Handwritten dedication by R. Elazar Menachem Shach for the wedding of his cousin R. Tzvi Yehudah Meltzer. Kletsk, 19th Shevat 1926.

Portion of the endpaper (flyleaf) of a book, sent as a wedding present. At top of leaf, ownership inscription handwritten by R. Shach: "A book of Eliezer Menachem Shach". Below is a dedication: "Given as a souvenir for the wedding of my dear, beloved friend… famous for his fear and righteousness, my relative, Tzvi Yehudah Meltzer, son of my uncle R. Isser Zalman Meltzer, 19th Shevat 1926, Kletsk".

R. Elazar Menachem Man Shach (1898-2002), author of Avi Ezri, was a leading yeshiva dean of the previous generation. Born in Lithuania, he studied in his youth in the Ponevezh, Slabodka and Slutsk yeshivas. He served as lecturer in the Slutsk and Kletsk yeshivas, and as dean of the Karlin yeshiva in Luninets. During the Holocaust, he immigrated to Eretz Israel, and became a close disciple of the Brisker Rav. He served as lecturer in the Kletsk yeshiva in Rechovot, and the Lomza yeshiva in Petach Tikva. He was later appointed lecturer and dean of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak. He was a member and leader of Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah, and stood at the helm of the Torah world for decades.

The recipient of the book,
R. Tzvi Yehudah Meltzer (1899-1969), son of R. Isser Zalman Meltzer and son-in-law of R. Tzvi Steinman, first Rabbi of Rechovot. He was appointed Rabbi of Pardes Channa, where he established the Kletsk yeshiva, which formed the basis for Midrashiat Noam. In 1947 he was appointed Rabbi of Rechovot, succeeding his father-in-law R. Tzvi Steinman, and established the Kletsk yeshiva (later renamed Yeshivat HaDarom). In 1951 he retired from his position as Rabbi of the city, appointing R. Elimelech Bar Shaul as his successor, while he continued to serve as head of the city's Beit Din and dean of Yeshivat HaDarom.

[1] leaf. 11X10 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Trimmed, slightly affecting text on left side, and mounted on another leaf.