A Document for the Cornerstone Laying of the Building of the Talmud Torah in the Town of Aleksandrów ...

A Document for the Cornerstone Laying of the Building of the Talmud Torah in the Town of Aleksandrów Łódzki – Signed by the Rebbe, Author of Akedat Yitzchak of Aleksandrów Łódzki and his Holy Brothers – Aleksandrów Łódzki, 1932
Handwritten leaf for the cornerstone laying of the building of the Talmud Torah in Aleksandrów Łódzki, signed by the Rebbe, author of Akedat Yitzchak of Aleksandrów Łódzki, his brothers R. Ya'akov Simcha Bunim Danziger and R. Avraham Chaim Danziger and rabbis and notables of the town. Aleksandrów Łódzki (Poland), 1932.
At the beginning of the leaf is the title: "For the honor of those who study it" followed by "Sunday of Parshat Atem Nitzavim…1932. We, the residents of the city of Aleksandrów Łódzki have assembled today for the beginning of the construction of the building of the Talmud Torah, G-d should help us that we should conclude it well, in the merit of the mitzvah which should protect all those who are involved […] and they should be blessed with all good and success and with a ketiva v'chatima tova […]".
The signature of R. "Yitzchak Menachem Mendel son of the Holy Rebbe" – the Rebbe, author of Akedat Yitzchak of Aleksandrów Łódzki, heads the list of signatures and is followed by the signature of his brother-in-law R. Yitzchak Meir [Singer] Rabbi of Aleksandrów Łódzki. Afterward, two brothers of the author of the Akedat Yitzchak signed their names: R. "Ya'akov Simcha Bunim" and R. "Avraham Chaim". These are followed by signatures of various rabbis and notables of the town.
According to the written testimony of R. Yisrael Yod (enclosed), he acquired this leaf by amazing circumstances: In the month of Iyar 1988, a group of men traveled to Poland by the auspices of the Bnei Brak municipality to pray by the gravesites of tsaddikim in Poland. On Sunday, the 14th of Iyar, the group reached the town of Aleksandrów Łódzki to pray at the gravesite of the tsaddikim buried there. Upon leaving the cemetery, a local non-Jew waited for them holding a piece of paper written in the Holy Tongue. The non-Jew told them that he found the paper inside a bottle buried in the ground near the site of the town mikveh before it was demolished. R. Yod quickly purchased the piece of paper and after looking over its contents, he discovered that it was this Megillat HaYesod.
Rebbe Yitzchak Menachem Danziger of Aleksandrów Łódzki (1880-1942) was an eminent rebbe in his times. He was educated by his grandfather, R. Yechiel of Aleksandrów Łódzki, the predecessor of the dynasty (who was the brother-in-law of R. Yisrael Nissan, the recipient of the letters), and by his uncle R. Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchak, author of Yismach Yisrael and his father, Rebbe Shmuel Zvi of Aleksandrów Łódzki, author of Tiferet Shmuel.
In 1924, he was appointed Rebbe by the behest of 70 [!] prominent Polish rabbis among his father's followers who requested that he continue the dynasty. During his tenure, the community of Aleksander Chassidim blossomed and reached tens of thousands of followers. Together with his brother R. Avraham Chaim Danziger, he established the chain of the Beit Yisrael yeshivot gedolot, in the memory of their uncle the rebbe, author of Yismach Yisrael. He and his brother and their entire family, children and grandchildren, all perished in the Holocaust. After the Holocaust, survivors among the Aleksander Chassidim appointed his cousin, R. Yehuda Moshe Tyberg as rebbe. Remnants of his teachings were compiled by surviving Chassidim into the book Akedat Yitzchak.
Leaf, 31.5 cm. Stains, wear and tears. Restorations. Housed in an elaborate leather box, with a transparent window and three leather-covered cardboard panels, adorned with gilt embossments and with pictures of the Aleksander Rebbe and more. (Dimensions of box: 33X45 cm.).