Lengthy Letter from the Yesod HaAvodah, First Rebbe of Slonim

Lengthy Letter from the Yesod HaAvodah, First Rebbe of Slonim
Lengthy letter (5 pages), handwritten and signed by Rebbe Avraham Weinberg, first rebbe of Slonim, author of Yesod HaAvodah. [Slonim], 37th day of the Omer [Iyar 1868].
The letter is addressed to the rebbe's mechutan R. Yehoshua, the latter's brother-in-law, and his Chassidim in general. The main part of the letter (4 pages) is a profound, in-depth Chassidic-kabbalistic essay, on the holiness of Shabbat and principles of faith. Most of the letter was printed, with minor variations, in his book Yesod HaAvodah (letter section, letter 33) and in his book Be'er Avraham (Parashat Behar). The first page – the opening of the letter, and parts of the conclusion were not printed there, and are presumably hitherto unpublished.
The rebbe concludes the letter by asking the recipient to address him simply, without profuse expressions of praise.
Apart from the five pages of the letter, an additional page comprises drafts of the opening section of the letter (presumably also at least partly handwritten by the rebbe).
Rebbe Avraham Weinberg, first rebbe of Slonim, author of Yesod HaAvodah (1803-1883), a brilliant and holy kabbalist, and an original and innovative scholar. He was a close disciple of his teachers, Rebbe Noach of Lechovitz and Rebbe Moshe of Kobryn. In the 1830s, he headed the Anaf Etz Chaim yeshiva in his hometown of Slonim, a branch of the renowned Etz Chaim yeshiva in Volozhin (Moshe Tzinovitz, Etz Chaim, p. 433; Aharon Surasky, Marbitzei Torah MeOlam HaChassidut, I, pp. 177, 183-186). In his youth, he studied Torah under extreme deprivation. He would study for eighteen hours a day until absolute exhaustion. In his old age, when one of his disciples remarked that one can discern on him revelations of Divine Inspiration, he replied: "I don't know about Divine Inspiration, but I did study Torah under deprivation, and the sages state that whoever studies Torah under deprivation will be satiated from the splendor of the Divine presence". After the passing of his teacher, Rebbe Moshe of Kobryn, in Nissan 1858, he established his court in Slonim, and most of the Kobryn Chassidim accepted his authority and began frequenting his court. He would conduct Tish not only on Shabbat and festivals, but also on weekdays. Like an ever-flowing wellspring, he delivered many extremely profound Chassidic discourses, and produced many works on all parts of the Torah (most were lost during the Holocaust). Some of his writings were published after his passing. His renowned books are Chessed LeAvraham, a profound, very abstract and impenetrable book on Kabbalah and philosophy; Yesod HaAvodah – on the topic of studying Torah for the sake of Heaven and Chassidic principles on the worship of G-d (in this book, he sharply criticizes the book Nefesh HaChaim by R. Chaim of Volozhin, primarily on his views on the study of Torah for the sake of Heaven; the original manuscript of this work reputedly states several times "contrary to the Nefesh HaChaim"); Be'er Avraham on Mechilta. After the Holocaust, his writings were published in additional volumes of Chessed LeAvraham and Be'er Avraham.
The rebbe corresponded continuously with his Chassidim (in particular those who immigrated to Eretz Israel and settled in Tiberias) on profound topics of Chassidut and worship of G-d. Some of these letters (such as the present letter) were printed after his passing in his book Yesod HaAvodah (in the letters section), as well as at the end of the book Be'er Avraham on the Torah.
[1] large leaf folded in four (6 written pages). Approx. 21.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including dark stains. Tears and wear, slightly affecting text. Ink fading. Folding marks (tears and wear to folds, repaired).