Bidspirit auction | Letter by the Gaon Rabbi

Letter by the Gaon Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch, HY”D, Av Beis Din and Rosh Yeshiva of Telz — request for assistance for a Ben Torah to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Telz, 1939. “And now, in his desire to travel to Eretz HaKodesh and to engage there in Avodas HaKodesh, I entreat on his behalf that you do with him good and kindness, so that this aim of his be fulfilled.” Letter from the Av Beis Din of Telz, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch, to the Av Beis Din of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel, requesting assistance in obtaining immigration to Eretz HaKodesh for the student David Goldschmidt. Telz, Iyar 1939. [1] leaf, on the official letterhead of Rabbi “Avraham Yitzchak Bloch son of the Gaon Moreinu Harav Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch z”l, Av Beis Din and Rosh Mesivta in Telz.” At the foot of the letter, which is typed, appears Rabbi Bloch’s signature. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak testifies in the present letter that he and his brother, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch, personally know the young Bochur David Goldschmidt as “outstanding and sharp… elevated and distinguished in the pleasantness of his character and in his love of Torah, ” a German émigré who excelled in Torah and fear of Heaven. The Rav notes that immigration to Eretz Yisrael will help remove the young Bochur from the terrible situation in Europe, and will assist in drawing the Jewish refugees of Ashkenaz “closer to Torah and Emunah.” The Gaon Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch, HY”D (1890–1941), was among the leading figures and thinkers of the Musar movement. Son of the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch. From 1921 he served as Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, and from 1930 filled his father’s place as Rav of Telz. Already in his youth he was known as an Ilui, possessing deep understanding in Halachah and a profound investigator of Aggadah, and he never departed from the tent of Torah. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael. After the Soviet conquest of Lithuania, he continued to teach his students clandestinely under harsh conditions. He was murdered Al Kiddush Hashem, in the Holocaust, together with the members of his community and his students. Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (1882–1945), “the Ilui of Porozov, ” studied in the Yeshivos of Telz and Brisk, and in the “kibbutz” of Rabbi Chaim Ozer in Vilna. He served as Rav in the town of Shvintsyan and in the Shomrei HaDas community in Antwerp. In 1936 he immigrated to Eretz Yisrael and served as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv–Jaffa, where he founded “Yeshivas HaYishuv HaChadash.” He was known as an author, thinker, Darshen, educator, and among the leaders of the Mizrachi movement. Historical background: Beginning in 1922, the British Mandatory government published the “White Paper, ” which included restrictions on Jewish immigration to Eretz Yisrael. At a time when masses of Jews sought to immigrate to the Land to escape existential danger and distress in Europe, the British closed the gates of the Land and set a small quota of immigration licenses (certificates). Following the efforts of Rabbi Kook, a number of immigration licenses were allocated for Rabbanim and Torah functionaries. Jews who sought to obtain one of these licenses were required to present a document attesting to their Torah position, and relied on the assistance of Rabbanim and public figures. Fold marks, stains, filing holes, wear, and small defects along the edges of the leaf. Fair–good condition.