Bidspirit auction | Letters from the Kletzk Yeshivah

Letters from the Kletzk Yeshivah in Eretz Israel — Including a Letter Written by “the Librarian, ” Ephraim Shach, Son of Maran Rabbi Shach - A pair of important and rare letters from the Kletzk Yeshivah in Eretz Israel, relating to the establishment and administration of the yeshivah’s library and book collection. Rehovot, 1950. The first letter was written by the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Raphael Tzvi Yehuda Meltzer, son of Maran Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, author of Even HaEzel, Rabbi of Pardes Chana and later of Rehovot, founder and Rosh Yeshivah of the Kletzk Yeshivah in Eretz Israel, and later one of the founders of Yeshivas HaDarom. The second letter was written by the individual known within the yeshivah as the “Otzar’nik” — the librarian and custodian of the yeshivah’s collection, the young Ephraim Shach, son of Maran Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach. The letter was written during his youth, when he was responsible for the yeshivah library and book collection, many years before he ultimately abandoned the religious life. At the time these letters were written, Rabbi Shach served as a senior lecturer at the Kletzk Yeshivah, prior to his move to the Ponevezh Yeshivah in 1952. Also among the yeshivah’s faculty was Ephraim’s brother-in-law, Rabbi Meir Tzvi Bergman, later Rosh Yeshivah of Rashbi and son-in-law of Rabbi Shach. Ephraim Shach’s letter provides a rare and surprising glimpse into a little-known chapter of his life — a period during which he was fully immersed in the world of the yeshivah, overseeing its library and actively participating in the scholarly and educational life of the institution headed by his father. These documents acquire an especially poignant dimension in light of one of the most moving personal reflections frequently recounted by Rabbi Shach in his later years. On special occasions, he would speak with tears in his eyes about the fate of his son Ephraim, attributing his departure from the Torah world to his own shortcomings as a father. Rabbi Shach explained that while he himself would hasten away from the Shabbos table in order to return as quickly as possible to his studies, a simple neighbor of his, the secretary of the Ponevezh Yeshivah, would spend long hours at the Shabbos table with his children, singing zemiros and investing time in their upbringing. That neighbor merited sons who became outstanding Torah scholars — among them Rabbi Shmuel Deutsch and Rabbi Asher Deutsch — whereas the son of the Rosh Yeshivah left the path of Torah. Rabbi Shach would conclude that story by emphasizing the immense responsibility of a father to devote time and attention to his children, a lesson that left a profound impression upon all who heard it. Against the backdrop of this well-known episode, the letters presented here assume special significance. They preserve a rare record from an earlier stage in Ephraim Shach’s life, when he was still deeply involved in the yeshivah world, managing its library and participating in the Torah environment in which his illustrious father taught. [2] Letters, various sizes. Condition: Good to very good. Folding marks. Filing holes.