This is what the Breslovers from the city of Breslov wrote to the city of Tsherin about the passing of the Light of our eyes, a Tzaddik who is the foundation of the world, our teacher Rabbi Nosson zetzuka”l of Breslov. He passed away on Friday, the eve of the Holy Shabbos, on the 10th of Teves, in the year 5605:
With God’s help. Year 5605.
He who said to His world, “Enough” shall say “Enough” to our suffering. May the Omnipresent console us, etc. Oy for our catastrophe! For we have been left ‘like a mast at the top of the mountain and like a flag upon the hill.’ Because due to our sins, the glory of our strength, our head’s crown, the coveted of our souls, was taken from us – Admo”r Rabbi Nosson zatza”l, we are the atonement of his bier. On Friday, the eve of the Holy Shabbos, 10th of Teves, Parshas Vayigash, an hour before the entrance of Holy Shabbos. His illness started on Motzei Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Miketz. On the previous Shabbos, Parshas Miketz, when he entered for Seuda Shlishis to say Torah, the following words were the start of the Torah: “Although it is a disgrace to say the following since every lecturer says this, it must be said.” He said with these words, “You should know that we will be dead and dying, and we will have to lie with the feet towards the door.” He said this with great trepidation and afterward told the Torah of “Rabbi Shimon rejoiced” about solutions and faith in sages, about printing books, and about when the soul ascends above, its primary completeness is that it should be below as well. Afterward, he entered great happiness.
On Shabbos night (Miketz), he said Torah on the Menorah and danced by himself. After he left the table, he spoke about the service of Yom Kippur. He uttered flaming fire from his mouth and said, “The service … the Kohen Gadol, who entered the innermost sanctum, stood where he stood and entered where he entered. Behold before who you are entering. One and one… And the Sage’s Disciple is greater than the Kohen Gadol as is written, “It is more precious than pearls.”
Beforehand, he related a dream which hinted at his passing.
On Motzei Shabbos Kodesh Miketz, he entered for Seuda Shlishis and said Torah on Parshas Miketz. At the end of the Torah, he provided an explanation for the Mishnah: “Make for yourself a Rav and acquire yourself a friend.” He said the following: “Make for yourself a Rav.” And if you don’t know who the Rav is, “acquire yourself a friend” – meaning, attach yourself to the quill. He said it with these words, “We have to draw ourselves close to a Rebbe. And when there is no Rebbe, we attach ourselves to the pen.” Afterward, he recited Havdalah with intense weeping.
In the middle of the night, he became extremely ill. His illness grew stronger every day. On Monday, Rabbi Zev Lubarsky came to him. He spoke with him about Rabbeinu’s Rosh Hashanah and warned very much to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah.
On Wednesday night after Maariv, we stood before him. The above Rabbi Zev also arrived and stood at the side. Rabbi Dovid of Tultshin stood in front of Rabbi Zev. Admo”r told Rabbi Dovid, “Don’t block Velvelen (a Yiddish nickname for Zev); let him at least look at me. The Rebbe also once told someone, ‘Look at me; this will be of great benefit for you.’” And he said the following, “We will have to get together.” Rabbi Zev asked him, “Where?” Admo”r answered him, “In that world (world to come).”
Afterward, he related the awesome story about the Sefer that was burnt when Rabbeinu z”l was in Lemberg. “I transcribed this Sefer in three and a half hours, and afterward, I left like from the Idra” (the place where Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai revealed what he revealed). He said, “This is help from Heaven that I related this story to you.”
That night, he recited Chatzos. After Chatzos, around three hours before daybreak, he grabbed a pen and wrote Torah on the Mishnah: “One may irrigate a field that requires irrigation on Chol HaMoed.” Afterward, Rabbi Meir Yehudah came to him. He told him in these words, “Even if we are the worst sinner, as long as we hold ourselves in the Rebbe, we will undoubtedly do Teshuvah and have a rectification.”
On Wednesday, several Anshei Shlomeinu (men of our persuasion) stood before him, and he said, “Your main activity should be to print seforim (books). Your wellsprings should spread outwards.” And he spoke about the 72 strings (upon which the Song is played…).
Wednesday night, two hours before daybreak, Rabbi Meir Yehudah and Rabbi Leibtzhe came to him, and he said, “The angel Dumah comes to a person and splits his stomach and throws him on his face.” And he said, “Oy, especially when there are medicines in the stomach, it’s a fiery conflagration. But Rabbeinu z”l will undoubtedly fix everything in his presence.”
In the morning, he became very ill during the prayer. The righteous woman, Mrs. Adel, the daughter of Rabbeinu z”l, came to him and said, “Why are you silent? Don’t we have to abound in crying?” He z”l didn’t agree with this and said that he has big enemies. He only taught us how to pray for him – that we should speak during Hisbodedus that merit should be found for him in that he wrote Rabbeinu’s words and arranged and beautified them. Also now he wants to print. And your whole life depends on me.
Rabbi Tzvi of Teplik also came to him. Rabbi Nosson asked him if he already received money from the master. He told him, “Give me your money, and I will guard the money for you until the World to Come.” And he said, “My ancestors stored below and I stored above.”
And he commanded him to say a lot of Psalms. Say them how you will say them. Thursday night, the eve of the Holy Shabbos, we read two stories from Rabbeinu before him – Story #1 and Story #2.
Before daybreak, he commanded that hot water be brought for him to bathe. He spoke a lot before they brought the bath, almost like a last testament. He said the following, “You need to hold yourselves together with great love. You are kosher people, but you are shlamazelnikkes (unlucky, inept people…).” Afterward, he suddenly said to those there, “There were three tragedies in Teves. What were the tragedies?” They didn’t remember. He said himself, “In Teves, Ezra the Scribe passed away, the Torah was written in Greek, and the city was breached [and the Babylonian king laid siege on Jerusalem].” He said with these words, “Nu, when Ezra the Scribe passes away, and treif pasul (unkosher unfit) overpowers so much, like today, that there are thousands and myriads of treif pasul. But I hope that one page from Rabbeinu’s books will be a rectification for everything. Nu, I urge you that your occupation should be printing the seforim so that it should be: ‘Your wellsprings shall spread outwards.’ You should be strong with money, with will, and with effort.” He said to his son Rabbi Yitzchak, “You also have to give 500 rubles for this. And if not, give 60.”
He also said that there exist such harsh and bitter punishments as there exist, and in the end, they desire to fight such a Rebbe?! Oy.”
In the morning, he dressed himself in Tzitzis and Tefillin, prayed with all his strength, recited Selichos, and cried during the Reading of the Torah. Afterward, he learned and finished the big Shulchan Aruch (containing all the commentaries). They told him that he should learn the small Shulchan Aruch (which only had the Ba’er Hagolah and the Ba’er Haitev, etc.) “since you don’t have any strength.” He, zatza”l replied, “Don’t be so devoted to me.” He recited Psalms; afterward, he told Nachman Ben Ozer to give him the “All Good.” He didn’t know what he wanted. Rabbi Nosson explained, “Give me the Tanach. This is All Good.” After this, He said that if two people would come before him with a violin and they would dance in front of him, they would undoubtedly enliven him. And he said that he won’t drink anymore, even tea.
Two hours later, he told his son, Rabbi Yitzchak, “Go to the house and bring me the round challahs of Shabbos. But they should be specifically of Shabbos.” And he instructed to set up a table specifically on the chair. He himself z”l sat on the box of candles and ate a k’zayis (of Challah) with great difficulty, a little bit of gravy, and a little bit of tzimmes (cooked carrot dish). He said afterward that it is permissible to bless Birchas Hamazon on the nearby bed. In the middle of Birchas Hamazon, he said, “May the Merciful One draw the Holiness of Israel to us.” And he said, “I did not have in mind to eat; it just strayed into my thought.”
Afterward, he sent after candles and said in these words, “The Shabbos light and Yom Tov light and Chanukah light are one matter.” He said that he has piles of piles of Halachos (in the vein of Likutei Halachos) on this matter, wonders of wonders, “but I don’t have strength.”
Afterward, he said this verse to Rabbi Nachman of Tultshin, “‘Go to Yosef, do what he tells you.’ The main thing is attachment to Tzaddikim.”
Afterward, he commanded all of Anshei Shlomeinu to go to the Mikveh (bath for purifying immersion). We went to the Mikveh. When we came back from the Mikveh, the illness strengthened enormously. The righteous woman, Mrs. Adel, came to him and asked him, “Has it gotten worse by you?” He answered, “It is with great loving-kindness.”
After that, he didn’t speak with us further. We only heard him say ‘Yivarechicha’ (the blessing of the Kohanim), the blessing of ‘Hamapil’ (recited before going to sleep), ‘Chanun hamarbeh lisloach’ (one of the blessings from Shemoneh Esrei for forgiveness), ‘Mikadeish HaShabbos’ (from the Shabbos prayers), ‘Baruch Atah BaKodesh’, and ‘Echad.’ This matter took around one and a half hours. His passing was mammesh (for real) through kissing, immediately following the kindling of the light of the Holy Shabbos.
He came to burial on Motzei Shabbos Kodesh amidst great honor to a high degree, even from the cult of misnagdim. We can’t expound further in writing because there are many things in this for which the skins of all the Rams of Nebaioth (they are the best quality) wouldn’t suffice. Please, please, friends and brothers! Be strong and courageous to support the home of Admo”r, and also to flow gold from your pockets to print his holy seforim since he warned about this the most. May Hashem Yisboroch console us and gladden our broken hearts, as you know that all his desire and longing was solely to rejoice in God and His Holy Torah.
These are the words of Anshei Shlomeinu of Breslov, 5605.