Letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, head of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva. Jerusalem, 1934. A letter of ordination for the young man Rabbi Avraham Ya'akov Zelaznik "One of the most excellent leading students of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva, great in Torah learning with cleverness and erudite in most of the Talmud… I give him semicha of Yoreh Yoreh Yadin Yadin and he will be a rabbi and rule halacha and Torah decisions. The community who chooses him… will have pleasure from him because besides his greatness in Torah he excels in qualities and good character traits taught by our sages…" The recipient of the semicha is Rabbi Avraham Ya’akov Zelaznik (1912-2010), close beloved disciple of Rabbi Isser Zalman, who eventually succeeded his teacher and served decades as head of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva. One of the leading Torah figures of our times, he was a member of Mo’etzet Gedolei HaTorah and one of the heads of Va’ad HaYeshivot. He received this ordination when he was about 21 years old, but already at that age, his teachers foresaw that he would become a Torah leader of his generation. Official stationery, 29 cm. Good-fair condition, wear damages to margins and to leaf folds.