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Not Published in Igrot HaRe'ayah: Early Letter Handwritten by Maran Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook with Warm Blessings for the New Year - Jaffa, the Eve of Yom Kippur 1915 - Early and rare letter from when Rav Kook was the Rav of Jaffa, handwritten and signed by him, with warm blessings for the New Year. Written on the Eve of Yom Kippur 1915.  The letter is addressed to the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu Botchko, the Rosh Yeshiva of Montreux, Switzerland. In his letter, Rav Kook sends warm blessings to Rabbo Botchko and his family, using his unqiue language, intertwining biblical expressions:  ”הנני לברכו באהבה רבה ליום הקדוש הבעל”ט, וצור ישראל ברוך הוא יאזין שוועת עמו, ויחדש עלינו ועל כל ישראל שנה טובה ומעוטרה, שנת רוממות קרן ואור, גאולה וישועה, ועינינו תראינה בשוב ד' שבות עמו”. The letter was written on a folding sheet, each of its sides served as a leaf in itself. On the second leaf, there is a handwritten pencil addition, slightly faded, apparnelty handwritten by Rav Kook's son and successor, the Gaon Rabbi Zvi Yehdua Kook. This is thus a rare sheet handwritten by father and son.  To the best of our knowledge, this letter was not published in any of the fifteen volumes of Igrot HaRe'ayah. Apparently, the Igrot do not include any letter from Rav Kook to Rabbi Botchko. The letetr, however, indicates that they had a warm relationship.  This relationship may even shed light on one of the most fascinating enigmas in the history of the Botchko family: how one of the greatest Rosh Yeshivas, who was raised on the knees of the Lithuanian Torah world and was among its finest sons, later paved a new path distinct from the tradition passed down by his rabbis, who, as is well known, fiercely opposed Zionism. [Indeed, Rabbi Botchko’s father-in-law, who is mentioned in this letter, Rabbi Sternbuch, was a relative of the Gaon Av Beit Din of the Eidah HaChareidis, Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch.] Yet, in subsequent generations, a growing leaning toward Zionism became evident within the family, culminating when his son and successor brought Yeshivat Etz Chaim from Montreux up to Israel, endowing it with a distinctly Zionist character. Possibly, this early letter enables us to peek at the early roots of that twist, teaching us how a relationship of Torah, friendship and letters moght influence a person's life and the path of following generations.  [1] sheet of paper, divided into [2] leaves. Approx. 14X11 cm. per leaf.  One leaf by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook; the other by his son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda.  Good condiiton. Aging stains. filing perforations.