Greetings to R' Shlomo Veksler — The Betrothal; the Enclosed Letter for R' Alter

Peace and blessing and all good forever — to his honor — my beloved, my dear, my precious — like my own soul[כנפשי = כנפשי — "like my own soul." An unusually warm epithet — "dear as my own soul" — used here for R' Tzvi Vasilefsky, indicating the depth of their bond over years of correspondence.] — the revered Chassid[הרה"ח = הרב החסיד — "the revered Chassid."] — from the precious Breslover Chassidim[מאנ"ש = מאנשי שלומינו — "from our Chassidim."] — who yearn for the service of Hashem in truth — and for drawing close to our master the Rebbe זצ"ל in truth and in wholeness — his honor, his splendor, his glory, our master Rabbi Tzvi Vasilefsky, may his light shine, may G-d protect him — and all his household[כב"ב = וכל בני ביתו — "and all the members of his household."], may they live. And to his dear and exalted disciple — who desires and yearns to draw close truly to our master the Rebbe זצ"ל — his honor, his splendor, his glory, our master Rabbi... may his light shine, may G-d protect him — and all his household, may they live.

The Omer's Final Days; Shavuos Night = The Essential; R' Nachum and the Maggid — Dancing; LM §56; The Seder Lights on Pesach; Keter through Atirutha Diletata Behold — most of the Omer days have already passed — and the holy Shavuos days are approaching. And one can still merit during the holy days of the count — to teshuvah — through reciting the Psalms propitious for teshuvah and for the purification of the soul. And also: through the yearning for the receiving of the Torah on Shavuos — and counting the Omer with intention and yearning for the receiving of the Torah — and for becoming a true human being. For barley is animal food — and we wait to become a true human being through the receiving of the Torah on Shavuos. And on Shavuos night — the essential is to be awake the entire night — [Yiddish: the essential is to be awake] — and through this one is exempted from several "karet" punishments[כריתות — ח"ו = כריתות — "karet / cutting off" punishments. The Torah's most severe spiritual penalty — being "cut off" from the community of Israel. ח"ו = חס ושלום — G-d forbid. The tradition (brought in the holy books) teaches that staying awake the entire Shavuos night atones for and protects against the spiritual severity of karet transgressions.], G-d forbid — as brought in the holy books — and one is assured for the entire year. And the spiritual direction of the person for the entire year is according to that Shavuos night — as brought in the writings of the Arizal. And if one can recite the Tikkun Leil Shavuos — this is very good — and one is called "the companion of the Matrona" — as brought in the holy Zohar. And one must also rejoice the entire night — as in a great celebration — as brought in the holy Zohar. And it is well known among our Chassidim in Uman — that the entire night the dancing did not stop — and shifts of men alternated to dance — and the dancing did not stop even for a moment. And I was told: the holy Tzaddik — the Maggid of Tirhovatz [הרב המגיד מטיראווצע — "the Maggid of Tirhovatz." As in Letter 54: Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov (1745–1807). Note that the name Tirhovatz/Tirhovitz/Tirovitz appears in slight variants across the letters — the same person is meant throughout.] — who was a companion of the holy Tzaddik R' Nachum of Chernobyl זצ"ל — and they were always together for Shavuos — sometimes R' Nachum traveled to the Maggid of Tirhovatz — and sometimes the Maggid of Tirhovatz came to R' Nachum זצ"ל for Shavuos — and they danced together the entire Shavuos night. And when R' Nachum became old and weak — he sent his son R' Mordechai of Chernobyl זצ"ל to the Maggid of Tirhovatz for Shavuos — and they danced together the entire night. And the mikveh of Shavuos is from the fiftieth gate of holiness — as brought in Likutay Moharan in Torah 56 — "On the Day of the First Fruits." [תורה נ"ו — "וביום הביכורים" — "Torah 56 — 'On the Day of the First Fruits.'" נ"ו = nun(50) + vav(6) = 56. LM Part 1, §56. The verse is Numbers 28:26 — "And on the Day of the First Fruits — when you bring a new grain offering to Hashem on your Shavuos" — the Rebbe teaches the deep connection between Shavuos and the fiftieth gate of holiness, and the mikveh of Shavuos as an immersion into this highest level. The teaching emphasizes studying Torah specifically aloud (b'peh — with the mouth) throughout one's lifetime.] And the reading of the Ten Commandments — which contain all the 613 commandments — as is well known. And the song of longing — Akdamus. And the eating of the Shavuos dairy meal — "honey and milk under your tongue." And we merit to the Crown of Torah — for on Pesach night we merited to all the Sefirot in order in the Seder of Pesach: Chochmah, Binah, Da'as — the three matzos; and the other matters of the Seder were Chesed and so on through Malchus. But the Crown — we did not merit to this — for even this was only through the arousal from above alone. But through the counting of the Omer — all forty-nine days — which is purely through the arousal from below — each one in his yearning and in his words and in his counting aloud "today such-and-such of the Omer" — and in his refinement throughout all the days of the count — passing through seven times seven: all kinds of ascents and descents — and greatness and smallness — and the smallness of the small — and we endure it all — and do not abandon our place — and do what is upon us — and do not lose the count — and count such-and-such — and are ashamed: how we stand — and how we are still in the aspect of an animal — "the barley of the Omer" — "we have nothing to respond" and so on. Through this we merit on Shavuos to the holiness of the Crown — which even the angels do not merit — but only human beings — Jews — through their arousal from below — and their waiting — and their endurance of all kinds of faint-heartedness and humiliations from the body's brazenness — and obstacles — and everything that passes over them — and they do not abandon their place — and do what is theirs. Through this specifically they merit to the aspect of the Crown — as brought in LM Torah 6 — "Call out to Joshua" — for teshuvah is in the aspect of the Crown — "Crown — wait for me, little one" — the aspect of waiting and so on. For Pesach is in the aspect of haste — the beginning of the drawing close — to flee from what must be fled — and also to flee to the Torah: one must do it with alacrity — for if not, one can sink, G-d forbid. But when one already merits to enter into the service of Hashem — or merits to sit and study Torah or prayer — then it is forbidden to rush and want to immediately feel and enter into holiness all at once. For "not in haste shall you go out" — only one must wait days and years — until one merits in truth to what one will merit — if one can endure and wait and wait — for this is the matter of the Omer count — until in the very end — if one does not lose the count and the waiting — however it may be — in the very end one merits through the waiting specifically to the highest holiness — the fiftieth gate — the Crown — the holy Shavuos. And one must engage in Torah specifically aloud — to read throughout all one's days — see Torah 56 in Likutay Moharan.

I am hereby enclosing a most urgent letter, and I ask of your honor with a great request — please perform this mitzvah and personally hand this enclosed letter to the hand of the distinguished talmid chacham, man of good name and reputation, R' Alter Ben Tzion — into his hands personally, without showing it to any person whatsoever. And please write me an immediate correct reply: whether you delivered it to his hands; and what is the particular welfare of R' Alter — whether he has already left the hospital [this is the clearest statement yet that R' Alter Ben Tzion has been hospitalized; the hospital is identified as "ואליק" — presumably a Jerusalem hospital], and how his health is. All in detail. And likewise inform me of your own precious welfare, and of the welfare of all our friends, and of the welfare of my dear friend, the charming and pious young man, R' Yankel [יענקלי], may he live forever. And I await a good swift reply — at this address: Noson Chanhas, Tzfas, Eretz Yisrael — on behalf of Shmuel Horowitz.

Postscript to Letter 15 — Heartfelt appeal to R' Yankel; prayer request with his full name