Letter of Recommendation Handwritten and Signed by R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik Rabbi of Brisk – Addressed to Rabbi ...

Letter of Recommendation Handwritten and Signed by R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik Rabbi of Brisk – Addressed to Rabbi Shmuel Salant – Brisk, 1902
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik Rabbi of Brisk, addressed to R. Shmuel Salant Rabbi of Jerusalem. [Brisk (Brest)], Tammuz 1902.
Letter recommending R. Moshe Aharon, a dayan of Brisk, for the position of rabbi of Jaffa (in place of R. Naftali Hertz HaLevi Rabbi of Jaffa, who passed away that year in Sivan). R. Chaim writes that he received a letter from the Jaffa community, inquiring whether R. Moshe Aharon would be suitable to serve as their rabbi, and in response, he is praising R. Moshe Aharon's great stature: "…and I know him to be elevated in Torah and fear of G-d, and replete with all precious and unique qualities, he is superior in all areas, of wise heart and refined soul, a prominent rabbi, and suitable for them in every way". R. Chaim adds that the Jaffa community requested he send his opinion to R. Shmuel Salant, and that is why he is writing to him, and he then continues extolling R. Moshe Aharon's virtues: "Since he is a distinguished and outstanding Torah scholar… they will surely reap enjoyment and satisfaction from him, from his Torah knowledge and superiority in all areas". R. Chaim concludes with blessings of longevity for R. Shmuel Salant: "And may G-d lengthen his years, and may he merit to see the coming of the Redeemer to Tzion, and may we ascend to Tzion in joy. So says Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik".
R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik (1853-1918), rabbi of Brisk (Brest), a foremost Torah scholar in Lithuania and one of the leaders of his generation. He is considered the initiator of the learning method in Lithuanian yeshivot. He was the son of R. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, the Beit HaLevi, and son-in-law of R. Refael Shapiro, dean of the Volozhin yeshiva and son-in-law of the Netziv. After his marriage, he began serving as the third dean of the Volozhin yeshiva. With the yeshiva's closure, he proceeded to succeed his father, who passed away in 1894, as rabbi of Brisk, and continued teaching Torah to a small group of elite students. Despite his extensive public and charitable activity, his mind never ceased learning and innovating in Torah, delving deeply into Torah topics until absolute exhaustion. Some of his teachings were published in Chiddushei Rabbenu Chaim HaLevi on the Rambam (Brisk, 1936), and many books were written based on his well-known novellae which were orally transmitted or recorded in various private notebooks. He was one of the founders of Agudath Yisrael. Known for the uncompromising battle he waged against Zionism (R. Chaim would frequently say that the Zionist movement's prime objective was to uproot faith and Torah observance from the Jewish people), R. Chaim was nevertheless very involved in matters related to the settlement in Eretz Israel. He organized fundraising campaigns on behalf of the Old Yishuv, and many of his disciples immigrated to Eretz Israel. His attachment to Eretz Israel is disclosed in this letter, which concludes with his hope for the redemption of the Jewish people with the coming of the Redeemer "…and may we ascend to Tzion in joy".
R. Moshe Aharon Weitzblum, whom the letter recommends, served as dayan in Brisk for many years, during the tenures of the Maharil Diskin, the Beit HaLevi and his son R. Chaim as rabbis of Brisk. In his old age, he immigrated to Eretz Israel, and in 1902 he was appointed rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Jaffa. After a short while, he resigned from his position. In 1904, R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook - son-in-law of the Aderet, replaced him as rabbi of Jaffa (regarding the short tenure of R. Moshe Aharon Weitzblum of Brisk as rabbi of Jaffa, see: Y. Alfasi, Chikrei Eretz Israel, Jerusalem 2006, History of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa community, p. 339; Igrot HaAderet, at the end of Eder HaYekar ViYekar Tiferet, Jerusalem 1967, pp. 88-89). R. Moshe Aharon Weitzblum was the brother of the grandmother of R. Aharon Yehuda Leib Steinman, and the writings of the latter's disciples include many stories regarding R. Moshe Aharon, as heard from R. Aharon Leib (one of these stories relates to the infamous libel against the Maharil Diskin during his tenure as rabbi of Brisk. When the police raided the latter's home, he quickly smuggled his disciple, the brilliant student R. Yosef of Rogatchov, to the home of R. Moshe Aharon, who at that time served as rabbi of Kotelnya (Kacieĺnia Bajarskaja), a town on the outskirts of Brisk, across the river).
[1] leaf. Approx. 27.5 cm. Approx. 10 autograph lines and signature. Good condition. Folding marks.