Bidspirit auction | Rare Discovery! Four Page Historic

Rare Discovery! Four Page Historic Shmittah Letter in the Handwriting of Rabbi Aryeh Levin Singular Copy of the Historic Letter Opposing Heter Mechirah * Four large pages handwritten by the tzaddik Rabbi Aryeh Levin, father-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. In them he transcribed the historic letter of Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe concerning the Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael during the Shemittah year of 1889. Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe, Av Beis Din of Rozino, was one of the great rabbanim of Lithuania and White Russia. Out of his deep love for Eretz Yisrael, he immigrated there in 1888, and the Maharil Diskin of Brisk attended his funeral when he passed away there. The original letter was sent by Rabbi Mordechai to his son-in-law Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Valk, author of Kesser Kehunah of Pinsk. The letter is filled with fascinating historical details about the new Jewish settlement in the Holy Land, the state of Jerusalem, and the observance of Shemittah in the year 1889. At the end of the letter, Rabbi Mordechai writes at length of his grave concerns regarding Shemittah observance, expressing his joy that the settlers he met had accepted upon themselves the ban issued by the rabbanim of Jerusalem against the heter mechirah — to which he himself had long been opposed, even while still in Russia. He blames the new Chovevei Tzion movement for causing some great rabbanim to err in agreeing to the heter mechirah. He further relates that he had just received a lengthy kuntress from the Beis HaLevi, who promised to help those observing Shemitah. At the beginning of the letter, he describes to his son-in-law his arrival in Eretz Yisrael, the warm reception he received from the settlers of Ekron Mazkeret Batya, and the reasons that led him to choose not to reside in Jerusalem but rather in Yehud. From there he goes on to portray the spiritual condition of Jerusalem, praising its batei medrash and its scholars. Due to the great importance of this letter, Rabbi Aryeh Levin copied it in his own beautiful handwriting, and at the end of the transcription he signed with his name: “Aryeh.” To the best of Zaidy’s knowledge, this is the most complete surviving copy of the letter, and it has never before been published in its entirety! Roughly half of the letter was printed in Kuntres Techeles Mordechai in the sefer Kesser Kehunah, from a copy written by the recipient, his son-in-law, who praised it greatly (see p. 57). A few additional excerpts from the present letter appeared in the sefer U’vashanah Hashvi’is, yet several portions remain unpublished. To the best of Zaidy’s knowledge, the present complete letter has never been printed. Rabbi Aryeh Levin (1885–1969) was a saintly figure known as “The Tzaddik of Jerusalem.” He served as mashgiach of the yeshiva Etz Chaim and, upon his arrival in the Holy City, became a disciple of the Leshem. He was known for his boundless compassion, his warmth toward every Jew, and his famous titles “Father of the Prisoners” and “Father of the Lepers, ” for his regular visits to comfort and encourage these downtrodden people. From his descendants arose a distinguished family, foremost among them his son-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Gadol Hador of the previous generation, and granddaughters who married several of the Gedolei Hador — Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, and, may they be blessed with long life, Rabbi Azriel Auerbach and Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein. Jerusalem, circa mid-20th century. A large folded leaf containing four large pages. Each page measures 21 × 33 cm. Condition: Good to fair, with folding marks, minor wear. Stains.