Letter of appointment of the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Finkel, the son of the Saba of Slabodka, as the Rav of the Beis ...

Letter of appointment of the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Finkel, the son of the Saba of Slabodka, as the Rav of the Beis Midrash "Charashei barzel", Minsk, [1914]

"We the undersigned the members of the Charashei Barzel Beis Midrash on the Jewish street here in Minsk have accepted as Rav and Moreh the Gaon Rav Rabbi Moshe Baharav the Gaon Rabbi Natan Zvi Finkel and  his honor the Gaon Rav is to instruct us on Derech Hashem, Derech HaTorah ..." A document signed by the memebers of the "Charashei Barzel" Beis Midrash in Minsk and an accompanying document in Russian, confirming the appointment of the Rav. Minsk, [1914].

Background: The Gaon Rav Rabbi Moshe Finkel (1883-1925), the son of Rabbi Natan Zvi Finkel, the "Saba of Slabodka" and the son-in-law of the Rosh Yeshiva of the Slabodka Yashiva, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein. Studied at the Mir and Radin yeshivas and travelled to Brisk to study with Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik. Served as Ram at the Slabodka Yeshiva and taught at the "Or Yisroel" yeshiva. With the outbreak of World War I, the residents of Slabodka were driven out of their city and the managers of the yeshiva and its students were forced to disperse. The "Saba of Slabodka" was staying at the time in a resort in Germany, where he remained as prisoner-of-war. Despite the many hardships, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein managed to rearrange the Yeshiva, locating it in Minsk. Many of the students and teachers travelled to the Yeshiva in Minsk, renewing their Torah study there. Later, the "Saba" was released and he too joined the Yeshiva in Minsk. As indicated by the document before us, during this period, Rabbi Moshe Finkel was appointed the Rav of the "Charashei Barzel" Beis Midrash in Minsk. In late 1916, with the progress of the German army into Russia, the yeshiva was split into two groups - one group headed by Rabbi Isaac Scher, Rabbi Moshe Finkel and Rabbi Dov Zvi Heller remained in Minsk and the second group headed by Rabbi natan Zvi Finkel, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein and Rabbi Avraham Grodzinsky moved to Kremenchug in Ukraine. After a short while, the group from Minsk joined their friends in Kremenchug. In late 1919, the people of the yeshiva manged to escape the Bolshevik regime and return to Slabodka. In 1925, Rabbi Moshe Finkel immigrated to the land of Israel and served as a Ram at the Hebron Yeshiva until his passing several months later in Chol HaMoed Sukkot 1925. 

Fold marks, small tears along the fold lines, stains, some spreading of ink, fair-good condition.   

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