Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
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Large collection of thirty letters of rebbes and rabbis sent to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Israel and other places, ca. 1950s-1960s.
Letters handwritten and signed by rebbes and rabbis (two letters typewritten and signed by hand). Some letters are lengthy. Contents of the letters include blessings for a Shanah Tovah and Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah, names with requests for blessing, halachic questions, invitations, consultations, receipts, requests for financial and material assistance and more.
In the collection:
• Letter of R. Tzvi Hirsch Meisels, Av Beit Din and dean of Yeshiva Shearis Yisroel in Chicago [formerly Av Beit Din of Neumark, Weitzen (Vác) and the displaced persons camp of Bergen-Belsen, and Chief Rabbi in the British occupation zone in Germany]. Chicago, Elul 1960.
• Letter of Rebbe Meshulam Yissachar Ashkenazi of Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk) and London. England, Elul 1961.
• Two letters of Rebbe Tzvi Halberstam of Rudnik, Av Beit Din of the Atzei Chaim community in Los Angeles (son of Rebbe Avraham Halberstam, Av Beit Din of Rudnik, and son-in-law of R. Yitzchak Eizik Halberstam of Solotvyno). Los Angeles, 1960/1964.
• Letter of Rebbe Meshulam Zusha Twersky of Loyev-Chernobyl. Jerusalem, Elul 1957.
• Letter of Rebbe Aryeh Leibish Halberstam of Sanz-Zmigrod [author of Aryeh Shaag]. Jaffa, Shevat 1952.
• Three letters of Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Lipschitz Halberstam of Stropkov. Ramla, 1951-1952 / Jerusalem, 1962.
• Two letters of R. Yoel Heilprin, Av Beit Din of Jasło and rabbi in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp. Brooklyn, 1961-1963.
• Letter of R. Yeshayah Asher Zelig Margaliot (with letter of his son R. Shlomo Eliezer Margaliot). Jerusalem, Tishrei 1968.
• Letter of the Heichal HaTorah yeshiva in Jerusalem, signed by the dean R. Eliyahu Zlotnik [a dayan of the Badatz Edah HaCharedit], and the famous tzaddik R. Yaakov Yosef Herman [All for the Boss]. Jerusalem, Nisan 1965.
• Letter of Rebbe Naftali Asher Yeshayah Moskowitz of Melitz, who seeks the Rebbe's counsel on his upcoming move to Ashdod. Chanukkah 1978.
• Letter of Rebbe David Halberstam of Chrzanów-United States [son of Rebbe Baruch Halberstam of Chrzanów, son of Rebbe Moshe of Chrzanów]. Elul 1967.
• Letter of R. Yitzchak Tzvi Sofer, "the rabbi of Timișoara". Jerusalem, Shevat 1955.
• Letter of R. Efraim Eliezer Yolles, Av Beit Din of Philadelphia, who writes to the Rebbe that his attendants did not let him meet with the Rebbe on his previous visit, but expresses his faith that the Rebbe will nevertheless mention him in his prayers.
• Letter of R. Shmuel Pressburger, Av Beit Din of Bonyhád and later rabbi of the Schiffschul in Vienna. Vienna, Elul 1965.
• Letter of Rebbe Mordechai David Teitelbaum of Husakiv-Be'er Sheva, who writes to the Rebbe: "People have suggested… that I settle in Be'er Sheva… I wish to ask the leave and permission of the Rebbe regarding this…". Jerusalem, Adar II 1957.
• Letter of Rebbe Yisrael Taussig, author of Beit Yisrael. Jerusalem, Elul 1960.
• Letter of R. Natan David Rosenblum of Apta (who writes to the Rebbe's publishers: "I know the Rebbe for forty years, even since he was Rabbi of Carei"). Avellaneda (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Adar 1960.
• Letter of Rebbe Moshe Rokeach of Kozlov. Brooklyn, New York, [no date].
• Letter of Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Deutsch, Av Beit Din of Helmetz (Kráľovský Chlmec). São Paulo (Brazil), 1962.
• Letter of Rebbe Shalom Yechezkel Shraga Rubin-Halberstam of Cheshinov (Cieszanów). Brooklyn, Iyar 1961.
• Letter of R. Mordechai Tzvi Schwartz, rabbi of Shomrei Shabbat community in Cleveland, Ohio [disciple of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet and the Zichron Yehudah of Satmar], on the Rebbe's upcoming visit to Cleveland. Cleveland, Cheshvan 1959.
• Letter of Rebbe "Shimon Natan Neta son of Chavah Sarah" Biderman of Lelov-Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 1967.
• Letter of Rebbe Yoel Beer of Ratzfert. São Paulo (Brazil), Kislev 1960.
• Letter of R. Yisrael Aharon Unger-Halberstam, the dayan of Košice. Montreal, eve of Rosh Hashanah.
• Letter of R. Elimelech Ashkenazi, Av Beit Din of the United Orthodox Community of São Paulo [later Av Beit Din of Adat Yisrael, Melbourne]. São Paulo (Brazil), Elul 1959.
• Letter of R. Yitzchak Rabin "son of Chanah Peshya". New York, Nisan 1957.
30 letters, most on official stationery. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Large and assorted collection of 65 letters of rabbis, dayanim, followers and associates, to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar and his attendant R. Yosef Ashkenazi. 1950s-1970s. Most in Hebrew, the rest in Yiddish.
Letters of rabbis, dayanim, followers and associates, pious laymen in Jerusalem and Eretz Israel, and of associations, organizations, yeshivas and Torah and charitable institutions all over the world.
Handwritten letters (a few typewritten), with signatures and stamps of rabbis and institutions, some on official stationery.
The letters contain Shanah Tovah and Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah wishes; blessings for Jewish festivals; names to be mentioned in prayer for blessing and sustenance, health and happiness from children; personal questions and requests for advice; donations to support Satmar institutions; halachic questions and Torah discussions; advocacy and communal affairs; resolution of controversies and disputes; printing books; requests for assistance and financial support; receipts and confirmations of donations received; and more.
The collection includes letters from rabbis including: • R. Yechiel Yehudah Isaacson, son-in-law of the Atzei Chaim of Sighet (brother of the Rebbe of Satmar), rabbi of the Achuzah neighborhood in Haifa and Magen Avraham community in Los Angeles; • R. Shalom Schnitzler, Av Beit Din of Békéscsaba, rabbi in London; • R. Avraham David Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Adath Israël community in Strasbourg [later member of the Badatz Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem]; • R. Shmuel Pressburger, Av Beit Din of Bonyhád and rabbi in Vienna; • R. Chaim Meir Braun, rabbi of Etz Chaim Beit Midrash in Boro Park; • R. Tzvi Elazar Flam [son of Rebbe David Flam of Alesk-Montreal]; • R. Tzvi Yaakov Abraham, Av Beit Din of Turda and director of the Bureau of Orthodox Communities in Transylvania, author of "On the History of Judaism in Transylvania" (Hebrew); • R. Yehoshua Friedman, "brother of R. Lipa Friedman"; • R. Moshe Chaim Efraim Bloch; • R. Mordechai Moshe Felshin of New York; • R. Gedaliah Finkelstein of Bonyhád; • R. Yitzchak Blusenstein of Budapest; • R. Yehudah Aryeh Pilaf of London ["a refugee from Kleinwardein, Hungary, and recently I have been living in Budapest, and I was an emissary of the local Beit Din"]; • R. Yaakov HaKohen Blass of Munich; • R. Eliezer Yaakov son of R. Tzvi Hirsch Farber, a rabbi in London; • R. Elchanan Pesach Gordon, rabbi of Knesset Yisrael community in Chicago; • R. Avraham Yisrael Yoskovitz of Satmar; • R. Eliezer Gorelik, rabbi in New Haven, Connecticut; • R. Shmuel Dov Bernath, Av Beit Din of Adath Israel in Sydney, Australia; • R. Moshe Rosenberg of Paris; • R. Chaim Davidowitz, rabbi of Knesset Yisrael community in Denver, Colorado; • R. Asher Silberstein, chairman of the Rabbinical Union of Los Angeles; • R. Elisha Rosenfeld, formerly rabbi in Chișinău, Iași and Grosswardein (Oradea); • R. Simchah Yosef Walter, rabbi in Brooklyn; • and more.
The collection includes letters of yeshivas, institutions and organizations: • Beit Yaakov in Bronx, New York; • Or Yosef yeshiva in France; • Beit Hillel yeshiva in New York; and more.
About 65 letters, some on official stationery or aerograms. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Collection of seven halachic and Torah letters sent to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Israel and United States, 1955-1966.
Letters typewritten or handwritten and signed by rabbis, some on official stationery. The letters include various blessings and inscriptions of names to be mentioned for blessing in prayer.
• Lengthy letter (17 typewritten pages), halachic discussion on laws of divorce, by R. Avraham Mordechai HaLevi Horowitz, yeshiva dean and dayan and posek, author of Kevod Yerushalayim and Otzar Leshon HaMidrash. Jerusalem, Tamuz 1959.
• Lengthy letter (4 pages) handwritten by R. Natan Menachem Mandel, author of Yalkut Natan on Passover Haggadah, discussion on Vayoel Moshe. Rochester, 1960.
• Two letters handwritten by R. Naftali Yaakov HaKohen of Hajdúnánás [author of Otzar HaGedolim Alufei Yaakov, important disciple of the Arugat HaBosem in Khust, dayan and posek in Cârlibaba and Valea lui Mihai, and dayan in the Beit Din to allow agunot to remarry after the Holocaust], Torah novellae on Purim. Haifa, Adar 1955.
• Letter (2 pages) handwritten by R. Chaim Baruch Paskowitz, Av Beit Din and rabbi of the Union of Congregations in Rochester, New York, regarding appointing new mashgiachs in the city. 1955.
• Letter (2 typewritten pages) by R. Tzvi Yaakov Abraham, Av Beit Din of Turda and director of the Bureau of Orthodox Communities in Transylvania, author of "On the History of Judaism in Transylvania" (Hebrew), apology for the "upset" caused by his son-in-law R. Hillel Seidman, editor of the periodical Di Yiddishe Voch. Brooklyn, Adar I, 1957.
• Letter (2 typewritten and handwritten pages) by R. Shlomo Hershkovitz, polemic on the kosher certification given by R. Avraham Shlomo Katz, Av Beit Din of the Yitav Lev community in Bnei Brak, to machine-made Tzitzit. Jerusalem, Tamuz 1966.
• Letter (aerogram) by the secretary of the Edah HaCharedit R. Yosef Scheinberger to the attendant R. Yosef Ashkenazi; in his letter he asks the Satmar Rebbe's opinion on the customs of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz in the morning washing of the hands, reading before washing hands, drinking coffee before prayer, reciting a blessing over a Tallit Katan, and more. Jerusalem, Tamuz 1962.
[7] letters (28 leaves). Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
![Letter of the Tzaddik R. Gershon Liebman, a leader of the Novhardok yeshiva movement. Paris, [25 Tishrei], 1962.
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Letter of the Tzaddik R. Gershon Liebman, a leader of the Novhardok yeshiva movement. Paris, [25 Tishrei], 1962.
Typewritten on official stationery of "the holy Or Yosef yeshiva in France", and signed by the dean of the yeshiva, R. "Gershon Liebman."
The letter was sent to "the holy and pure Rebbe, man of God, unique in his generation, R. Yoel Teitelbaum". R. Gershon thanks the Rebbe for his permission to conduct a fundraising campaign in his Beit Midrash for the Or Yosef network of institutions, and for his personal donation of 300 dollars – "which is a clear sign of his esteem and admiration for us… and this circulated in our hearts a spirit of might and dedication to God's war against Zionism and its associates, the modern idolatry, to go in the Rebbe's holy way and stand strong…".
R. Gershon Liebman (1905-1997), founder and leader of the Or Yosef network of Novhardok yeshivas, and one of the leaders of the Novhardok Mussar movement. Born in Ostropoli (Staryi Ostropil), he studied in the Novhardok yeshivas in Gomel and Bialystok, and was heavily influenced by his teachers, students of the Alter of Novhardok. During the Holocaust, he led the Novhardok yeshiva movement in Vilna, and later in the ghettos and Nazi camps. The fire of Novhardok never ceased to burn in R. Gershon even there. He organized underground yeshivas with the same learning programs as usual, with schedules for Mussar and consultations on service of God. R. Gershon married in Vilna in 1940, but his wife and family were sent to their death in 1941. He himself hid in the ghetto of Vilna and was later sent to concentration camps in Estonia and Latvia. At the end of the Holocaust, he reached Bergen-Belsen, where he established the Novhardok yeshiva after the liberation of the camp. In 1948 the yeshiva moved to France and expanded to a network of over 40 Torah and educational institutions in France, which R. Liebman called Or Yosef. To this day R. Gershon is known as "Rabbeinu" in France due to the great admiration his disciples and acquaintances had for him.
[1] leaf, official stationery. Approx. 27 cm. Good condition. Folds. Stains and light wear.
Lengthy letter (two pages) to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar from R. Shlomo Zalman Brizel, head of the "Committee to Guard Jewish Sanctity"; with a handwritten letter of assent signed by the dayanim and rabbis of the Edah HaCharedit. Jerusalem, [1972].
Printed on official stationery of the Committee to Guard Jewish Sanctity, and signed by the chairman of the committee R. Zalman Brizel (one of the elder Chassidim of Pinsk-Karlin in Jerusalem).
In the margins of the second page is a handwritten letter of assent from the dayanim of the Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, signed by the Rosh Av Beit Din R. Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, author of Minchat Yitzchak; the dayan R. Moshe Aryeh Freund; and the dayan R. Eliyahu Zlotnik; with the stamp: "Beit Din Tzedek for all Ashkenazi communities".
In his letter R. Zalman tells the Rebbe of the arrest of two religious boys for "setting fire to the despicable shop" in Tel Aviv, and the police officers' abuse of them ("they did not allow them to lay tefillin, and they were not permitted to bring in kosher food… they likewise suffered cruel beatings…"). R. Zalman goes on to describe at length the increasingly severe legislation regarding conscription of religious girls to the army ("which contradicts the Torah's view which forbids serving in the army, which one is obligated to die rather than transgress"), and he tells how religious girls are obliged to go into hiding for fear of conscription. At the end of the letter R. Zalman asks the Rebbe "to come up with a plan and rouse the rabbis and leaders of the Charedi community to do whatever is necessary to stop this filthy current doing mischief in Charedi Judaism which may, God forbid, get worse and worse…".
In the margins of R. Zalman's letter is added a letter of assent from the dayanim of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem [in the handwriting of the court scribe R. Avraham Mordechai Breitstein], who write: "We the Beit Din Tzedek here in Jerusalem are faithful to the urgent request, and request you to do whatever is possible to annul the 'terrible decree' of 'conscription of girls' that they want to legislate now requiring them all to pass medical tests… which is to willfully cause transgression of Jewish religion and modesty of Jewish girls, and this is nearly tantamount to sexual immorality, and worlds must be shaken for this. We also ask to act for the release of the two prisoners because of the despicable shop, for them to go out from darkness to a great light… Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, Rosh Av Beit Din, Jerusalem, Moshe Ephraim Freund… Eliyahu Zlotnik".
[2] leaves, official stationery (printed on one side). Approx. 28 cm. Good condition. Folds.
Collection of 17 letters signed by rabbis and dayanim of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, sent to the Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar and his attendant R. Yosef Ashkenazi. Jerusalem, 1950s-1970s.
Some of the letters are on official stationery, some bear the official stamp of the Edah HaCharedit; some are handwritten and some are typewritten; some are lengthy.
The letters are signed by the dayanim, rabbis and directors of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, including: Rosh Av Beit Din R. Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss; the dayanim R. Moshe Aryeh Freund, R. Eliyahu Zlotnik, R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman, R. David HaLevi Jungreis; secretary R. Yosef Scheinberger; R. Chaim Yitzchak Schwartz, R. Amram Blau, R. Eliyahu Nachum Parush-Glickman, R. Hillel Schlesinger, R. Yeshayah Zwebner, R. Gershon Stemmer, R. Mordechai Tzvi Scheinberger.
Contents of the letters: The Rebbe's visits to Eretz Israel, public affairs, activities with immigrants, opposition to Zionism, report from a trip to London for publicity and fundraising, requests for blessing for specific names, blessings for the new year and other occasions, support for institutions, requests for assistance to needy Jerusalem community members, protest against the mixed pool in Jerusalem, Shemitah Etrog controversy, reception of the "Health Fund for Yeshiva Students" with the participation of the philanthropists R. Yisrael Zupnik and R. Getzel Berger, and more.
Enclosed: A letter signed by R. Hillel Schlesinger and R. Yitzchak Zwebner sent to the secretary of the Edah HaCharedit R. Yosef Scheinberger regarding mentioning R. Gershon Stemmer to Rebbe Yoel of Satmar.
18 letters. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Polemic on Rabbi Amram Blau's Marriage to Proselyte Ruth Ben-David:
1. Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by the Rosh Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit, R. Pinchas Epstein, to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Sharp letter relating the events of the controversy and the ban placed on Neturei Karta leader R. Amram Blau following his marriage with the proselyte Ruth Ben-David in contravention to the ruling of the Beit Din, his expulsion from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak, and the prohibition placed upon him to resettle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 19 Elul, 1965.
2. "Booklet – Part II – Halachic Responsum of R. Amram son of R. Sh[lomo] Y[itzchak] Blau to an Orthodox person in Brooklyn, America, regarding someone who erroneously wrote that the Beit Din of our time has the same authority as the Beit Din of Rabban Gamliel". Bnei Brak, 3 Nisan, 1966. Five (typewritten) pages, in which R. Amram Blau demonstrates from the Talmud and early authorities that the modern Beit Din does not have the authority to override a Torah-level negative prohibition. The booklet was not distributed publicly and was kept secret so as not to reinstigate the polemic.
R. Amram Blau (ca. 1900-1974), leader of the Neturei Karta faction and younger brother of R. Moshe Blau, leader of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. He was the focus of an event that caused an upheaval in Jerusalem Charedi circles – the trenchant polemic surrounding his marriage to the proselyte Ruth Ben-David. R. Amram, at the time a widower about 70 years old, was to marry Ruth Ben-David, a French proselyte, his junior by more than 20 years. Ruth Ben-David (formerly Madeleine Lucette Ferraille) was born to Catholic parents and had an academic degree in history and geography. She participated in the anti-Nazi underground in France during World War II. At the age of 31, she converted to Judaism in Paris and later immigrated to Israel. Ben-David was involved in the concealment and smuggling of Yossele Schumacher out of Israel. During that time, she became acquainted with the population of the Old Yishuv and wished to join their closed circle and marry R. Amram Blau. The Neturei Karta community and the Edah HaCharedit vehemently opposed this union, and Rabbi Blau's disciples and children saw this marriage as a blow to his honored status. The rabbis of the Edah HaCharedit also opposed his marriage on the halachic grounds of wedding a young woman to an old man as well as for fear of a desecration of God's name. Charedi circles were in turmoil; notices and proclamations were posted in the streets of Jerusalem, and the city seethed. Finally, after more than half a year of ardent controversy, and after R. Amram was placed under a ban, the two married in Elul 1965. As a result, R. Amram was forced to leave his native city of Jerusalem and moved for some time to Bnei Brak. After many years, Ruth Ben-David Blau published her best-seller Shomrei HaIr (Jerusalem 1979) in which she relates this painful story.
2 items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Collection of eight letters from Neturei Karta leader R. Amram Blau, and additional items. Jerusalem, 1950s-1960s.
1-5. Five letters to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Handwritten and signed by R. Amram Blau (one letter typewritten). 1952-1964. Letters of recommendation for needy persons in Jerusalem, request for financial assistance to purchase a car for the Sephardic Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem who travel to Ma'abarot and Kibbutzim to save the immigrants from religious discrimination, request for financial assistance to print the Neturei Karta newsletters Mishmeret Chomateinu and Om Ani Chomah.
6-8. Three letters to R. Yosef Ashkenazi, attendant to Rebbe Yoel of Satmar. 1961-1968. One letter (printed on stationery of the Torah school and yeshiva Kiryat Sefer and the soup kitchen for children of Sephardi and Mizrachi refugees in Jerusalem), signed by R. Yaakov Mutzafi and R. Yeshayah Naftali Chanun.
9. Letter to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar from the directors of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, signed by R. Eliyahu Nachum Parush-Glickman "son of Malkah Yenta". Letter on R. Amram Blau's arrest for protesting the desecration of the Sabbath in Jerusalem, and a request for a letter of blessing and encouragement for the Tishrei festivals. Elul 1953.
Enclosed: Newspaper clipping – photograph of R. Amram Blau brought back to prison accompanied by a policeman, after participating in his grandson's circumcision.
R. Amram Blau (ca. 1900-1974), Charedi leader of the Neturei Karta faction in Jerusalem. Involved in various polemics and controversies in Israel. Known for his consistent stand in protests against desecration of the Sabbath, conscription of girls and various religious affairs. Younger brother of R. Moshe Blau, leader of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. Married the proselyte Ruth Ben-David, his junior by more than 20 years, instigating an intense controversy in the Neturei Karta and Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem.
10 paper items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Collection of about 380 letters sent to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Most of them sent from Jerusalem, 1950s-1970s. Most in Hebrew, the rest in Yiddish.
The letters were written by rabbis, rebbes, dayanim, followers and associates, and pious laymen in Jerusalem and Eretz Israel, and by associations, organizations, yeshivas and Torah and charitable institutions in Eretz Israel.
Letters signed and stamped by the rabbis and institutions, some of them on official stationery. Most are handwritten and some are typewritten. Many of them contain letters of recommendation from various rabbis in the margins. In the margins of some of the letters are inscriptions and stamps of the Rebbe's secretary, with a summary of the contents of the request.
Most of the letters deal with requests for assistance or financial support, or receipts and confirmations for charitable funds sent from the Satmar Rebbe. Many of the letters include Shanah Tovah and Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah wishes; blessings for Jewish festivals; names to be mentioned in prayer for blessing and sustenance, health and happiness from children; halachic questions and Torah discussions; advocacy and communal affairs; resolution of controversies and disputes; and more.
The collection includes letters from rabbis, including: • Dayan R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman; • Dayan R. Eliyahu Zlotnik; • Rebbe Yisrael Taussig of Mattersdorf, the Beit Yisrael; • Rebbe Naftali Mordechai Schmerler (Premishlaner Rebbe), Acre; • Posek R. Shalom HaLevi Eisen; • Maggid R. Shabtai Yudelevitz; • Kabbalist R. Yehoshua Sharbani; • Kabbalist R. Moshe Yair Weinstock; • Jerusalem Maggid R. Ben Tzion Yadler; • R. Moshe Yehoshua Landau, dean of Shaagat Aryeh yeshiva; • R. Aharon Katzenellenbogen, dean of Torah VeYirah yeshiva; • R. Efraim Zalman Heilprin; • R. Shlomo Zalman Brisel; • R. Avraham Aharonovitz; • R. Yaakov Moshe Krämer; • R. Chaim Yaakov Klapholtz; • R. Yitzchak Arieli, author of Einayim LeMishpat; • Rebbe Shalom Safrin of Komarno; • R. Amram Blau, leader of Neturei Karta; • R. Berish Soltz of Safed; • R. Moshe Chaim Stroli of Bnei Brak (disciple of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet); • R. Simchah Buman David Sofer; • R. Yosef HaLevi Zimmerman; • R. Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Schwartz; and many more.
In addition, the collection contains letters from yeshivas, institutions and organizations: • the Union of Yeshivas in Eretz Israel; • LiFlagot Reuven yeshiva; • directors of the Sephardic Edah HaCharedit; • Yeshivat HaMatmidim; • the Project to Integrate Children of Immigrants; • the League to Save Jewish Children from Persecution; • Kiryat Sefer Talmud Torah, Yeshiva and Soup Kitchen; • Torah VeYirah yeshiva; and more.
About 380 leaves (some on official stationery or aerogram). Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Satmar institutions in Eretz Israel – large and assorted collection of letters, reports, documents and agreements. Israel and United States, 1950s-1970s. Hebrew and some Yiddish.
The collection includes nine letters to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar: • Three letters from R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg on Satmar institutions in Jerusalem and Haifa, reports, quarrels and various subjects. Jerusalem and Haifa, 1959-1962; • Letter of the directors of the Ohel Rachel Beit Midrash in Katamon, regarding a leader of the prayer service touching his beard. Jerusalem, Cheshvan 1958; • Letter of the directors of the Yitav Lev yeshiva and Torah school in Katamon, requesting support and assistance. Jerusalem, 1956; • Letter of R. Ben Tzion Jakobowitz, director of the Satmar institutions in Bnei Brak, requesting prayer for a sick person and various subjects. Bnei Brak, 1961; • Letter of R. Shmuel Steinberg, quarrels and firings in the directorship of Satmar institutions in Bnei Brak. Jerusalem, 1961; • Letter of the committee of the Torah school and yeshiva of Satmar in Haifa, signed by R. Yeshayah Ze'ev Gross, requesting assistance and support. Haifa, 1961; • Report (one page, incomplete) on the activity of the Machazikei Torah institution in Haifa. Haifa, 1961.
The collection also includes over 40 letters sent to the attendant R. Efraim Yosef Dov Ashkenazi by directors of Satmar institutions in Eretz Israel and members of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem – R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg; R. Chananya Yom Tov Lipa ("Chayil") Schwartz; R. Ben Tzion Jakobowitz, director of Maharit yeshiva and founder of the Kiryat Yoel neighborhood in Bnei Brak; R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman, dayan of the Edah HaCharedit; R. Yosef Scheinberger, secretary of the Edah HaCharedit, the Health Fund for Yeshiva Students, and more. Letters on various subjects – supporting and funding the institutions; resolving disputes and quarrels in the directorship of the institutions; ownership of buildings and campuses; various appointments; reports of income and expenses; names of students and teachers, their salaries and stipends; recommendations; the Rebbe's upcoming visit in summer of 1952; erecting a new building for the Torah school and yeshiva in Jerusalem; building Satmar institutions in Bnei Brak and the Kiryat Yoel neighborhood; questions about money from funds received; repossessing the house of the Rabbi of Tolcsva (father-in-law of the Yitav Lev) in the Old City of Safed; on the dispute with the Rebbe of Sanz-Klausenburg; the publication in Hamodia of an apology by R. Yechezkel Sarna, dean of the Chevron Yeshiva, for his statement on not voting in elections; and various different other subjects. Jerusalem and Haifa, 1960s-1970s.
• Five letters to R. Shlomo Braver (director of the Yitav Lev office in Brooklyn for support of Satmar institutions in Eretz Israel), from R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg, R. Aharon Berkowitz and the Health Fund for Yeshiva Students, regarding the institutions and financial support. Jerusalem and Haifa, 1956-1961.
• Letter to R. Simchah Bunam Sofer, invitation from the Edah HaCharedit directorship to participate in the reception for Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar, to be held in the Jerusalem train station. Jerusalem, 1959.
• Letter signed by the directors of the Center for Torah Lectures for Youth and Adults in Jerusalem, R. Moshe Weber and R. Yehudah Deutsch, a request for support by R. Moshe Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Sighet (later the Berach Moshe Rebbe of Satmar), head of the committee to save Moroccan children. Jerusalem, 1969.
• Letter signed by the directors of the Union of Yeshivas in Eretz Israel, R. Eliyahu Zlotnik, dayan of the Edah HaCharedit; and R. Yitzchak David Shag (Zwebner), on appointing R. Mendel Bernet as emissary to raise funds for the institution. Elul, 1956.
The collection additionally includes documents, contracts, agreements and protocols: • Legal agreement (3 typewritten pages, unsigned) between the Yitav Lev Torah school and a contracting company to build the Satmar institutions on Yechezkel Street and Avinoam Yellin Street in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 1960; • Report (five typewritten pages, incomplete) sent to the Satmar Rebbe by R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg regarding the directorship of the yeshiva and Beit Midrash, detailing income and expenses, names of teachers and students, total salaries, legal matters, and more; • Two documents detailing the names of people receiving a stipend from Yitav Lev yeshiva and Torah school in Jerusalem [ca. 1950s]; • Report of R. Yosef Scheinberger, secretary of the Edah HaCharedit, on his visit in Chassidic communities in England and Switzerland (4 pp.); • Protocol of the Ohel Rachel Satmar Beit Midrash, regarding the ownership dispute over the Beit Midrash building. Jerusalem, 1963; • Printed leaf – "Instructions for the teachers in our holy yeshiva as we merited to hear from our Rebbe", with 16 instructions.
• And more.
Over 70 items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Large and assorted collection of about 20 letters sent to Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum of Satmar. 1950s-1970s. Yiddish (one letter in English).
Handwritten letters, some on official stationery. Request to be mentioned to her husband Rebbe Yoel of Satmar, various blessings, advice and guidance, requests for support and financial assistance, and more.
The collection includes letters from: • R. Yechiel Yehudah Isaacson; on the reverse side of the leaf is a letter from his wife Mrs. Chanah Isaacson, daughter of Rebbe Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, the Atzei Chaim of Sighet [son of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet and brother of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar]. Haifa, Adar II 1954; • Letter of Rebbetzin Reizel Bengis, wife of R. Zelig Reuven Bengis, Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit. At the bottom is an additional letter from Rebbetzin Esther Dushinsky, wife of R. Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit. Jerusalem, Iyar 1960; • Letter of Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Lipschitz Halberstam of Stropkov. Ramla, Adar 1952; • Letter of Rebbetzin Malkah Pessel Mutzen, daughter of R. Yaakov Friedman of Sighet; • Letter of R. Tzvi Hirsch Kaufman of Satmar. Jerusalem, Shevat 1960; • Letter of R. Moshe Shaul Sirota, with letter of recommendation from the posek R. Shalom HaLevi Eisen. Tevet 1973; • Lengthy letter (five pages) from Rebbetzin Malkah Sachs, daughter of R. Yosef Steinberg. Shevat 1969; • Letter of Rebbetzin Brachah Lopovitch, wife of Rebbe Moshe Yitzchak Lopovitch of Chernivtsi-Bucharest; and more.
Enclosed: Invitation of the Girls' Educational Institutions of the Edah HaCharedit to a reception on the occasion of the visit of Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum in Jerusalem, 13 Sivan [no year indicated].
About 20 letters. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum (1912-2001), second wife of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar and his companion for 42 years. Daughter of Rebbe Avigdor Shapiro of Częstochowa, a descendant of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, author of Maor VaShemesh, and the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. On 13 Elul 1937, she married Rebbe Yoel of Satmar (who had lost his first wife a year and a half earlier). She was rescued in the Holocaust together with her husband the Rebbe in the Kastner train. After the Holocaust, she had a large influence on the Chassidic community and its institutions. She participated in establishing Chassidic institutions, and provided support and raised funds for them. She managed charitable funds, and over her whole life she would visit the sick and marry off brides. She was an intelligent and God-fearing woman, known for her great righteousness and wisdom. After the passing of her husband the Rebbe, the Bnei Yoel Beit Midrash and community was established in her house in Kiryas Joel, Monroe. The Rebbetzin moved to Brooklyn and served as a rebbe in her own right, having public receptions and reading Kvitels. She passed away over 20 years after her husband, and was buried at his side in the Kiryas Joel cemetery. Several Torah and charitable institutions in the United States and Israel are named for her.
Four volumes and printer’s sheet from library of Rebbe Chaim Halberstam, Rosh Av Beit Din, dayan and posek in Satmar, with his stamps, signatures and a lengthy gloss in his handwriting:
1-2. Maayenei HaChochmah, on Tractate Bava Metzia, Part I – Mahadura Kama, and Part II – Mahadura Batra, by R. Aryeh Leib Zünz. Warsaw: Shalom Shachna Munk, 1895. Two parts in two volumes. Ownership signatures on title pages of both parts: “Chaim Halberstam”; “Chaim Halberstam of Ratzfert, now in…” (partially cut off); stamp on the title page to Part I: “Chaim Halberstam, residing here in Satmar”.
Part I: [2], 135 leaves. Part II: [2], 2-71 leaves. Missing final 8 leaves. At the beginning of Part II appears the title page to Part I (the title page was originally bound with this part, since the Rebbe’s signature appears at the top of both title pages). 29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, tears and damage. Inscriptions and stamps. New bindings.
3. Minchat Kohen, on the laws of Bein HaShemashot, by R. Avraham Pimentel. Lemberg (Lviv): Uri Ze’ev Salat, 1892. His stamps on title page and other leaves, from his period of residence in Ratzfert in his youth: “Chaim Halberstam Ratzfert”; and his stamp on the title page from his period of residence in Satmar: “Chaim Halberstam, residing here in Satmar”.
On the endpapers, signatures of two of his sons: “Mordechai Dov Halberstam” [R. Mottele Halberstam, son-in-law of R. Avraham Steiner of Kerestir, served as Rabbi in Tiszalök and later opened his own Beit Midrash in Miskolc; perished in the Holocaust]; “Yaakov Yitzchak Halberstam” [R. Chaim’s third and youngest son, in 1943 married daughter of R. David Yaakov Brisk, Av Beit Din of Tiszadada; perished in the Holocaust].
On the front endpaper is a Kvittel inscription for a complete recovery written by one of his followers. On title page and additional leaves, stamps of “R. Moshe HaKohen Gross – Geneva” [R. Moshe Gross, an important Belz Chassid, 1916-1980]. Inscription on title page: “I bought this book from R. Avraham Shmuel Schreiber, here in Kamenets”.
[1], 2-88 leaves. 25.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, tears and damage. Repaired with paper. New leather binding.
4. Chanukat HaTorah, collection of novellae by R. Heshel of Cracow. Piotrków: Shlomo Belchatowski, [ca. 1900-1910 – stereotype of first edition, 1900]. Ownership inscription on title page, handwritten and signed by Rebbe Chaim Halberstam during his period of residence in Ratzfert in his youth. Many stamps on title page and other leaves of the Beit Midrash of Rebbe Shalom Eliezer Halberstam in Ratzfert.
[1], 5-16 pages; 91, 90-114 pages. 21.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Wear and tears. Stamps. New leather binding.
5. Leaf from Tractate Gittin, Piskei HaRosh [small format, apparently from one of Lemberg editions ca. 1860-1870, p. 99a]. On the margins of the leaf is a lengthy handwritten gloss signed “Chaim Halberstam”.
[1] leaf. 22 cm. Good condition.
Rebbe Chaim Halberstam (1885-1942), firstborn of Rebbe Shalom Eliezer of Ratzfert (1862-1944). Named for his illustrious paternal grandfather, the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. At a young age he married the daughter of Rebbe Avraham Shalom Pinchas HaLevi Rottenberg of Wolbrom. He was famed for his great holiness and intense prayer, and he was known as a great Torah scholar and posek. He was very beloved by his maternal grandfather, Rebbe Mordechai Dov Twersky of Hornostaipil, who appreciated his great learning and corresponded with him on halachic matters (printed in Emek HaChochmah and Shoshanat HaAmakim). In Shoshanat HaAmakim, his grandfather calls him “my dear grandson, beloved to my heart, nice and pleasant vine, branch full of wisdom, with erudition and right reasoning”, and the like. At the age of 57 he fell sick and did not recover. His funeral took place in Satmar, and he was eulogized by the leader of the local community, Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum, and others. His son, R. Alter Meir David took his place as dayan. All his descendants perished in the Holocaust. Opening: $250