Bidspirit auction | Historical Letter of Rabbi Yitzchak

Historical Letter of Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, The Brisker Rav, Opposing Establishment of the State of Israel by Warfare – Jerusalem, Tevet 1948 – ”…The Fate of the Lives of Each and Every Individual Depends on the Success of the War. Has Such a Thing Been Heard of, to Forfeit the Life of All the Residents for a Large Jewish State and Not to Agree to Compromises…” - Lengthy letter (2 pages, 42 lines), handwritten and signed by the Brisker Rav, R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik. Jerusalem, 23rd Tevet [January 5] 1948. Addressed to his friend R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head rabbi of the London Beit Din. Famous historical letter, dating to the establishment of the State of Israel, in which the Brisker Rav writes of the danger of war in Eretz Israel (following the postponement of the United Nations Partition Plan), and of the spiritual dangers involved in establishing a secular Jewish state in Eretz Israel (”…If only there will be freedom of religion for the individual in the Jewish state…”): ”Much blessing to my friend, the great Gaon… R. Yechezkel Abramsky, rabbi in London… After my heartfelt blessing, your letter reached me late, as a result of the terrible situation we are in today, nor do I know when this letter of mine will be sent and when it will arrive, as the post office is closed these days, and none of us knows a thing, since the situation worsens from day to day and from hour to hour…”. R. Yitzchak Ze'ev goes on to describe the harsh conditions in Jerusalem: ”I don't know if outside of Eretz Israel there is any idea of what danger and fear we live in today. Yesterday, Sunday, there was chaos in Jerusalem… Because it was announced that the Arabs had broken into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, and cries of Shema Yisrael were heard in the streets; all day long there was prayer and outcry from the entire Jerusalem community, from youth to elder, with terrible crying that cannot be described in writing, and although they managed to take them out and no one was hurt, this is the situation here”. The Rabbi of Brisk writes of the letters received from the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States, and the plans of the Mizrachi groups to establish a Hebrew constitution for the state to be established: ”…They intend one thing only, to unite all the Orthodox under the flag and way of Mizrachi… And truly they are already sitting here and adapting a new Shulchan Aruch to accord with the spirit of the times, for how could it be now that women and Sabbath desecrators and non-Jews could be ineligible for testimony, and the like, but even the new Shulchan Aruch will not be recognized in the Jewish state, because it will be totally secular… If only there will be freedom of religion for the individual in the Jewish state…”. The Brisker Rav criticizes the Orthodox rabbis who supported Zionism and misled the public into believing that a Jewish state would be established according to the Torah: ”…Also the rabbis who supported this, influencing the entire Orthodox community for ten years to believe that this is the nation's destiny and the beginning of the redemption, etc., etc. All knew well that what was being discussed was a completely secular state, the governance of which would be in the hands of people who don't keep the Torah, and that this would be one of their key aims and aspirations for the Jewish state”. The Brisker Rav goes on to blame the Agudat Yisrael parties who worked in cooperation with the Zionist Jewish Agency: ”I say this not only by speculation, but rather they have stated this openly in the Great Congress in Marienbad in summer 1937, after which point the Agudah changed its approach to Zionists and Zionism and began to direct all their ways and actions to come closer to them and to their spirit, and to cooperate with them in all the issues that were to be discussed in the last few years… until they announced openly… that the Agency is the only one recognized by all parties to speak, orate and appear everywhere in the name of all the Jewish people… And if there are perhaps some heads of the Agudah outside of Eretz Israel who wished to speak and announce otherwise, they reprimanded and suppressed them with a decision of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah which never existed…”. The Brisker Rav opposes establishing a state by warfare, and calls to save the Jewish settlement and compromise with the Arabs: ”…In my opinion, it is our duty to exert influence now… Because if they will compromise with the Arabs and there will be no blood shed like water, and a great danger weighs over the entire Yishuv… And in general, isn't the entire idea of a Jewish state the condition of being in war, and who knows it best and can most successfully predict it? Especially since the Jews are very few, etc., etc. And as it's said here, there are also differences of opinion now between the [Zionist] leaders, and if so,