Bidspirit auction | ”I Have Almost No Desire

”I Have Almost No Desire to Travel to America” – A Fascinating and Historic Post-War Letter from the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Shimon Yisroel Posen ztz”l – the Rav of Szapáron Typed by typewriter (stencil) and signed in his holy handwriting. This letter was written on 11 Nissan 5707, during his years residing in Budapest. It vividly reflects the upheavals of that era as they affected the Rav, including his involvement in the Bais Din sessions dealing with the pressing issue of agunos, a painful sugya that preoccupied the gedolei hador after the devastation of the Holocaust. In the letter, he informs the recipient, Rabbi Yisroel Efraim Kuperstein, of the uncertainties he and his yeshiva faced at the time. He references the possibility of traveling to America, remarking candidly: ”Truthfully, I have almost no desire to travel to America.” He also expresses his longing to obtain a permit to enter Eretz Yisroel. Interestingly, despite his reluctance, he ultimately had no choice but to take that step and settle in the United States. The Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Shimon Yisroel Posen ztz”l, was born into a distinguished rabbinic family in Frankfurt, Germany, but later drew close to Chassidus after encountering the Admorim of Skver and Zlatipoli, ziya”a. Between the two world wars, he moved to Hungary, where he developed a deep connection with the gedolei harabbonim of Hungary, particularly the holy Admor, the Minchas Elazar of Munkatch, ziya”a, whom he revered immensely—and the Rebbe reciprocated that admiration in full. In his years of avodas hakodesh in Hungary, he served as the final Av Beis Din of the kehilla kedosha in the city of Szapáron, earning him the renowned title ”the Szapároner Rav.” After World War II, he assumed a rabbinic position in Budapest, where he was marbitz Torah to elite bochurim in the yeshiva he established. Later, he relocated to America, where he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of the Satmar Chassidus in Williamsburg.