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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 God's help, Monday, Shemini, 5603, Breslov. Greetings to my dear, beloved son. I received a letter from you on Purim and then another one today as well. Thank God, Purim passed joyfully and, praise God, yesterday you did as I asked and sent Reb Nachman the sum of money you mentioned in your letter. Even though there was a delay and you did not send it on Purim day itself - the Torah exempts cases of duress. I did not know that my letter with the money would not reach you until the meal on Purim day. I expected rather that you would receive it on the Fast of Esther toward evening, since, at the time I wrote the letter, Reb Nachman, the son of Reb M. HaKohen, thought he would be leaving before Minchah. But God certainly arranged it all for the best. In any case, it was well worth the effort I expended, if only for the sake of the letter that I wrote then (above, #419). For while it is still difficult for you and me to clearly understand the hints, it is still necessary to speak about this a great deal. I already wrote on this subject in a slightly different form to Reb Efraim in Kremenchug. I intended to write you about it too in my letter prior to that one, but it did not work out. Subsequently, in the middle of Selichot on the Fast of Esther, Reb Asher brought me your letter with the mishloach manot (Purim gifts) and, more important, he brought the letter from Reb Nachman, may he live. It was then that I began to feel joy, and the happiness of Purim was awakened in my heart and in the hearts of our comrades. For we saw God's eternal salvation and the hope that He holds out for coming generations, as Reb Nachman, may his light shine, wrote. Then, due to my enormous yearning and the yearning of Reb Nachman for this project, I was stirred to send him immediately whatever money I could. I thought the matter over carefully and I then wrote the aforementioned letters. In the process, God caused me to remember to write you about the hints and, praise God, my pen set down many amazing words of truth which I had really not thought about at all. How great are God's deeds! My dear son, every single activity, circumstance and movement that God brought about from the day I drew close to the light of our lives, as well as all that He effected after the Rebbe's passing in my work with all of you, both as individuals and as a group, can enable a person to understand and to see God's kindness and His absolutely infinite wonders! The mouth cannot utter them, nor the mind comprehend! "You have performed great deeds, Lord, my God! Your miracles and thoughts are for us!" It is God Who determines a man's steps, and it seems no longer necessary for me to travel to Tulchin this week. The reason for this is that I do not want to send him any more money until I receive acknowledgement that he received the money and letter sent yesterday. Furthermore, I am waiting to receive letters from him which were already sent by way of Brody. I am surprised that they have not yet arrived, and I suppose that as soon as you receive them you will send them to me right away. In the meantime, I hope to God that money will arrive from Tcherin and other places. Salvation is in God's hands. May He complete the project in the best possible way, without any large loans, and may the money I borrowed up until today soon be completely paid off, with God's help. "Thus far has Your compassion helped me" and in His compassion He will never abandon us. In my opinion, it would be a good idea to give my last letter, from Purim, to our friend Reb Yaakov, may his light shine, to read. Perhaps he will understand hints from my words which will be of benefit to him. The same thing applies to my illustrious friend, Reb Nachman, may his light shine, grandson of our master, teacher and Rebbe, of blessed memory. Send them both my loving greetings. If they really have a strong desire for me to come, they could draw me there after this coming Shabbat, God willing. Even for a short trip such as this to Tulchin I rely on God, because for me it is a difficult journey. May He Who determines a man's steps guide me on paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name. Write me if you were happy on Purim as is fitting. No matter what, it is necessary now to pray to God that He accept our rejoicing on Purim along with all the other commandments of Purim, as if we fulfilled them correctly in all their details and fine points. May this enable us to attain the holiness and purity of the Red Heifer and to be purified from tumat meit (caused by contact with a corpse). Thus may we be pure for the Pesach sacrifice and thereby guard ourselves from even a trace of chametz both physical and spiritual (Likutey Moharan II, 74). May we exercise the utmost vigilance and not let our minds "ferment," God forbid, with evil and alien thoughts, God forbid, thus fulfilling "rebuke the beast of the weedgrass," until we return from chametz to matzah, from the letter chet to hei and from death to life (as in Likutey Moharan I, 5:4). What can we return to God for all the good He has done for us?! For we merited to hear such awesome, amazing and exalted teachings about every single mitzvah, and in particular about the holy times of the year and the mitzvot which are connected to them! They give life to every soul in any place! The Rebbe speaks a great deal, for example, about the holiness of Pesach as one of the three pilgrimage festivals in lessons such as "A field of knives" (Likutey Moharan I, 30), "Blow the Shofar I"(Likutey Moharan II, 1), and "I have commanded the ravens to feed you" (Likutey Moharan II, 4). Besides this, he speaks about Pesach alone in the lesson discussed above which begins "With the trumpets..." (Likutey Moharan I, 5) on the matter of guarding against "the fermentation of the mind"; and the lesson "Nine Rectifications" (Likutey MoharanI, 20:10) discusses the Haggadah reading, which serves to rectify the Covenant, as well as the Four Cups of wine on Seder night. There is also the lesson I mentioned above (Likutey Moharan II, 74) which teaches that Purim is a preparation for Pesach, and there are many other lessons as well. The same thing applies to Sukkot, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and so on, each of which the Rebbe discusses many times, both in a general way and in connection with their various details. So it is with the rest of the commandments too, as anyone familiar with his holy books is aware. Ashreinu! Happy are we! How good is our portion! May we just merit to observe and to study each of these teachings at its appropriate time and season. May we "study the laws of Pesach before Pesach" - to express ourselves before God prior to Pesach that we will merit to draw close to Him through the holiness of Pesach and through the deep advice contained in these teachings which speak about Pesach. May we do the same for all the holy festivals! There is no time to continue. What is more, I am suffering terribly right now over my grandson, Nachman, may he live, who is sick in bed. May God quickly heal him. I must go to visit him now. May God Who is full of compassion, the Creator of cures, quickly heal him and give him back his full strength right away. Salvation is in God's hands. The words of your father, waiting for salvation. Noson of Breslov |
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