Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
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![A long, interesting, letter by Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, head of the Mir Yeshiva [Vilna]. Adar, 1940.
Sent to Bnei Brak t](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale51a-public/333_1.jpg "Letter from Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, to the Chazon Ish - Regarding")
![A long, interesting, letter by Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, head of the Mir Yeshiva [Vilna]. Adar, 1940.
Sent to Bnei Brak t](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale51a-public/333_2.jpg "Letter from Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, to the Chazon Ish - Regarding")
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $2,000
Sold for: $3,500
Including buyer's premium
A long, interesting, letter by Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, head of the Mir Yeshiva [Vilna]. Adar, 1940.
Sent to Bnei Brak to the Chazon Ish. In the letter, Rabbi Finkel relates the state of the yeshiva that "Our Father in Heaven in his great compassion has saved us from the great inferno that consumed our former place and showed us the way to rescue the She'erit HaPleita of the holy Torah. Together with all the yeshivas, we came to Lithuania, with us are about 300 dear Torah students who continue their study of the holy Torah and growth in holiness". In the rest of the letter, he tells of the exile of the yeshiva to Kėdainiai and of the attempts to replant the yeshiva in the USA or in Eretz Israel. He explains his opinion that the yeshiva should move to Eretz Israel and not to the USA, "because this is not our will and aspiration to move the yeshiva to the US, because this is not at all a continuation of what we call a yeshiva…and this will not save the Torah".
With the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Chaim Ozer instructed all the yeshivot in Lithuania to come to Vilna which was at that time under the provisional government of independent Lithuania. In the autumn of 1939, at the eruption of World War II, the Mir Yeshiva fled to Vilna and following the Russian occupation in the spring of 1940, it relocated to Kėdainiai in Northern-Lithuania. It then branched into four surrounding villages: Krekenava, Šėta, Kriukai and Ramygala. With the advance of the German occupation, the yeshiva was miraculously saved traveling the trans-Siberia train, then in dilapidated ships to Kobe, Japan and from there to Shanghai, China. The yeshiva remained in Shanghai for six years led by the mashgiach Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein and the Rosh Metivta Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz while the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel moved to Jerusalem and re-established the Mir Yeshiva without success in bringing his students with him to Jerusalem.
Official stationery, 28 cm. [2] typewritten pages, signed by Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel. Fair condition. Wear and stains.
On Page [2] is a "kvittel" in the handwriting of the Chazon Ish with the name of a person who needs prayers and blessing.
Sent to Bnei Brak to the Chazon Ish. In the letter, Rabbi Finkel relates the state of the yeshiva that "Our Father in Heaven in his great compassion has saved us from the great inferno that consumed our former place and showed us the way to rescue the She'erit HaPleita of the holy Torah. Together with all the yeshivas, we came to Lithuania, with us are about 300 dear Torah students who continue their study of the holy Torah and growth in holiness". In the rest of the letter, he tells of the exile of the yeshiva to Kėdainiai and of the attempts to replant the yeshiva in the USA or in Eretz Israel. He explains his opinion that the yeshiva should move to Eretz Israel and not to the USA, "because this is not our will and aspiration to move the yeshiva to the US, because this is not at all a continuation of what we call a yeshiva…and this will not save the Torah".
With the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Chaim Ozer instructed all the yeshivot in Lithuania to come to Vilna which was at that time under the provisional government of independent Lithuania. In the autumn of 1939, at the eruption of World War II, the Mir Yeshiva fled to Vilna and following the Russian occupation in the spring of 1940, it relocated to Kėdainiai in Northern-Lithuania. It then branched into four surrounding villages: Krekenava, Šėta, Kriukai and Ramygala. With the advance of the German occupation, the yeshiva was miraculously saved traveling the trans-Siberia train, then in dilapidated ships to Kobe, Japan and from there to Shanghai, China. The yeshiva remained in Shanghai for six years led by the mashgiach Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein and the Rosh Metivta Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz while the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel moved to Jerusalem and re-established the Mir Yeshiva without success in bringing his students with him to Jerusalem.
Official stationery, 28 cm. [2] typewritten pages, signed by Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel. Fair condition. Wear and stains.
On Page [2] is a "kvittel" in the handwriting of the Chazon Ish with the name of a person who needs prayers and blessing.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $700
Sold for: $2,000
Including buyer's premium
Long, interesting autograph letter signed by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch, sent from Telz to Jerusalem in the course of World War II, to his uncle and mechutan Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin. Telz, [Shevat 1941].
At the peak of those horrific times, Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin [son of Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin] married his relative Rebbetzin Rachel, daughter of his cousin Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch [Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin and his uncle Rabbi Y.L. Bloch were both sons-in-law of the founder of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon]. Immediately following their marriage, the couple embarked on the journey from war-torn Lithuania to the US via Siberia and Japan.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch wrote to his uncle: "Our dear children have left Kovno on Wednesday and today I have received a telegram from the capital city [Moscow?] that they have arrived safely…we have decided that they should travel through the east because we have received notice that they have received immigration affidavits to enter the US…". Further in the letter he writes of various rescue efforts for attaining visas and travel permits for the yeshiva students and their families.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch (1890-1941), Av Beit Din of Telz and head of the Telz Yeshiva. Third generation of deans of the Telz Yeshiva, second son of the author of Shi'urei Da'at, Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch, and grandson of Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, the yeshiva's founder. From his youth, he was renowned for his exceptional talent and in-depth study. In 1920, at the age of 30, he was appointed head lecturer and head of yeshiva [in the lifetime of his father], and after the death of his father in Cheshvan 1929, he was appointed head of yeshiva and his father's successor in the city rabbinate. After the Nazi conquest in the summer of 1941, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak was brutally murdered by the Nazis near Telz, together with hundreds of the yeshiva's students and their rabbi and with most of his family and community.
Some of his novellae were published in the book Chiddushei Rabbeinu R' A.Y. of Telz. In the introduction to the book, he is described as "a Torah teacher who merited fame in his own generation by his amazing discourses which displayed comprehension and depth of Torah knowledge".
Of all his children, only three daughters survived the Holocaust. One was Rebbetzin Rachel Sorotzkin, wife of Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin who was appointed to head the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio in the US.
Official stationery, 2 written pages, 28.5 cm. Good-fair condition, wear, filing holes and small tears.
At the peak of those horrific times, Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin [son of Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin] married his relative Rebbetzin Rachel, daughter of his cousin Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch [Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin and his uncle Rabbi Y.L. Bloch were both sons-in-law of the founder of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon]. Immediately following their marriage, the couple embarked on the journey from war-torn Lithuania to the US via Siberia and Japan.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch wrote to his uncle: "Our dear children have left Kovno on Wednesday and today I have received a telegram from the capital city [Moscow?] that they have arrived safely…we have decided that they should travel through the east because we have received notice that they have received immigration affidavits to enter the US…". Further in the letter he writes of various rescue efforts for attaining visas and travel permits for the yeshiva students and their families.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch (1890-1941), Av Beit Din of Telz and head of the Telz Yeshiva. Third generation of deans of the Telz Yeshiva, second son of the author of Shi'urei Da'at, Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch, and grandson of Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, the yeshiva's founder. From his youth, he was renowned for his exceptional talent and in-depth study. In 1920, at the age of 30, he was appointed head lecturer and head of yeshiva [in the lifetime of his father], and after the death of his father in Cheshvan 1929, he was appointed head of yeshiva and his father's successor in the city rabbinate. After the Nazi conquest in the summer of 1941, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak was brutally murdered by the Nazis near Telz, together with hundreds of the yeshiva's students and their rabbi and with most of his family and community.
Some of his novellae were published in the book Chiddushei Rabbeinu R' A.Y. of Telz. In the introduction to the book, he is described as "a Torah teacher who merited fame in his own generation by his amazing discourses which displayed comprehension and depth of Torah knowledge".
Of all his children, only three daughters survived the Holocaust. One was Rebbetzin Rachel Sorotzkin, wife of Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin who was appointed to head the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio in the US.
Official stationery, 2 written pages, 28.5 cm. Good-fair condition, wear, filing holes and small tears.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $700
Sold for: $1,000
Including buyer's premium
Letter sent from Telz to Jerusalem, in the course of World War II, to Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, signed by three students of the Charedi Seminary for Teachers in the city, with a request to arrange immigration certificates. On the second page is another letter (12 lines) handwritten and signed by Rabbi Zalman Bloch. Telz, [winter of 1941].
The students of the Charedi Seminary for Teachers write that they remain the last seven students at the educator's institute in Telz. They request that Rabbi Sorotzkin rescue them and fulfill the mitzvah of "redemption of captives", since they too are Torah students who strive to "dedicate our strength to charedi education".
In the interesting letter written by Rabbi Zalman Bloch to his uncle Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin concerning the difficult situation in which "we are engaged and occupied with rescuing the yeshiva students". He sends him regards from Rabbi Zalman's son Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin [later head of the Telz Yeshiva in the US], who in those troubled days wed the daughter of his cousin Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch and immediately fled Lithuania to the US via Siberia and Japan (see previous item): "I will use this opportunity to bless…the lofty head of the yeshiva and our dear aunt Rebbetzin Miriam upon the marriage of their dear son, our beloved Baruch. Today I have returned from Vilna, and have accompanied them on their successful journey… Also my brother and sister-in-law were in Kovno. G-d should bless them with success in all their endeavors…".
Rabbi Zalman Bloch (1886-1941), son of the head of the Telz Yeshiva Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch, served as mashgiach of the yeshiva. [His father, Rabbi Y.L. Bloch and his uncle Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin were the sons-in-law of the founder of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon]. He perished in the Holocaust in Tamuz 1941, with most of his family, rabbis and student body of the yeshiva, who were brutally murdered by the Germans at the occupation of Lithuania. His daughter, wife of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter who later headed the Telz Yeshiva in the US, survived.
3 pages, 21 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and filing holes.
The students of the Charedi Seminary for Teachers write that they remain the last seven students at the educator's institute in Telz. They request that Rabbi Sorotzkin rescue them and fulfill the mitzvah of "redemption of captives", since they too are Torah students who strive to "dedicate our strength to charedi education".
In the interesting letter written by Rabbi Zalman Bloch to his uncle Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin concerning the difficult situation in which "we are engaged and occupied with rescuing the yeshiva students". He sends him regards from Rabbi Zalman's son Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin [later head of the Telz Yeshiva in the US], who in those troubled days wed the daughter of his cousin Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch and immediately fled Lithuania to the US via Siberia and Japan (see previous item): "I will use this opportunity to bless…the lofty head of the yeshiva and our dear aunt Rebbetzin Miriam upon the marriage of their dear son, our beloved Baruch. Today I have returned from Vilna, and have accompanied them on their successful journey… Also my brother and sister-in-law were in Kovno. G-d should bless them with success in all their endeavors…".
Rabbi Zalman Bloch (1886-1941), son of the head of the Telz Yeshiva Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch, served as mashgiach of the yeshiva. [His father, Rabbi Y.L. Bloch and his uncle Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin were the sons-in-law of the founder of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon]. He perished in the Holocaust in Tamuz 1941, with most of his family, rabbis and student body of the yeshiva, who were brutally murdered by the Germans at the occupation of Lithuania. His daughter, wife of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter who later headed the Telz Yeshiva in the US, survived.
3 pages, 21 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and filing holes.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $700
Sold for: $2,125
Including buyer's premium
Long letter (3 leaves) by Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch and Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz. Yokohama, Japan, Tishrei 1940.
Sent on their way to the US, to Rabbi Moshe Blau, head of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem: "For over a month, we are staying in the port city of Japan, Yokohama. We are among the first survivors and arrived here with an American tourist visa. Naturally, we are considered community delegates to transmit to our brethren [information] about the situation of the Jewish people…". Further in the detailed letter, they describe the destruction of the European and Lithuanian communities ravaged by war and write about the difficult situation and the Russian occupation of Lithuania. [This letter was written before the Nazi invasion of Lithuania in the summer of 1941]. They write about the heads of the Telz Yeshiva and of the students who do not know if they will succeed leaving Japan [in the end, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch and most of the yeshiva students were murdered by the Nazis, and some were exiled to Siberia].
Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch (1895-1955), son Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch served for 12 years as head of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania in the lifetime of his father [from 1928]. In 1940, two heads of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania, Rabbi E. M. Bloch and Rabbi C. M. Katz left on the perilous journey via Siberia and Japan to the US to try to rescue their wives and children and the yeshiva students and their families who remained in the war-ravaged city of Telz. Upon their arrival in the US, they decided to found a new yeshiva on US soil. In Cheshvan 1941, they established the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio. Until 1945, they were not informed of the details of the destruction and horrific annihilation. Only after the war, they discovered that most of the rabbis and students of the yeshiva and their families were brutally murdered at the time Lithuania was occupied by the Germans. However, Telz Torah was saved by their tremendous efforts to strengthen and glorify the Torah.
Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz (1894-1964), son-in-law of R' Y. L. Bloch was known from his youth as an outstanding Torah prodigy. He headed the kollel in the city of Telz and after the Holocaust founded and headed the Telz Yeshivas in Cleveland and in Chicago.
3 leaves, 22.5 cm. (Stationery of "Centre Hotel - Yokohama"). Good condition. Filing holes. Few tears and wear.
Sent on their way to the US, to Rabbi Moshe Blau, head of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem: "For over a month, we are staying in the port city of Japan, Yokohama. We are among the first survivors and arrived here with an American tourist visa. Naturally, we are considered community delegates to transmit to our brethren [information] about the situation of the Jewish people…". Further in the detailed letter, they describe the destruction of the European and Lithuanian communities ravaged by war and write about the difficult situation and the Russian occupation of Lithuania. [This letter was written before the Nazi invasion of Lithuania in the summer of 1941]. They write about the heads of the Telz Yeshiva and of the students who do not know if they will succeed leaving Japan [in the end, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch and most of the yeshiva students were murdered by the Nazis, and some were exiled to Siberia].
Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch (1895-1955), son Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch served for 12 years as head of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania in the lifetime of his father [from 1928]. In 1940, two heads of the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania, Rabbi E. M. Bloch and Rabbi C. M. Katz left on the perilous journey via Siberia and Japan to the US to try to rescue their wives and children and the yeshiva students and their families who remained in the war-ravaged city of Telz. Upon their arrival in the US, they decided to found a new yeshiva on US soil. In Cheshvan 1941, they established the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio. Until 1945, they were not informed of the details of the destruction and horrific annihilation. Only after the war, they discovered that most of the rabbis and students of the yeshiva and their families were brutally murdered at the time Lithuania was occupied by the Germans. However, Telz Torah was saved by their tremendous efforts to strengthen and glorify the Torah.
Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz (1894-1964), son-in-law of R' Y. L. Bloch was known from his youth as an outstanding Torah prodigy. He headed the kollel in the city of Telz and after the Holocaust founded and headed the Telz Yeshivas in Cleveland and in Chicago.
3 leaves, 22.5 cm. (Stationery of "Centre Hotel - Yokohama"). Good condition. Filing holes. Few tears and wear.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $400
Sold for: $1,125
Including buyer's premium
Long interesting autograph letter signed by Rabbi Pinchas Hirshprung. On the verso of the second leaf is another autograph letter signed by Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Hershberg. Kobe, Japan, [summer 1941].
The letter was sent to the US, to their friend Rabbi Yosef Mordechai Boimel, and it reminds the latter of their old friendship. "You surely remember the pilpul which you wrote to me in 1925 about…". Rabbi Pinchas describes the painful exile which he and his companions from the Lublin Yeshiva were experiencing, fleeing the European inferno. "At this time, at which I remained alone and lonely and all my acquaintances were dispersed in every direction and I am wandering despondent…". He cries for help to receive immigration certificates to the US or to Canada: "Please have compassion - a decree of exile hovers over our heads. Who knows what our end will be…".
On the verso is an eight-line letter by Rabbi "Avraham Mordechai Hershberg, Rosh Metivta of the Chochmei Lublin Yeshiva", who requests help "And do everything possible for us to assist us in all matters".
Both writers were renowned outstanding Torah prodigies who had a profound command of depth and breadth of Torah study. Rabbi Pinchas Hirshprung (1912-1998) and Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Hershberg (1916-1985), leading beloved disciples of Rabbi Meir Shapira, head of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva. At the outbreak of World War II, they fled to Vilna and from there exiled to Japan and later to Shanghai with a group of Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva students. In October 1941, Rabbi Pinchas Hirshprung and Rabbi Hershberg managed to immigrate with a group of young men to Montreal, Canada. Rabbi Pinchas remained in Montreal to serve in its rabbinate for more than 50 years, at the same time serving as head of the Mercaz HaTorah Yeshiva.
Rabbi Hershberg moved to Chicago, and served in its rabbinate and taught Torah. In 1960, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Mexico City and president of the Rabbinical Center of Latin America. He devoted much of his time to study of the Yerushalmi Talmud and even founded an institute to promote its daily study. He authored: Otzar HaYerushalmi, Machshevet HaKodesh, and more.
2 leaves, (stationery of the Centre Hotel - Yokohama), 3 written pages. 25 cm. Good condition.
A small passage of this letter is quoted in an article written about Rabbi Hershprung, Yeshurun, 26, p. 143.
The letter was sent to the US, to their friend Rabbi Yosef Mordechai Boimel, and it reminds the latter of their old friendship. "You surely remember the pilpul which you wrote to me in 1925 about…". Rabbi Pinchas describes the painful exile which he and his companions from the Lublin Yeshiva were experiencing, fleeing the European inferno. "At this time, at which I remained alone and lonely and all my acquaintances were dispersed in every direction and I am wandering despondent…". He cries for help to receive immigration certificates to the US or to Canada: "Please have compassion - a decree of exile hovers over our heads. Who knows what our end will be…".
On the verso is an eight-line letter by Rabbi "Avraham Mordechai Hershberg, Rosh Metivta of the Chochmei Lublin Yeshiva", who requests help "And do everything possible for us to assist us in all matters".
Both writers were renowned outstanding Torah prodigies who had a profound command of depth and breadth of Torah study. Rabbi Pinchas Hirshprung (1912-1998) and Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Hershberg (1916-1985), leading beloved disciples of Rabbi Meir Shapira, head of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva. At the outbreak of World War II, they fled to Vilna and from there exiled to Japan and later to Shanghai with a group of Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva students. In October 1941, Rabbi Pinchas Hirshprung and Rabbi Hershberg managed to immigrate with a group of young men to Montreal, Canada. Rabbi Pinchas remained in Montreal to serve in its rabbinate for more than 50 years, at the same time serving as head of the Mercaz HaTorah Yeshiva.
Rabbi Hershberg moved to Chicago, and served in its rabbinate and taught Torah. In 1960, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Mexico City and president of the Rabbinical Center of Latin America. He devoted much of his time to study of the Yerushalmi Talmud and even founded an institute to promote its daily study. He authored: Otzar HaYerushalmi, Machshevet HaKodesh, and more.
2 leaves, (stationery of the Centre Hotel - Yokohama), 3 written pages. 25 cm. Good condition.
A small passage of this letter is quoted in an article written about Rabbi Hershprung, Yeshurun, 26, p. 143.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
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Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $400
Sold for: $500
Including buyer's premium
Two postcards send in the winter of 1941 to the US to Rabbi Moshe Rottenberg from his friends, students of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva who exiled from war-torn Europe to Kobe, Japan.
· Long Yiddish autograph letter signed by the Kotzk-Sokolov Rebbe "Mendel Meir Morgenstern". Kobe, February 1941.
· Autograph letter signed by Rabbi "Elazar Meir Bein". On the margin of the postcard is another Yiddish letter from a different writer [perhaps Rabbi Mordechai Yehuda Lubart]. Kobe, February 1941.
The Kotzk-Sokolov Rebbe Menachem Mendel Meir Morgenstern (1921-2014), grandson and disciple of Rebbe Yitzchak Zelig of Sokolov. Disciple of the Chachmei-Lublin Yeshiva. Immigrated to Eretz Israel and established his beit midrash in Tel Aviv and in his senior years in Bnei Brak.
Rebbe Elazar Meir Bein (1913-1998), beloved disciple of the Piaseczno Rebbe, author of Chovat HaTalmidim, moved to Jerusalem and was a foremost Chassidic and Torah leader and teacher.
2 postcards, 14 cm. Good condition.
· Long Yiddish autograph letter signed by the Kotzk-Sokolov Rebbe "Mendel Meir Morgenstern". Kobe, February 1941.
· Autograph letter signed by Rabbi "Elazar Meir Bein". On the margin of the postcard is another Yiddish letter from a different writer [perhaps Rabbi Mordechai Yehuda Lubart]. Kobe, February 1941.
The Kotzk-Sokolov Rebbe Menachem Mendel Meir Morgenstern (1921-2014), grandson and disciple of Rebbe Yitzchak Zelig of Sokolov. Disciple of the Chachmei-Lublin Yeshiva. Immigrated to Eretz Israel and established his beit midrash in Tel Aviv and in his senior years in Bnei Brak.
Rebbe Elazar Meir Bein (1913-1998), beloved disciple of the Piaseczno Rebbe, author of Chovat HaTalmidim, moved to Jerusalem and was a foremost Chassidic and Torah leader and teacher.
2 postcards, 14 cm. Good condition.
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Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
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![Long interesting autograph letter, signed by Rebbe Yerachmiel Meir Kalish. Kobe (Japan), [September 1941].
In this letter, s](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale51a-public/339.jpg "Letter by Rebbe Yerachmiel Meir of Amshinov - About the Journey of his")
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $700
Unsold
Long interesting autograph letter, signed by Rebbe Yerachmiel Meir Kalish. Kobe (Japan), [September 1941].
In this letter, sent to Shanghai, Rabbi Meir'l writes his family's plan to travel from Kobe to Shanghai led by their father, Rabbi Shimon Shalom of Amshinov. Moreover, he writes of the "terrible situation of the yeshiva students and the rest of the refugees". He requests that a residence be arranged in Shanghai for his father the rebbe.
31 lines in his own handwriting signed: "Yer. Y. Meir Kalish."
Rebbe Meir'l of Amshinov - Rebbe Yerachmiel Yehuda Meir Kalish (1901-1976), son of Rebbe Shimon Shalom Kalish of Amshinov miraculously survived the Holocaust with the family of his father the Amshinov Rebbe, who fled with the wave of refugees who escaped Europe to Kobe, Japan and to Shanghai. After the war, he immigrated to the US and after his father's death in 1954 he immigrated to Eretz Israel. A great ohev Yisrael, he whole-heartedly served G-d. His daughter's son is the current Amshinov Rebbe Ya'akov Milikowsky.
Postcard, 14 cm. Good condition. Filing holes on text.
In this letter, sent to Shanghai, Rabbi Meir'l writes his family's plan to travel from Kobe to Shanghai led by their father, Rabbi Shimon Shalom of Amshinov. Moreover, he writes of the "terrible situation of the yeshiva students and the rest of the refugees". He requests that a residence be arranged in Shanghai for his father the rebbe.
31 lines in his own handwriting signed: "Yer. Y. Meir Kalish."
Rebbe Meir'l of Amshinov - Rebbe Yerachmiel Yehuda Meir Kalish (1901-1976), son of Rebbe Shimon Shalom Kalish of Amshinov miraculously survived the Holocaust with the family of his father the Amshinov Rebbe, who fled with the wave of refugees who escaped Europe to Kobe, Japan and to Shanghai. After the war, he immigrated to the US and after his father's death in 1954 he immigrated to Eretz Israel. A great ohev Yisrael, he whole-heartedly served G-d. His daughter's son is the current Amshinov Rebbe Ya'akov Milikowsky.
Postcard, 14 cm. Good condition. Filing holes on text.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $400
Sold for: $1,500
Including buyer's premium
A long moving letter about the situation of the students of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva evacuated to Vilna. Signed by the head of the Yeshiva, the Krakow Torah scholar, Rabbi "Zvi Eisenstadt of Krakow - in the name of the management of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva". Vilna, November 1939.
Sent to Rabbi Moshe Blau, head of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. The letter is written in flowery language lamenting the destruction of the Yeshiva in Lublin: "Standing today before the terrible situation which has befallen us in recent days, together with all Polish Jewry. A voice calls out from the Lublin Yeshiva --- what has befallen us! Our small Beit HaMikdash, the magnificent edifice built in splendor, fell into foreign hands…". Further in the letter, the writer describes the manner in which corrupt men came and profaned the yeshiva building and the dear Torah students of the Maharam Shapira fell into captivity.
The She'erit HaPleta of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva fled to Vilna together with thousands of refugees from all over Poland, some of which managed to escape via the miraculous route, traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway until Japan. From there, they were able to reach free land after most of them suffered five years of exile in Shanghai.
Rabbi Menachem Zvi Eisenstadt (1901-1966), author of Minchat Zvi, disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. In 1926, wed the daughter of Rabbi Nechemya Zvi Kornitzer, Rabbi of Krakow and in 1935, founded a yeshiva gedola in Krakow. At the outbreak of the Holocaust, he escaped to Vilna and headed the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva in its exile. Later, he moved to Eretz Israel and lived in Tel Aviv and served in its rabbinate. In 1948, he moved to Brooklyn, NY and established his beit midrash Zichron Yitzchak. In 1959, he printed the Ramban commentary on the Torah with his comments and annotations.
Leaf, 22 cm. 2 written pages. Good-fair condition. (Pasted) tear along the length of the leaf, filing holes.
This letter was printed in the book Giborei HeChayil (Bnei Brak, 2010), pp. 115-117.
Sent to Rabbi Moshe Blau, head of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. The letter is written in flowery language lamenting the destruction of the Yeshiva in Lublin: "Standing today before the terrible situation which has befallen us in recent days, together with all Polish Jewry. A voice calls out from the Lublin Yeshiva --- what has befallen us! Our small Beit HaMikdash, the magnificent edifice built in splendor, fell into foreign hands…". Further in the letter, the writer describes the manner in which corrupt men came and profaned the yeshiva building and the dear Torah students of the Maharam Shapira fell into captivity.
The She'erit HaPleta of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva fled to Vilna together with thousands of refugees from all over Poland, some of which managed to escape via the miraculous route, traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway until Japan. From there, they were able to reach free land after most of them suffered five years of exile in Shanghai.
Rabbi Menachem Zvi Eisenstadt (1901-1966), author of Minchat Zvi, disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. In 1926, wed the daughter of Rabbi Nechemya Zvi Kornitzer, Rabbi of Krakow and in 1935, founded a yeshiva gedola in Krakow. At the outbreak of the Holocaust, he escaped to Vilna and headed the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva in its exile. Later, he moved to Eretz Israel and lived in Tel Aviv and served in its rabbinate. In 1948, he moved to Brooklyn, NY and established his beit midrash Zichron Yitzchak. In 1959, he printed the Ramban commentary on the Torah with his comments and annotations.
Leaf, 22 cm. 2 written pages. Good-fair condition. (Pasted) tear along the length of the leaf, filing holes.
This letter was printed in the book Giborei HeChayil (Bnei Brak, 2010), pp. 115-117.
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Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $700
Unsold
Long interesting autograph letter signed by Rabbi "Aharon Leib" Shteinman. Lucerne, Av 1941.
Two written pages. In the margins are another four lines, handwritten and signed by "Yosef Wond---".
The letter was sent to his esteemed friend Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik and discusses receiving a medical exemption from the Swiss army. At the beginning of the letter, he writes that one of their friends had attained an exemption and expresses hope that the merit of the Torah and of Rabbi Moshe's ancestors will unveil Heavenly assistance and compassion. Further he writes of his own exemption, of a medical authorization which he miraculously received and which he sent to the "Central Leitung". He adds: "I hope that I will receive a full exemption and will not need to undergo an examination". On the second page of the letter, he writes that "many things have changed for the good", he has received the letter from the "Central Leitung" and since he is living at a health resort he only needs a local medical authorization and will not need to appear before a medical committee. Members of the Sternbuch family who were very active in rescuing Jewish refugees in Switzerland are mentioned several times in the letter.
Throughout the letter, the burning faith of Rabbi Aharon Leib is clearly discerned, as well as his faultless integrity [even while carrying out various plots to be saved from the army draft], his faith in the strength of Torah learners and his devotion to Torah study.
Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman was born in Brisk, Lithuania and studied in Lithuanian yeshivas. Evading the Polish army draft, he traveled to Switzerland in the summer of 1938 together with his friend Moshe Soloveitchik to study at the Montreaux Yeshiva. This journey right before the outbreak of World War II proved to be the miracle which saved these two Torah giants who impacted the whole Torah world in our times: Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik from Zurich led the Torah-faithful Jews in Europe and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman from his modest apartment in Bnei Brak.
[2] written pages, 27 cm. Approximately 43 handwritten lines (in pencil). Fair condition. Open tears to margins in the center of the leaf.
Two written pages. In the margins are another four lines, handwritten and signed by "Yosef Wond---".
The letter was sent to his esteemed friend Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik and discusses receiving a medical exemption from the Swiss army. At the beginning of the letter, he writes that one of their friends had attained an exemption and expresses hope that the merit of the Torah and of Rabbi Moshe's ancestors will unveil Heavenly assistance and compassion. Further he writes of his own exemption, of a medical authorization which he miraculously received and which he sent to the "Central Leitung". He adds: "I hope that I will receive a full exemption and will not need to undergo an examination". On the second page of the letter, he writes that "many things have changed for the good", he has received the letter from the "Central Leitung" and since he is living at a health resort he only needs a local medical authorization and will not need to appear before a medical committee. Members of the Sternbuch family who were very active in rescuing Jewish refugees in Switzerland are mentioned several times in the letter.
Throughout the letter, the burning faith of Rabbi Aharon Leib is clearly discerned, as well as his faultless integrity [even while carrying out various plots to be saved from the army draft], his faith in the strength of Torah learners and his devotion to Torah study.
Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman was born in Brisk, Lithuania and studied in Lithuanian yeshivas. Evading the Polish army draft, he traveled to Switzerland in the summer of 1938 together with his friend Moshe Soloveitchik to study at the Montreaux Yeshiva. This journey right before the outbreak of World War II proved to be the miracle which saved these two Torah giants who impacted the whole Torah world in our times: Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik from Zurich led the Torah-faithful Jews in Europe and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman from his modest apartment in Bnei Brak.
[2] written pages, 27 cm. Approximately 43 handwritten lines (in pencil). Fair condition. Open tears to margins in the center of the leaf.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $1,000
Unsold
HaDerech, Booklet 1, Derech Tzadikim - Farewell speech by … Rebbe Mordechai Rokeach, Rabbi of Biłgoraj… delivered at a Siyum at Tiferet Bachurim. "Derech Kedoshim" - holy words of the tsaddik of his times… Rabbi Aharon Rokeach Rabbi of Belz… delivered in the capital city of Budapest before his immigration to Eretz Israel. Edited by Rabbi Menachem Aharon Levovitz, Rabbi of the Chop community. Budapest, 23rd of Shvat 1944. Second edition.
After miraculously escaping the Bochnia Ghetto, the Belzer Rebbe and his brother the Rabbi of Biłgoraj arrived in Budapest and remained there from Iyar 1943 until Tevet 1944. On February 7, 1944, the farewell speech of the Rabbi of Biłgoraj to Hungarian Jewry was printed and published. In his sermon, the rabbi gives an account of the Holocaust atrocities in Poland and Galicia and the need to assist refugees who fled these countries. He apologizes for their departure to Eretz Israel, and confidently states that the disaster will not reach Hungary and that they are not leaving for Eretz Israel to escape but rather due to the Rebbe's intense passion for the holiness of the Holy Land and his brother's love of the Holy Land. "I am obligated to inform you, dear friends, Hungarian Torah scholars… that anybody who is in the proximity of my older brother… certainly knows that he is not fleeing… he only desires to move to the Holy Land… and the pious rebbe foresees that residents of this city will live in peace and serenity…Only good and kindness will pursue and reach our Jewish brethren in this country… (Page 19). Further in the booklet appears the rebbe's statement that his journey to Eretz Israel is temporary and he intends to return, and explanations by his brother, the Biłgoraj Rebbe that according to the tradition of their holy forefathers, there is no advantage to settling in Eretz Israel before the coming of Mashiach (page 26). After approximately ten days, on February 17, 1944, another 26-page edition of this booklet was published with many changes and without the reference to his immigration to Eretz Israel. [A month later, a third edition was printed in Budapest inscribed "Second edition, Adar 1944", also censored]. This is the second edition from the 23rd of Shevat but the pagination is identical to the first edition of the 13th of Shevat and it is not censored.
[1], 28, [1] pages. 20 cm. Good condition, minor tears to covers.
After miraculously escaping the Bochnia Ghetto, the Belzer Rebbe and his brother the Rabbi of Biłgoraj arrived in Budapest and remained there from Iyar 1943 until Tevet 1944. On February 7, 1944, the farewell speech of the Rabbi of Biłgoraj to Hungarian Jewry was printed and published. In his sermon, the rabbi gives an account of the Holocaust atrocities in Poland and Galicia and the need to assist refugees who fled these countries. He apologizes for their departure to Eretz Israel, and confidently states that the disaster will not reach Hungary and that they are not leaving for Eretz Israel to escape but rather due to the Rebbe's intense passion for the holiness of the Holy Land and his brother's love of the Holy Land. "I am obligated to inform you, dear friends, Hungarian Torah scholars… that anybody who is in the proximity of my older brother… certainly knows that he is not fleeing… he only desires to move to the Holy Land… and the pious rebbe foresees that residents of this city will live in peace and serenity…Only good and kindness will pursue and reach our Jewish brethren in this country… (Page 19). Further in the booklet appears the rebbe's statement that his journey to Eretz Israel is temporary and he intends to return, and explanations by his brother, the Biłgoraj Rebbe that according to the tradition of their holy forefathers, there is no advantage to settling in Eretz Israel before the coming of Mashiach (page 26). After approximately ten days, on February 17, 1944, another 26-page edition of this booklet was published with many changes and without the reference to his immigration to Eretz Israel. [A month later, a third edition was printed in Budapest inscribed "Second edition, Adar 1944", also censored]. This is the second edition from the 23rd of Shevat but the pagination is identical to the first edition of the 13th of Shevat and it is not censored.
[1], 28, [1] pages. 20 cm. Good condition, minor tears to covers.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $300
Sold for: $450
Including buyer's premium
Chever Ma'amarim - discourses of Rabbi Yerucham HaLevi in the Mir Yeshiva. Vilna, 1939.
Important first publication of the musar dissertations of Rabbi Yerucham Leibowitz of Mir. Printed at the end of the summer of 1939, at the time the Mir Yeshiva escaped to Vilna fleeing the ravages of war.
At the top of the title page is a handwritten and signed dedication by Rabbi "Isaac son of R' A. Ausband, here in Vilna, Erev Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 194[6?]". Rabbi Isaac Ausband, 1925-2012 was a prominent student of the Telz Yeshiva. He spent the war years in the Siberian exile and at the end of the war, miraculously reached Vilna. He remained there to serve in the rabbinate and was active in rescuing the remaining survivors and smuggling them to other countries. After a short while, he himself escaped and reached the Telz Yeshiva in the US. There he wed Rebbetzin Chaya, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch. He taught Torah and fear of G-d for decades and was one of the heads of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.
[1], VII, 450, [2] pages. 23 cm. The entire book is a photocopy of stencil printing, with the exception of the first signature (the title page and introduction) which is printed. Good condition. Dry, dark paper. First signature is detached and the original binding is torn.
Important first publication of the musar dissertations of Rabbi Yerucham Leibowitz of Mir. Printed at the end of the summer of 1939, at the time the Mir Yeshiva escaped to Vilna fleeing the ravages of war.
At the top of the title page is a handwritten and signed dedication by Rabbi "Isaac son of R' A. Ausband, here in Vilna, Erev Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 194[6?]". Rabbi Isaac Ausband, 1925-2012 was a prominent student of the Telz Yeshiva. He spent the war years in the Siberian exile and at the end of the war, miraculously reached Vilna. He remained there to serve in the rabbinate and was active in rescuing the remaining survivors and smuggling them to other countries. After a short while, he himself escaped and reached the Telz Yeshiva in the US. There he wed Rebbetzin Chaya, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch. He taught Torah and fear of G-d for decades and was one of the heads of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.
[1], VII, 450, [2] pages. 23 cm. The entire book is a photocopy of stencil printing, with the exception of the first signature (the title page and introduction) which is printed. Good condition. Dry, dark paper. First signature is detached and the original binding is torn.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue
Auction 51 Part I - Books Chassidism Manuscripts Rabbinical Letters
July 11, 2016
Opening: $300
Sold for: $400
Including buyer's premium
Collection of books printed in Shanghai during World War II, by the Mir Yeshiva students, Holocaust survivors who fled Europe during the war. Shanghai, 1942-1947.
· Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat; Tractates Bechorot-Temura; Tractate Gittin. · Mishna Brura, Volumes: 2 (two copies); 3 (two copies); 5; 6. · Chochmat Adam with Binat Adam.
Some books have signatures of famous students of the Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai: Rabbi "Avraham Aharon Kraizer" and Rabbi "Gavriel Bollag" [Rabbi Avraham Aharon Kraizer (died in 1996), was the author of Nezer Avraham. Served as Dayan in Haifa and as Rosh Metivta in the Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikva and in the Volozhin Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Rabbi Gavriel Bollag (died in 2007), was a Rosh Metivta in the Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem].
9 books, size and condition vary. Overall fair condition. Dry paper, wear, tears and detached leaves.
· Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat; Tractates Bechorot-Temura; Tractate Gittin. · Mishna Brura, Volumes: 2 (two copies); 3 (two copies); 5; 6. · Chochmat Adam with Binat Adam.
Some books have signatures of famous students of the Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai: Rabbi "Avraham Aharon Kraizer" and Rabbi "Gavriel Bollag" [Rabbi Avraham Aharon Kraizer (died in 1996), was the author of Nezer Avraham. Served as Dayan in Haifa and as Rosh Metivta in the Lomza Yeshiva in Petach Tikva and in the Volozhin Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Rabbi Gavriel Bollag (died in 2007), was a Rosh Metivta in the Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem].
9 books, size and condition vary. Overall fair condition. Dry paper, wear, tears and detached leaves.
Category
Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah - Letters, Documents and Books
Catalogue