Bidspirit auction | Torah Letter on a Sugya

Torah Letter on a Sugya in Bava Kama by the Hidden Tzaddik and Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Waltuch - Rosh Chodesh Kislev 1957 - Discovery! Torah Letter on a Sugya in Bava Kama by the Hidden Tzaddik and Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Waltuch – Addressed to His Beloved Friend, the Remarkable Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Yehuda Zerachia Segal, Rabbi of Kiryat Shalom, Tel Aviv – Rosh Chodesh Kislev 1957. A fascinating discovery before us. While most of Rabbi Waltuch’s letters deal with heavenly matters—sweetening of judgments and accusations, revelations concerning the souls of Tzaddikim, and similar mystical subjects—the letter before us is a deep halachic discussion on the sugya of Shomer Chinam and Shomer Sachar. In his letter, Rabbi Waltuch writes: “... I received your letter on Thursday night, a time when mercy is aroused and the holy Shabbat approaches, and I could not yet respond. Today I have taken time to reply, for I have already spoken with the Admor shlit”a [apparently referring to the holy Rav Rabbi Moshe Mordechai of Lelov]... All the Pilpul that you wrote I have seen, but one may comment upon it from the Gemara Bava Kama, Perek HaKoness, 56b, regarding a Shomer Aveida, the dispute between Rabbah and Rav Yosef whether he is a Shomer Chinam or Shomer Sachar...”. The letter bears three signatures in his holy handwriting. The hidden Tzaddik Rabbi Yosef Waltuch (1922–1983) was a descendant of the Maggid Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov. He was among the leading circle of hidden Tzaddikim in Tel Aviv, including “the Sandlar” (Rabbi Moshe Yaakov Ravikov), “the Retzaf” (Rabbi Avraham Fish), “the Tzayar” (Rabbi Yehuda Patilon), and others. Rabbi Yosef Waltuch would often pray at the graves of Tzaddikim and holy sites and was known for bringing salvation through his prayers. He endured suffering throughout his life, had no children (as was common among the Nistarim), yet served Hashem with sublime joy. Stories of wondrous miracles and revelations of Ruach HaKodesh surrounded him even during his lifetime. He passed away suddenly after collapsing inside the “Idra” cave. Rabbi Ben Zion Mutzafi, who knew him personally, wrote: “He was a great Torah scholar, pious, humble, and modest, a man of much suffering who hid himself completely. I merited to study with him, perhaps even extensively – a vessel filled with every delight of Torah: Talmud and Midrashim, Zohar and Kabbalah, commentaries and Mussar, Poskim and Halacha; all were stored in his mind. He was also deeply knowledgeable in Jewish history and the chronicles of our people. There was no sage or author of any generation whose name or era Rabbi Yosef Waltuch z”l did not know. He honored all Torah sages, past and present. He bore his pain and illness silently, wandered from place to place with his Sefarim, Tallit, and Tefillin. He was acquainted with many of the greats of the generation, especially those who, like him, were hidden. He lived in a very modest room, alone most of his life, as his wife was ill and hospitalized. He spent Shabbats and Moadim in solitude with his Creator, possessing nothing of this world, not even someone to wash his handkerchief or socks. Holy he was, a true giant, who refused to allow anyone to praise him or publicize his hidden deeds.” Folded postal letter in three parts. 27 cm. Good condition. Fold marks.