Auction 98 Early Printed Books, Chassidut and Kabbalah, Books Printed in Jerusalem, Letters and Manuscripts, Jewish Ceremonial Art
Lengthy letter (about one and a half pages) on Torah matters, handwritten and signed by R. Reuven Grozovsky, a dean of the Kamenets yeshiva in Poland and a leading yeshiva dean in the United States. Brooklyn, Nisan 1948.
Sent to his relative R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head of the London Beit Din, thanking him for his Chazon Yechezkel on Tractate Bava Kama. Most of the letter relates to one of the topics discussed in Chazon Yechezkel.
R. Reuven Grozovsky (1886-1958), son of R. Shimshon Grozovsky, rabbi in Minsk and eminent son-in-law of R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz, dean of the Kamenets yeshiva. In his youth he was one of the foremost disciples of the Alter of Slabodka. An outstanding Torah scholar, leading yeshiva dean in Lithuania and in the United States. Assisted his illustrious father-in-law in managing the Kamenets yeshiva. During the Holocaust, he escaped to the United States, headed Beis Medrash Elyon of the Torah Vodaath yeshiva and was one of the heads of Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah in the United States. Known for his articles sharply opposing nationalism and Zionism, printed in Beayot HaZman. His profound discourses were printed in the four-part Chidushei Rabbi Reuven and in other books featuring his Torah teachings. We could not determine whether the contents of the present letter have already been printed, but his Chidushei Rabbi Reuven (Bava Kama section 2) addresses the same topic.
2 leaves, official stationery. 28 cm. Good condition. Stains and folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
![Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, a senior rabbi of London. London, [1950].
Sent to the head](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale98/212.jpg "Letter from Rabbi Tzvi Ferber of London – Controversy on Confirmation")
Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, a senior rabbi of London. London, [1950].
Sent to the head of the London Beit Din, R. Yechezkel Abramsky. The letter relates to the confirmation ceremony for girls, a practice he says liberal Jews adopted from the Catholics. R. Ferber relates the history of the controversy surrounding the ceremony among English rabbis, as well as his firing from the rabbinate due to his uncompromising position along with Rabbi Dr. Schonfeld – opposing the view of Chief Rabbi Dr. Hertz (until he was reinstated by the leaders of his community). He says that he although he was threatened with firing, he refused to assent because all the leading rabbis of the generation he had asked had forbidden it when he brought up the issue at an assembly in Vienna.
R. Ferber asks R. Abramsky to convince the new Chief Rabbi Rabbi (Dr. Israel Brodie) to abolish the ceremony, and praises him as an upright person whose parents and grandfather he had previously known.
R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber (1879-1966), a leading English rabbi. Born in Slabodka, he studied under R. Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor and under R. Yitzchak Blazer and R. Naftali Amsterdam, disciples of R. Yisrael Salanter. In 1910 he moved to England and was a pillar of Orthodox Judaism in London and England. He originally served as dean in the Manchester yeshiva, and many years later moved to serve as rabbi in west London.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 27 cm. Good condition. Stains and folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Large collection of over 60 letters of R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, sent to him by rabbis of England and their families, and letters sent by him to Torah institutions in Jerusalem. Ca. 1900s-1950s.
The collection includes letters by rabbis of England on public and private affairs, and correspondences about Torah and rabbinic offices.
Rabbis of England who authored letters include: R. Meir Tzvi Jung, London (7 letters); R. Avigdor Schonfeld, Rabbi of Adat Yisrael, London; R. Shmuel Yitzchak Hillman, Glasgow and London (10 letters, ca. 1910s; includes one letter on the Beilis Affair); R. Yitzchak Eizik HaLevi Herzog, Dublin (3 letters); R. Benjamin Benish Atlas, Glasgow (2 letters); R. Isser Yehudah Unterman, Liverpool; R. Yehudah Leib Astrinsky, Leeds (4 letters); R. Menachem Dov Dagotzky, Manchester; R. Pinchas HaLevi Weizman, Manchester; R. Shmaryahu Yitzchak Bloch, London (2 letters); R. Ze'ev Weinberg, Oxford; R. Yaakov Schechter, Belfast; R. Yaakov Tessler, Leeds; R. Betzalel Deiches, Edinburgh; R. Pinchas Yaakov Gerber, London; and others.
The collection also includes letters from: R. Avraham Frankel, head of the Orthodox Bureau in Budapest, 1924; R. Yitzchak Yehudah Sapir (of Lithuania and Petach Tikva), Tel Aviv, ca. 1930s; two letters from his brother-in-law R. Yosef Shereshevsky of Jerusalem; 17 letters written by R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber to Torah institutions in Jerusalem, London, ca. 1930s-1950s.
R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber (1879-1966), a leading English rabbi. Born in Slabodka, he studied under R. Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor and under R. Yitzchak Blazer and R. Naftali Amsterdam, disciples of R. Yisrael Salanter. In 1910 he moved to England and was a pillar of Orthodox Judaism in London and England. He originally served as dean in the Manchester yeshiva, and some years later moved to serve as rabbi in west London.
62 letters. Size and condition vary. Some on postcards and official stationery.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
A collection of over twenty certificates and letters from rabbis concerned with the annulment of marriages of single men and women who married fictitiously in Europe in order to obtain immigration visas (certificates) to Palestine. Europe and Israel, ca. 1930s.
In the 1920s and 1930s, due to the restrictions and immigration quotas imposed by the British Mandate authorities on immigration to Palestine, many single men and women in Europe entered into fictitious marriages in order to obtain an immigration visa that allowed married couples to immigrate under one single permit.
As a result, numerous discussions and testimonies were held in the rabbinical courts and offices across Palestine to issue "annulment of marriages" approvals.
Before us is a diverse collection of certificates, documents, and letters from rabbis in Palestine and Europe concerned with these issues (some on official stationery), some with various inscriptions from the rabbis of Palestine receiving the letters, including Rabbi Ben Zion Chai Uziel, and others.
Among the writers:
• Rabbi Levi Ovchinsky, rabbi of Mittau (Jelgava; 1871-perished in the Holocaust).
• Rabbi Chaim Dov Ber Ginzberg, rabbi of Dolhinov and Vancouver (d. 1963; son-in-law of Rebbe Chaim Yechiel Taub of Ożarów).
• Rabbi Yaakov Silberstein, rabbi of the Praga district in Warsaw and member of the rabbinical committee of the Warsaw community (d. 1941).
• Rabbi Yaakov Yechiel Rubinstein, dayan and posek in Warsaw.
• Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Mendelson, rabbi of Vishnitz and later dayan and posek in the Praga district of Warsaw.
• Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Rimalt, rabbi of Zhovkva (1875-1943, perished in the Holocaust).
• Rabbi Baruch Laznowski, rabbi of Ujazd and Pabianice, author of "Shashu'ei Ra'ayonim" (1899-1943, perished in the Holocaust).
• Rabbi Israel Meir Krinitzky, rabbi of Lentvaris (Landwarów; perished in the Holocaust).
• Rabbi Yehoshua ben Yehuda Shraga Abelson, rabbi of Gomel and Vysotsky (1888-1942, perished in the Holocaust).
• Rabbi Shmuel Rudnia, dayan and posek in Kovno, and Rabbi Gershon Leib Gutmann, dayan and posek in Kovno.
• Rabbi Israel Shlomo Rosensohn, dayan and posek in Kovno (1888-1940).
• Rabbi Yochanan Zupovitz (Zarchi), rabbi of Radviliškis, later of Tiberias (1874-1947).
• Rabbi David Avigdor, rabbi of Andrychów (1898-perished in the Holocaust).
• Rabbi Israel Heilpern, rabbi of Zelichov.
• Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Shazuri (Weber).
• Rabbi Binyamin Movshovitz, rabbi of Herzliya (1893-1953).
• And others.
22 letters and certificates. Size and condition vary.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Collection of more than 40 certificates, authorizations and rabbinical letters from various places around the world, dealing with matters pertaining to kiddushin, gittin and other topics. Europe, US and Eretz Israel, from the 1910s to the 1950s.
Most of the letters were sent to the Chief Rabbinate of Jaffa and Tel Aviv. Some are written on official stationery. Many bear official stamps of the Eretz Israel rabbinate and various inscriptions of rabbis in Eretz Israel who received the letters, primarily inscriptions in the handwriting of R. Ben-Zion Hai Uziel who served at that time as Chief Rabbi of Jaffa and Tel Aviv.
Letters signed by rabbis abroad:
R. Moshe Shimon Sivitz, Rabbi of Pittsburg, USA; R. David Fayans, Rabbi of Bialystok; R. Yechiel HaLevi Kestenberg Rabbi of Radom; R. Moshe Kohlenberg Rabbi of Metz; R. Moshe Chaim Mirvish, Rabbi of Cape Town; R. Yaakov Silverstein, Rabbi of the Praga quarter of Warsaw and member of the Vaad HaRabbanim of the Warsaw community; R. Yisrael Shlomo Rozenson rabbi in Kaunas; R. Yosef Yehuda Nebenzahl, Rabbi of Brodshin; R. Yehuda HaKohen Rubin, rabbi in Paris; R. Yaakov Freimann, Rabbi of Berlin; R. Avraham Yitzchak Faivelson, a founder and manager of Vaad HaRabbanim in New York; R. Elimelech Kovalenko, Rabbi of the Sefard Anshei Ostropoli Synagogue in Brooklyn; R. Zvi Hirsh Mendelson, Rabbi of Vizhnitz and posek of the Praga quarter of Warsaw; R. Shimon Yaakov HaLevi Gliksberg, Rabbi of Odessa; R. Shmuel Yom Tov HaLevi Brot, Rabbi of Antwerp; R. Yaakov Meir Segalowitz, Rabbi of Brussels; and others.
Letters with signatures by Eretz Israel rabbis:
Rishon LeZion R. Yaakov Meir; the chief rabbis of Haifa, R. Baruch Markus, R. Eliyahu Reine and R. Yehoshua Kaniel; Chief Rabbis of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, R. Shlomo HaKohen Aharonson, R. Moshe Avigdor Amiel and R. Ben Zion Hai Uziel; R. Avraham Werner, Rabbi of Netanya; R. Aharon Weinstein, dean of the Beit Yosef Novardok Yeshiva in Tel Aviv; more.
41 letters and authorizations. Size and condition vary. Overall good to fair-good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Large autograph leaf (written on both sides), copies of letters by R. Abraham Isaac Kook (later, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel), written during his stay at S. Gallen, Switzerland, 1915, in the course of WWI. Some letters have never been printed.
Apparently, these letters were copied by his son R. Zvi Yehuda Kook. Some of the letters deal with halachic matters and Torah thoughts and others with public matters and personal and family issues.
This leaf contains:
• Copy of a letter dated 17 Shevat 1915, addressed to his parents, explaining the necessity of remaining in Switzerland and his yearning to assist his brethren and the lack of sustenance due to the war situation. The letter also contains Torah thoughts. To the best of our knowledge, this letter has never been printed.
• Copy of a letter dated 21 Shevat 1915, to R. Zeev Rom, about personal matters, with a Torah responsum. Printed in Igrot Hara'ayah Part II, Chapter 716; the halachic part was also printed in Responsa Daat Cohen, Chapter 5.
• Copy of a letter dated 20 Shevat 1915, letter of inspiration to Jews banished by the Ottomans to Alexandria, Egypt at the beginning of WWI. After his signature, R. Kook inquires as to the welfare of his dear friend R. M. Lazerowitz, son-in-law of R. Zalman Shach and as to the wellbeing of his friend R. Slutzkin. The main content of the letter was printed in Igrot Hara'ayah Part II, Chapter 715, however, the addition with his regards was not printed.
• Copy of a letter dated 24 Shevat 1915, to R. Aryeh Dov Ritter, rabbi of Rotterdam, a friend of R. Kook – a long letter regarding assistance to Torah scholars and institutes in Eretz Israel during the war. To the best of our knowledge, this letter has not been printed.
• Copy of a letter dated 26 Shevat 1915 to Prof. David Simonson (more letters to the same recipient are found in Igrot Hara'ayah 4, 6) – printed in Igrot Hara'ayah, Vol. 4 (new edition, published by Machon HaRatzya, 2018), p. 521.
[
1] leaf (written on both sides). 34 cm. Fair condition. Stains, Folding marks. Marginal tears and tears to folding creases, slightly affecting text. Faded ink in several places.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Letter of R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel. Jerusalem, Adar II 1932.
Typewritten with signature and several additional lines in his handwriting. Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky in London, who was appointed rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London that year. The letter calls for assistance to the "international central yeshiva". After his signature, R. Kook adds a postscript expressing his heartfelt regards and esteem for the community.
R. Abramsky had escaped Russia in 1932 (after much persecution and imprisonment) and reached England, where he was appointed rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London, where R. Kook had previously served, during his stay in London during World War I.
[1] leaf. Official stationery. 28.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Avraham Duber Kahane Shapiro, Rabbi of Kovno, author of Devar Avraham. Resort town next to Kovno, 20th Sivan 1932.
Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky in London, who was freed from Bolshevik Russia that year and appointed rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London. The Devar Avraham writes of his joy to receive his letter and states that he recited the blessings Matir Asurim and Matziv Gevul ("Blessed is He Who releases prisoners" and "Blessed is He Who establishes the boundary"), adding that he had called for R. Abramsky to be appointed to the position, and expressing his satisfaction that his greatness was appreciated by the Jews of London. He continues with a blessing for him, his family and community.
The letter goes on to relate to various topics, regarding a Torah article published by R. Abramsky on public affairs (also mentioning "R. Ch[aim] O[zer]") and family issues.
R. Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro (1871-1943, author of Devar Avraham, an eminent rabbi in his times, son of R. Zalman Sender Kahane Shapiro and son-in-law of the Gadol of Minsk, R. Yerucham Yehudah Leib Perlman. He studied in the Volozhin yeshiva and served as Rabbi in Smilavichy (where he was succeeded by R. Abramsky) and Kovno. His learned book Devar Avraham, the first part of which was first printed in 1906, made him famous, and the book was discussed widely even in his own generation. He was renowned as a prominent leader of Jewry and of the Agudat Rabbanim in Lithuania. When the Holocaust broke out, he was on a visit to Switzerland but returned to Kovno, saying that a captain does not abandon his ship during a storm. He died in the Kovno Ghetto and thousands of Jews attended his funeral.
R. Abramsky had escaped Russia in 1932 (after much persecution and imprisonment) and reached England, where he was appointed rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London.
Official stationery, 29 cm. Written on both sides, 27 lines in handwriting. Good condition. Stains, creases and folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Letter handwritten, signed and stamped by R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein, dean of the Knesset Yisrael yeshiva in Hebron. Jerusalem, Shevat 1933.
Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, who was serving as rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London, requesting assistance for the yeshiva's emissary R. Yitzchak Greenblatt, who traveled to London for the yeshiva.
R. Moshe Mordechai's letter describes the high standard of study in the Hebron yeshiva and its prestige, attracting students from all over the world to study with dedication.
R. Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866-1933), a leading yeshiva dean and Torah scholar in his generation. Studied in the Volozhin yeshiva, served as dean of the Knesset Yisrael yeshiva in Slabodka from its beginning, and later as Rabbi of Slabodka; also established a network of Torah schools throughout Lithuania. In 1925 he sent a group of his disciples to Eretz Israel to found the Hebron branch of the yeshiva, which moved to Jerusalem after the 1929 Hebron massacre. R. Moshe Mordechai headed both yeshivas, in Lithuania and Eretz Israel.
[1] leaf. Official stationery. 27.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.
The present letter was published with a facsimile in Melech BeYofyo, p. 265.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Long letter (2 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Yitzchak Isaac Sher, dean of the "Knesset Israel" Yeshiva. Slabodka (suburb of Kovno, Lithuania), 7 Adar I 1938.
Sent to London, addressed to "… R. [ Yechezkel] Abramsky... Av Beit Din of London", his wife and family. R. Yitzchak Isaac thanks him for his financial support of the yeshiva, writing, then writes about other matters, including the establishment of the Torah journal "Knesset Israel" and its purpose.
R. Yitzchak Isaac Sher (1875-1952), an exceptional Torah scholar, one of the great leaders of the Mussar movement. He studied in the yeshivas of Hlusk, Volozhin, Slutsk and Slabodka. After marrying the daughter of the "Alter of Slabodka", R. Natan Tzvi Finkel, he went to study for several years at the Kelm Yeshiva. He served as head of the Kollel in Kovno and as a rabbi in the "Knesset Israel" Yeshiva in Slabodka. After some of the Slabodka Yeshiva students left to establish the yeshiva in Hebron, R. Isaac was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Lithuania. At the outbreak of the Holocaust, he was in Switzerland, from where he immigrated to Palestine and established the Slabodka Yeshiva in Bnei Brak.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 29.5 cm. Written on both sides. Good condition. Stains. Minor tears at margins. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Leaf (2 written pages) handwritten by R. Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, the Chazon Ish – novellae on the laws of shechitah and covering of the blood on festivals. [Eretz Israel, ca. 1930s-1940s].
R. Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (1879-1953), author of the Chazon Ish, a foremost scholar in Halachah and Jewish thought in our times. A preeminent Torah authority and hidden tzaddik, his first book Chazon Ish was published in 1911 anonymously; since then he has been known by the name of his book. He would modestly sign his name with his initials only: "Ish". After World War I, during which he fled to Belarus, he returned in 1920 to Lithuania and lived for several years in Vilna. He immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1933, where he became recognized as the leading Torah authority, and stood at the helm of the renaissance of the Torah world in our generation. He authored and published numerous volumes of Chazon Ish, which were written with great toil and in-depth study, covering nearly all Talmudic topics
[1] leaf. 23 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Small open tear at top of leaf, affecting leaf number in header.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
A lengthy letter handwritten and signed by the Gaon rabbi R. Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, rabbi of Brisk. Brisk "on the River Bog ", Av 1934.
Sent to London to his friend R. Yechezkel Abramsky, on the occasion of the release of his book "Chazon Yechezkel" on the Tosefta Seder Mo'ed (the second part of his series of books on the Tosefta commentary):
"Abundant blessing to the honor of my dear friend, the great and renowned Gaon... R. Yechezkel Abramsky... Rabbi in London... the second part on the Tosefta of Seder Mo'ed timely arrived, and how precious and esteemed is this gift, for much good is contained in it, and it is an honor and delight for me... I bless him that G-d will always grant him to delve and meditate in Torah and to unlock the depths of the Tosefta with tranquility and expansion until the end of time, and to also publish the remaining parts to enlighten the eyes of the Tosefta students...
I am… Yitzchok Ze'ev son… of our master Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik...."
R. Yitzchok Ze'ev HaLevi Soloveitchik – the Brisker Rav (1887-1959), son of R. Chaim HaLevi of Brisk, and grandson of the Beit HaLevi. Already in his father's lifetime, at a young age, he was considered one of the prominent leaders of his generation. In 1919 (at the age of 32), he succeeded his forefathers as rabbi of Brisk, and with his Torah authority he directed all Jewish matters in Brisk and the surroundings.
He survived the Holocaust together with some of his children and immigrated to Jerusalem. His tremendous authority was recognized throughout the Torah world, whether in Eretz Israel or abroad. He authored Chiddushei Maran Riz HaLevi on the Rambam and the Torah. His orally transmitted novellae were published in the Chiddushei HaGriz series. Until this day, his teachings serve as the basis of profound Torah study in yeshivot, and his views direct the Torah outlook and leadership of large parts of Orthodox Jewry. He was famous for posterity for his outstanding fear of G-d and for his zealousness for the absolute truth.
The recipient of the letter, rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), was the prominent disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk and the bosom friend of his son, R. Yitzchak (the Griz). A short time after his marriage ca. 1910, he traveled to the city of Brisk to receive Torah from the hands of the Grach. From then on, he was attached to his teacher's Torah throughout his life. During his tenure as rabbi in Smilovitz (Smilavichy), he would travel for extended periods to his teacher the Grach, who was then residing in Minsk, and merited to clarify various topics with him. Rabbi Yechezkel would commonly say about his teacher the Grach's way of study: "Rabbi Chaim would immediately delve into the heart of the sugya". Rabbi Chaim greatly esteemed the wisdom and discernment of his student, and once even wrote him in a letter: "For are we not friends and lovers of one another" (Melech BeYofiyo, p. 95). In those periods, rabbi Abramsky was deeply connected in friendship with his teacher's son, the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchok Ze'ev (R. Velvel), and stood with him in close friendship and extensive correspondence for about fifty years.
[1] leaf. Official stationery. 28.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Folding marks and tears.
This letter was photographed and printed in the book "Igrot Maran Ri"Z HaLevi", Jerusalem, 2008, letter 47; a photograph of the letter (with partial transcription), was printed in "Melech BeYofyo", Jerusalem 2004, p. 149.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.