Letter Handwritten and Signed by the Rogatchover - Recommending Rabbi Yaakov Landau for a Rabbinical Position

Letter Handwritten and Signed by the Rogatchover - Recommending Rabbi Yaakov Landau for a Rabbinical Position

Letter of recommendation handwritten and signed by the Rogatchover, R. Yosef Rosen Rabbi of Dvinsk, for R. Yaakov Landau. Dvinsk, 13th Sivan 1932.
The Rogatchover writes: "Regarding their query about the rabbi of Libau, R. Y. [R. Yaakov], if he receives ordination and permission from the rabbi of Riga [R. Menachem Mendel Zak], to rule… I also agree that they can accept him as rabbi of their city…" [the letter does not indicate which community wished to appoint R. Yaakov Landau as rabbi. Ultimately, R. Landau remained in Libau until his immigration to Eretz Israel in 1934].
R. Yaakov Landau was an associate of the Rogatchover and corresponded with him (see item 454). The Rogatchover even officiated at R. Landau's wedding in 1930.
Published in the Yagdil Torah anthology.
[1] leaf. 20 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Folding marks.

The Rogatchover - R. Yosef Rosen Rabbi of Dvinsk, Author of Tzofnat Pane'ach
R. Yosef Rosen (1858-1936) - known as the Rogatchover (after his birth town Rogatchov-Rahachow), was a Chabad-Kopust follower. His father took him as a child to the Tzemach Tzedek, who blessed him with exceptional scholarliness and instructed him to study Tractate Nazir (some say this was the reason the Rogatchover did not cut his hair). In his youth, he was a disciple of R. Yosef Dov Ber Soloveitchik, author of Beit HaLevi, alongside the latter's son R. Chaim of Brisk. From 1889, he served as rabbi of the Chabad Chassidic community in Dvinsk (Daugavpils), Latvia, alongside the Or Same'ach, a position he held for 40 years. A remarkable figure renowned for his tremendous sharpness and genius, he was well-versed in all areas of the Torah, down to its finest details, producing profound definitions, hypotheses and original methods of Torah study. Tales of his genius and indescribable diligence abound. His legendary brilliance was also highly regarded by the secular world in his days and Bialik reputedly said that "two Einsteins could be carved out from the mind of the Rogatchover". The Rogatchover dealt extensively in explaining the teachings of the Rambam and wrote numerous halachic responsa. His responsa and novellae were published in his Tzofnat Pane'ach series. His printed books are a small part of the incessant flow of the inexhaustible fountain of his Torah. Due to the profundity of his teachings and his concise, cryptic style of writing, several projects have risen in recent generations to decipher and explain his teachings, resulting in the publishing of annotated editions of his works.