Lengthy Letter and Shanah Tovah Blessings from Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz – Kamenets, Elul 1933

Lengthy Letter and Shanah Tovah Blessings from Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz – Kamenets, Elul 1933

Lengthy letter (two leaves with 35 lines) handwritten, signed and stamped by R. Baruch Ber Leibowitz, dean of the Kamenets yeshiva. 15th Elul, 1933.

Addressed to his relative R. Yechezkel Abramsky, rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London (their wives were cousins – Rebbetzin Beila Zimmerman of Kremenchuk, mother-in-law of R. Baruch Ber, was the sister of R. Yisrael Yaakov Yerushalimsky, father-in-law of R. Abramsky].

The letter begins with warm, heartfelt Shanah Tovah wishes: "May a pleasant Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah in the book of the completely righteous, immediately for good and sweet life, be given to my distinguished relative… R. Yechezkel, rabbi in London of the Machazikei HaDat community… along with the family of my sister-in-law the righteous Rebbetzin and all your descendants. May they all be written and signed in the book of the completely righteous immediately, for good and blessed life with all the blessings and successes, a year of peace, satiety, satisfaction, happiness, peace and quiet, a year of redemption and salvation and the coming of our Messiah, amen".

R. Baruch Ber goes on to write of the great difficulties in supporting the yeshiva and assisting the emissary tasked with collecting donations for the yeshiva, his son-in-law R. Yitzchak Turetz, who traveled to London to that end:

"Regarding the rescue of our holy yeshiva, which is a foundation and pillar to the holy Torah with G-d's great kindness, please be of assistance to my son-in-law R. Yitzchak Turetz who is working with all his might in your country for the sake of the Torah which is in need of aid, to establish and encourage it… This requires the service of one wise of heart, like the building of the Tabernacle which was built all by the labor of those of wise heart. Therefore I beseech you in all ways to remember our early friendship and also that we are kin, to save the Torah of our holy yeshiva. And may the merit of… R. Yitzchak Elchanan, whom it is named for, always stand steadfastly for you…".

On the second leaf, R. Baruch Ber requests assistance for R. Gershon Henich (the brother-in-law of their relative R. Moshe Schneider, dean of the Frankfurt yeshiva), who had fled Germany for England, and wished to establish a yeshiva school in London: "I ask on his behalf that you embrace him and assist by publicly declaring his greatness in Torah, which will enable him to do this holy thing, and it will be a great merit for you to thereby elevate the righteous and establish a yeshiva in a new place, which is a fulfillment of the verse 'If you extract the precious from the vile'. And trusting in your righteousness and in your desire which adheres to the Torah I will not speak about this at length".

At the end of the letter he concludes again with many blessings and a Shanah Tovah: "I give the blessing that you be written in the book of the completely righteous with all of your family and descendants, and that you may spread the holy Torah by the blessing of G-d… in comfort, and may we all see the salvation of Israel and the raising of their pride, the pride of the Torah and the pride of our Messiah, amen. Seeking his welfare, respecting him and blessing him, his relative, Baruch Dov Leibowitz, dean of the Beit Yitzchak yeshiva".

R. Baruch Dov (Ber) Leibowitz (1864-1939), author of Birkat Shmuel, leading Torah disseminator in his times. He was a disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk in the Volozhin yeshiva, and the son-in-law of R. Avraham Yitzchak Zimmerman, Rabbi of Hlusk (son-in-law of R. Yaakov Moshe Direktor, Rabbi of Mush). After his father-in-law went to serve as rabbi of Kremenchuk, he succeeded him in Hlusk and established a yeshiva. After a 13-year tenure, he was asked to head the Knesset Beit Yitzchak yeshiva in Slabodka. During World War I, he wandered with the yeshiva to Minsk, Kremenchuk and Vilna, before finally settling in Kamenets. He authored Birkat Shmuel on Talmudic topics. His teachings and writings are classics of in-depth yeshiva study.

[2] leaves, official stationery. Approx. 28 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Folding marks and tears, slightly affecting text.