Auction 67 - Judaica - Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
Letter from Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapiro Author of Devar Avraham - Zurich, 1939
Opening: $300
Sold for: $425
Including buyer's premium
Letter (approx. 10 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Dov Ber Kahana-Shapiro Rabbi of Kovno (Kaunas). Zurich (Switzerland), Adar 1939.
Interesting letter addressed to R. Botschko(?). R. Avraham Dov Ber begins the letter by relating that he received an urgent call from R. Klibansky, director of the Kollel in Kovno, informing him that the Kollel was in dire straits, with no foreseeable source of income to cover the large expenses of the upcoming Passover festival. Further in the letter, R. Avraham Dov Ber refers to his personal matters and to his recovery: "My friend surely heard what I have undergone, and blessed is the One Who bestows good things upon the unworthy, and has bestowed upon me every goodness, and His kindnesses have overcome me". He writes that he intends to return home in the coming week (ultimately, the Devar Avraham only returned to Kovno at the end of the summer, following the outbreak of WWII, see below). The letter concludes with blessings: "With all goodness and a kosher, joyful festival… Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapiro".
Following his signature, the Devar Avraham added an apology for writing the letter on stationery bearing the logo in Lithuanian only, without the Hebrew heading: "The Hebrew stationery has run out, and only this remains".
R. Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapiro (1871-1943), author of Devar Avraham, an eminent rabbi in his times, son of R. Zalman Sender Kahana Shapiro and son-in-law of "the Gadol of Minsk", R. Yerucham Yehuda Leib Perelman. A student of the Volozhin yeshiva. His scholarly book Devar Avraham, the first part of which was first printed in 1906, earned him worldwide fame and already in his times, leading rabbis discussed its contents. He was renowned as a prominent leader of Lithuanian Jewry. In 1924, he joined the famous expedition of rabbis to America together with the Kli Chemda, R. Kook and R. Epstein. In 1939, he went to convalesce in Switzerland, and he was still there when WWII broke out. His friends begged him to save himself by remaining in neutral Switzerland, yet he returned to Kovno, stating that a captain does not abandon his ship during a storm. He perished in the Kovno Ghetto and thousands of Jews attended his funeral.
[1] leaf, official stationery. Approx. 15X23 cm. Good-fair condition. Tears to margins and folds.
Interesting letter addressed to R. Botschko(?). R. Avraham Dov Ber begins the letter by relating that he received an urgent call from R. Klibansky, director of the Kollel in Kovno, informing him that the Kollel was in dire straits, with no foreseeable source of income to cover the large expenses of the upcoming Passover festival. Further in the letter, R. Avraham Dov Ber refers to his personal matters and to his recovery: "My friend surely heard what I have undergone, and blessed is the One Who bestows good things upon the unworthy, and has bestowed upon me every goodness, and His kindnesses have overcome me". He writes that he intends to return home in the coming week (ultimately, the Devar Avraham only returned to Kovno at the end of the summer, following the outbreak of WWII, see below). The letter concludes with blessings: "With all goodness and a kosher, joyful festival… Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapiro".
Following his signature, the Devar Avraham added an apology for writing the letter on stationery bearing the logo in Lithuanian only, without the Hebrew heading: "The Hebrew stationery has run out, and only this remains".
R. Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapiro (1871-1943), author of Devar Avraham, an eminent rabbi in his times, son of R. Zalman Sender Kahana Shapiro and son-in-law of "the Gadol of Minsk", R. Yerucham Yehuda Leib Perelman. A student of the Volozhin yeshiva. His scholarly book Devar Avraham, the first part of which was first printed in 1906, earned him worldwide fame and already in his times, leading rabbis discussed its contents. He was renowned as a prominent leader of Lithuanian Jewry. In 1924, he joined the famous expedition of rabbis to America together with the Kli Chemda, R. Kook and R. Epstein. In 1939, he went to convalesce in Switzerland, and he was still there when WWII broke out. His friends begged him to save himself by remaining in neutral Switzerland, yet he returned to Kovno, stating that a captain does not abandon his ship during a storm. He perished in the Kovno Ghetto and thousands of Jews attended his funeral.
[1] leaf, official stationery. Approx. 15X23 cm. Good-fair condition. Tears to margins and folds.
Letters - Lithuanian, Polish and Eretz Israeli Rabbis
Letters - Lithuanian, Polish and Eretz Israeli Rabbis