Bidspirit auction | Letter Handwritten and Signed by

Letter Handwritten and Signed by Maran the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin to the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zvi Halevi Av Beit Din of Jaffa - Jerusalem, 1912 - ”Had I thought so in advance, perhaps I would have exerted greater effort” - Fasinating letter with many humble expressions - by the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin Av Beit Din and Ram of Volozhin - addressed to the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zvi Halevi Av Beit Din of Jaffa - about his book Tiv Kiddushin - Jerusalem, 1912.  In his letter, Rav Berlin thanks Rabbi Yosef Zvi for sending him his book Tiv Kiddushin (a polemic book on the Ruth the Georgian Affair). At the end of the book, Rabbi Yosef Zvi printed a letter Rav Chaim Berlin had sent him.  About this edition, Maran writes to him humbly : ”I double my gratitude, for that my words were precious in your eyes, to bring them to print at the conclusion of your book, something I had not hoped for, nor did it ever cross my mind. Had I thought so in advance, perhaps I would have exerted greater effort to arrange and refine them for their readers, more so than the manner in which they were written, not having been intended for such a purpose... Nevertheless, what is done is done, and since they have ascended, let them not descend, as Your Honorable Torah Eminence has found them worthy for the Altar to receive them...”.  At the end of the letter, Rabbeinu rhymes his blessing: ”ואלף עולות יעלה שלומו, לראות טוב בעולמו, ובהרמת קרן ישראל עמו, כנפש מכבדו ומרוממו”  It should be remembered that the letter was written in 1912, a year before Maran's passing, the peak of Rabbeinu's life, who then served as the unofficial Rav of Jerusalem! Postcard, written on both sides.  9X14 cm.  Small tears slightly affecting the text. Good condition.  *** The Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin (1832–1912) was the eldest son of the illustrious Natziv of Volozhin and a great Torah leader of his generation. He served as Rav and Av Beit Din of Kobryn, Moscow, and Yalta, and was known as a staunch defender of religious observance during a time of spiritual persecution in Russia. After his father’s passing, he briefly headed the Volozhin Yeshiva. He later immigrated to Eretz Yisrael, and following Rabbi Shmuel Salant's passing, was appointed Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, though he humbly declined to accept the title officially. He was Rosh Yeshiva of Etz Chaim and was considered a pillar of the Old Yishuv in Jerusalem. Renowned for his humility, peaceful demeanor, and measured Halachic rulings, he left a lasting imprint on his contemporaries and on the path of Torah leadership in Eretz Yisrael. He passed away in 1912 and was buried on the Mount of Olives.