Two letters from Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, regarding the decrees in Germany against Jewish slaughter. Vilna, 16 Cheshvan / 6 Tevet 1936.

The first letter is entirely in Rabbi Chaim Ozer's handwriting and signature, and the second is in his scribe's handwriting with R. Chaim Ozer's signature.
Sent to London to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, one of London's rabbis and one of his close associates (from the time of Rabbi Yechezkel's studies at the Ramailles Yeshiva in Vilna, and from his tenure as rabbi of Slutsk).
The letters deal with the question of electrical stunning of animals before slaughter (which renders the animal non-kosher according to Jewish law), following anti-Semitic laws enacted in European countries – Germany, Sweden and Poland, as part of the campaign by animal welfare organizations against Jewish slaughter.
In the first letter, R. Chaim Ozer writes about his letters to Rabbi Ezra Munk, "to prohibit slaughter by stunning first", in which he wrote to him several times "clear and explicit words" to prohibit the matter. He then relates that last year "the rabbis R. Y. Weinberg and R. Klein came to me from Berlin about this, and we discussed it at length, and I then decided that it is appropriate to consult with several great scholars. Meanwhile, the proposal of the slaughter decree in Poland arose, and nearly nine hundred rabbis informed the government of their opinion prohibiting stunning, and this is well-known".
R. Chaim Ozer writes to R. Abramsky that he "fully agrees with Your Honor that it is appropriate to declare the prohibition again of stunning before slaughter in Germany". He continues that he is enclosing "a copy of what I received from there" [=from Germany], adding: "The main thing is to send them help and provide them with kosher meat from..."

In the second letter, R. Chaim Ozer asks him to act against R. Ehrenpreis from Stockholm (Sweden), who is trying to permit electrical stunning before slaughter, in his letter to the Chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Hertz. R. Chaim Ozer writes to him: "Nevertheless, I found it appropriate to ask Your Honor to speak with him to try to influence Rabbi Dr. Ehrenpreis and his colleagues to withdraw from this, and I hope that the words of Rabbi Dr. Hertz will be heard by them."
He then tells R. Abramsky about a new proposal to perform electrical stunning immediately after slaughter: "...I received a letter from Rabbi Israel Zuber… of Stockholm, informing that there is hope to work with the Ministry to agree to perform stunning by electricity immediately after slaughter… and I replied that if they perform the stunning after slaughter… it is certainly permissible, and they should try to obtain government approval for this..."

Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863-1940) was the greatest of his generation and the rabbi of all diaspora Jews. Son of R. David Shlomo Grodzinski, rabbi of Ivye. Known from childhood for his extraordinary genius. At age 11, he entered the Volozhin Yeshiva and was a student of rabbi Chaim of Brisk. At 24, he was appointed rabbi and posek in Vilna, taking the place of his father-in-law Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Grodnenski, posek in Vilna (son-in-law of Rabbi Yisrael of Salant). From a young age, rabbi Chaim Ozer bore the burden of public affairs, and his opinion was decisive for nearly fifty years in all public questions that arose throughout the Jewish diaspora.

The recipient of the letter, R. Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), was one of R. Chaim Ozer's trusted associates and agents. From the time of his youth studying under R. Chaim Ozer in Vilna, he became close to him in faithful friendship. In the winter of 1906, "the prodigy from Mosty" Yechezkel Abramsky was forced to leave the Telz Yeshiva and flee to Vilna (which was then under Polish rule), for fear of conscription into the Russian army.
Upon arriving in Vilna, he was accepted to the Ramailes Yeshiva, and was also accepted to the select group of exceptional scholars who heard scholarly lectures from R. Chaim Ozer (according to Melech BeYofyo, pp. 29-33).
Later, when he served as rabbi of Smilovichi and Slutsk, he worked extensively on behalf of R. Chaim Ozer in various public affairs. R. Abramsky smuggled the manuscript of the first part of his book "Chazon Yechezkel" from Slutsk to Vilna, to R. Chaim Ozer who arranged for its printing in Vilna in 1925, through his trusted associate R. Aharon Dov Alter Waranowski (a cousin of Rabbi Abramsky's wife).
When R. Abramsky was arrested by the Soviet authorities in 1930 and sent to Siberia, R. Chaim Ozer stirred up the Jewish world in efforts to free him. After R. Abramsky's release in early 1932, R. Chaim Ozer established together with him and the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch, the project of sending "Kimcha D'Pischa" and food shipments to Jews suffering under Bolshevik rule in Russia. R.Abramsky also worked extensively on behalf of R. Chaim Ozer for the holy yeshivas in Poland and Lithuania, and for the rabbis of Europe.
This present letter reflects some of their joint activities on these issues. They also worked together on many public matters, including the struggle for the purity of Jewish lineage and marriage, and the fight against anti-Semitic decrees in Germany and European countries against "Jewish slaughter" (on the question of stunning animals before slaughter, which renders the meat non-kosher). These letters reflect some of their joint activities on these issues.

2 letters. Official stationery. Approx. 28.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and minor stains. Minor tears to margins.

The first letter presented here was printed in "Kovetz Igrot – Achiezer", Part 2, Letter 226, pp. 367-368.

PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.