Holocaust Letter: Outcry from the Admo"r Rabbi Avraham Heschel of Stanislav. Elul, 1939

Holocaust Letter: Outcry from the Admo"r Rabbi Avraham Heschel of Stanislav. Elul, 1939

"Recall that I am the only grandson of my sacred grandfather from Mezhibuzh, the Apter Rav, may his merit protect us, and a grandchild of the sacred Ba'al Shem Tov, of blessed memory ..."

Holocaust letter with important Chassidic content, entirely handwritten and signed by the Admo"r Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel Gottesman of Stanislav. The letter was sent the week prior to the Nazi invasion of Poland, and it contains very harsh descriptions of the situation in Poland at the outbreak of the Holocaust. It is loaded with blessings from the Rebbe. Drohobych, Elul, 1939. Yiddish with some Hebrew.

The letter is dated Tuesday of the week parashat Ki Tetzei is read [postmarked 23 August 1939]. The next week, on Friday of parashat Ki Tavo [September first, 1939], the Nazis invaded Poland, triggering WWII. This is one of the final Holocaust letters sent from Free Poland.

In his letter, the Rebbe describes the harsh conditions prevailing in Poland, "I find myself in a very bad camp; the situation is unimaginable." He pleads with his Chassidim in the free world to collect funds to rescue him, "Raise funds among Jews and send all the funds together." The Rebbe, in his melancholy state, mentions the merit of his ancestors, "Recall that I am the only grandson of my sacred grandfather from Mezhibuzh, the Apter Rav, may his merit protect us, and a grandchild of the sacred Ba'al Shem Tov, of blessed memory, who also lies in Mezhibuzh."

The Rebbe concludes his shocking letter with warm blessings from a loving and caring heart to his Chassidim who are concerned about his welfare: "May Hashem help us have a blessed, light year, to be inscribed and sealed for the good. May you be blessed with health and prosperity, and much success." Sadly, about three years later, in late 1942, the rebbe was murdered at the head of his followers, in his town of Drohobych, where he served in his final years, and from where he sent this letter.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for the lineage and a brief biography of the sacred rebbe, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel Gottesman of Stanislav.

[1] postal postcard, 11x15 cm.

Fine condition. Aging stains, creases and tears, without lack in the text.