Letter handwritten and signed by R. Yehoshua Zimbalist of Grodno, rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Minsk. Below, an additional letter handwritten and signed by his son, R. Shlomo Zimbalist, one of the heads of the "Tiferet Tzvi" Yeshiva. Jerusalem, Elul 1947.

Sent to London, addressed to the bachur R. Menachem Ezra Abramsky, youngest son of R. Yechezkel Abramsky, rabbi in Slutsk and head of the Beit Din of London. R. Yehoshua had been in contact with the Abramsky family since his time in Soviet Russia, when he headed the underground yeshiva in the "Sho'avei Mayim" Beit Midrash in Minsk. R. Abramsky's older sons were sent from Slutsk to Minsk to study in this yeshiva, and R. Abramsky himself would occasionally come to give lectures in the underground yeshivas in Minsk, headed by R. Yehoshua.
R. Zimbalist opens and closes his letter with the blessing "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year". In the body of the letter, he requests financial assistance "for the honor of Torah", to benefit refugee rabbis from Minsk and the surrounding area who have settled in Jerusalem. R. Yehoshua adds that writing is difficult for him, so his son R. Shlomo will complete his words.
This letter was written in great weakness, about a month before R. Yehoshua's passing during the Ten Days of Repentance of 1947.
After his signature appears a letter from his son, R. Shlomo Zimbalist, completing his father's request.
He describes his elderly father's poor health condition, and that despite doctors forbidding him from engaging in public affairs, he cannot refrain from worrying about it.

R. Yehoshua Zimbalist, known as "R. Yehoshua'le Horodner" (1864-Tishrei 1947), dayan and rosh yeshiva in Minsk. Born near Grodno, after his marriage he moved to Minsk, where he became known for his greatness in all matters of Torah, and served as a posek and dayan. Over the years, he was appointed rosh yeshiva of the "Sho'avei Mayim" Beit Midrash in the city. He served in this role for some twenty years, mostly during the period of Soviet persecution in Russia. After the Bolsheviks entered Minsk in 1920, they issued an order to close the yeshivas, imposing prison sentences and exile to Siberia on yeshiva lecturers. R. Yehoshua convened an assembly of the city's rabbis, where it was decided to continue teaching Torah publicly with self-sacrifice in the underground yeshiva, which was split into several batei midrash in Minsk, where he taught Torah together with his colleagues: R. Yisrael Yehoshua Leibowitz, R. Shalom Horowitz, R. Aryeh Dardik, and R. Shlomo Goborin.
R. Yehoshua then raised many students who cherished and appreciated him all their lives, recalling with admiration his great dedication to his students and his sincere love for their welfare. After government persecution intensified, R. Yehoshua was forced to flee Minsk, and in 1933 he merited to immigrate to Eretz Israel and settle in Jerusalem.
Despite his great weakness in his old age, he worked tirelessly to help refugee rabbis from Russia. After the organization "Union of Refugee Rabbis from Russia" was established at his initiative, he was appointed as the organization's "Honorary President". In 1949, a collection was printed in his memory: "Rabbi Yehoshua of Grodno – Moreh Tzedek and Rosh Metivta in Minsk-Russia", and in 2002 it was reprinted by his descendants in a new edition, with additions.

[1] leaf. Approx. 28 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and creases.

PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further

information, please refer to the Hebrew text.