Lengthy letter (4 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Meir Arik, Rabbi of Yazlovets. Yazlovets, days of Selichot 1912.
A halachic responsum concerning laws of a misguided betrothal, in a case when a person married an insane woman "who does not have any intelligence whatsoever, to distinguish between summer and winter, and she is like an animal in form of a human being…". The responsum was sent to R. Moshe Stern Rabbi of Polien (Poienile de sub Munte) and to his son-in-law R. David Sperber, posek in that city (a disciple of R. Meir Arik). R. Meir relates in it to a responsum by R. Shlomo Leib Tabak, author of Erech Shai, on this topic. This responsum was published based on a manuscript in Responsa Imrei Yosher HaChadash (Jerusalem, 1997), Even HaEzer section 78, pp. 71-72. R. Meir Arik concludes the letter with blessings for a good year: "I hereby seek their wellbeing wholeheartedly, and bless them with a good inscribing and sealing. Meir Arik, Rabbi of this city".
R. Meir Arik (1855-1925), a leading Galician Torah scholar, served as rabbi of Yazlovets, Buchach and Tarnów. He was a disciple of R. Yaakov of Rimalov (Hrymailiv) and of the Maharsham. From 1885, he served as rabbi of Yazlovets, in place of his teacher the Maharsham who moved to Berezhany. From 1912, he served as rabbi of Buchach. During WWI, he fled to Vienna, studying Torah there with his friend R. Yosef Engel. Following the war, he returned to Poland and was appointed rabbi of Tarnów. Many of Poland's leading Torah scholars were his disciples, the most renowned ones include R. Meir Shapiro of Lublin, R. Aryeh Tzvi Frumer – the Gaon of Koziegłowy, R. David Sperber Gaon of Brașov (recipient of this letter), R. Yehuda Horowitz – Rebbe of Dzikov, R. Meshulam Roth author of Kol Mevaser, R. Reuven Margolies and R. Yehoshua Erenberg Rabbi of Tel Aviv.
He published many books, yet most of his manuscripts were lost during his escape to Vienna during WWI, including five large volumes of halachic responsa. His books: Sheyarei Tahara on Mishnayot Order Taharot (Kolomyia, 1890); Minchat Kenaot on Tractate Sota (Lviv, 1894); Minchat Pitim on Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah and Even HaEzer (Munkacs, 1898-1908); Tal Torah (Vienna, 1921); Responsa Imrei Yosher part I (Munkacs, 1913), part II (Kraków-Tarnów, 1925); and other books containing selections of his Torah thought and letters: Minchat Aharon – Me'irat Einayim (Brooklyn, 1978) and Imrei Yosher HaChadash – Tal Torah HaChadash (Jerusalem, 1997).
[1] double leaf, 4 pages, approx. 22.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Minor tears and dampstains.

Handwritten title page for Likutei Halachot on Tractates Zevachim and Menachot, handwritten and signed by the author R. "Yisrael Meir son of R. Aryeh Zev HaKohen" (approx. 9 lines). [Warsaw, ca. 1899].
· Three printed leaves – galley proofs of leaves 1-3 containing the author's prefaces. A lengthy note (3 lines), handwritten by the author the Chafetz Chaim, appears on p. 3a.
"Sefer Likutei Halachot – a compilation of the essential laws derived from the topics in the Order of Kodashim [currently published from Zevachim and Menachot] according to the rulings of the Rambam, a little here and there the opinions of other Rishonim on these topics will also be explained… All this I did with the assistance of the One who grants man wisdom - Yisrael Meir son of R. Aryeh Zev HaKohen".
R. Yisrael Meir HaKohen of Radin (1837-1933), leader of the Jewish people, was widely known by the name of his first book, the Chafetz Chaim. He founded the Radin yeshiva and authored many halachic and ethical works: Mishna Berura, Shemirat HaLashon, Ahavat Chessed and dozens more. One of his greatest enterprises was Likutei Halachot, a complement to Hilchot HaRav Alfas by the Rif, with a clear and concise commentary, compiled from books of the Rishonim. The Rif's book was written on Talmudic topics which are currently relevant and applicable. Likutei Halachot covers topics relating to the Temple and its services, which are not practiced at the present time. The objective of the Chafetz Chaim in publishing this book was to encourage the study of topics pertaining to the Temple services and offerings, thereby bolstering the yearning for the rebuilding of the Temple, speedily in our times.
The first part of Likutei Halachot on Tractates Zevachim and Menachot was printed in Warsaw in the autumn of 1899, and these leaves were written then during the printing process.
[4] leaves. Approx. 23 cm. Fair condition. Tears to the center of the leaves affecting text. Wear and worming.

Letter with the signature and stamp of R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik. Minsk, Shevat 15, 1916. Written by a scribe with the handwritten signature of R. "Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik" (the letter was presumably written by his son R. Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik and signed by R. Chaim).
Rabbinical ordination, accorded to Rebbe Menachem Nachum Rabinowitz, son of Rebbe Pinchas of Kontikoziva (Prybuzhany) and son-in-law of Rebbe Yosef of Koidanov (Dzyarzhynsk). R. Chaim alludes to the Rebbe's faculty to give blessings: "Those who acknowledge him will be blessed and fortunate through him, as it says that blessing is adjoined to a Torah scholar".
"R. Menachem Nachum son of R. Pinchas Rabinowitz was by me, he is great in Torah and fear of G-d, sharp and erudite, I discussed Torah with him and found him presenting straight rational in his Torah debates, he responds correctly and in accordance with Halacha… He is exceptional in every way… a son-in-law of the great Torah scholar from Koidanov… therefore my words come to inform others of his virtues. Those who acknowledge him will be blessed and fortunate through him, as it says that blessing is adjoined to a Torah scholar – so says Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik".
R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik (1853-1918), Rabbi of Brisk (Brest), was a foremost Torah scholar in Lithuania and one of the leaders of his generation, and is considered the initiator of the learning method in Lithuanian yeshivot. He was the son of R. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the Beit HaLevi, and son-in-law of R. Refael Shapiro, dean of the Volozhin yeshiva and son-in-law of the Netziv. After his marriage, he began serving as the third dean of the Volozhin yeshiva. With the yeshiva's closure, he proceeded to succeed his father, who passed away in 1894, as rabbi of Brisk, and continued teaching Torah to a small group of elite students. He was known for the uncompromising battle he waged against Zionism (R. Chaim would frequently say that the Zionist movement's prime objective is to uproot faith and Torah observance from the Jewish people). He was one of the founders of Agudath Yisrael, yet despite his extensive public and charitable activity, his mind never ceased learning and innovating in Torah, delving deeply into Torah topics until absolute exhaustion. A small compendium of his novellae was printed some twenty years after his passing in Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi on the Rambam, published by his son R. Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik Rabbi of Brisk (Brisk, 1936 – in the foreword by the author's sons, they write how the book was written over a period of many years, revised over and over again, "even a hundred times"). Many novellae circulated orally in his name within the Lithuanian yeshivot, transmitted and copied by many writers, resulting in the stencil edition of Chiddushei HaGrach (in recent years, several books were published based on R. Chaim's draft notebooks, with some of the novellae corresponding to those transmitted orally).
The recipient of the ordination: The Rebbe of Koidanov-Haifa – R. Menachem Nachum Rabinowitz (1887-1959) was the son of Rebbe Pinchas Rabinowitz of Kantikuziva-Linitz (1861-1926) and son-in-law of Rebbe Yosef Perlow of Koidanov (d. Chanukah 1915 – a month and a half before this letter was written). He served as rabbi and rebbe in Russia. In 1934, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and became the head of the Beit Din in Haifa. He authored the book Machshevet Nachum.
In Machshevet Nachum (Jerusalem, 2004, p. 239), his son describes the circumstances surrounding this letter of ordination from R. Chaim: "I heard from my father that when he came [to Minsk] to receive rabbinical ordination from R. Chaim of Brisk, he met the latter in his house when he was surrounded by several rabbis and young rabbinical students, and after R. Chaim welcomed him with great reverence and affection, he told him of the purpose of his visit – to obtain an ordination. R. Chaim asked if he had yet been accorded any ordinations, and when he answered to the affirmative, R. Chaim requested to see them. My father showed him one ordination, and R. Chaim, after perusing it, commented: Kalt! [=cold]. My father responded that it isn't so surprising, considering the rabbi who wrote it is an opponent of Chassidism. R. Chaim retorted, 'And what am I?!', to which R. Nachum replied, 'His honor is half a Chassid'…" (see the continuation of the story in the enclosed copy). The preface of Machshevet Nachum (p. [5]) attests that this enthusiastic letter was worded and written by R. Chaim's son, R. Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik Rabbi of Brisk.
[1] leaf. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains.

Six parts of the Mishnah Berurah, commentary on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, by R. Yisrael Meir HaCohen of Radin, author of Chafetz Chaim. [Warsaw, Piotrków, 1884-1907. Vol. 1, 3, 4 and 5 are first editions. Vol. 2 and 6 are stereotype editions].
Some volumes bear "proofread" inscriptions in the handwriting of the author of the Chafetz Chaim. The volume which contains the laws of Shabbat bears an ownership inscription on the flyleaf: "Belongs to R. Baruch Duber Leibowitz Rosh Metivta in the great Knesset Beit Yitzchak Yeshiva". Signatures and ownership inscriptions of R. Moshe Finkel, a head of the Knesset Yisrael Yeshiva in Slobodka and Hebron, adorn the five other volumes. A handwritten gloss appears in part 3, p. 42.
R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1940), author of Birkat Shmuel, taught many disciples. Disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin Yeshiva, son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman Rabbi of Hlusk. After his father-in-law relocated to the Kremenchuk rabbinate, he succeeded him in the Hlusk rabbinate and established a yeshiva. After a 13-year tenure, he was asked to head the Knesset Beit Yitzchak Yeshiva in Slobodka. During WWI, he wandered with the yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, finally settling in Kamenets. Author of Birkat Shmuel on Talmudic treatises. His writings are basic works of deep yeshiva Torah study.
R. Moshe Finkel, (1884-1925), son of the "Saba of Slabodka", R. Natan Zvi Finkel and son-in-law of the head of the yeshiva R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein, Torah prodigy who amazed both R. Chaim of Brisk and R. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk with his Torah knowledge and profound comprehension and they foresaw that he would be a future Torah luminary. In 1913, he began delivering discourses in the Slabodka Yeshiva. In the month of Adar 1925, he moved to Eretz Israel and officiated as a head of the Knesset Yisrael – Slobodka Yeshiva in Hebron. He died on Chol Hamoed Sukkot 1926 at the age of 42, in the lifetime of his illustrious father.
Six volumes. Part 1: 151, [1] leaves. Part 2: 155 leaves. Part 3: [1], 2-195 leaves (lacking first leaf with the introduction to the Hilchot Shabbat). Part 4: [1], 196-290 leaves. Part 5: 153, [1] leaves. Part 6: 164 leaves. 23 cm. Brittle paper. Condition varies, fair to good-fair. The inside of some volumes is in good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Worming. Detached leaves and few tears. Contemporary bindings, mostly detached. Defects and worming to binding.
The Mishnah Berurah books on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim were composed and printed by the author of the Chafetz Chaim during the course of 27 years. He toiled greatly in studying the halachot and labored to reach true halachic conclusions (sometimes studying the same topic more than 36 times). These books were accepted by the entire Jewish world and many editions were printed. The Chafetz Chaim was accustomed to inspecting each and every book for defective printing or exchanged leaves and would write in his own handwriting "proofread" on each book which passed his inspection.