An Urgent and Historically Significant Letter Concerning Pikuach Nefesh – From Maran Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. ...

An important and moving letter addressing the rescue of yeshivah students from imminent danger in Germany on the eve of the Holocaust, with a plea to secure immigration permits to the Land of Israel on their behalf — signed by Maran Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.

The letter was sent to Rabbi Moshe Blau of Jerusalem. In it, Rabbi Chaim Ozer describes an extremely urgent matter involving “precious yeshivah students who devote themselves to the study of the holy Torah with self-sacrifice.” The case concerns eight students from the Mir Yeshivah and four additional students from the Kaminetz Yeshivah who lack valid residency permits (visas), and whose extensions have been denied. He writes:

“They are about to be sent back to Germany, where they face imprisonment and actual danger to their lives, Heaven forbid…”

In firm and unequivocal language, Rabbi Chaim Ozer defines the matter as one of genuine life-saving urgency:

“For the matter constitutes actual pikuach nefesh… and the obligation rests upon the leading sages of Israel; further elaboration is unnecessary.”

He urges Rabbi Moshe Blau to exert every effort to obtain entry permits to Eretz Israel for the students, adding that he has written on the same matter to Rabbi Isaac Herzog as well.

In the published volume Igrot Rabbi Chaim Ozer (Letter no. 973), the letter sent that same day to Rabbi Herzog appears, where he mentions having also written to Rabbi Moshe Blau. However, the present letter — addressed directly to Rabbi Moshe Blau — was not included in that publication and has not previously appeared in print, thus adding an important documentary layer to the understanding of the rescue efforts undertaken by the Lithuanian rabbinic leadership in the late 1930s.

Maran Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863–1940), Rabbi of Vilna, President of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and author of the responsa Achiezer, was the foremost spiritual leader of Lithuanian and ultra-Orthodox Jewry of his generation — in an era that included giants such as the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. The Chafetz Chaim is known to have referred to him as “Nasi Klal Yisrael” (President of the Jewish People). His public stature, sense of responsibility for the Jewish people, and leadership in matters of rescue and salvation are powerfully reflected in this letter.

[1] Official letterhead. 14 × 22 cm.

Good condition. Minor tears without loss. Filing holes.