Bidspirit auction | “Better a Dry Crust in

“Better a Dry Crust in the Land than Abundant Good Abroad” Letter of the Gaon Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky - Important and Interesting Letter in the Hand and with the Signature of the Renowned Gaon Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky, Author of Chazon Yechezkel. Addressed to the Rosh Yeshiva of Montreux, Switzerland, the Gaon Rabbi Yerachmiel Eliyahu Botchko. London, [Tishrei] 1947 [5708], about half a year before the establishment of the State of Israel. From the letter it appears that Rabbi Botchko had offered Rabbi Chalmesh of Jerusalem a Torah position, apparently at his yeshiva in Switzerland. The position carried an honorable salary—far higher than what he was receiving in Eretz Yisrael. Yet Rabbi Chalmesh declined the generous offer, responding: “Better a dry crust in the Land [of Israel] than abundant good abroad.” Rabbi Abramsky then suggests another candidate for the position but adds an intriguing condition: “Such a man must first of all know the level of his standing!” [1] leaf, 20×18 cm. Entirely autograph letter, signed by Rabbi Abramsky. Condition: Good. Folding marks, stains at margins. Rabbi Yechezkel Abramsky (1886–1976) Author of Chazon Yechezkel on the Tosefta. One of the foremost leaders of Orthodox Jewry and among the Gedolei HaDor. He served as rabbi in several Lithuanian towns, including Slutsk, and later as Av Beit Din of London. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, President of the Vaad HaYeshivot, and a leading figure at the Slabodka Yeshiva. His monumental work, Chazon Yechezkel on the Tosefta (10 vols.), occupied him for decades: the first volume was published in Vilna in 1925, and the tenth some forty years later in Jerusalem, 1966. Rabbi Yerachmiel Eliyahu Botchko (1888–1956) Founder of Yeshivat Etz Chaim in Montreux, Switzerland. At age 12 he entered the Lomza Yeshiva, and shortly afterward became a disciple of the Alter of Novardok, where he studied for 11 years, also teaching in the Novardok branch of Torah Vodaas. At age 23 he married Rivka Sternbuch. In 1927 he founded Yeshivat Etz Chaim in Montreux (later Yeshivat Heichal Eliyahu in his name). During the Holocaust he worked tirelessly to rescue Jews.