Bidspirit auction | Letter by the eminent Gaon,

Letter by the eminent Gaon, Rabbi Reuven Dannenburger, author of Rosh LeRe’uveni - Rare letter filled with sacred blessings, written by the renowned Gaon Rabbi Reuven HaLevi Levin, Av Beit Din of Dvinsk, regarded as the “Gadol HaDor”. The letter is addressed to his dear friend, the Gaon Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe, Av Beit Din of Rozhinoy, on the occasion of his son’s wedding. Mstislavl, undated [19th century]. Letters from him are rare. Interesting content: The letter was written in proximity to the Days of Awe, and Rabbi Reuven raises a question regarding the High Holiday prayers: “On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on the Fast of Yom Kippur it is sealed.” Who are those sealed on Yom Kippur? After all, the wicked and the righteous are inscribed and sealed immediately on Rosh Hashanah, some for life and others for death; and the intermediates, according to the Talmud, are both inscribed and sealed on Yom Kippur. If so, who are those inscribed on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur? He presents a very interesting resolution and an original conceptual insight. [1] sheet of paper, 21X13 cm. Fine quality lined paper. Entirely [approx. 160 words] in the author’s own handwriting and signature: Rabbi Reuven Dannenburger. Good condition. Age stains. A few tiny holes in the margin. Fold marks. The great Gaon Rabbi Reuven HaLevi Levin, Av Beit Din of Dannenburg [1816–1887], was one of the leading Lithuanian sages and regarded as the “Gadol HaDor”. He served in various rabbinic positions: Ilya, Ivenets, Mstislavl, and others. In 1879 he was appointed rabbi of the “Ashkenazic” community in Dvinsk (then called Dinaburg or Dannenburg). He was known as Rabbi Reuven of Dannenburg and Rabbi Reuven of Mstislavl. He responded to many halachic queries from the rabbis of his generation. His responsa appear in the works of leading sages of the time and in his own book, Shut Rosh LeRe’uveni. In 1879 he was appointed one of the three rabbinic advisors to the Rabbinical Conference in St. Petersburg (along with Rabbi Lipa of Mir and Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer of Vilna). His book Rosh LeRe’uveni was published many years after his death and contains only a portion of his brilliant insights, which shook the world of Torah scholarship in Lithuania. Among his students were Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch HaKohen Vellak – Rabbi of Pinsk, Rabbi Shlomo Mordechai Brunda – Rabbi of Stoybitz. The recipient, the Gaon Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe [1820–1892], was Rabbi of the town of Rozhinoy in White Russia. A descendant of Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, author of the Levushim. It is told that when he first saw Rishon LeZion about ten years after its founding, before reciting the blessing “Who sets a boundary for the widow, ” he said: “Indeed she is somewhat impertinent, but nevertheless she is a widow. Blessed is He who sets a boundary for the widow.” Among his students were Yehiel Michael Pines and Yosef Zvi HaLevi. Rabbi Gimpel Yaffe was the great-uncle (his father’s mother’s brother) of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, with whom he remained in contact even after his immigration to the Land of Israel (the first letter in volume I of Igrot HaRa’ayah is addressed to Rabbi Yaffe and discusses preparations for the immigration).