Bidspirit auction | Rare Personal Content: Letter by

Rare Personal Content: Letter by the Gaon Rabbi Shneur Kotler to His Friend in Erezt Yisrael the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Epstein - Lakewood, 1940s - A rare  personal letter handwritten and signed by the Gaon Rabbi Shneur Kotler, the Rosh Yehsiva of Lakewood, from his early years as an Avrech. Lakewood, the eve of Rosh Hashanah [ca.1948]. The letter is addressed to his friend in Erezt Yisrael the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Epstein, who eventually became a Dayan and Tel Aviv and was the founder of the Military Rabbinate.  Unusually for letters by Gedolei Yirael, Rabbi Shneur writes openly and honestly about his personal weaknesses - laziness, procrastination and a sense of heaviness. At the same time, he shares with his friend how he strongly misses his grandparents in Eretz Yisrael - referring to the Gaon Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, so much so that he sometimes feels he just wants to leave everything and  ”אראפ־חאפן זיך” to Eretz Yisrael.  The letter contains Yiddish expression from the Lithuanian Beit Midrash making the letter a lively document between friends of the same Beit Midrash. The children are also mentioned: ”הילדים הם כבר בגיל זה שהם יכולים להפריע, והם יודעים את המלאכה!  [1] aerogram. Approx. 31 cm. With the postmarks of Lakewood, New Jersey. Handwritten and signed by the Gaon Rabbi Shneur Kotler. Good condition. Fold lines and stains.   *** The Gaon Rabbi Yosef Chaim Shneur Kotler (1818-1982) the Rosh Yeshiva of Lakewood and one of the leading contemporary distributors of the Torah. The son and successor of Maran Rabbi Ahron Kotler. Was a disciple of his grandfather, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer and Maran Harav of Brisk. After his father's passing, Rabbeinu was appointed the head of the high Beit Midrash of the Lakewood Yeshiva. Under his leadership, the yeshiva developed and grew from approx. 100 to 1000 Lomdei Torah! Rabbeinu was not satisfied with this and encouraged his disciples to open Kollelim in other places in the USA. Subsequently, dozens of Kollelim and Torah centers opened in the USA. From his Divrei Torah, the books Noam Si'ach and Si'ach Arev were published.  The Addressee: the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Epstein (1912-1965) Dayan of the rabbinic Bet Din of Tel Aviv and the Rav of Kfar Etzion. Studied at the Kleck Yeshiva under Maran Rabbi Aharon Kotler. He also studied under the Gaon author of Even HaEzel and became one of his confidantes and assisted in the publishing of his books.