and tribulations that you go through. It is your life forever! The day you are living in right now you will never have again. More than anything else, I was terribly, terribly pained by what you wrote, that Reb A.B., may his light shine, has been neglecting his studies. Woe over this - the most tragic thing of all! How very much do I talk and scream about this; that there is nowhere to flee from all the suffering and hardship except to G=d, to the Torah, to prayer, supplication and petition. How have you regressed, my soul's friend? Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, already warned us (Avot 2:4), "Do not say, `When I have time I will study'." Abandon this path, my dear friend! I trust that G=d will certainly set right for you all your stress and hardship. He will open things up for you and you will sell your merchandise favorably, with G=d's help. Everything will turn out for the best. But the days that you lost without learning Torah when you could have grabbed it right in the middle of all your suffering - this is a loss that can never be recovered. More important, what will you do in the days to come? For even if you pass your days in prosperity, it is impossible for a person to avoid going through a great deal of problems, distress and hardship, as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said and as is expressed in many verses. "Man was born to suffer" and someone who neglects Torah study and prayer because of this completely wastes his life, G=d forbid! Just the opposite should happen! Everything that happens to a person is intended to call him and to draw him closer to the Torah. It is G=d's greatest pleasure when people study Torah amidst hardship and problems. This is the main advantage of humans over the angels; that they draw themselves closer to G=d and the Torah in the face of suffering, barriers and the ever-present attacks of the Other Side which spread themselves out every time, literally like rivers and abysses, as it is written (Psalms 42:8), "Abyss calls to abyss." Listen very carefully. Hear my words which I am saying in all sincerity. You must practice at all times what is said in the verses, "G=d is my strength, my fortress and my refuge" (Jeremiah 16:19), and "[You were] a refuge on the day of my suffering" (Psalms 59:17). Grab all the Torah and prayer that you can every day! Fulfill the injuction, "Set sessions for Torah study" the way that our master, teacher and Rebbe, of blessed memory, explained it, by "stealing" sessions for Torah amidst all the world's distractions (the Hebrew word kavah means both "set" and "steal"; see Likutey Moharan I, 284). There is no day on which a person cannot grab a little or a lot of good, for "there is no day that does not contain some good" (Zohar III, 123). Trust G=d. He will not abandon you and He will turn everything into good. See to it that you come here quickly. The words of your true friend. I did not address Reb A.B. directly, because he did not write his letter to me. He should understand, though, that all these words were meant for him in particular, for all of you, and for all of us as well. Everyone needs to know and to review this every day. More than this, my son, be sure to fulfill the words of the Rebbe, of blessed memory. Extend greetings to all our comrades with a great love, and especially to my dear friend, Reb Yisrael, may his light shine, and his whole family. The words of the one waiting for salvation, praying for you, and waiting to see you joyful. Noson of Breslov |
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