Rare Archive of the Chaba"d Levine Family - Chassidic Letters of Guidance from the Chassid Rabbi Shmuel Gershon Levine

Rare Archive of the Chaba"d Levine Family - Chassidic Letters of Guidance from the Chassid Rabbi Shmuel Gershon Levine

Rare archive consisting of dozens of letters and postcards sent to the Chaba"d Chassid Rabbi Shneur Zalman HaLevi b"r Shmuel Gershon HaLevi Levine, from the members of Kollel Chaba"d in Jerusalem. Ukraine and the Land of Israel, 1890-1910. First-rate historic source for the documentation of the Chaba"d community in the Land of Israel in those days.

The collection includes:

* Nine lengthy letters and three postcards from Rabbi Shmuel Gershon to his son Rabbi Shneur Zalman and to his son-in-law R' Nathan Chaim. Warsaw, Chevron and Jerusalem, 1890s. See below for a discussion of the contents of these letters. Some of the letters are handwritten and some (from his old age) are only signed by him. One letter was written by the Chassid R' Aryeh Tzvi Frumkin.

* Two letters from R' Pesach Aharon Levine to his brother, Rabbi Shmuel Gershon. One mentions his trip to Kapust. [Pre-1900.]

* Two letters from R' Alter Ponoravsky to his brother-in-law Rabbi Shneur Zalman 1913.

* Five letters from R' Baruch Aharonovitch Levine. Vitebsk, 1913-1914.

* Two letters and two postcards from R' Mendel Leib Levine to his father, Rabbi Shneur Zalman. Tshernigov, 1910s.

* Three letters from R' Moshe Hillel Levine. Priluki, 1890s.

* Handwritten tena'im contract for the marriage of the bride Channah Levine, daughter of Shneur Zalman, and her bridegroom, R' Shimon b"r Yosef b"r Dovber Gur Aryeh. [1897]. R' Yisrael Abba b"r Yosef HaKohen and R' David b"r Yosef signed as witnesses.

* Handwritten tena'im contract for the marriage of the bridegroom R' Menachem Mendel Yehudah Leib Levine, son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, and his bride Elka Rachel b"r David b"r Moshe Chefetz. Dubrowna, 1889. R' Dovber b"r Aryeh Leib Zotlin? and R' Aharon Yosef b"r Avraham Posner signed as witnesses.

Printed ketubah contract, for the second marriage of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, to Chayah daughter of Chaim Noach.

Jerusalem, 1914. Rabbi Shneur Zalman passed away two years later. R' Yitzchak ... and R' Ya'akov Eliezer Rivlin signed as witnesses.

Additional letters:

* Sales deed for a place in the synagogue, Tshernigov, 1891 * Letter from R' Menachem Mendel Ginzberg, Bobroisk * Draft of a letter to R' Lipa Bagarow * Letter from Chaim Yitzchak Sokolov and his wife Chayah Esther, 1915 * Letter from R' Yitzchak Isaac Frodiker to his son Ze'ev Wolf and an additional letter to his son-in-law R' Chaim Yitzchak, 1916 * Letter from R' Ze'ev Wolf Frodker to his father R' Yitzchak Isaac, 1916 * Two letters from [?] Kazaranovsky, Charków, and more.

Approximately one fifth of the items in the archive are wonderful letters from Rabbi Shneur Zalman's father - the Chassid Rabbi Shmuel Gershon Levine, one of the prominent members of the Chaba"d community in Chevron, who is a signatory on several public letters from there. All the letters are overflowing with interesting historic details. Some with Chassidic guidance in the pure words from the depth of a loving father's heart. Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for some excerpts from these letters, and for a brief biography of Rabbi Shneur Zalman b"R Shmuel Gershon b"r Avraham Dovber Levine.

Total of [55] letters and postcards + paper items, various sizes.

Overall fine condition. Blemishes and tears in several leaves. Aging stains.