Auction 88 - Part I - Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
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Letter signed by R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz, dean of the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Kamenitz (Kamenets, Lithuania). Kamenitz, 1934.
Typewritten letter, signed by R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz. Sent to R. Moshe Yehuda Leib Paktor in Amsterdam, with a request to assist the emissary of the yeshiva, his brother-in-law R. Naftali Leibowitz, mashgiach of the yeshiva. The letter describes the exceptionally high level of Torah study in the yeshiva, as well as the dire financial straits of the yeshiva, especially since the Great Depression. R. Baruch Ber concludes with blessings for the recipient.
R. Naftali Ze'ev HaKohen Leibowitz (d. 1954), son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman Rabbi of Hlusk and Kremenchuk. Cherished disciple of the Alter of Slabodka. He served as mashgiach and spiritual director of the Kamenitz yeshiva which was led by his brother-in-law R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz, and directed the yeshiva during R. Baruch Ber's trip to the United States. He later founded the Kamenitz yeshiva in New York.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 28 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including tape stains. Creases and folding marks. Tears to folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter (in Yiddish) from R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz dean of the Knesset Beit Yitzchak Yeshiva in Kamenitz (Kamenets), Lithuania. Kamenitz, [1933-1936?].
Letter (in Yiddish) addressed to the Feigin family in Philadelphia, U.S.A, donors of the yeshiva. Most of the letter is typewritten, on two leaves (official stationery of the yeshiva). In the letter, R. Baruch Ber thanks them for their generous support of the yeshiva, describing the difficult situation of the yeshiva and the acute need for support. Concludes with three lines handwritten and signed by R. Baruch Ber, with heartfelt blessings in Yiddish and Hebrew.
[2] leaves, official stationery. 27.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks. Minute marginal tears.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Lengthy letter (2 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Yehuda Leib Fein Rabbi of Slonim. Amsterdam, [Shevat] 1929.
R. Fein, who had travelled to the Netherlands to try to rescue the Slonim yeshiva, writes despondently that he is in the third week of his trip, and has so far been unsuccessful. He describes the difficult situation of the yeshiva, whose students are falling ill from starvation.
R. Yehuda Leib Fein blesses the philanthropist in the merit of the yeshiva which has been operating for three hundred years.
R. Yehuda Leib Fein (1871-1941), leading Torah scholar in his times. A disciple of R. Itzele of Ponovezh. He served as rabbi in several cities, including Oshmiana and Slonim, and was a leader of Polish Jewry. He established a prominent yeshiva in Oshmiana, and later served as director of the Slonim yeshiva, which he undertook to finance.
[1] double leaf (2 written pages, approx. 30 autograph lines). 16 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Minor wear and tears. Creases and folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak Bloch, rabbi and dean of the Telz yeshiva. Telz (Telšiai), Nissan 1938.
The letter, which is addressed to a supporter of the yeshiva in Amsterdam, confirms the receipt of the funds raised on behalf of the yeshiva. The letter contains Torah thoughts, blessings for success, and wishes for the upcoming festival of Passover. Typewritten, with the hand signature of R. Avraham Yitzchak Bloch, dean of the Telz yeshiva.
R. Avraham Yitzchak Bloch (1890-1941), rabbi and yeshiva dean of Telz. Son of the Shiurei Daat, R. Yosef Leib Bloch, and grandson of R. Eliezer Gordon founder of the yeshiva. He was murdered by the Nazis near Telz, together with hundreds of the yeshiva's students and rabbis, most of his family and community.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 26 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Lengthy letter (2 pages) from the management of the Kletsk yeshiva, signed by the yeshiva dean, R. Aharon Kotler. Kletsk, Elul [1929].
Written by a scribe, with the hand signature of R. Aharon Kotler. The signature is followed by an addition in a different hand. Addressed to the gabbai of the yeshiva in the Netherlands, R. Moshe Yehuda Paktor of Amsterdam. The letter opens with blessings for a good year and much success.
The letter then discusses details of the fundraising in the Netherlands on behalf of the yeshiva, as well as words of encouragement about the merits he accrues for the new year through his efforts to support the yeshiva.
[1] leaf (written on both sides), official stationery. 28 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including tape stains. Wear and tears to margins and folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Four letters handwritten and signed by R. Yitzchak Hillel Bisko, emissary of Kollel Kovno. [Various places: Lithuania, the Netherlands and England, ca. 1929-1930].
Four letters addressed to the philanthropist R. Aryeh Leib Paktor in the Netherlands. The letters were sent from Yurburg (Jurbarkas, Lithuania), Hoek van Holland (Hook of Holland, a port town in the Netherlands), London and Leeds (England). The letters discuss the details of the fundraising for Kollel Kovno and the Tiferet Bachurim society in Lithuania. R. Hillel thanks him for his support, informs him of the purpose of the donations and of the progress of the establishment of Torah institutions, and requests further donations. One letter is signed with his full name; the other letters are signed with his initials.
R. Yitzchak Hillel Bisko (1880-1960), student of the Radin yeshiva. Founder of the Tiferet Bachurim movement, which included hundreds of branches throughout Europe and beyond. He was one of the supporting pillars of Kollel Kovno, and travelled on its behalf to the Netherlands, England and the United States. He later immigrated to the U.S., where he founded Kollel Kovno (one of the first Kollelim for young Torah scholars in the United States). The Kollel later relocated to Lakewood, N.J., where it was joined by a yeshiva – Beth Medrash Govoha led by R. Aharon Kotler.
4 letters, size and condition vary. Most in good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Two letters handwritten and signed by R. Reuven Dov Dessler, dean of the Talmud Torah in Kelm. Kelm (Kelmė), Av-Elul 1929.
Addressed to a supporter of the yeshiva, R. Aryeh Leib Paktor of Amsterdam. In the first letter, dated 2nd Av, he relates that during his trip to Antwerp, R. Amiel (then rabbi of Antwerp) recommended that he ask R. Paktor to fundraise in the Netherlands on behalf of the yeshiva.
In the second letter, dated 20th Elul, he expresses his gratitude for the assistance extended to R. Gershon Miadnik, one of the deans of the Talmud Torah, who had just returned from his trip to the Netherlands on behalf of the yeshiva. This letter opens with blessings for the new year.
R. Reuven Dov Dessler (1863-1935), one of the leaders of the musar movement and prominent disciple of the Alter of Kelm. Brother-in-law of R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky and father of R. Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, author of Michtav MeEliyahu.
2 letters on (different) official stationery of the Kelm yeshiva. Size and condition vary.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Three letters from R. Gershon Miadnik, one of the heads of the Kelm Talmud Torah, addressed to the yeshiva supporter R. Aryeh Leib Paktor in Amsterdam. Kelm (Lithuania), ca. 1929-1939.
• Lengthy letter (2 large pages) handwritten and signed by R. Gershon Miadnik. Kelm, 1929.
• Postcard handwritten and signed by R. Gershon Miadnik (with good year wishes). Kelm, Elul 1929.
• Printed leaf with good year wishes from the Talmud Torah in Kelm, with the full signature of R. Gershon Miadnik. Kelm, Elul 193[9].
The two handwritten letters mostly discuss fundraising in the Netherlands on behalf of the Kelm Talmud Torah; the yeshiva dean – R. Reuven Dov Dessler (father of the Michtav MeEliyahu) is mentioned several times.
R. Gershon reports at the end of the long letter about genealogical inquiries he made for R. Paktor.
R. Gershon Miadnik (1888 – perished in the Holocaust 1941), prominent musar leader in Lithuania. He studied in the Radin yeshiva under the Chafetz Chaim and R. Naftali Trop. He was the son-in-law of R. Nachum Ze'ev (son of the Alter of Kelm), head of the Kelm Talmud Torah. He succeeded R. Reuven Dov Dessler as dean of the yeshiva after the latter immigrated to England.
3 letters. Long letter on official stationery, written on both sides. Size and condition vary.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Report card of the student Chaim son of R. Shmuel Greineman. Tiferet Tzion yeshiva, Bnei Brak, Elul 1936.
In the report card, the student received the marks "excellent" in understanding, and "very good" in knowledge, diligence and conduct. The report card is signed by the members of the testing committee and the yeshiva administration: R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (the Steipler, who was also the uncle of R. Chaim Greineman), R. Avraham Yitzchak Gershonowitz and R. Yaakov Schneidman.
R. Chaim Shaul Greineman (1926-2015), nephew of the Chazon Ish, was ten and a half years old at the time the report card was written, and already then his brilliant mind and profound understanding were recognized.
[1] leaf. 25 cm. Printed leaf, completed by hand, with the stamp of the yeshiva. Good-fair condition. Wear and stains, minor damage to folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Handwritten Tena'im, recording the betrothal of R. Chaim Kanievsky to Rebbetzin Batsheva, daughter of R. Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. Jerusalem, Iyar 1951.
Presumably, the Tena'im were written by the bride's grandfather the Jerusalem tzaddik R. Aryeh Levin. Signed by the witnesses: "Aharon son of R. Reuven Katz" (R. Aharon Katz, son of R. Reuven Katz Rabbi and dean of the Petach Tikva yeshiva, where the groom was studying); "Yitzchak son of R. Pinchas Baruchson" (R. Yitzchak Baruchson, mashgiach of the Lomza yeshiva in Petach Tikva, previously a dean of the Or Yisrael yeshiva in Slabodka-Kovno). The guarantor on behalf of the groom was his uncle R. Meir Karelitz, while the guarantor on behalf of the bride was her uncle R. Shmuel Aharon Yudelevitz.
The match between R. Chaim Kanievsky (1928-2022) and Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky (1932-2012), eldest daughter of R. Elyashiv, was concluded upon the advice of the groom's uncle – the Chazon Ish, who attested that as a daughter of a veritable Torah scholar, she was truly suited for him.
R. Elyashiv later retold that when he consulted the Chazon Ish about the match, the latter praised the prospective groom profusely, even predicting that R. Chaim would one day be an outstanding Torah scholar renowned for his breadth of knowledge, just like the Rogatchover. When R. Elyashiv related this decades later, he added that at the time, it seemed to him that the Chazon Ish was overstating, as is customary for matchmaking, but in truth the prediction of the Chazon Ish was realized in full. The Steipler, father of R. Chaim Kanievsky, held his mechutan R. Elyashiv in high regard, and would refer to him halachic questions and names to be mentioned in prayer and for blessings. He even sent people to be blessed by his daughter-in-law Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, as a woman of holy lineage. Over the years, her great abilities were publicized, and many experienced salvations as a result of her prayers and blessings. Thousands of women flocked to Rebbetzin Batsheva, seeking her heartfelt encouragement and wise counsel.
[1] leaf. 32.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Document handwritten and signed by R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky – the Steipler, with the details of the agreement signed with a philanthropist from Argentina. Tishrei 1957.
In this contract, the donor, Mrs. Masha Esther Ginzburg, pledges ten thousand Israeli pounds towards an apartment building in Shikun Chazon Ish, which would house members of Kollel Chazon Ish, in memory of her late husband. The Kollel management commits to place a memorial plaque in a prominent location; the tenant is responsible of the upkeep of the plaque.
The contract is signed by the heads of the Kollel (brothers-in-law of the Chazon Ish): R. Nachum Meir Karelitz and R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (the entire document is handwritten by the Steipler, including the copying of the signature of R. Karelitz).
One of the apartments built from the donation made by this philanthropist was the famous apartment of R. Chaim Kanievsky on 23 Rashbam St.; indeed the plaque mentioned in the present contract can be seen on the wall facing the entrance to his home (see enclosed pictures).
[1] leaf. 26 cm. Approx. 22 autograph lines. Good-fair condition. Stains. Wear and folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Moshe Leib Schneider, dean of the Torat Emet yeshiva. London, [ca. 1950s].
Addressed to R. Yitzchak Eizik Herzog, chief rabbi of Eretz Israel. Strongly worded letter written during the battle over compulsory military service for girls in Eretz Israel. R. Moshe Schneider sharply reproaches R. Herzog for his lack of action in face of this shameful law, and for other occasions when he cooperated with the secular government instead of voicing his opposition.
R. Moshe Schneider (1885-1955), close disciple of the Chafetz Chaim. He founded a yeshiva in Frankfurt, fleeing to London with his students on the eve of WWII. There, he founded the Torat Emet yeshiva, known as "Schneider's yeshiva", which produced some of today's Torah leaders, such as R. Moshe Sternbuch and R. Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss.
[1] leaf, official stationery (written on both sides; approx. 45 lines). Approx. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and folding marks. Filing holes, slightly affecting text.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.