"Fast on Wednesday" - The Original Historic Telegram from the Rabbis of Israel to Jewish Refugees in Japan During ...

"Fast on Wednesday" - The Original Historic Telegram from the Rabbis of Israel to Jewish Refugees in Japan During the Holocaust

The original telegram, sent on the eve of Yom Kippur during the Holocaust, by the rabbis of the Land of Israel led by Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac HaLevi Herzog, addressed to Lithuanian yeshiva students exiled in Japan. The telegram provides guidance on the observance of Yom Kippur in Kobe, Japan, which is situated across the International Date Line. [Jerusalem, 7 Tishrei 5702 / September 28, 1941].

This historic halachic telegram is cited in numerous halachic works discussing the "International Date Line, " and it is one of the most famous and debated halachic rulings in Jewish history. For example, see an excerpt from "Kav HaTa’arich HaYisraeli" by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher (Jerusalem, 1977), which addresses this topic.

- [1] page, 22 x 12 cm, official telegram.

- Good condition. Filing holes, creases, and minor tears along the edges.

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Background of the Telegram

At the outbreak of the Holocaust, the Japanese consul in Lithuania issued entry visas to approximately 5,000 Jews, including students from the Mir Yeshiva and other yeshivas, led by Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein, and the Rebbe of Amshinov, Rabbi Shimon Shalom Kalish. These refugees initially arrived in Kobe, Japan, which lies east of the International Date Line (100° east of Israel), leading to a halachic dispute: when does Yom Kippur fall in such a location—on the date observed worldwide, Wednesday (10th of Tishrei), or Thursday, which corresponds to the 11th of Tishrei elsewhere.

A telegram dated 20 Elul 5701 (September 12, 1941), received at the home of Rabbi Hezekiah Yosef Mishkovsky, stated:

*"To Rabbis Mishkovsky, Alter, Herzog, Soloveitchik, Finkel, Meltzer, Hornstein, Jerusalem. 350 Jews plead for salvation. Respond immediately which day to fast for Yom Kippur. Union of Rabbis and laypeople from Kobe."*

In response, Chief Rabbi Herzog convened a meeting on 4 Tishrei 5702 (September 25, 1941) and invited all the rabbis of Jerusalem to participate. Among the attendees were Rabbi Herzog, Rabbi Uziel, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank, Rabbi Yehiel Michel Tukachinsky, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, and Rabbi Chaim Zev Finkel, representing the Chazon Ish. The rabbis concluded that Yom Kippur should be observed in Kobe on Wednesday.

In the telegram Rabbi Herzog sent to Japan on 7 Tishrei, he wrote:

*"In response to your telegram dated 12.9, the rabbinic assembly decided that the fast of Yom Kippur is on Wednesday, as per the local calculation in Japan. I personally add that it is unnecessary to fast again on Thursday due to danger, but Thursday should be observed as outlined in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim (sections 618:7–8)."*

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Further Dispute

The controversy did not end there. The Chazon Ish disagreed with this compromise, asserting that there is a mitzvah to eat on Erev Yom Kippur, which was not fulfilled if they fasted on Wednesday. In a telegram to the yeshiva students in Japan, he instructed:

"Dear brothers, eat on Wednesday and fast for Yom Kippur on Thursday. Do not be concerned about anything else."

In practice, most of the exiles followed the decision of the rabbis in accordance with Rabbi Herzog’s directive. However, the heads of the Mir Yeshiva adhered to the ruling of the Chazon Ish. Some individuals fasted for two days, and a few even fasted for fifty consecutive hours.