Auction 74 - Judaica - Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
Letter from the Rebbe of Klausenberg – Brooklyn, 1955 – Halachic Responsum Pertaining to the Laws of Ruling
Opening: $800
Sold for: $2,250
Including buyer's premium
Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by Rebbe Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam, rabbi of Klausenberg (Cluj-Napoca). [Brooklyn NY, 1955].
Addressed to his friend and associate, R. Avraham Getzel Schiff head of the Rudnik Beit Din (author of Heh She'arim), in Jerusalem. Halachic responsum discussing the topic of a Torah scholar who has issued a ruling (printed in Responsa Divrei Yatziv, VII, section 89).
R. Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam (1905-1994), rebbe of Klausenberg-Sanz. A foremost Torah and Chassidic leaders in our times. In his first marriage, he was the son-in-law of the Atzei Chaim, rebbe of Sighet. His first wife and all their children were murdered in the Holocaust. Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda endured the worst possible sufferings at the hands of the Nazis, and later assisted in rebuilding Jewish and religious communal life in the DP camps in Germany. He then immigrated to the United States and rebuilt the Sanz Chassidic institutions – Batei Midrash, educational institutes and yeshivot. A decade later, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and established Kiryat Sanz in Netanya and in Jerusalem along with their numerous Torah and charity institutions. In his final years, he founded the Mifal HaShas, a global organization which encourages thousands of Torah scholars worldwide in their in-depth study of all Talmudic tractates. His teachings are recorded in Responsa Divrei Yatziv and Shefa Chaim.
One of the Rebbe's main beliefs pertained to the duty of the survivors after the Holocaust. He recognized that G-d kept him alive, and saved him together with all the other survivors, in order to reinstate and strengthen Torah study and observance after the great destruction. The first institutions he founded in Eretz Israel were named She'erit Hapletah. The letterhead of his official stationery (including that of the present letter) reads: "Vaad Shearith Hapletah for Eretz Israel". The present letter concludes in a similar vein: "…may G-d send us the Redeemer, and return Pletat Amo Yisrael [the remnants of His people], with mercy, favor and consolation. His friend, who seeks his wellbeing, Yekutiel Yehuda H.S.".
The recipient of the letter, R. Avraham Elyakim Getzel Schiff (1897-1986), served as head of Beit Din in Rudnik, Galicia (hometown of the rebbe of Klausenberg). During WWII, he fled eastward to Siberia. After the Holocaust, which he survived together with all his children, he reached the DP camps in Germany. There, he served as rabbi of Heidenheim and as close attendant of the rebbe of Klausenberg in all his efforts to reinstate religious and communal life in the camps in Germany. He was a member of the central committee of She'erit Hapletah in Germany. His memoirs were published in the book Heh She'arim, which was reprinted in many editions.
Aerogram. 39 autograph lines. 30.5 cm. Good condition.
Addressed to his friend and associate, R. Avraham Getzel Schiff head of the Rudnik Beit Din (author of Heh She'arim), in Jerusalem. Halachic responsum discussing the topic of a Torah scholar who has issued a ruling (printed in Responsa Divrei Yatziv, VII, section 89).
R. Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam (1905-1994), rebbe of Klausenberg-Sanz. A foremost Torah and Chassidic leaders in our times. In his first marriage, he was the son-in-law of the Atzei Chaim, rebbe of Sighet. His first wife and all their children were murdered in the Holocaust. Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda endured the worst possible sufferings at the hands of the Nazis, and later assisted in rebuilding Jewish and religious communal life in the DP camps in Germany. He then immigrated to the United States and rebuilt the Sanz Chassidic institutions – Batei Midrash, educational institutes and yeshivot. A decade later, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and established Kiryat Sanz in Netanya and in Jerusalem along with their numerous Torah and charity institutions. In his final years, he founded the Mifal HaShas, a global organization which encourages thousands of Torah scholars worldwide in their in-depth study of all Talmudic tractates. His teachings are recorded in Responsa Divrei Yatziv and Shefa Chaim.
One of the Rebbe's main beliefs pertained to the duty of the survivors after the Holocaust. He recognized that G-d kept him alive, and saved him together with all the other survivors, in order to reinstate and strengthen Torah study and observance after the great destruction. The first institutions he founded in Eretz Israel were named She'erit Hapletah. The letterhead of his official stationery (including that of the present letter) reads: "Vaad Shearith Hapletah for Eretz Israel". The present letter concludes in a similar vein: "…may G-d send us the Redeemer, and return Pletat Amo Yisrael [the remnants of His people], with mercy, favor and consolation. His friend, who seeks his wellbeing, Yekutiel Yehuda H.S.".
The recipient of the letter, R. Avraham Elyakim Getzel Schiff (1897-1986), served as head of Beit Din in Rudnik, Galicia (hometown of the rebbe of Klausenberg). During WWII, he fled eastward to Siberia. After the Holocaust, which he survived together with all his children, he reached the DP camps in Germany. There, he served as rabbi of Heidenheim and as close attendant of the rebbe of Klausenberg in all his efforts to reinstate religious and communal life in the camps in Germany. He was a member of the central committee of She'erit Hapletah in Germany. His memoirs were published in the book Heh She'arim, which was reprinted in many editions.
Aerogram. 39 autograph lines. 30.5 cm. Good condition.
Chassidut – Letters
Chassidut – Letters