A handwritten wedding invitation letter, with two lines of conclusion and signature handwritten by Rebbe Yitzchak Meir of Zinkov (Zinkiv), son of R. Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, the Apter Rav. Zinkov, Kislev [1854].
Invitation to the wedding of his granddaughter, daughter of R. Meshulam Zusia of Zinkov, with the groom R. Yitzchak Yoel, son of Rebbe Gedalia Aharon of Linitz (Illintsi), on Thursday, Kislev 9, 1854. This was the last wedding which took place in the court of R. Yitzchak Meir of Zinkov, who passed away that year.
The invitation, written at his behest by a scribe, reads: "…to the leaders of the community… of Morachwa (Staraya Murafa)… I said, can I hide from my beloved ones, who are attached to me with an ancestral covenant of powerful love, therefore I wish to inform them of the day of my celebration, so that they can rejoice on it, and please G-d, on the day of your celebration when you wed your children, my heart will rejoice and my soul will exult". The Rebbe then signs in his own handwriting: "So are the words of one who seeks the wellbeing and the good of our Jewish brethren…, Yitzchak Meir son of the Rabbi of Apta".
R. Yitzchak Meir of Apta-Zinkov (1776-1855), a leading Rebbe of his generation, was the eldest son of R. Avraham Yehoshua Heshel, the Ohev Yisrael of Apta (Opatów). His descendants married the children of great Chassidic leaders and he was the progenitor of many Chassidic dynasties. After his father's passing, thousands of Chassidim followed him, and he transferred his court from Medzhybizh to Zinkov. Just like his father, he was reputed for his love of his fellow Jew, and drew many Jews closer to their father in Heaven. His long life was replete with acts of charity and kindness, and he would pray and effect salvations for each and every member of the Jewish people who turned to him. He was the beloved mechutan of leading Chassidic leaders of his generation (R. Yisrael of Kozhnitz, R. Yisrael of Ruzhin, R. Moshe Tzvi Savran and others) and many of the great men of his generation sought his advice on all their matters. One of his granddaughters married Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz, who was very close to his illustrious grandfather. Many important dynasties of Rebbes and rabbis descended from his offspring.
The groom was Rebbe Yitzchak Yoel Rabinowitz, the Rebbe of Linitz-Kontikoziva (1840-1885). In 1868, he succeeded his father, in the latter's lifetime, as rabbi and maggid in Linitz. Exiled by the Russian government who persecuted Chassidic leaders, he settled in Kontikoziva (Prybuzhany, Kherson province). His sons were Rebbe Yehoshua Heshel of Monistritch and Rebbe Pinchas of Kontikoziva (father of Rebbe Yaakov Yisrael of Kherson and R. Menachem Nachum of Kherson-Haifa) and R. Meshulam Zusia of Arel.
The following interesting account regarding scheduling the date for the wedding is brought in Shemu'ot VeSipurim, at the end of Machshevet Nachum, (p. 238) - At the beginning of the year, R. Yitzchak Meir sent a letter to his mechutan R. Gedalia Aharon of Linitz, the Chen Aharon, writing that if the latter wishes to enable his own presence at the wedding, the date of the wedding, originally scheduled for Elul 1885, will have to be brought forward to Kislev, which is what they did. Several months later, on Rosh Chodesh Adar 1855, R. Yitzchak Meir passed away, as he had foreseen.
[1] leaf. approx. 18.5 cm. Fair condition. Tears and wear. Old repairs, with adhesive tape to the verso of the leaf.
This invitation was copied from this manuscript (with minor copying errors) in the book Igrot HaOhev Yisrael, Jerusalem 2000, letter 66b, p. 140.