Auction 72 - Rare and Important Items
Collection of Letters of Blessings and Guidance from the Lubavitcher Rebbe / Archive of Rabbi Yisrael Hess – Extensive Correspondence with the Lubavitcher Rebbe and with Important Chabad Chassidim / Account of an Interesting "Private" Conversation with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Hitherto Unpublished
Opening: $8,000
Estimate: $12,000 - $15,000
Sold for: $16,250
Including buyer's premium
Collection of letters of blessings and guidance from Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Lubavitch, sent to R. Yisrael Hess of Raanana. Brooklyn, New York, 1955-1992.
21 letters from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, typewritten on the Rebbe's official stationery. 16 letters bear his signature and five are signed by his secretary R. Eliyahu Quint. Some of the letters contain corrections and two or three words in the Rebbe's handwriting.
The collection contains:
• 7 letters with New Year blessings from the Rebbe, with his signature, 1957-1963.
• 14 letters of guidance from the Rebbe, sent to R. Yisrael Hess in his youth, at the time he took his first steps towards Chabad. These letters contain answers to questions regarding halacha and custom, explanations of profound Chabad teachings, blessings for marriage and births, and more.
• 3 leaves (5 written pages), describing a rare and interesting conversation in Yechidus (private audience with the Rebbe), held between the Rebbe and R. David Hess (R. Yisrael's father) on 29th Adar 1960, for over 40 minutes. The account of this private audience, which includes a vivid description of the Rebbe, is handwritten by R. David Hess himself (the first leaf was written the very night of the audience). This charming account exudes much emotion (according to a letter to the Rebbe from his son R. Yisrael Hess, this private audience made a dramatic change in the life and soul of his elderly father, and thereafter he clung to Chabad, in spite of his German origin).
• 15 letters from R. Michael Yehuda Aryeh Leib Cohen, one of the heads of Tzeirei Agudat Chabad, 1954-1958. These letters contain interesting guidance in Chassidut and Chabad customs, sent to R. Yisrael Hess in his youth, at the time he took his first steps towards Chabad.
• Two letters from R. Shmuel Eliezer Halperin, Rabbi of the Beit Yisrael neighborhood in Jerusalem, an important Chabad rabbi, 1955.
• Letter with good wishes upon the marriage of R. Yisrael Hess, from R. Elimelech Bar Shaul, Rabbi of Rehovot, 1957.
• 9 letter drafts (16 leaves) by R. Yisrael Hess to the Rebbe, 1955-1961, in which he presents to the Rebbe with touching sincerity his doubts and deliberations regarding Chabad, its doctrine and customs.
R. Yisrael Hess (1935-1997) studied in his youth at Yeshivat HaDarom and Mercaz HaRav. Around 1954, he was drawn to the studying of Chabad teachings and its customs. Thenceforth, he began corresponding with the Lubavitcher Rebbe and with prominent Chassidim regarding fundamental matters related to Chabad. R. Hess was the son-in-law of the kabbalist R. Mordechai Attiya. In 1959, he founded the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Raanana, and stood at its helm for 15 years. In 1973, he was appointed campus-rabbi of the Bar Ilan University, a tenure he held for eight years. He wrote many books of Torah and Jewish philosophy, and books explaining kabbalistic ideas. His books are primarily based on the foundations of Chabad teachings.
Some of the letters and the account of the Yechidus have apparently not been printed.
In one of these unprinted letters, the Rebbe writes: "It is understood and clear that I myself read all the letters written to me, and the responses are written at my instruction, even though for several reasons they are signed by the secretariat".
[59] leaves (including 21 letters from the Rebbe). Overall good condition. Size and condition vary.
21 letters from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, typewritten on the Rebbe's official stationery. 16 letters bear his signature and five are signed by his secretary R. Eliyahu Quint. Some of the letters contain corrections and two or three words in the Rebbe's handwriting.
The collection contains:
• 7 letters with New Year blessings from the Rebbe, with his signature, 1957-1963.
• 14 letters of guidance from the Rebbe, sent to R. Yisrael Hess in his youth, at the time he took his first steps towards Chabad. These letters contain answers to questions regarding halacha and custom, explanations of profound Chabad teachings, blessings for marriage and births, and more.
• 3 leaves (5 written pages), describing a rare and interesting conversation in Yechidus (private audience with the Rebbe), held between the Rebbe and R. David Hess (R. Yisrael's father) on 29th Adar 1960, for over 40 minutes. The account of this private audience, which includes a vivid description of the Rebbe, is handwritten by R. David Hess himself (the first leaf was written the very night of the audience). This charming account exudes much emotion (according to a letter to the Rebbe from his son R. Yisrael Hess, this private audience made a dramatic change in the life and soul of his elderly father, and thereafter he clung to Chabad, in spite of his German origin).
• 15 letters from R. Michael Yehuda Aryeh Leib Cohen, one of the heads of Tzeirei Agudat Chabad, 1954-1958. These letters contain interesting guidance in Chassidut and Chabad customs, sent to R. Yisrael Hess in his youth, at the time he took his first steps towards Chabad.
• Two letters from R. Shmuel Eliezer Halperin, Rabbi of the Beit Yisrael neighborhood in Jerusalem, an important Chabad rabbi, 1955.
• Letter with good wishes upon the marriage of R. Yisrael Hess, from R. Elimelech Bar Shaul, Rabbi of Rehovot, 1957.
• 9 letter drafts (16 leaves) by R. Yisrael Hess to the Rebbe, 1955-1961, in which he presents to the Rebbe with touching sincerity his doubts and deliberations regarding Chabad, its doctrine and customs.
R. Yisrael Hess (1935-1997) studied in his youth at Yeshivat HaDarom and Mercaz HaRav. Around 1954, he was drawn to the studying of Chabad teachings and its customs. Thenceforth, he began corresponding with the Lubavitcher Rebbe and with prominent Chassidim regarding fundamental matters related to Chabad. R. Hess was the son-in-law of the kabbalist R. Mordechai Attiya. In 1959, he founded the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Raanana, and stood at its helm for 15 years. In 1973, he was appointed campus-rabbi of the Bar Ilan University, a tenure he held for eight years. He wrote many books of Torah and Jewish philosophy, and books explaining kabbalistic ideas. His books are primarily based on the foundations of Chabad teachings.
Some of the letters and the account of the Yechidus have apparently not been printed.
In one of these unprinted letters, the Rebbe writes: "It is understood and clear that I myself read all the letters written to me, and the responses are written at my instruction, even though for several reasons they are signed by the secretariat".
[59] leaves (including 21 letters from the Rebbe). Overall good condition. Size and condition vary.
Chabad – Books and Letters
Chabad – Books and Letters