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“Because of the Building of the Yeshivah with Which We Are Occupied” – A Rare Letter by the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, [1941] - An Unusual Letter by the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman Concerning Preparations for the Rabbinic Delegation’s Journey to the United States on Behalf of Agudath Israel. Bnei Brak, 5 Tishrei 5702 [1941]. The letter is addressed to one of the leaders of Agudath Israel, whose name is not mentioned, but is referred to only by the honorifics “למעכ״ת ידי״ע וידינ״ע” [to his honored Torah eminence, my esteemed and beloved friend]. The letter deals with preparations for the journey of a delegation of rabbis from Eretz Israel to raise funds in the United States, with Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman emphasizing that the success of this mission is crucial to all sacred endeavors in Eretz Israel. For the purpose of obtaining a visa for the trip, Maran provides biographical and personal details about himself, some of which are not documented elsewhere. His birth certificate is mentioned, stating his Gregorian date of birth as 1/5/1888 and his Hebrew date of birth as 10 Sivan 5648. (Incidentally, the two dates do not correspond, as 1/5/1888 fell on 20 Iyar 5648; and according to Wikipedia, his birth date is different altogether: 13/5/1888, 3 Sivan 5648.) His two passports are also mentioned—a regular Lithuanian passport and an “official [diplomatic] passport as a member of the Council of Rabbis of Lithuania.” His name in Lithuanian is recorded as: JOSELIS KAGANEMAS RABINAS. The letter also contains an early reference to the establishment of the Ponovezh Yeshivah, which would in fact only be founded approximately two years later, in 5704 [1944]. In a demand for repayment of a debt of 25 Palestine pounds, which Maran claims from the recipient, who had borrowed the money with the assurance that “there would be no unpleasantness, ” Maran explains: “Unfortunately, because of the building of the yeshivah with which we are occupied, the money is urgently needed at this time.” [1] paper leaf, approximately 25 cm. Condition: Fine. Filing holes torn. The Gaon Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1886–1969), the “Ponovezher Rav.” Rabbi of the city and Rosh Yeshivah of Ponovezh in Lithuania before the Holocaust, and founder of the yeshivah in Eretz Israel after the Holocaust. The first chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and one of the founders of Agudath Israel. He was an exemplary figure who lived among us only a generation ago and, with his own ten fingers, rebuilt the entire Lithuanian yeshivah world that had been reduced to dust and ashes. A well-known saying that he would often tell his major donors, when they felt that “the Rabbi” was asking them for a contribution beyond their means, was: with a mixture of pain and exaltation, he would say, “And yet I have contributed far more of my own: I contributed the ‘Gadol HaDor’ that I was supposed to become.” This was no exaggeration whatsoever. Before the Holocaust, Rabbi Kahaneman was regarded in Lithuania as one of the most gifted among the leading roshei yeshivah, and his lectures stirred the Torah world. The finest prodigies flocked to his yeshivah in Ponovezh. After the great destruction, he founded Torah institutions through extraordinary efforts, yet appointed others as their roshei yeshivah while he himself traveled from city to city and continent to continent raising the funds they required. In doing so, he “contributed the Gadol HaDor he might have become” for the sake of rebuilding the Torah world.