"He is the Only One, May He Live and Be Well" - The Historic Letter of Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz ...

"He is the Only One, May He Live and Be Well" - The Historic Letter of Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh Affirming Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinmann as Leader of the Generation

The response of Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh, regarding Rabbi Steinmann being the leader of the generation, whose opinion is the opinion of the Torah and is the definitive opinion in any dispute between Rabbis. 1996.

Specifications: [1] page, lined paper.  15x19 cm. 

Background: In the month of July 1996, due to the deteriorating health of Rabbi Shach, the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinmann became responsible to lead the ultra-Orthodox community. 

At the time, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Lefkowitz received an unusual letter, in which he was asked "It is well known that until now it was known that we have one Daat Torah, and that everything which Rabbi Shach says is the opinion of the Torah and must be carried out completely, and he is the only one with the authority to rule against others. And recently is has been said that now Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinmann has been appointed as the leader of the generation, and that his opinion is the decisive one, and the verse 'and you shall do whatever he instructs you' applies to him. And here the questioner asks, with great embarrassment, who decides this appointment of the leader of the generation and how is the identity of leader of the generation established, while there are other great Rabbis in Jerusalem, etc.

Rabbi Lefkowitz replied with a clear and unambiguous response that the very fact that there are other Rabbis, but that the community as a whole follows him:

"And I say that he is the only one, may he live and be well.  And he embodies the saying that one who flees [from honor, honor pursues him], and there is no doubt or question that his sole intention is for the sake of Heaven to fulfill the will of G-d."

It is interesting to note that in 2012, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky published a letter in support of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinmann's actions, and used almost identical expressions when describing him "The leadership of the generation is currently in the hands of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinmann, all of whose actions are for the sake of Heaven."   

Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz (1914-2011) was Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh L'Zeirim, a member of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah and one of the leaders of the Lithuanian community. Rav Shach brought him into the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah when Degel HaTorah was founded. He had strong opinions regarding education and yeshivot, and fought vigorously against government intervention in the material studied and the recruitment of yeshiva students. 

Here Rabbi Lefkowitz publicly expresses his opinion that Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinmann is the only one fitting to succeed Rabbi Shach as the communal leader, and testifies, as one who had served together with him as Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh for many years, that all of his actions are for the sake of Heaven.

Condition: Folding marks. Very fine condition.