Lengthy letter (2 pages), signed by R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, Sivan 1927.
Sent to Rabbi Aharon Reuven Charney, rabbi of Bayonne, NJ. An appeal for assistance on behalf of the longstanding yeshiva in Vilna - the Ramailes yeshiva - "The yeshiva has been standing for over a century… and has continuously emitted light - the light of Torah… even during the war and German occupation, the eternal light did not cease, and after the war, it gained strength and benches were added to the study hall, and leading Torah scholars deliver regular lectures…". R. Chaim Ozer writes that the support received from the United States Central Relief Committee is not sufficient to sustain the yeshiva, and additional donations are required.
R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was a foremost rabbi of his generation and leader of the entire European Jewry. At the age of 11, he entered the Volozhin yeshiva and became a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk. At the age of 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek of Vilna. He assumed the yoke of public leadership from a young age, and his opinion was conclusive on all communal matters which arose in the Diaspora for close to fifty years. Apart from his spiritual leadership and responding to halachic questions addressed to him from throughout the world, he worked ceaselessly and extensively to rehabilitate the yeshivot and improve the standing of the rabbis in Lithuania and the surroundings. His responsa were published in the four parts of his responsa series Achiezer.
The Ramailes yeshiva in Vilna was founded in 1815 by the rabbis of the city, and was named Ramailes after the plot which was donated for the purpose of building the yeshiva, which was known as "R. Maile's courtyard" (from the estate of R. Maile of Vilna). The yeshiva underwent many vicissitudes over the years, thought never did the sound of Torah cease. The yeshiva was led by R. Avraham Tzvi Grodzinski - brother of R. Chaim Ozer, between 1890 and 1938. R. Chaim Ozer himself was very dedicated to the yeshiva, especially after 1911 when he lost his only daughter (who passed away in her adolescence). He then initiated the construction of a new building for the yeshiva. After WWI, the yeshiva was directed by R. Shlomo Heiman, who had returned from exile in Belarus (where he had established the yeshiva in Smilavichy, together with R. Elchanan Wasserman). During that time, the standing of the yeshiva improved. A prominent student from that period was R. Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, who studied there until 1935, and later arranged and published his teacher's novellae in the book Chiddushei R. Shlomo.
[1] leaf (written on both sides), official stationery. 20 cm. Letter written by a scribe, with the handwritten signature of R. Chaim Ozer and his ornate stamp. Good condition. Light wear. Folding marks.
Enclosed is part of the envelope, with the name and address of the recipient of the letter.