Auction 050 Part 1 Satmar: Rebbes and Rabbis of Satmar-Sighet, Hungary and Transylvania
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Collection of 17 letters signed by rabbis and dayanim of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, sent to the Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar and his attendant R. Yosef Ashkenazi. Jerusalem, 1950s-1970s.
Some of the letters are on official stationery, some bear the official stamp of the Edah HaCharedit; some are handwritten and some are typewritten; some are lengthy.
The letters are signed by the dayanim, rabbis and directors of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, including: Rosh Av Beit Din R. Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss; the dayanim R. Moshe Aryeh Freund, R. Eliyahu Zlotnik, R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman, R. David HaLevi Jungreis; secretary R. Yosef Scheinberger; R. Chaim Yitzchak Schwartz, R. Amram Blau, R. Eliyahu Nachum Parush-Glickman, R. Hillel Schlesinger, R. Yeshayah Zwebner, R. Gershon Stemmer, R. Mordechai Tzvi Scheinberger.
Contents of the letters: The Rebbe's visits to Eretz Israel, public affairs, activities with immigrants, opposition to Zionism, report from a trip to London for publicity and fundraising, requests for blessing for specific names, blessings for the new year and other occasions, support for institutions, requests for assistance to needy Jerusalem community members, protest against the mixed pool in Jerusalem, Shemitah Etrog controversy, reception of the "Health Fund for Yeshiva Students" with the participation of the philanthropists R. Yisrael Zupnik and R. Getzel Berger, and more.
Enclosed: A letter signed by R. Hillel Schlesinger and R. Yitzchak Zwebner sent to the secretary of the Edah HaCharedit R. Yosef Scheinberger regarding mentioning R. Gershon Stemmer to Rebbe Yoel of Satmar.
18 letters. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Polemic on Rabbi Amram Blau's Marriage to Proselyte Ruth Ben-David:
1. Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by the Rosh Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit, R. Pinchas Epstein, to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Sharp letter relating the events of the controversy and the ban placed on Neturei Karta leader R. Amram Blau following his marriage with the proselyte Ruth Ben-David in contravention to the ruling of the Beit Din, his expulsion from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak, and the prohibition placed upon him to resettle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 19 Elul, 1965.
2. "Booklet – Part II – Halachic Responsum of R. Amram son of R. Sh[lomo] Y[itzchak] Blau to an Orthodox person in Brooklyn, America, regarding someone who erroneously wrote that the Beit Din of our time has the same authority as the Beit Din of Rabban Gamliel". Bnei Brak, 3 Nisan, 1966. Five (typewritten) pages, in which R. Amram Blau demonstrates from the Talmud and early authorities that the modern Beit Din does not have the authority to override a Torah-level negative prohibition. The booklet was not distributed publicly and was kept secret so as not to reinstigate the polemic.
R. Amram Blau (ca. 1900-1974), leader of the Neturei Karta faction and younger brother of R. Moshe Blau, leader of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. He was the focus of an event that caused an upheaval in Jerusalem Charedi circles – the trenchant polemic surrounding his marriage to the proselyte Ruth Ben-David. R. Amram, at the time a widower about 70 years old, was to marry Ruth Ben-David, a French proselyte, his junior by more than 20 years. Ruth Ben-David (formerly Madeleine Lucette Ferraille) was born to Catholic parents and had an academic degree in history and geography. She participated in the anti-Nazi underground in France during World War II. At the age of 31, she converted to Judaism in Paris and later immigrated to Israel. Ben-David was involved in the concealment and smuggling of Yossele Schumacher out of Israel. During that time, she became acquainted with the population of the Old Yishuv and wished to join their closed circle and marry R. Amram Blau. The Neturei Karta community and the Edah HaCharedit vehemently opposed this union, and Rabbi Blau's disciples and children saw this marriage as a blow to his honored status. The rabbis of the Edah HaCharedit also opposed his marriage on the halachic grounds of wedding a young woman to an old man as well as for fear of a desecration of God's name. Charedi circles were in turmoil; notices and proclamations were posted in the streets of Jerusalem, and the city seethed. Finally, after more than half a year of ardent controversy, and after R. Amram was placed under a ban, the two married in Elul 1965. As a result, R. Amram was forced to leave his native city of Jerusalem and moved for some time to Bnei Brak. After many years, Ruth Ben-David Blau published her best-seller Shomrei HaIr (Jerusalem 1979) in which she relates this painful story.
2 items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Collection of eight letters from Neturei Karta leader R. Amram Blau, and additional items. Jerusalem, 1950s-1960s.
1-5. Five letters to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Handwritten and signed by R. Amram Blau (one letter typewritten). 1952-1964. Letters of recommendation for needy persons in Jerusalem, request for financial assistance to purchase a car for the Sephardic Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem who travel to Ma'abarot and Kibbutzim to save the immigrants from religious discrimination, request for financial assistance to print the Neturei Karta newsletters Mishmeret Chomateinu and Om Ani Chomah.
6-8. Three letters to R. Yosef Ashkenazi, attendant to Rebbe Yoel of Satmar. 1961-1968. One letter (printed on stationery of the Torah school and yeshiva Kiryat Sefer and the soup kitchen for children of Sephardi and Mizrachi refugees in Jerusalem), signed by R. Yaakov Mutzafi and R. Yeshayah Naftali Chanun.
9. Letter to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar from the directors of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, signed by R. Eliyahu Nachum Parush-Glickman "son of Malkah Yenta". Letter on R. Amram Blau's arrest for protesting the desecration of the Sabbath in Jerusalem, and a request for a letter of blessing and encouragement for the Tishrei festivals. Elul 1953.
Enclosed: Newspaper clipping – photograph of R. Amram Blau brought back to prison accompanied by a policeman, after participating in his grandson's circumcision.
R. Amram Blau (ca. 1900-1974), Charedi leader of the Neturei Karta faction in Jerusalem. Involved in various polemics and controversies in Israel. Known for his consistent stand in protests against desecration of the Sabbath, conscription of girls and various religious affairs. Younger brother of R. Moshe Blau, leader of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. Married the proselyte Ruth Ben-David, his junior by more than 20 years, instigating an intense controversy in the Neturei Karta and Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem.
10 paper items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Collection of about 380 letters sent to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Most of them sent from Jerusalem, 1950s-1970s. Most in Hebrew, the rest in Yiddish.
The letters were written by rabbis, rebbes, dayanim, followers and associates, and pious laymen in Jerusalem and Eretz Israel, and by associations, organizations, yeshivas and Torah and charitable institutions in Eretz Israel.
Letters signed and stamped by the rabbis and institutions, some of them on official stationery. Most are handwritten and some are typewritten. Many of them contain letters of recommendation from various rabbis in the margins. In the margins of some of the letters are inscriptions and stamps of the Rebbe's secretary, with a summary of the contents of the request.
Most of the letters deal with requests for assistance or financial support, or receipts and confirmations for charitable funds sent from the Satmar Rebbe. Many of the letters include Shanah Tovah and Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah wishes; blessings for Jewish festivals; names to be mentioned in prayer for blessing and sustenance, health and happiness from children; halachic questions and Torah discussions; advocacy and communal affairs; resolution of controversies and disputes; and more.
The collection includes letters from rabbis, including: • Dayan R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman; • Dayan R. Eliyahu Zlotnik; • Rebbe Yisrael Taussig of Mattersdorf, the Beit Yisrael; • Rebbe Naftali Mordechai Schmerler (Premishlaner Rebbe), Acre; • Posek R. Shalom HaLevi Eisen; • Maggid R. Shabtai Yudelevitz; • Kabbalist R. Yehoshua Sharbani; • Kabbalist R. Moshe Yair Weinstock; • Jerusalem Maggid R. Ben Tzion Yadler; • R. Moshe Yehoshua Landau, dean of Shaagat Aryeh yeshiva; • R. Aharon Katzenellenbogen, dean of Torah VeYirah yeshiva; • R. Efraim Zalman Heilprin; • R. Shlomo Zalman Brisel; • R. Avraham Aharonovitz; • R. Yaakov Moshe Krämer; • R. Chaim Yaakov Klapholtz; • R. Yitzchak Arieli, author of Einayim LeMishpat; • Rebbe Shalom Safrin of Komarno; • R. Amram Blau, leader of Neturei Karta; • R. Berish Soltz of Safed; • R. Moshe Chaim Stroli of Bnei Brak (disciple of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet); • R. Simchah Buman David Sofer; • R. Yosef HaLevi Zimmerman; • R. Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Schwartz; and many more.
In addition, the collection contains letters from yeshivas, institutions and organizations: • the Union of Yeshivas in Eretz Israel; • LiFlagot Reuven yeshiva; • directors of the Sephardic Edah HaCharedit; • Yeshivat HaMatmidim; • the Project to Integrate Children of Immigrants; • the League to Save Jewish Children from Persecution; • Kiryat Sefer Talmud Torah, Yeshiva and Soup Kitchen; • Torah VeYirah yeshiva; and more.
About 380 leaves (some on official stationery or aerogram). Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Satmar institutions in Eretz Israel – large and assorted collection of letters, reports, documents and agreements. Israel and United States, 1950s-1970s. Hebrew and some Yiddish.
The collection includes nine letters to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar: • Three letters from R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg on Satmar institutions in Jerusalem and Haifa, reports, quarrels and various subjects. Jerusalem and Haifa, 1959-1962; • Letter of the directors of the Ohel Rachel Beit Midrash in Katamon, regarding a leader of the prayer service touching his beard. Jerusalem, Cheshvan 1958; • Letter of the directors of the Yitav Lev yeshiva and Torah school in Katamon, requesting support and assistance. Jerusalem, 1956; • Letter of R. Ben Tzion Jakobowitz, director of the Satmar institutions in Bnei Brak, requesting prayer for a sick person and various subjects. Bnei Brak, 1961; • Letter of R. Shmuel Steinberg, quarrels and firings in the directorship of Satmar institutions in Bnei Brak. Jerusalem, 1961; • Letter of the committee of the Torah school and yeshiva of Satmar in Haifa, signed by R. Yeshayah Ze'ev Gross, requesting assistance and support. Haifa, 1961; • Report (one page, incomplete) on the activity of the Machazikei Torah institution in Haifa. Haifa, 1961.
The collection also includes over 40 letters sent to the attendant R. Efraim Yosef Dov Ashkenazi by directors of Satmar institutions in Eretz Israel and members of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem – R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg; R. Chananya Yom Tov Lipa ("Chayil") Schwartz; R. Ben Tzion Jakobowitz, director of Maharit yeshiva and founder of the Kiryat Yoel neighborhood in Bnei Brak; R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman, dayan of the Edah HaCharedit; R. Yosef Scheinberger, secretary of the Edah HaCharedit, the Health Fund for Yeshiva Students, and more. Letters on various subjects – supporting and funding the institutions; resolving disputes and quarrels in the directorship of the institutions; ownership of buildings and campuses; various appointments; reports of income and expenses; names of students and teachers, their salaries and stipends; recommendations; the Rebbe's upcoming visit in summer of 1952; erecting a new building for the Torah school and yeshiva in Jerusalem; building Satmar institutions in Bnei Brak and the Kiryat Yoel neighborhood; questions about money from funds received; repossessing the house of the Rabbi of Tolcsva (father-in-law of the Yitav Lev) in the Old City of Safed; on the dispute with the Rebbe of Sanz-Klausenburg; the publication in Hamodia of an apology by R. Yechezkel Sarna, dean of the Chevron Yeshiva, for his statement on not voting in elections; and various different other subjects. Jerusalem and Haifa, 1960s-1970s.
• Five letters to R. Shlomo Braver (director of the Yitav Lev office in Brooklyn for support of Satmar institutions in Eretz Israel), from R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg, R. Aharon Berkowitz and the Health Fund for Yeshiva Students, regarding the institutions and financial support. Jerusalem and Haifa, 1956-1961.
• Letter to R. Simchah Bunam Sofer, invitation from the Edah HaCharedit directorship to participate in the reception for Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar, to be held in the Jerusalem train station. Jerusalem, 1959.
• Letter signed by the directors of the Center for Torah Lectures for Youth and Adults in Jerusalem, R. Moshe Weber and R. Yehudah Deutsch, a request for support by R. Moshe Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Sighet (later the Berach Moshe Rebbe of Satmar), head of the committee to save Moroccan children. Jerusalem, 1969.
• Letter signed by the directors of the Union of Yeshivas in Eretz Israel, R. Eliyahu Zlotnik, dayan of the Edah HaCharedit; and R. Yitzchak David Shag (Zwebner), on appointing R. Mendel Bernet as emissary to raise funds for the institution. Elul, 1956.
The collection additionally includes documents, contracts, agreements and protocols: • Legal agreement (3 typewritten pages, unsigned) between the Yitav Lev Torah school and a contracting company to build the Satmar institutions on Yechezkel Street and Avinoam Yellin Street in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 1960; • Report (five typewritten pages, incomplete) sent to the Satmar Rebbe by R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg regarding the directorship of the yeshiva and Beit Midrash, detailing income and expenses, names of teachers and students, total salaries, legal matters, and more; • Two documents detailing the names of people receiving a stipend from Yitav Lev yeshiva and Torah school in Jerusalem [ca. 1950s]; • Report of R. Yosef Scheinberger, secretary of the Edah HaCharedit, on his visit in Chassidic communities in England and Switzerland (4 pp.); • Protocol of the Ohel Rachel Satmar Beit Midrash, regarding the ownership dispute over the Beit Midrash building. Jerusalem, 1963; • Printed leaf – "Instructions for the teachers in our holy yeshiva as we merited to hear from our Rebbe", with 16 instructions.
• And more.
Over 70 items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
Large and assorted collection of about 20 letters sent to Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum of Satmar. 1950s-1970s. Yiddish (one letter in English).
Handwritten letters, some on official stationery. Request to be mentioned to her husband Rebbe Yoel of Satmar, various blessings, advice and guidance, requests for support and financial assistance, and more.
The collection includes letters from: • R. Yechiel Yehudah Isaacson; on the reverse side of the leaf is a letter from his wife Mrs. Chanah Isaacson, daughter of Rebbe Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, the Atzei Chaim of Sighet [son of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet and brother of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar]. Haifa, Adar II 1954; • Letter of Rebbetzin Reizel Bengis, wife of R. Zelig Reuven Bengis, Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit. At the bottom is an additional letter from Rebbetzin Esther Dushinsky, wife of R. Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit. Jerusalem, Iyar 1960; • Letter of Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Lipschitz Halberstam of Stropkov. Ramla, Adar 1952; • Letter of Rebbetzin Malkah Pessel Mutzen, daughter of R. Yaakov Friedman of Sighet; • Letter of R. Tzvi Hirsch Kaufman of Satmar. Jerusalem, Shevat 1960; • Letter of R. Moshe Shaul Sirota, with letter of recommendation from the posek R. Shalom HaLevi Eisen. Tevet 1973; • Lengthy letter (five pages) from Rebbetzin Malkah Sachs, daughter of R. Yosef Steinberg. Shevat 1969; • Letter of Rebbetzin Brachah Lopovitch, wife of Rebbe Moshe Yitzchak Lopovitch of Chernivtsi-Bucharest; and more.
Enclosed: Invitation of the Girls' Educational Institutions of the Edah HaCharedit to a reception on the occasion of the visit of Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum in Jerusalem, 13 Sivan [no year indicated].
About 20 letters. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.
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 in 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.