October 24, 1926, London
To my soul mate ... may his candle burn forever:
I received your letter from the thirteenth of Tishrey [the first Hebrew month]. What you write me about, “I recognize how much I need external mortifications to correct my externality,” thus far your words, I say that you neither need mortifications nor to correct the externality. Who taught you this new law? It must be that you are not as attached to me as before, and are therefore learning other ways.
Know that you have no other trusted friend in your whole life, and I advise you not to correct your externality at all, but only your internality, for only your internality is destined to be corrected. And the main reason why the internality is corrupted due to the proliferation of sins is the filth, whose sign is pride and self-importance. That filth fears no mortification in the world. On the contrary, it relishes them because the self-importance and pride increase and strengthen by the mortification.
But if you do wish to cleanse the sins off you, you should engage in annulment of self-importance instead of the mortifications, meaning to feel that you are the lowest and the worst of all the people in the world. It requires much learning and education to understand this, and each time you should test yourself to see if you are not fooling and deceiving yourself. It also helps to lower yourself before your friend in practice.
However, you should be mindful that you lower yourself only before the right people. So if you wish to engage in it in practice, you can annul yourself before our group, and not before strangers, God forbid. However, you must know for certain that you are the worst and the lowest of all the people in the world, as this is the truth.
Indeed, my advice is straightforward and easy, and even a weak person can keep it to the fullest, for it does not wear out the strength of the body, and it is the complete purity. Although I have not spoken to you about it, it was because you did not need it so, since while you were with me in the same place, you would gradually recognize your lowliness anyway, without any learning or actions. But now that you are not with me in my place, you must engage in annulment of the self-importance in the manner just mentioned.
And the most important is to pray extensively and strengthen the confidence that the Creator will help you succeed in meriting complete repentance, and to know how to adhere to Him in one connection for eternity. This is the most important, and this is what distinguishes one who serves the Creator from one who does not serve Him. “Do not rest, and give Him no rest” until He forgives all your sins and crimes and brings you close to Him forever and for all eternity.
You should also cling to me in a way that the location does not separate us. Our sages said, “Cling to one who has been anointed and you yourself will be anointed.” This is an important principle in the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, to mate with the righteous, may you be wise enough to understand it.
Believe me that on my part there are no preventions or heaviness. If I knew that there was more that I could do in your favor while being with you in the Land of Israel, I would certainly not leave you. But in truth, my journeying from you was also precisely for your sake.
Yehuda Leib, son of my teacher and Rabbi, Simcha Ashlag