Displaying 817 - 828 of 58939

Pages

Lot 185 Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – Vilna, 1910 – On Rabbinic Issues and Halachic Decisions

Letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, Kislev 1910. Addressed to R. Tzvi Hirsch Stei
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $700
Sold for: $938
Including buyer's premium
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, Kislev 1910.

Addressed to R. Tzvi Hirsch Steinman, rabbi and posek in Nizhny Novgorod. R. Tzvi Steinman had apparently submitted a halachic ruling to R. Chaim Ozer for his approval. R. Chaim Ozer responds that R. Tzvi Steinman ruled correctly.

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years. His authority is evidenced by the present letter, in which a childhood friend from yeshiva, holding a rabbinical position, submits his ruling to him for approval.

The recipient of the letter,
R. Tzvi Steinman (ca. 1865-1947), Rabbi of Rechovot, a student of the Volozhin yeshiva [where R. Chaim Ozer also studied in his youth]. Served as a lecturer in the Smorgon yeshiva, and later for about twenty years as Rabbi of Nizhny Novgorod. In 1925 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and was appointed Rabbi of Yavne'el, and two years later, of Rechovot, where he served for some twenty years.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 20.5 cm. 7 lines in his handwriting. Good-fair condition. Stains, wear and folding marks.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 186 Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – On Attaining the Chafetz Chaim's Signature for an Announcement to South African Jews, And Publishing the Writings of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk – "I Am Always Bothered His Sons, the Great Rabbis, Have Not Published It" – Druskininkai, 13th Elul 1932

Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Druskininkai [a spa city near Vilna], 13th Elul 1932.
Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Druskininkai [a spa city near Vilna], 13th Elul 1932.
Download picture
Download picture
Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – On Attaining the Chafetz Chaim's Signature for an Announcement to South African Jews, And Publishing the Writings of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – On Attaining the Chafetz Chaim's Signature for an Announcement to South African Jews, And Publishing the Writings of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk
2 PHOTOS
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $3,000
Including buyer's premium
Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Druskininkai [a spa city near Vilna], 13th Elul 1932.

Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, a rabbi in London and an intimate associate of his. Most of the letter relates to R. Yisrael Soloveitchik's mission to South Africa, to assist the rabbis in Russia left behind the Iron Curtain.
R. Chaim Ozer responds to R. Abramsky's suggestion to have the Chafetz Chaim sign a fundraising announcement for South Africa. R. Chaim Ozer debates the issue, taking into consideration the uncertainties and possible damage arising from such an announcement, but dismisses the concerns because of the need to do what can be done for the Jews of Russia, and says he will have the Chafetz Chaim sign. He asks R. Abramsky for assistance with the formulation of the announcement [as he did on another occasion – see: Kedem, Auction 99, Lot 204].
R. Chaim Ozer also expresses his joy at R. Abramsky's efforts to have the writings of their teacher R. Chaim of Brisk printed, which "I am always bothered his sons, the great rabbis, have not published". He also expresses his joy for R. Abramsky's ongoing Chazon Yechezkel commentary on the Tosefta.
R. Chaim Ozer concludes with a Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah blessing and his signature.
In the margins of the letter, R. Chaim Ozer adds a greeting (with a second signature) to R. Yisrael Soloveitchik. R. Yisrael Soloveitchik, a rabbi of South Africa (d. 1951), son of R. Avraham Baruch Rabbi of Smolensk and cousin of R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav – See Lot 203.

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years.

The recipient of the letter,
R. Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), was a confidant and agent of R. Chaim Ozer of Vilna ever since developing close ties with him in his youth while studying under his influence in Vilna. In winter of 1806, the "prodigy of Masty" Yechezkel Abramsky was forced to leave the Telshe yeshiva and flee to Vilna (then under Polish rule) to avoid conscription to the Russian army. In Vilna he was accepted into the Ramailes yeshiva and joined the elite class of students who attended the advanced lectures of R. Chaim Ozer (based on Melech BeYofyo, pp. 29-33).
While subsequently serving as Rabbi of Smilavichy and Slutsk, he served often as R. Chaim Ozer's agent in various communal affairs. R. Abramsky smuggled the manuscript of Part I of his Chazon Yechezkel from Slutsk to his teacher R. Chaim Ozer in Vilna, who was involved in its publication in Vilna, 1925. When R. Abramsky was arrested by the Soviets and sent to Siberia in 1930, R. Chaim Ozer made every possible effort to release him. After his release in 1931, R. Chaim Ozer and the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch joined with R. Abramsky to initiate the project of sending Pesach flour and food packages to Jews under the Bolshevik regime in Russia. Likewise, R. Abramsky was active on missions for R. Chaim Ozer for yeshivas in Poland and Lithuania and for rabbis of Europe. They also cooperated on many public issues, including the struggles for Jewish marriage and against the anti-Semitic laws in Germany and Europe forbidding Jewish shechitah (requiring stunning animals before slaughtering, which renders the meat non-kosher), and on rescue activity for rabbis and yeshivas who fled as refugees to Vilna at the start of the Holocaust. The present letter reflects some of their cooperation on wide-ranging public activities.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 26 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, wear and folding marks. Marginal tears.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 187 Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – On Assistance to Shemitah-Observant Farmers in Eretz Israel, Shemitah Year 1938 – Addressing the Irrelevance of Heter Mechirah After the Arab Revolt

Letter of R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. [Vilna], 2nd Shevat 1938. Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, a rabbi in Lond
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $1,250
Including buyer's premium
Letter of R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. [Vilna], 2nd Shevat 1938.

Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, a rabbi in London and an intimate associate of his. Most of the letter written by his scribe, with two lines at the end handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer himself. The letter relates his health situations and concludes with R. Chaim Ozer's signature. At the end, the scribe adds a greeting and a short handwritten letter signed with his initials [R. Aharon Dov Alter Voronovsky, R. Abramsky's wife's cousin].
The letter discusses various topics. Most of the letter is about fundraisers for Shemitah-observant farmers in Eretz Israel, while R. Chaim Ozer adds his opinion on the irrelevance of Heter Mechirah (an allowance for agricultural work in the Shemitah year by sale of the land to a non-Jew) [in the period after the Arab Revolt, when non-Jewish workers were not employed in the fields].

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years.

The recipient of the letter,
R. Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), was a confidant and agent of R. Chaim Ozer of Vilna ever since developing close ties with him in his youth while studying under his influence in Vilna. In winter of 1806, the "prodigy of Masty" Yechezkel Abramsky was forced to leave the Telshe yeshiva and flee to Vilna (then under Polish rule) to avoid conscription to the Russian army. In Vilna he was accepted into the Ramailes yeshiva and joined the elite class of students who attended the advanced lectures of R. Chaim Ozer (based on Melech BeYofyo, pp. 29-33).
While subsequently serving as Rabbi of Smilavichy and Slutsk, he served often as R. Chaim Ozer's agent in various communal affairs. R. Abramsky smuggled the manuscript of Part I of his Chazon Yechezkel from Slutsk to his teacher R. Chaim Ozer in Vilna, who was involved in its publication in Vilna, 1925, through his confidant R. Aharon Dov Alter Voronovsky (R. Abramsky's wife's cousin). When R. Abramsky was arrested by the Soviets and sent to Siberia in 1930, R. Chaim Ozer made every possible effort to release him. After his release in 1931, R. Chaim Ozer and the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch joined with R. Abramsky to initiate the project of sending Pesach flour and food packages to Jews under the Bolshevik regime in Russia. Likewise, R. Abramsky was active on missions for R. Chaim Ozer for yeshivas in Poland and Lithuania and for rabbis of Europe. They also cooperated on many public issues, including the struggles for Jewish marriage and against the anti-Semitic laws in Germany and Europe forbidding Jewish shechitah (requiring stunning animals before slaughtering, which renders the meat non-kosher), and on rescue activity for rabbis and yeshivas who fled as refugees to Vilna at the start of the Holocaust. The present letter reflects some of their cooperation on wide-ranging public activities.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 28.5 cm. Good condition. Light stains and folding marks.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 188 Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – Vilna, 1938 – Recommendation for a Student of His Yeshiva Immigrating to Eretz Israel – "May the G-d of Recompense Reward Their Work in Full…"

Letter handwritten, stamped and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan [October] 1938
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $700
Sold for: $875
Including buyer's premium
Letter handwritten, stamped and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan [October] 1938.
Recommendation for financial aid for Shalom Stolnik, a student of the Ramailes yeshiva in Vilna, "who has a certificate to travel to the Holy Land, but does not have the travel expenses". R. Chaim asks for "philanthropists who love the Torah to support him generously for his travel, and may the G-d of recompense reward their work in full…".

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years.
In addition to his spiritual leadership and halachic responsa, R. Chaim Ozer worked indefatigably to improve the conditions of yeshivas and rabbis in Lithuania and surrounding regions. He did much to support the Ramailes yeshiva in Vilna and its students, including having a new building established for it.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 21.5x14 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Wear and tears to folds. Mounted on back of acid tape, with pasting stains.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 189 Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – Vilna, Cheshvan 1939 – To the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz and the Yeshivas Exiled to Vilna at the Beginning of the Holocaust

Letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, 27th Cheshvan [November 9] 1939. Addressed to R
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, 27th Cheshvan [November 9] 1939. Addressed to R
Download picture
Download picture
Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – Vilna, Cheshvan 1939 – To the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz and the Yeshivas Exiled to Vilna at the Beginning of the Holocaust Letter of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski – Vilna, Cheshvan 1939 – To the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz and the Yeshivas Exiled to Vilna at the Beginning of the Holocaust
2 PHOTOS
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $3,250
Including buyer's premium
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, 27th Cheshvan [November 9] 1939.

Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, a rabbi in London and an intimate associate of his. Most of the letter deals with rescue efforts for the yeshivas that were exiled to Vilna and independent Lithuania (at the outbreak of World War II, many yeshivas fled Poland, which had been occupied and partitioned by the Germans and Russians, for Vilna and other cities in independent Lithuania, at the instruction of R. Chaim Ozer). During that turbulent time, R. Chaim Ozer assisted the leaders of the wandering yeshivas while taking care of their sustenance, doing everything to provide for their needs. The exiles to Vilna (mentioned in the present letter) included R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav (who reached Vilna with some of his family members and students, who escaped and immigrated with him to Jerusalem in 1941); the Kamenets yeshiva and R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz (d. in Vilna, 5th Kislev 1939; his family escaped with some of his students and immigrated to the United States and Eretz Israel); the Mir yeshiva; the Radin yeshiva; the Baranavichy yeshiva and R. Elchanan Wasserman; the Kletsk yeshiva and R. Aharon Kotler; and others.
This historical letter recounts the situation in Vilna in those early days of the war; the concerns about Germany and Russia, who conquered Poland while hiding their plans; and on the exile of the yeshivas and rabbis who escaped to Vilna. He states that all the yeshivas arrived unharmed, but that the future is still unclear.
The beginning of the letter appears to be in scribal writing [in handwriting similar to R. Chaim Ozer's], while the last nine lines, about payments made on R. Abramsky's behalf, are handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Ozer.

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of European Jewry. He was the son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski Rabbi of Iwye. He was renowned from his childhood for his exceptional brilliance. He entered the Volozhin yeshiva at the young age of 11, and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna, succeeding his father-in-law R. Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnansky, a posek in Vilna (son-in-law of R. Yisrael Salanter). He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all public issues which arose throughout the Jewish world for close to fifty years.

The recipient of the letter,
R. Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), was a confidant and agent of R. Chaim Ozer of Vilna ever since developing close ties with him in his youth while studying under his influence in Vilna. In winter of 1806, the "prodigy of Masty" Yechezkel Abramsky was forced to leave the Telshe yeshiva and flee to Vilna (then under Polish rule) to avoid conscription to the Russian army. In Vilna he was accepted into the Ramailes yeshiva and joined the elite class of students who attended the advanced lectures of R. Chaim Ozer (based on Melech BeYofyo, pp. 29-33).
While subsequently serving as Rabbi of Smilavichy and Slutsk, he served often as R. Chaim Ozer's agent in various communal affairs. R. Abramsky smuggled the manuscript of Part I of his Chazon Yechezkel from Slutsk to his teacher R. Chaim Ozer in Vilna, who was involved in its publication in Vilna, 1925.
When R. Abramsky was arrested by the Soviets and sent to Siberia in 1930, R. Chaim Ozer made every possible effort to release him. After his release in 1931, R. Chaim Ozer and the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch joined with R. Abramsky to initiate the project of sending Pesach flour and food packages to Jews under the Bolshevik regime in Russia. Likewise, R. Abramsky was active on missions for R. Chaim Ozer for yeshivas in Poland and Lithuania and for rabbis of Europe. They also cooperated on many public issues, including the struggles for Jewish marriage and against the anti-Semitic laws in Germany and Europe forbidding Jewish shechitah (requiring stunning animals before slaughtering, which renders the meat non-kosher), and on rescue activity for rabbis and yeshivas who fled as refugees to Vilna at the start of the Holocaust. The present letter reflects some of their cooperation to rescue and provide for rabbis and yeshiva students in exile, who continued to study Torah even under those harsh conditions.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 29 cm. Written on both sides. Good condition. Stains and folding marks.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 190 Letter of Blessing and Thanks from Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz – Kamenets, Sivan 1931 – "All Blessings and Successes, Lengthy Days, Wealth and Happiness"

Letter from R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Kamenets. [Kamenets], 12th Sivan,
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $1,625
Including buyer's premium
Letter from R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Kamenets. [Kamenets], 12th Sivan, 1931. Yiddish.

Sent to donors of the yeshiva, the Feigin family in Philadelphia, USA. R. Baruch Ber showers them with blessings and thanks for their generous support for the yeshiva.
Most of the letter is typewritten, and it concludes with five lines of warm, heartfelt blessings handwritten, stamped and signed by the yeshiva dean R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz: "I bless you and your righteous wife with all the blessings included in the Torah's blessing, 'Blessed is one who supports [Torah]', lengthy days with wealth and happiness, and may you merit along with all Jews to see the coming of the Messiah, speedily in our days. Blessing, honoring and esteeming you, Baruch Dov Leibowitz, dean of the holy Beit Yitzchak yeshiva".

R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1939), author of Birkat Shmuel, leading Torah disseminator in his times. He was a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva, and the son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman, Rabbi of Hlusk. After his father-in-law went on to serve as rabbi of Kremenchuk, he succeeded him in Hlusk and established a yeshiva. After a 13-year tenure, he was asked to head the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Slabodka. During World War I, he wandered with the yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, finally settling in Kamenets. He authored Birkat Shmuel on Talmudic topics. His teachings and writings are classics of in-depth yeshiva study.

[2] leaves, official stationery. 29.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 191 Letter of Blessing and Thanks from Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz – Kamenets, Adar I 1938 – "May You Be Blessed With All Blessings and Successes and All Satisfaction Forever"

Letter of R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Kamenets yeshiva. [Kamenets], 7th Adar I [February] 1938. Ad
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,200
Sold for: $1,750
Including buyer's premium
Letter of R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Kamenets yeshiva. [Kamenets], 7th Adar I [February] 1938.

Addressed to his relative R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head of the London Beit Din (their wives were cousins), in thanks for his donation to the yeshiva. About half of the letter is typewritten, while it concludes with seven lines of warm, heartfelt blessings handwritten and signed by the yeshiva dean, R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz.
R. Baruch Ber informs R. Abramsky that his health condition has improved, and blesses him, his wife and all his offspring: "May you be blessed with all blessings and successes and all satisfaction forever, and may we merit to see the redemption and the coming of our Messiah. Your wife's relative, seeking your welfare and blessing you with love and affection, Baruch Dov Leibowitz, dean of the Beit Yitzchak yeshiva".

R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1939), author of Birkat Shmuel, leading Torah disseminator in his times. He was a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva, and the son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman, Rabbi of Hlusk. After his father-in-law went to serve as rabbi of Kremenchuk, he succeeded him in Hlusk and established a yeshiva. After a 13-year tenure, he was asked to head the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Slabodka. During World War I, he wandered with the yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, before finally settling in Kamenets. He authored Birkat Shmuel on Talmudic topics. His teachings and writings are classics of in-depth yeshiva study.

[1] leaf, official stationery. 30 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Folding marks. Small marginal tears.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 192 Letter of Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz – On the Kollel in the Kamenets Yeshiva – Nisan 1938

Lengthy letter (20 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Kamenets yeshiva. [Kamenets
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,500
Sold for: $2,500
Including buyer's premium
Lengthy letter (20 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz, dean of the Kamenets yeshiva. [Kamenets?], Nisan [April] 1938.
A request for assistance to the kollel in the Kamenets yeshiva, which was established at that time. Addressed to his relative R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head of the London Beit Din (their wives were cousins).
The letter tells of the establishment of the kollel that year, for students to study in up to five years after their marriage, and the need for funds for its upkeep. R. Baruch Ber asks R. Abramsky to support the kollel and influence others to support it as well. He signs: "your wife's relative, Baruch Dov Leibowitz, dean of the Beit Yitzchak yeshiva – 10th day of the Omer, 1938".

R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1939), author of Birkat Shmuel, leading Torah disseminator in his times. He was a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva, and the son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman, Rabbi of Hlusk. After his father-in-law went to serve as rabbi of Kremenchuk, he succeeded him in Hlusk and established a yeshiva. After a 13-year tenure, he was asked to head the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Slabodka. During World War I, he wandered with the yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, before finally settling in Kamenets. He authored Birkat Shmuel on Talmudic topics. His teachings and writings are classics of in-depth yeshiva study.

[1] leaf, official stationery. 30 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Folding marks. Tears, small open tears to margins.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 193 Letter of Rabbi Shimon Shkop, Dean of Grodno Yeshiva – Shevat, 1934

Lengthy letter (15 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Shimon Yehudah HaKohen Shkop, dean of the Grodno yeshiva. Rosh Chod
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $2,500
Including buyer's premium
Lengthy letter (15 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Shimon Yehudah HaKohen Shkop, dean of the Grodno yeshiva. Rosh Chodesh Shevat 1934.

Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, who served at the time as Rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London, thanking him for a check transferring donations R. Abramsky had gathered in England for the yeshiva, which was in a dire financial situation. R. Shimon writes to R. Abramsky that the Federation had sent the Grodno yeshiva about half the amount it had sent to other yeshivas, and asks for him to exert his influence to have the Federation members increase their support for the yeshiva.
R. Shimon Shkop goes on to mention his health situation is weakening, and expresses his hope "to be of benefit to the public, as all my friends and acquaintances wish". He concludes with "a kohen's blessing", signing "Shimon Yehudah HaKohen Shkop".

R. Shimon Yehudah HaKohen Shkop (1860-1939) a leading Torah scholar and transmitter of the Torah in Lithuanian yeshivas, was a disciple of R. Chaim Soloveitchik in the Volozhin yeshiva, who instructed him in his intricate and profound methodology of Torah study. At the age of 24, he was appointed dean of the Telshe yeshiva (founded by his uncle R. Eliezer Gordon), where he transmitted his innovative method of logical study – an approach dominating the entire Torah world to this day. One of his foremost disciples from that period was R. Elchanan Wasserman. In 1920, he was called to head the Shaar HaTorah yeshiva in Grodno and served as the Rabbi of the Vorstadt suburb of Grodno. His works include: Shaarei Yosher, Maarechet HaKinyanim and Chiddushei R. Shimon Yehudah HaKohen.

1 leaf. Official stationery. 28 cm. Good condition. Stains and folding marks.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 194 Letter of Rabbi Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro, Rabbi of Kovno – Kovno, 1938

Letter handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro, Rabbi of Kovno, author of Devar Avraham. Kovno, Adar I 1938
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $300
Sold for: $550
Including buyer's premium

Letter handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro, Rabbi of Kovno, author of Devar Avraham. Kovno, Adar I 1938.

Addressed to his friend R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head rabbi of the London Beit Din. The letter discusses his and R. Abramsky's books, and other issues. He writes that he received Chazon Yechezkel on Chullin, and offers his thanks and blessing. He adds that he sent him the first part of his book (Devar Avraham) in its second edition, and will have his speech on family purity sent by the publisher. In response to a note by R. Abramsky about a position of his father-in-law [the Gadol of Minsk, R. Yerucham Leib Perlman, author of Or Gadol], he says he didn't have time to study it, and would address it later.

R. Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro (1871-1943), author of Devar Avraham, an eminent rabbi in his times, son of R. Zalman Sender Kahana Shapiro and son-in-law of the Gadol of Minsk, R. Yerucham Yehudah Leib Perlman. He studied in the Volozhin yeshiva and served as Rabbi in Smilavichy and in 1914 of the major city Kovno (whereupon R. Abramsky, previously Rabbi of Smolyan, took his post in Smilavichy). His learned book Devar Avraham, the first part of which was first printed in 1906, made him famous, and the book was discussed widely even in his own generation. He was renowned as a prominent leader of Jewry and of the Agudat Rabbanim in Lithuania. In 1924 he traveled to the United States on the famous rabbinical mission along with the Kli Chemdah, R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook and R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein. When the Holocaust broke out, he was on a visit to Switzerland but returned to Kovno, saying that a captain does not abandon his ship during a storm. He died in the Kovno Ghetto and thousands of Jews attended his funeral.

The recipient of the letters, R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head rabbi of the London Beit Din (1886-1976), was a friend of the Devar Avraham from before World War I, when he succeeded the Devar Avraham as Rabbi of Smilavichy when the latter went to serve in Kovno. After his appointment as head rabbi of the preeminent Beit Din in London, R. Abramsky corresponded extensively with the Torah leaders of Lithuania on many issues of public affairs, including his teacher R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski and the Devar Avraham.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and folding marks. Minor tears to folds.

Catalogue
View Details

Lot 195 Two Letters from Rabbi Kook – From His Trip to the United States in 1924 – "May We Merit to Meet with Joyous Hearts on the Holy Soil"

Two letters handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel. New York (United Stat
Two letters handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel. New York (United Stat
Download picture
Download picture
Two Letters from Rabbi Kook – From His Trip to the United States in 1924 – Two Letters from Rabbi Kook – From His Trip to the United States in 1924 –
2 PHOTOS
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $400
Sold for: $1,500
Including buyer's premium
Two letters handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel. New York (United States), 1924.

Both letters are addressed to the "members of the Chief Rabbinate of Eretz Israel", during R. Kook's famous visit to the United States, along with R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein, R. Meir Dan Plotzky, and R. Avraham Dov Ber Kahana-Shapiro, the Devar Avraham.

In the first letter, dated Iyar 1924 (from New York), R. Kook describes the difficulty in fulfilling a certain task, which he promises to deal with upon his return to the Holy Land, by correspondence with the American rabbis and public workers, and adds: "May we merit to meet with joy and happy hearts on the holy soil, in the faithful holy work of uplifting the Torah's pride in the Holy Land and in our holy city… Avraham Yitzchak H[aKohen] K[ook]".

In the second letter, dated Av of the same year (from Far Rockaway, Queens, New York), R. Kook writes of his dealings with the English ambassador to the United States, who "fulfilled my request in the best way". He adds a blessing for a good judgment and peace for the people and land of Israel, and reiterates: "May we merit to meet with joyous hearts on the holy soil, in the faithful holy work of uplifting the Torah's pride in the Holy Land and in our holy city… Avraham Yitzchak H[aKohen] K[ook]".

2 letters. Official stationery. 26.5-28 cm. One in good condition. Folding marks and creases. Other in good-fair condition. Dark paper. Folding marks. Marginal tears and filing holes.
Catalogue
View Details

Lot 196 Letter of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook – Jerusalem, 1932

Lengthy letter (21 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel. Jerusal
Download picture
Auction 101 Part 2 Chassidut and Kabbalah | Jerusalem Printings | Letters and Manuscripts | Objects Feb 18, 2025
Opening: $300
Sold for: $2,250
Including buyer's premium
Lengthy letter (21 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel. Jerusalem, Elul 1932.

Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky in London, who was appointed rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community that year.
Letter of recommendation for Sherira Levin, son of Dr. Binyamin Menashe Levin [R. Kook's friend and disciple], publisher of the Letter of R. Sherira Gaon and Otzrot HaGeonim – who was traveling to London for his studies. R. Kook asks R. Abramsky to provide both the spiritual and material assistance he will be in need of during his studies.
R. Kook concludes with a blessing for a Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah, signing his name "Avraham Yitzchak H[aKohen] K[ook]".
R. Abramsky had escaped Russia in 1932 (after much persecution and imprisonment) and reached England, where he was appointed rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London where R. Kook had previously served, during his stay in London during World War I.

[1] leaf. Official stationery. 29.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Creases and folding marks.

Does not appear in Igrot HaReayah.
Catalogue
View Details

Pages