Letter (two written pages) handwritten and signed by Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum, wife of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. No year or place noted [apparently Kiryas Joel, 1965]. Yiddish.
Sent to "the Rebbetzin… and to her daughter-in-law the Rebbetzin" – apparently to a rebbe's wife who was marrying off her son.
At the beginning of the letter, the Rebbetzin apologizes for her delay in responding: "I haven't written, not because I don't properly appreciate you, but because I don't have enough leisure. My husband the Rebbe doesn't feel well, and I too somewhat…".
The Rebbetzin goes on to thank her for her gift, a challah cover, and she promises to send a bar mitzvah gift for her son's wedding, and goes on to write that she should soon look for a match for her daughter Eidel.
The Rebbetzin goes on to tell of the Rebbe's plan to travel to Eretz Israel and on his misgivings due to his health: "Here we are thinking of travelling on the 12th to Eretz Israel, but we don't know what to do, especially since my husband the Rebbe doesn't feel well".
The Rebbetzin ends her letter with blessings and wishes and thanks her again for her gift – "I sign with heartfelt greetings and thank you again for your beautiful gift which I regard with importance".
Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum (1912-2001), second wife of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar and his companion for 42 years. Daughter of Rebbe Avigdor Shapiro of Częstochowa, a descendant of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, author of Maor VaShemesh, and the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. On 13 Elul 1937, she married Rebbe Yoel of Satmar (who had lost his first wife a year and a half earlier). She was rescued from the Holocaust together with her husband the Rebbe in the Kastner train. After the Holocaust, she had a large influence on the Chassidic community and its institutions. She participated in establishing Chassidic institutions, and provided support and raised funds for them. She managed charitable funds, and over her whole life she would visit the sick and marry off brides. She was an intelligent and God-fearing woman, known for her great righteousness and wisdom. After the passing of her husband the Rebbe, the Bnei Yoel Beit Midrash and community was established in her house in Kiryas Joel, Monroe. The Rebbetzin moved to Brooklyn and served as a rebbe in her own right, having public receptions and reading Kvitels. She passed away over 20 years after her husband, and was buried at his side in the Kiryas Joel cemetery. Several Torah and charitable institutions in the United States and Israel are named for her. [1] double leaf (a quarter of the leaf is cut off and missing).
Approx. 21 cm. Fair-poor condition. Folds and creases. Stains and pasting traces, affecting text. Damage and wear. Tears to margins and folds, some reinforced with acid tape.
