Letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser to Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz. Tiberias, 1933.
Lengthy and interesting letter sent by Rabbi Yisrael Ber [Dov] Odesser to Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz, who was among the important leaders and men of influence (mashpi’im) of Breslov. In the letter, Rabbi Odesser writes regarding himself: “I have not yet merited joy, and am still undergoing what is happening from all sides” as well as about the importance of seclusion (hitbodedut), and on the topic of printing Breslov books.
Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser was born in 1886 to a family of Karlin Chassidim in Tiberias. As a child, he found the book Hishtapchut HaNefesh in a genizah. However, the book was without a binding, and he did not know who the author was. He got excited about the book, studied it regularly, became a Chassid of Breslov and resided nearby and inside the neighborhood of Rabbi Mordechai Chaim Slonim, who drew him close and arranged a place for him to live despite the fact that he belonged to the Slonim Chassidut, which opposed Breslov Chassidut. Over the course of time, a group of Chassidim gathered around him to learn with him. Towards the end of his life, he became well-known following a mysterious letter on a note reading “נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן.” As such, he is know by his followers as “Ba’al HaPetek.” The letter was sent to Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz, who was a Breslov mashpia.
[2] pages, on one leaf folded in two. 22×27 cm. Entirely handwritten by him and with his signature. Signed “Yisrael Breslov.”