Letter from Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser, 1928

Letter from Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser, 1928

Letter from Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser. Tiberias, 1928.

Specifications: [2] pages, one leaf folded into two. 28x22 cm. Entirely in his handwriting and with his signature. Yiddish and Hebrew.

Unique Features: Long and interesting letter, regarding service of G-d and the Breslov approach, which Rabbi Yisrael Ber [Dov] Odesser sent to Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz, one of the greatest and most prominent Breslov leaders. Signed Yisrael Breslov, followed by: Freilich, freilich, freilich.

Background: Rabbi Yisrael Dov Odesser was born in Tiberias in 1886, to a family of Karlin chassidim. When he was a child, he found the book Hishtapchut HaNefesh in a geniza, but the book was missing the binding and he did not know the author's identity. He was enthusiastic about the book and studied it consistently. He became a Breslov chassid and lived next to Rabbi Mordechai Chaim Slonim, with whom a close relationship developed and who ensured him a place to live despite belonging to the Slonim chassidut which opposed Breslov. He later moved to Jerusalem to learn from the leaders of the Breslov chassidut. Over time, a group of chassidim gathered around him and learned from him. At the end of his life he became famous due to a mysterious letter on a note in which he wrote "Na Nach Nachman MeUman", as a result of which he is known as the "Ba'al HaPetek." The letter before us was sent to Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz, one of the leaders of Breslov. Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz's dramatic life story and holy ways appear in his book Yemei Shmuel.

Condition: Fine. Aging stains.