Rare and Unique Items
Apr 5, 2017 (Your local time)
Israel

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LOT 8:

The Historical Letter to the First Students of the Knesset Yisrael Yeshiva in Hebron, in Which the Yeshiva's Path ...

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$ 1,000
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The Historical Letter to the First Students of the Knesset Yisrael Yeshiva in Hebron, in Which the Yeshiva's Path is Mapped Out, and it is Stated that its End Depends on its Beginning - in the Handwriting of the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein - 1925
The historical letter which provided the direction, strength and courage to the founders of the Yeshiva, the crowning glory of all yeshivot to this very day, which illuminated the East, and through which the entire world was filled with the honor of its Torah and its greatness.
The "Knesset Yisrael" Yeshiva was established in Slabodka, Lithuania in 1877, by Rabbi Nosson Zvi Finkel, the "Alter of Slabodka". The Alter appointed his in-law Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein as Rosh Yeshiva, alongside Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer (who left after a few years to join the Sletsk Yeshiva). In the 1920's the Roshei Yeshiva decided to transfer a significant part of the Yeshiva to the Land of Israel. In August 1924 a branch of the Yeshiva was founded in the city of Hebron. After the 1929 massacres, in which some of the Yeshiva students were murdered, the Yeshiva moved to the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem.
At the beginning, in the first stages of the founding of the Yeshiva, only ten of the students from Slabodka immigrated to Hebron. Throughout 1925, almost monthly, many students who lived in Israel joined the yeshiva. The tractate studied was Ketubot, and the students grew and were elevated in good character traits and in-depth Torah study. Rabbi Epstein wrote the incredible letter before us to those same first students, the founders of the yeshiva.
The teacher and director of the yeshiva was his son-in-law, Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna, and Rabbi Avraham Gordzinski, who also immigrated from Slabodka to Hebron in 1924, served as Mashgiach.
"I hope to leave here on the 21st Shevat" the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein writes in the letter before us, and indeed, in Adar 1925 he arrived in Israel. He was welcomed by 5, 000 people, including Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who blessed the blessing "who distributed from His wisdom to those who fear him" in his honor, as well as Rabbi Zvi Pesach Frank, and a "Gate of Honor" was erected in his honor at the entrance to Hebron.
With his arrival in Hebron, Rabbi Epstein took on his role of Rosh Yeshiva, and began delivering his expansive lectures. He wanted to make Hebron into a Torah center for the entire Diaspora.

Rabbi Epstein begins his letter from Slabodka to Hebron: "Good luck and blessings for my dear and beloved, the holy group, Rabbis and great Torah scholars, the students of the Holy Yeshiva in Hebron, may the goodness of G-d be upon you".
"I was very happy to hear the good news from my son-in-law Rabbi Yechezkel [Sarna], the lecturer of the yeshiva, of the glory of your growth, that you feel the great and holy matter that Divine Providence chose you to be the sons who build the temple of G-d, the holy Yeshiva in Hebron".
Later in the letter Rabbi Moshe Mordechai writes words of encouragement to the first students, and tells of his great efforts to establish and strengthen the yeshiva in Hebron. "I wondered for a year, a year of physical and spiritual suffering, and the condition of the yeshiva [in Slabodka] did not improve…my only comfort was my saying that by my journey G-d helped to make the beginning of the founding of a yeshiva in the Holy Land, in the form and style of the holy yeshiva in Slabodka".
Rabbi Epstein describes the yeshiva's unique character, which is based on the correction of character traits and the Mussar philosophy. "The topic [the establishing of the yeshiva in Hebron] is a lofty matter, whose results can not be comprehended by any human being[!]". "Divine providence gave you the task to elevate [the yeshiva] to the heights of joy, you are fortunate!".
An amazing and touching letter, written entirely in the handwriting of the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein, and signed in his handwritten signature, on his official letter paper. His character is felt in every line of the letter. A historical item!

28X22 cm.
Condition: Good. Folding signs.