Auction 75 - Rare and Important Items
Collection of Letters from Rebbe Rayatz, and Letter of Condolences from the Lubavitcher Rebbe / Extensive Correspondence with Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary (Brother-in-Law of the Rebbe) / Archive of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Gellman, President of the World Mizrachi Organization
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Collection of letters from the archive of R. Aryeh Leib Gellman, president of the World Mizrachi Organization: letters on various topics from Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of Lubavitch; letter of condolences from the latter's son-in-law, the Lubavitcher Rebbe; extensive correspondence with R. Shemaryahu Gurary regarding Chabad institutions; letters from rabbis and public figures. Latvia, United States, Eretz Israel, 1933-1964.
The collection includes:
• 5 letters from Rebbe Rayatz, typewritten on the official stationery of the rebbe, with his handwritten signature.
Contents of these letters: a request from R. Aryeh Leib Gellman to raise donations amounting to 500 dollars in his town of St. Louis, for the various branches of the Tomchei Temimim yeshivot in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia (presumably never printed); an invitation to the wedding of the rebbe's youngest daughter Shaina Horenstein; wedding congratulations; telegram with good year wishes for Rosh Hashanah 1942; letter from 1943 requesting that the Mizrachi send representatives to recite Psalms at King David's tomb (presumably never printed. Enclosed with the letter is a copy of a general letter on the matter).
• Letter of condolences from the Lubavitcher Rebbe upon the passing of R. Gellman's wife, written on Erev Sukkot 1964, with the addition of 9 words handwritten by the rebbe. The rebbe writes: "Following the first letter from this day" (the rebbe is referring to another letter he wrote to him on the same day, which is not present in this collection, in which he thanks him for his condolences upon the passing of his mother Rebbetzin Chana on 6th Tishrei 1964).
The collection also includes:
13 interesting letters from R. Shemaryahu Gurary, addressed to R. Aryeh Leib Gellman, from 1942-1948, disclosing the friction between Chabad and the Mizrachi movement in the United States, and on the other hand the covert ties between them (despite their different worldviews); 9 copies of letters sent by R. Aryeh Leib Gellman to R. Shemaryahu Gurary, from 1944-1947 (one letter is in two copies); 3 letters of congratulations, dated Elul 1951, on the occasion of the wedding of R. Gellman's son, from: R. Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, the Rishon LeTzion R. Ben Tzion Meir Chai Uziel and the chief rabbi R. Isser Yehuda Unterman; letter of congratulations on the occasion of the birth of a granddaughter, from R. Isser Yehuda Unterman; letter of condolences from R. Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik of Boston (aerogram); 3 letters from the minister Chaim-Moshe Shapira; brief letter on a visiting card, from the minister Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit; letter of condolences from Zalman Shazar, third president of Israel, and more.
46 paper items (including 5 letters signed by Rebbe Rayatz and one letter signed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe). Size varies. Overall good condition.
The collection includes:
• 5 letters from Rebbe Rayatz, typewritten on the official stationery of the rebbe, with his handwritten signature.
Contents of these letters: a request from R. Aryeh Leib Gellman to raise donations amounting to 500 dollars in his town of St. Louis, for the various branches of the Tomchei Temimim yeshivot in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia (presumably never printed); an invitation to the wedding of the rebbe's youngest daughter Shaina Horenstein; wedding congratulations; telegram with good year wishes for Rosh Hashanah 1942; letter from 1943 requesting that the Mizrachi send representatives to recite Psalms at King David's tomb (presumably never printed. Enclosed with the letter is a copy of a general letter on the matter).
• Letter of condolences from the Lubavitcher Rebbe upon the passing of R. Gellman's wife, written on Erev Sukkot 1964, with the addition of 9 words handwritten by the rebbe. The rebbe writes: "Following the first letter from this day" (the rebbe is referring to another letter he wrote to him on the same day, which is not present in this collection, in which he thanks him for his condolences upon the passing of his mother Rebbetzin Chana on 6th Tishrei 1964).
The collection also includes:
13 interesting letters from R. Shemaryahu Gurary, addressed to R. Aryeh Leib Gellman, from 1942-1948, disclosing the friction between Chabad and the Mizrachi movement in the United States, and on the other hand the covert ties between them (despite their different worldviews); 9 copies of letters sent by R. Aryeh Leib Gellman to R. Shemaryahu Gurary, from 1944-1947 (one letter is in two copies); 3 letters of congratulations, dated Elul 1951, on the occasion of the wedding of R. Gellman's son, from: R. Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, the Rishon LeTzion R. Ben Tzion Meir Chai Uziel and the chief rabbi R. Isser Yehuda Unterman; letter of congratulations on the occasion of the birth of a granddaughter, from R. Isser Yehuda Unterman; letter of condolences from R. Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik of Boston (aerogram); 3 letters from the minister Chaim-Moshe Shapira; brief letter on a visiting card, from the minister Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit; letter of condolences from Zalman Shazar, third president of Israel, and more.
46 paper items (including 5 letters signed by Rebbe Rayatz and one letter signed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe). Size varies. Overall good condition.
Chabad – Letters and Manuscripts
Chabad – Letters and Manuscripts