Auction 72 - Rare and Important Items
Letter from the Steipler – Nissan, 1985 – Refusal to Accept Support from the Bnei Brak Municipality, With a Returned Bank Check
Opening: $500
Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Sold for: $4,000
Including buyer's premium
Letter from the Bnei Brak municipality, to "The rabbi and tzaddik, the Gaon of Steipel", with an enclosed bank check – "…Grant from the Bnei Brak municipality to participate in the printing of his books". A response letter (4 lines), handwritten and signed by R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, appears on the leaf, in which he refuses to accept the grant. [Bnei Brak, Nissan 1985].
This letter, written in the last months of the Steipler's life (he passed away in Av 1985; the handwriting is indicative of his old age and frailty), is addressed to the mayor, R. Moshe Irenstein: "…T o the Mayor, I do not accept any help with the exception of taxes from which the Torah exempts me, because thank G-d, I am not poor. My regards and honor... Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky".
The Steipler, in his righteousness, refused the funds – sent at the decision of the municipality to support the city's rabbis towards Pesach – and returned the check to the mayor.
R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (1899-1985), one of the most prominent Torah leaders of the past generation. He was known as the Steipler, appellation derived from his hometown Hornostaipil, Ukraine. A foremost student of the Novardok yeshivot in Ukraine and Poland, he was reputed as one of the most diligent and scholarly students in the yeshiva world. In his youth, he published his book Shaarei Tevuna and after seeing the book, the Chazon Ish chose him as a match for his younger sister Pesha Miriam. After his marriage, he served as dean of the Novardok yeshiva in Pinsk, and in 1934, he immigrated to Eretz Israel to serve as dean of the Beit Yosef-Novardok yeshiva in Bnei Brak. For many years, he lived in Bnei Brak in the same house as his brother-in-law, the Chazon Ish. After the yeshiva shut down, he resumed his studies in Kollel Chazon Ish and in his home, and authored the Kehillot Yaakov series on most Talmudic topics and tractates. He was known as a wonder-worker who benefitted from Divine Inspiration, and many sought his blessings and counsel.
[1] leaf, official stationery of the Mayor of Bnei Brak, 23.5 cm + bank check + envelope. Good-fair condition. Creases and folding marks.
This letter, written in the last months of the Steipler's life (he passed away in Av 1985; the handwriting is indicative of his old age and frailty), is addressed to the mayor, R. Moshe Irenstein: "…T o the Mayor, I do not accept any help with the exception of taxes from which the Torah exempts me, because thank G-d, I am not poor. My regards and honor... Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky".
The Steipler, in his righteousness, refused the funds – sent at the decision of the municipality to support the city's rabbis towards Pesach – and returned the check to the mayor.
R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (1899-1985), one of the most prominent Torah leaders of the past generation. He was known as the Steipler, appellation derived from his hometown Hornostaipil, Ukraine. A foremost student of the Novardok yeshivot in Ukraine and Poland, he was reputed as one of the most diligent and scholarly students in the yeshiva world. In his youth, he published his book Shaarei Tevuna and after seeing the book, the Chazon Ish chose him as a match for his younger sister Pesha Miriam. After his marriage, he served as dean of the Novardok yeshiva in Pinsk, and in 1934, he immigrated to Eretz Israel to serve as dean of the Beit Yosef-Novardok yeshiva in Bnei Brak. For many years, he lived in Bnei Brak in the same house as his brother-in-law, the Chazon Ish. After the yeshiva shut down, he resumed his studies in Kollel Chazon Ish and in his home, and authored the Kehillot Yaakov series on most Talmudic topics and tractates. He was known as a wonder-worker who benefitted from Divine Inspiration, and many sought his blessings and counsel.
[1] leaf, official stationery of the Mayor of Bnei Brak, 23.5 cm + bank check + envelope. Good-fair condition. Creases and folding marks.
Rabbinic Letters
Rabbinic Letters