Letter (approx. 17 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Elazar Menachem Man Shach, dean of the Ponovezh yeshiva. Bnei Brak, Tevet 1974.
Recommendation to assist with wedding expenses, for "an elite, exceptionally G-d fearing and very modest Torah scholar, whose son is engaged to the daughter of a late Torah scholar… and therefore offer your generous support to this worthy cause… to make every effort to assist him…". R. Shach strongly recommends to philanthropists: "Lend your hand to offer generous support, since apart from the merit of helping a couple get married, this act entails support of a great Torah scholar".
R. Elazar Menachem Man Shach (1899-2001), was born in Lithuania and studied in his youth in the Ponovezh, Slabodka and Slutsk yeshivot. He served as dean of the Kletsk yeshiva in Poland, and of the Karlin yeshiva in Luninets. During the Holocaust, he immigrated to Eretz Israel where he was appointed dean of the Kletsk yeshiva in Rechovot. He later served as the dean of the Ponovezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak. A member and chairman of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah, he was the leader of Torah Jewry for decades.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 25 cm. Good condition. Minor stains and folding marks.

Two letters from R. Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik of Boston, technical instructions pertaining to the printing and translation to Hebrew of his Tefilla UGeula series of articles. Addressed to R. Ben Tzion Gershuni, from the Department of Torah Culture of the Ministry of Education. [Boston], summer 1959.
1. Letter on official stationery, handwritten and signed by R. Soloveitchik. Iyar 1959.
Letter discussing the translation and editing of his prominent series of articles on Torah UGeulah, first published in the Jewish Morning Journal and HaTzofeh, to be published in Israel in Hebrew.
[1] leaf (2 written pages). 21 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding marks.
2. Typewritten letter, on R. Soloveitchik's official stationery, with his handwritten signature, and his handwritten additions and emendations. Shevat 1959.
In the letter, R. Soloveitchik explains his delay in sending the articles: "It was not in my hands. My mother fell ill, and her weakness troubled me greatly, and did not leave me enough strength to delve into in-depth study properly, therefore I deferred writing time after time until her situation improved. Thank G-d, she is returning to her previous strength".
[1] leaf. 21 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding mark.
R. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (1903-1993), son of R. Moshe son of R. Chaim of Brisk. He served as rabbi of several prominent cities and communities in the United States, and was the dean of Yeshiva University in the US. Many books in Halacha, Aggadah and Jewish philosophy were published based on his writings and lectures. He was close in spirit to the yeshiva world, yet stood at the helm of Modern-Orthodox Jewry in the United States, and was very active in disseminating and presenting Judaism to American Jewry. Many thousands attended his lectures, and were greatly impacted by him. In his lifetime, he published two compositions which he authored: Halachic Man and The Lonely Man of Faith, but in his later years, and especially following his passing, many more books were published based on notes of his lectures. His profound philosophy served as an inspiration to many.
Enclosed: Two copies of letters from R. Ben Tzion Gershuni on this same matter.

Letter signed by Rebbe Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura. Sadigura (Sadhora), Elul 1856.
Written by a scribe, and signed by the Rebbe of Sadigura: "Avraham Yaakov son of R." (the left side of the leaf is lacking, and the name of his father "Yisrael", is missing at the end of the signature).
Letter addressed to the philanthropists R. Shlomo Torchin and R. Yosef Vanderveer(?), acknowledging and blessing them for their donations. The Rebbe blesses them: "May G-d pay their reward and recompense [----] with salvation, mercy and all good forever… and because of this thing, I hereby extend my blessing to them, may G-d protect them [----] and may they be blessed and enjoy much blessing and peace…".
Unknown letter. Does not appear in the three parts of "Igrot HaRav MiRuzhin UBanav".
Rebbe Avraham Yaakov Friedman (the first) of Sadigura (1819-1883) was a prominent Rebbe and Jewish leader in his generation. He was the son and successor of R. Yisrael of Ruzhin in his Beit Midrash in Sadigura (Sadhora), the son-in-law of R. Aharon of Karlin the Beit Aharon, and from his second marriage, of R. Menachem Nachum of Shtefanesht. In Elul 1851, he was appointed Rebbe of Sadigura, in place of his father (who passed away in Cheshvan 1850) and of his eldest brother R. Shalom Yosef (who passed away Elul 11, 1851).
He served as rebbe for close to 32 years, leading a court of thousands of Chassidim and pious men. Many flocked to receive his blessings, guidance and counsel. He concealed his holiness, and only by chance was it revealed that he dealt extensively in helping the deceased attain a reparation for their soul. He conducted himself with majestic opulence and lavishness, as was customary in the Ruzhin dynasty, yet he himself was holy and ascetic, eating so little that his intestines shriveled up. He stood at the helm of Orthodox Jewry of his generation, and joined Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz under the Machzikei HaDat organization in Galicia. At his initiative, the magnificent Tiferet Yisrael synagogue in Jerusalem was completed. In his public activism, he maintained ties with prominent figures in international politics, including Sir Moses Montefiore and the British diplomat Laurence Oliphant, who came to Sadigura specifically to meet him (Derech Malchut, p. 456). He suffered the Russian government's persecution of the Ruzhin dynasty, and after he addressed a letter to Montefiore requesting his intervention in saving Russian Jewry from the Russian Tsar, he was denounced to the government of the Austro-Hungarian empire under trumped up charges of counterfeiting money, which led to his incarceration for almost two years (between 1856-1858).
[1] double leaf. 27.5 cm. Fair-poor condition. Tears to folds and wear. Left side of leaf lacking (approx. a third of leaf), with loss of two-three words from each line.

Letter signed by Rebbe Moshe of Kobryn, addressed to R. Menachem Mendel Epstein, trustee of Kollel Reisin (Belarus) in Tiberias. [Kobryn, 1853].
Letter written by a scribe, with the signature of Rebbe Moshe of Kobryn. Addressed to R. Menachem Mendel Epstein, one of the heads of Kollel Reisin in Tiberias. The letter is inscribed on a small piece of paper, and was originally written as a continuation of R. Moshe Kobryn's letter to the heads and directors of Kollel Reisin, regarding Kollel matters (see Kedem Auction 63, item 87; Auction 66, item 49). In this letter, the Rebbe addresses R. Menachem Mendel personally.
From the contents of the letter, it appears that the recipient of this letter, R. Menachem Mendel, requested a raise in his salary for his work on behalf of the Kollel, as the administrator of the distribution. To this the Rebbe responds, "Surely if this was a regular year, I would also wish [to add?] a little", but this is not feasible: "This year --- everything was done with loans" (that year - 1853, much of the donations were not collected, and the Rebbe of Kobryn was compelled to borrow funds to provide for the Kollel members in Tiberias, see Kedem Auction 63, where the Rebbe wrote in his letter: "Know that I have not yet succeeded in collecting all the donations… to the point that I was compelled to rely on loans").
Further in the letter, the Rebbe writes: "Believe me my friend, that the vast majority of his personal funds were not yet collected… and now, may they receive life and peace from the Master of peace, as is G-d's wish and that of his close friend" (personal funds - also named Maamadot - were funds collected for the benefit of specific members of the Kollel living in Eretz Israel, by their friends, acquaintances or family members, as opposed to funds raised as a general donation for the entire Kollel. This letter discloses that not only did the Rebbe experience difficulty in soliciting general donations, he was even unable to collect the personal funds - those intended specifically for R. Menachem Mendel). In the last line, the Rebbe added his signature in his own handwriting: "The above-mentioned Moshe".
Background to this letter: For many years, R. Moshe of Kobryn would devotedly make rounds throughout Lithuania and Reisin (Belarus), collecting funds to support the Chassidic settlement in Tiberias (descendants of the large Chassidic immigration in 1777). He had been appointed to this position by his teacher, R. Mordechai of Lechovitz. The Rebbe delegated the responsibility for collecting charity for Eretz Israel funds to various gabba'im in a number of regions, and he would travel several times a year to collect these monies from the gabba'im. In 1853, R. Moshe, who was nearing his seventies, had aged considerably and could not keep up these journeys (see Auction 63 for further details).
Rebbe Moshe Polier of Kobryn (1784-1858), a great Chassidic leader, and amongst the foremost righteous men in Lithuania. He was the close disciple of Rebbe Mordechai of Lechovitz (Lyakhavichy), and prime teacher of the first Rebbe of Slonim, R. Avraham Weinberg, author of Yesod HaAvoda. Supremely holy and righteous, he benefitted from Divine Inspiration and effected salvations. He loved his fellow Jew wholeheartedly. His worship of G-d was exceptionally devout, involving his entire being. He exerted himself in prayer to the extent of fainting. Reputedly, R. Yaakov Meir Padwa Rabbi of Brisk would advise Brisk residents: "Whoever wishes to pray during the High Holidays with a prayer leader possessing all the qualities which the sages require of a cantor, should travel to Kobryn", and indeed, many would travel to attend the prayer services led by R. Moshe of Kobryn. One of the travelers related that on Rosh Hashanah eve, the synagogue was filled to capacity, yet even those standing at the extremities of the synagogue heard clearly how "his teeth chattered in fear of G-d and of His glorious splendor", while he said Barchu (see: Torat Avot, Jerusalem 1989, pp. 294-295, section 121). The Beit HaLevi (whose father-in-law was a Kobryn chassid) reputedly acclaimed him: "Moshe is true and his Torah is truth".
Following the passing of his teacher Rebbe Mordechai of Lechovitz, in 1810, R. Moshe frequented the court of the former's son, Rebbe Noach of Lechovitz, and after the demise of R. Noach in 1833, R. Moshe was appointed rebbe in Kobryn. His leadership was described as following: "Many flocks gathered around him to thirstily drink his holy words, which enthused the hearts of the Jewish people towards their Father in Heaven with their passion and fieriness… and whatever exited his holy mouth was as if a man inquired of the word of G-d… still today, over sixty years following his passing, whenever his holy name is mentioned, one senses a respectful awe together with a concealed fear… and in his old age, he would frequent the court of Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin, and the righteous men of the generation cherished him greatly" (Or Yesharim, Warsaw 1924, p. 63).
R. Menachem Mendel son of R. Mordechai Epstein of Minsk (d. after 1879), recipient of this letter, was known as R. Mendel Reisisher. In 1834, he immigrated from Minsk to Eretz Israel. Around 1840, he was appointed one of the three trustees of Kollel Reisin. His signature appears on many of the Kollel documents, starting from the early 1840s. R. Mendel was respected and esteemed by all sects of the Jewish community in Tiberias, and even the Arabs in Tiberias revered him. Known to be scrupulous and trustworthy in monetary matters, R. Menachem Mendel is mentioned in one of the Kollel documents, which is signed by the Torat Chaim of Kosov and Rebbe Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura, as an honest, faithful person who can be relied upon. His son-in-law was R. Noach Weinberg of Tiberias, brother of the Divrei Shmuel, Rebbe of Slonim, and father of the Birkat Avraham, Rebbe of Slonim, grandfather of the current Rebbe of Slonim-Jerusalem.
A small piece of paper. Approx. 6 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Faded ink. Tears affecting text. Wear and folding marks. Some words undecipherable. Mounted on thin paper for preservation.

Letter of wedding congratulations (in Yiddish) on a postcard, handwritten and signed by Rebbetzin Shaina Rachel Friedman, widow of Rebbe Yitzchak of Bohush. Bohush (Buhuși), Kislev 1900.
Letter of wedding wishes, addressed to the Koswen family. The first lines are in scribal script (presumably written by the gabbai), followed by three lines handwritten by the Rebbetzin (free translation from Yiddish): "May you all be healthy and happy, from your close friend, I wish you all only goodness and joyful happiness".
Rebbetzin Shaina Rachel Friedman (d. 1913), widow of R. Yitzchak Friedman, first rebbe of Bohush (1835-1896), daughter of Rebbe David Hager of Zablotov (son of the Ahavat Shalom of Kosov). Her mother Pessia Lea was the daughter of R. Moshe Leib of Sassov. Her father-in-law was Rebbe Shalom Yosef Friedman, eldest son of R. Yisrael of Ruzhin. The betrothal of the Rebbetzin to Rebbe Yitzchak of Bohush was celebrated in the lifetime of their illustrious grandfather R. Yisrael of Ruzhin, with his participation. The Rebbe and his Rebbetzin bore five sons and nine daughters. The sons and sons-in-law were all prominent rebbes in their times. She was renowned for her meticulousness in all matters relating to modesty and holiness, for herself and all her descendants. Rebbetzin Shaina Rachel was the sister-in-law of the Minchat Chinuch (her sister was his second wife).
Postcard. Approx. 13X9 cm. Good condition. Stains. Wear. Folding mark. Postmarks from Buhuși and Târgu Frumos, Romania.