Two Letters Related to Rabbi Aryeh Levin's Activities as Rabbi of the Underground Prisoners During the British Mandate

Two Letters Related to Rabbi Aryeh Levin's Activities as Rabbi of the Underground Prisoners During the British Mandate

Two letters related to the activities of R. Aryeh Levin as rabbi of the members of the underground imprisoned during the British Mandate:
• Letter from the management of the Central Prison in Jerusalem, signed by the Assistant Superintendent of Police. The officer thanks him for his letter, and confirms having received the Torah ark, which R. Aryeh brought to benefit the prisoners. Jerusalem, May 5, 1939. English. Hebrew inscription (in pencil) handwritten by R. Aryeh: "receipt for the Torah ark".
[1] leaf, official stationery. 24.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains, traces of past dampness and mold stains. Folding marks, tears and filing holes.
• Typewritten letter from the Lehi fighter Matityahu son of Chaim Zvi Shmuelevitz, addressed to R. Aryeh Levin, in which he describes his reaction in 1944 upon being informed that his death sentence had been commuted; as he writes at the beginning of the letter: "Rabbi! When they came to the dungeon where I was detained while awaiting execution, and informed me that I had been pardoned, they were very annoyed that I didn't thank them. I didn't curse them when they sentenced me to death, and I didn't bless them when they pardoned me, since I believe that it is not their kindness, and not in their hands did I deposit my soul…".
[1] leaf. Approx. 25 cm. Poor condition. Mold stains. Wear and open tears, affecting text.

The recipient of the letter, the "Tzadik of Jerusalem" R. Aryeh Levin (1885-1969), excelled in Torah and in charitable deeds. He served as the spiritual director and supervisor of the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah (boy's school). Renowned for his dedication to acts of benevolence. During the British Mandate, he regularly visited the inmates in the British prisons, to lift their spirits, and became known as "Rabbi of the Prisoners". He was especially renowned for comforting and encouraging the underground prisoners and Olei HaGardom (members of the underground organizations who were sentenced to death by hanging) – see previous item.

Matityahu Shmuelevitz (1921-1995) was born in Lodz (Poland) and immigrated to Eretz Israel as a youth, as part of the "Af Al Pi" Aliyah (the illegal immigration of the Revisionist Movement). Upon arriving in Eretz Israel, in 1938, he joined the Betar Platoon, and later, following the split from the Irgun, joined the Lehi organization (Stern Gang). In 1941 he was arrested for the first time and sent without trial to be detained at Latrun. About a year later he was among twenty Lehi members who managed to escape the internment camp via a tunnel they had dug. After his escape he resumed his underground activities, but in April 1944 he was arrested a second time, after having been caught in an exchange of fire with British police officers in the course of which he wounded one of the officers. Shmuelevitz was imprisoned at the Central Prison in Jerusalem, and his trial, which received extensive press coverage, afforded him the opportunity to present his arguments against British rule. He was sentenced to death by hanging, but following public pressure, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The present letter was written during that time, after his sentence was commuted (earlier letters which Matityahu sent R. Aryeh at the time of the trial, were sold in Kedem Auction 55, part I, item 102).
Matityahu Shmuelevitz later became a leader of the Prisoners of Zion who served prison time in the Mandate prisons. In the course of his imprisonment, he was transferred to Acre Prison. In 1947, he unsuccessfully attempted to escape during a raid by Irgun forces. He was later transferred to the prison in Jerusalem, escaping again in 1948, along with other prisoners. Shmuelevitz was arrested for the third time by British forces following the assassination of U.N. mediator Count Folke Bernadotte in September 1948 (along with Nathan Yellin-Mor). The two were tried for operating a terrorist organization and sentenced to a number of years in prison, but were pardoned a few days later. In 1972 Shmuelevitz joined the Herut Movement, and later served as Director General of the Prime Minister's Office under Menachem Begin.