Letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Ya'akov Yisrael Kanievsky – the Steipler, to Rabbi Binyamin Mendelson Ga'avad of Komemiyut. Bnei Brak, 1962.
In the letter, the Steipler mentions the question regarding Moshav Komemiyut brought to him by Rabbi Shlomo Lorentz. He writes, "From my lowly state, I have not found any heter to permit this, neither from legal authorities nor from fear of stealing. Nevertheless, I also cannot prohibit this, and someone greater shall rule, and I will eliminate myself from resolving this question". On the margin of the letter he adds: "At the time Rabbi Shlomo Lorentz came to me, I saw certain sides of the matter, but after studying the subject, it seems that they do not have a real halachic basis".
The Rabbi of Komemiyut – Rabbi Binyamin Mendelson (1904-1979), used to consult the Chazon Ish and Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev of Brisk and the Tshebin Rav on halachic topics which concerned public issues. This letter was written in 1962. Evidently after the death of the Chazon Ish and the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Mendelson sent this question to the Steipler, Rabbi Ya'akov Yisrael Kanievsky (1899-1985) but he refused to rule and referred the question to "someone greater" [apparently referring to the Tshebin Rav whom the Steipler highly esteemed].
Official stationery, 23 cm. Approximately 14 written lines. Good condition.

A collection of letters, concerning the polemic surrounding the marriage of Rabbi Amram Blau with the proselyte Ruth Ben-David – the responsum of Rabbi Amram Blau to the Badatz Eda HaCharedit in Jerusalem about their opposition to his marriage and agitated letters from her to the Ra'avad Rabbi David Jungreis. [Jerusalem, 1965].
• Four large pages of a responsum in the handwriting of Rabbi Amram Blau in which Rabbi Amram explains that no halachic problem exists in his marrying a young woman and he protests the claim that this step diminishes his honor and is a desecration of G-d's name. On the contrary, it is a great mitzvah to draw a proselyte near.
• Letter (in Yiddish) handwritten and signed by Ruth Ben-David to the Ra'avad Rabbi David Jungreis in which she writes about the events and expresses her pain on what is being done to her.
• Another letter (in Yiddish) handwritten and signed by Ruth Ben-David to Rabbi David Jungreis, in which she agitatedly complains that her "blood is being spilled" and she asks if it is permissible to cause such pain to a proselyte!
• Open letter against the pursuit of Rabbi Amram Blau – proclamation (stencil printing), by Rabbi Eliyahu Weinstein.
One of the events that stirred the emotions of the Charedi public in Jerusalem was the polemic surrounding the marriage of Rabbi Amram Blau to the proselyte Ruth Ben-David. Rabbi Amram, who at the time was a widower close to 70 years old was about to marry Ruth Ben-David, a French proselyte who was more than 20 years younger than him. Ben-David was involved in the concealment of the boy Yosse'le Shuchmacher and in smuggling him out of the country. During that time, she became acquainted with the population of the Yishuv HaYashan and she wished to join this closed community, but this led to sharp opposition from the people affiliated with the Niturei Karta and the Eda HaCharedit. The disciples and sons of Rabbi Amram considered his marriage to Ruth Ben-David to be a diminishment of his status. The rabbis of the Eda HaCharedit also opposed his marriage on halachic grounds of the marriage of a young woman to an old man and also fearing that this step would be a desecration of G-d’s name. The Charedi street seethed, notices and proclamations were publicized in the streets of Jerusalem, and the city raged. At the end, after more than half a year of stormy polemic, the two married in Elul 1965. Rabbi Amram was forced to leave his native city of Jerusalem and moved for a while to Bnei Brak. After many years, Ruth Ben-David Blau published her best-seller Shomrei Ha’Ir (Jerusalem 1979) in which she relates this painful episode of her life.
4 handwritten leaves 32 cm + two letters (one is written on two pages), and a proclamation 27-28 cm. Good to good-fair condition.

Letter "Revealing the Torah Opinion of the USA Union of Rabbis", handwritten and signed by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, president of the Union of Rabbis. New York, [1973].
Written at the time the decision was rendered to shorten Rabbi Unterman's term as Chief Rabbi of Israel to only ten years [a political move by Rabbi Goren's friends to dismiss the Chief Rabbis Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman and Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim]. In 1973, new elections were conducted in which Rabbi Shlomo Goren and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef were elected as Chief Rabbis of Israel.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who opposed the dismissal of Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman and the appointment of Rabbi Goren, wrote the ruling in this open letter: "The subject of the Jewish rabbinate all over the world, is a matter of authority which according to Torah law is irrevocable all his life… Therefore, G-d forbid, considering the dismissal of R' Isser Yehuda Unterman from the position of Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael and to appoint someone else in his stead. [I], who writes and signs for the sake of truth and peace – Moshe Feinstein, President".
Official stationery of the "The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada". 8 handwritten lines. 28 cm. Good condition. Moisture damages and folding marks.

Letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Shach head of Ponevezh Yeshiva, about his attitude towards Chassidim and Rebbes. Bnei Brak, Cheshvan 1988.
Sent to "The rebbe Rahatz in Jerusalem" – before the elections to the Knesset in the autumn of 1988, at the time Rabbi Shach founded the Degel HaTorah movement [after Agudat Yisrael refused to accept the opinion of the heads of yeshivot and Lithuanian Torah leaders – especially Related to the Messiac movement of Chabad Chassidim].
He writes as follows: "In continuation of our conversation yesterday, I was really shocked to hear of the slander and falsehood told about me that I have spoken or done something, G-d forbid, against Chassidim and their leaders…This is a lowly defamation and a coarse falsehood to say that I oppose Chassidim. I have already said that I truly do not have and never had anything against Chassidism or Chassidim. It is well-known that thousands of Chassidic students studied and are studying at present in our holy yeshiva. I have never treated them differently in any way from any other students – I am sorry that the word "sect" that I used in my opposition to Chabad Chassidism hurt the Chassidim, but G-d forbid, I did not mean Chassidim in general, whom I know to be G-d-fearing and complete in Torah and mitzvah observance... On the contrary, I cannot imagine the way our generation would look without Chassidism and Chassidim and their lofty activities for Torah and Judaism, with their characteristic beloved warmth, especially the rebbes and their special yeshivot which have an important place in the Torah world…”.
This letter came from the home of the Spinka-Zhydachiv, Rebbe Alter Eliezer Kahane (1937-2009), a holy tsaddik and an outstanding Jerusalem Torah scholar - See Item 439 - who was hurt during the
dispute which developed between Chassidim and Jews of Lithuanian tradition during that election campaign and he traveled to Bnei Brak to speak with Rabbi Shach on this matter. Rabbi Shach heard his painful plaints and he knew no rest all night. The next day, he wrote this letter and sent it with a special messenger who brought the home of Rebbe Alter Kahane in Jerusalem. [Interestingly, he did not explicitly write the name of the recipient, the Rebbe, in the letter. Perhaps he was concerned lest this lead to additional polemic and dispute].
Official stationery, 25 cm. Approximately 19 handwritten lines. Very-good condition, folding marks. + the original envelope in which the letter arrived.