Bidspirit auction | The Textile Shop of the

The Textile Shop of the Chazon Ish – Postal Card by His Father, the Gaon Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz, Rabbi of Kosova, Concerning Trade and Livelihood During the First Year of the Chazon Ish’s Marriage. Kosova, 1907. - A rare, moving, and highly interesting postal card by the gaon Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz, rabbi of Kosova and father of Maran the Chazon Ish, sent in 1907, during the first year of his illustrious son’s marriage. The Chazon Ish married in 1906 and, following his marriage, resided in the town of Kvidan, where his wife’s parents lived. In those years the young couple lived modestly and under financial strain, and for their livelihood his wife operated a textile shop. The present letter, sent in 1907, deals with matters of buying and selling merchandise, and was most likely directly connected to the commerce and needs of that textile business — a rare and almost unknown chapter in the early household life of the Chazon Ish. Before us is a tangible witness to the formative years of the man who would later become one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the modern era — at a time when his name was not yet known publicly, and he and his household were humbly contending with the burdens of livelihood and daily life. In the lower third of the card appears an additional message in Yiddish by the Chazon Ish’s mother, Rebbetzin Rasha-Leah, adding a warm and intimate family dimension to this rare document. On the final line appears greetings written in the hand of one of the Chazon Ish’s sisters. Thus, the card becomes a complete family relic, bearing the voices of the Karelitz family in their early years. Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef Karelitz (1852–1916), rabbi of Kosova for more than thirty years, was the first teacher of his son, the Chazon Ish, and laid the foundations of his greatness in Torah. Great sages of the generation — the author of Cheshek Shlomo, the Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, and Rabbi Chaim of Brisk — spoke in glowing terms of his genius. The Chazon Ish himself later testified before Rabbi Shmaryahu Greineman that the power of his father’s greatness was not only in revealed Torah, but also in the hidden wisdom, saying in Yiddish: “In Kosova there was a strong knowledge of Kabbalah.” A rare and deeply evocative document, opening an exceptional window into the family and practical world of the Chazon Ish at the dawn of his life’s journey. [1] Postal card. 9 x 14 cm. Condition: Very good.