Auction 95 Early Printed Books, Chassidut and Kabbalah, Letters and Manuscripts, Engravings and Jewish Ceremonial Objects
Manuscript poem, in honor of "the famous philanthropist R. Hertz", written by R. Natan Feitel son of R. Yitzchak of Vilna. [Vilna, 1819.]
Written on double leaf. On the outer page is a frame with fine decorations (embossed). In the center of the page is an illustration of the Tablets of the Law and a micrographic "Crown of Torah". At the bottom of the page, in minute letters, is the colophon of the writer.
On the inner page appears the poem, with the acrostic "the famous philanthropist R. Hertz".
We do not know who the philanthropist is for whom the poem was written, nor do we have details on the writer.
[1] double leaf. Good-fair condition. Stains. Minute tears. Placed in a new case.
Provenance: Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, EE.011.009.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Eliyahu Levinson. Memel (Prussia; today: Klaipėda, Lithuania), Tevet 1863.
Sent to Jerusalem, to his friend R. Shmuel Salant and member of his court R. Binyamin David of Vilna. Letter regarding sending funds to Jerusalem, to public institutions and private individuals.
In the margins of the leaf is an additional letter, also handwritten and signed by R. Eliyahu, to his uncle R. Yechiel Ichel who lived in Jerusalem.
R. Eliyahu (Elinke) of Kretinga (1822-1888), studied in his youth in Salant under R. Yosef Zundel of Salant, during which time he became the close friend and disciple of R. Yisrael Salanter and R. Shmuel Salant. He remained the close disciple of R. Yisrael his whole life, was his close attendant in public activism and a staunch proponent of the Musar movement founded by R. Yisrael Salanter. Though he was one of the prominent Torah scholars of his generation, he refused to serve as rabbi and dealt in trade and banking. R. Elinke was a foremost leader of Russian Jewry and a leading lobbyist in the upper echelons of the government. He was an administrator and trustee of the Eretz Israel funds for over forty years.
[1] leaf. 28 cm. Thin, bluish stationery. Good condition. Stains. Folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter (3 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Yaakov Yosef, Rav HaKolel (chief rabbi). New York, 1890.
Sent to R. Azriel Hildesheimer in Berlin, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. R. Yaakov Yosef blesses him to reach a ripe old age. He goes on to tell of the passing of R. Hirsch Zak, the president of the Association of Congregations in New York, describing him as a God-fearing and honest person who shared his money generously. He goes on to discuss appointing a reliable person as a mashgiach to help him repair the kosher system in the United States.
R. Yaakov Yosef (1841-1902), a leading Lithuanian Torah scholar, appointed in his later years as Chief Rabbi in New York (the first and last rabbi to serve as chief rabbi of New York or any other state).
A prominent disciple of R. Yisrael Salanter, he served in the rabbinates of Veliuona, Jurbarkas and New Žagarė, and was later appointed orator and head posek of Vilna. In 1888, he was appointed chief rabbi of New York by the Association of Congregations who sought an illustrious personage to bolster Torah observance in the United States. Upon his arrival in the United States, R. Yaakov Yosef established and consolidated all religious requirements of the Jewish community, and he founded the first yeshiva in the United States.
[1] double leaf (containing [3] written pages). 19 cm. Good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Three responsa queries sent to R. Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (the Netziv), Rabbi and yeshiva dean of Volozhin.
• Lengthy letter (4 pages) to the Netziv from his student R. Shlomo Zalman Ginzburg. [Byalynichy], [15 Sivan], 1891. Contains halachic question on various topics in the halachot of shechita and terefot. Apologizing for disturbing his teacher but underlining its necessity, he asks a few questions about the laws of terefot. Over its course, he also asks the Netziv whether the rumor he heard is true that the Netziv had retracted one of his halachic decisions in Haamek Shealah.
[1] double leaf (containing 4 written pages). 21 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, tears and folds, repaired with tape. Worming, slightly affecting text.
• Letter to the Netziv from his student R. Efraim Binyamin son of Avraham of Uzda, studying in Vievis, who sends his teacher Torah thoughts from tractate Bava Batra. Vievis, [ca. 1880s-1890s]. With enclosed booklet of Torah novellae on inheritance (the beginning of the booklet is missing, and only the letter and the two last pages of the booklet remain).
[1] double leaf (containing 3 written pages), 33 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears and folds.
• Lengthy letter to the Netziv, by R. Lima son of Yaakov Pitikovski, prayer leader and shochet in Trachtenberg (Żmigród, Silesia), [1892]. Halachic query on the laws of idolatry asked by a poor person in his city who produced gravestones for gentiles, asking whether it was permitted to place a Christian symbol on the gravestone. He goes on to write about matters of public advocacy against persecution of Jews, and the Netziv's efforts in the matter.
[1] leaf. 28.5 cm. Written on both sides. Fair-good condition. Stains, tears and folds, repaired with tape, including open tears, affecting text in some places.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Collection of over 30 letters sent to R. Chaim Berlin, Rabbi of Moscow, Kobryn, Yelisavetgrad and Jerusalem. Many of them deal with Torah matters and halachic and public questions.
The letters include:
• Letter from R. Avraham Hoffenberg, Rabbi of Vaškai, lament for the passing of his teacher the Netziv of Volozhin. Vaškai (Panevėžys county), [Elul 1893].
• Letter (on official postcard by R. Moshe Nachum Yerushalimsky, Rabbi of Kielce. [Tevet 1904].
• Letter of R. Moshe Yaakov Grinbarg, Rabbi of Radzin. Radzin, 1886.
• Letter of R. Bentzion, rabbi and posek in Radzin, [1881].
• Letter of the shochet R. Menachem Nachum Yoselman of Shklow, 1881.
• Letter of R. Gershon son of Reuven, Rabbi of Quba (Azerbaijan), Cheshvan 1880.
• Four letters by R. Mordechai Friedman of Międzyrzec Podlaski [author of Poteach Davar]. Międzyrzec Podlaski, [1888-1889/1904].
• Letter of R. Yehudah Leib HaKohen, Rabbi of Jonava. [1896].
• Letter of R. Yehudah Lieberman, Samara, [ca. 1880s-1890s].
• Letter (2 pages excluding signature leaf), regarding receiving R. Chaim Berlin as Rabbi of Kobryn. [1890s, ca. 1893].
• Two letters on postcards by R. Dov Aryeh Ritter, Rabbi of Rotterdam. Rotterdam, 1895.
• Letter of R. Yosef HaKohen Fendler, Rabbi of Dunaivtsi. 1901.
• Letter of R. Aryeh Leib Frumkin and R. Yitzchak Sovalsky. Nisan 1902.
• Letter of R. Yehudah Yudel Nastaskin, Rabbi of Smila (Ukraine), [Kislev 1903].
• Letter of R. Yosef Rotman (son of R. Moshe Rabbi of Horodyshche). [Smila, 1899].
• Letter of R. Aharon HaLevi Goldman, Rabbi of Moisés Ville. Argentina, 1909.
• Letter and halachic responsum by R. Levi Yitzchak HaKohen Navidovitz, Rabbi of Raška, [ca. 1890s].
• Letter of R. Ze'ev Wolf Vishniak. Moscow, 1902.
• Two letters of R. Alter Heller Brody. Warsaw, [1895].
• Letter of R. Avraham son of Moshe Temkin. Siedlce, 1903.
• Letter of R. Yisrael Moshe Goldberg, Rabbi of Myrhorod (Kherson region), Adar 1903.
• Document of sale of chametz handwritten by R. Chaim Berlin, Yelisavetgrad, Nisan 1905.
• Letter of R. Meir Freiman. New York, 1910; and more letters and copies of letters.
Over 30 letters comprising over 40 leaves. Size and condition Vary. Overall good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Large assorted collection of letters of rabbis from Russia and Ukraine. Ca. late 19th and early 20th century, including some 14 letters to R. Chaim Berlin, Rabbi of Moscow, Yelisavetgrad (Kropyvnytskyi) and Jerusalem.
30 letters. Varying size and condition. Most in good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter from R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz, dean of the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Kamenets. [Kamenets, 1930s].
Letter in Yiddish addressed to the Feigin family in Philadelphia, United States, donors of the yeshiva. R. Baruch Ber showers them with many blessings and thanks for their generous support of the yeshiva, describes the learning conditions in the yeshiva and how many students came from America to study in the yeshiva, including some likely to be the next generation's scholars.
The letter is mostly typewritten, and concludes with about 6 lines of warm and heartfelt blessings handwritten by the yeshiva's dean R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz.
R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1940), author of Birkat Shmuel, a leading Torah educator, was a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva. He established a yeshiva in Hlusk, and later headed the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Slabodka. During World War I, he followed the displaced yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, finally settling in Kamenets. He authored Birkat Shmuel, a classic Talmudic work of in-depth yeshiva study.
[2] leaves, official stationery. Approx. 27.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter on postcard, handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski; with several additional lines handwritten and signed by R. Chizkiyahu Yosef Yitzchak Mishkovski. Vilna, 4 Adar I, 1913.
Sent to Berlin, to the emissaries of the "General Committee" R. Tzvi Hirsch Salant and R. Rivlin. R. Chaim Ozer writes that R. Mishkovski was to travel to Jerusalem, and tersely mentions some matters he dealt with, apparently also for the Eretz Israel fund.
R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. A disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna at the age of 24. He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and for close to fifty years, his opinion was conclusive on all public matters. This letter shows how already as a young rabbi (under the age of 50), R. Chaim Ozer took on responsibility in communal affairs.
R. Chizkiyahu Yosef Yitzchak Mishkovski (1884-1946), Rabbi of Krynki, immigrated to Jerusalem in 1904 and kept the company of his renowned father-in-law R. Yitzchak Blazer, whose position as leader of the Vilna Kollel and General Committee he assumed upon his death. In 1913 he left Israel in connection with appointing a new rabbi for the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem (the present letter was written during this period), where he stayed (despite his plan to return to Jerusalem mentioned by R. Chaim Ozer in the present letter), and was appointed Rabbi of Krynki after World War I. During and after the Holocaust he was active in rescue efforts and establishing Torah worldwide.
Postcard, 14x9 cm. Good condition. Stains. Postmarks (one postage stamp detached).
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by R. Yehudah Leib Chasman, author of Or Yahel. Jerusalem, Kislev 1931.
Written on the stationery of the Hebron – Knesset Yisrael yeshiva in Jerusalem, and addressed to R. Yechezkel Sarna (who was presumably abroad at the time taking care of yeshiva matters). His signature appears on the margins of the letter.
The letter describes the precarious financial situation of the yeshiva, the need for food and repaying debts. R. Chasman apparently mentions R. Avraham Shmuel Finkel (son of the Alter of Slabodka), who was to raise funds in South Africa, but was unsure whether to travel to Africa or America. He describes the threat to the yeshiva's continued existence and the need to try to do anything to help.
R. Yehudah Leib Chasman (1869-1935), a leading Torah scholar of his times. Av Beit Din of Szczuczyn, where he established a large yeshiva which closed at the outbreak of World War I. After the war, he was highly active in the Vaad HaYeshivot, and was a confidant of the Vaad leaders R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, the Chafetz Chaim and R. Shimon Shkop. He served as mashgiach of the Hebron yeshiva from 1927 until his passing.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 26.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Two letters handwritten and signed by R. Isser Zalman Meltzer, dean of Etz Chaim yeshiva. Jerusalem, Sivan 1936; Adar 1937.
Addressed to R. Meir Berlin (Bar-Ilan), son of the Netziv (who was R. Isser Zalman's teacher at the Volozhin yeshiva). The first letter deals with income of the Union of Rabbis by the emissaries sent to Africa [South Africa], R. Yedidyah Goroniesky and R. Yoel Yochnin. The second letter deals with editing and printing Mishpat Kohen [printed at the time by the Society for Publishing the Books of R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook].
R. Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1954), author of Even HaAzel, disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva, Rabbi and yeshiva dean of Slutsk. Immigrated to Jerusalem in 1924 and was appointed head dean in the Etz Chaim yeshiva. One of the heads of Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah.
[2] leaves. Official stationery. 14 / 28 cm. Good condition. Filing holes. Tears in filing holes of second letter, affecting text.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Huge collection of over 120 letters from the archive of R. Tzvi Hirsch Farber, sent to him by rabbis of England, Lithuania and various countries. Ca. 1910s-1960s.
The letters were authored by rabbis from various countries, including: R. Yechezkel Libschitz, Av Beit Din of Kalisz; R. Yisrael Binyamin Bendet Feivelson, Av Beit Din of Šaukėnai (Lithuania); R. Yitzchak Danzig of St. Petersburg; R. Aharon Levin, Av Beit Din of Rzeszów; and more.
Rabbis in England who authored letters include: R. Moshe Yitzchak Segal, dean of Manchester yeshiva (3 letters); R. Yisrael Chaim Deiches, Leeds (4 letters); R. Shmuel Yitzchak Hillman, Glasgow (7 letters); R. Moshe Eliyahu Rogosnitzky, Av Beit Din of Cardiff; R. Isser Yehudah Unterman, Liverpool; R. Shemaryah Menashe HaKohen Adler; R. Avigdor Schonfeld, Av Beit Din of Adat Yisrael, London (over 20 letters) and his son R. Shlomo Schonfeld; R. Israel Brodie, chief rabbi of England; and many more rabbis.
The recipient of the letters, R. Tzvi Hirsch Farber (1879-1967), a leading English rabbi. Born in Slabodka, he studied under R. Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor and under R. Yitzchak Blazer and R. Naftali Amsterdam, disciples of R. Yisrael Salanter. In 1910 he moved to England and was a pillar of Orthodox Judaism in London and England. He originally served as dean in the Manchester yeshiva, and many years later moved to serve as rabbi in west London.
Over 125 letters. Varying size and condition. Most on official stationery.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Report card of student Chaim son of R. Shmuel Greineman. Tiferet Tzion yeshiva, Bnei Brak, Elul 1936.
Report card for general exam, where the student was given a grade of "excellent" in comprehension and "very good" in knowledge, diligence and behavior. Signed by the rabbis of the "examination committee" and members of the yeshiva administration: R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievski (the Steipler, who was also R. Chaim Greineman's uncle), R. Avraham Yitzchak Gershonowitz and R. Yaakov Schneidman.
R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (1899-1985), an extraordinary Torah leader of the past generation, known as the Steipler after his hometown of Hornostaipil, Ukraine. Following his marriage to the sister of the Chazon Ish, he was appointed dean of the Novardok yeshiva in Pinsk, and in 1934, he immigrated to Eretz Israel to serve as dean of the Beit Yosef Novardok yeshiva in Bnei Brak, where he lived with his brother-in-law, the Chazon Ish. After the yeshiva shut down, he continued his studies in Kollel Chazon Ish and at home, authored the Kehillot Yaakov series and earned a reputation as an exceptional person with divine inspiration.
R. Avraham Yitzchak Gershonowitz (1888-1954), Rabbi of Zhabinka in the Brisk region (Poland-Lithuania), immigrated to Eretz Israel in the autumn of 1935, and was appointed head of the Tiferet Tzion yeshiva in Bnei Brak.
The recipient of the report card, R. Chaim Shaul Greineman (1926-2015), later renowned as a leading Torah authority, author of Chidushim UBeurim. A nephew of the Chazon Ish, he was ten and a half years old at the time the report card was written, and his brilliant mind and profound understanding were already recognized.
[1] leaf. 25 cm. Printed leaf, filled out by hand, with the yeshiva's stamp. Good-fair condition. Wear and stains, light damage to folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.