Bidspirit auction | Heart-rending: A Letter from the

Heart-rending: A Letter from the Kosoner Rebbe Seeking to Save His Uncle, the Ohr Malei of Koson, Unaware He Had Already Been Murdered, 1944 * A handwritten and autographed letter by the Admor Rabbi Pinchas Shalom HaLevi Rottenberg, the Kosoner Rebbe, grandson of the Bnei Shloshim of Koson and one of the Rebbes in the United States in the mid-20th century. In the letter, sent on the 7th of Tammuz 1944, the Rebbe writes about tzedakah funds he had sent for the purpose of assisting in the rescue of Jews. He then adds that he is enclosing, together with the tzedakah funds, the addresses of his relatives: “My uncle, the gaon and tzaddik, Av Beis Din of the holy community of Koson, shlita” — this refers to Rabbi Yisrael Tzvi Rottenberg, the Ohr Malei of Koson; and likewise the address of “my brother, the gaon, Av Beis Din of the holy community of Semyhály, shlita” — this refers to Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer Rottenberg, who served as a dayan in Semyhály and was the son-in-law of the renowned posek, the Maharshag. The inclusion of these addresses was clearly intended as an effort to save them, whether by sending funds, passports, or other forms of aid. He then requests that the recipient inquire after their welfare: “May your honor please make an effort to obtain information about them and their family, ” and he blesses him: “May Hashem help you to act on their behalf and for the benefit of all of Klal Yisrael.” The Kosoner Rebbe mentions his brother and uncle with blessings for life, unaware that at the very moment he wrote this letter, they had already been martyred Al Kiddush Hashem at the hands of the Nazi murderers. His uncle, the Ohr Malei of Koson, was murdered in Auschwitz on the 3rd of Sivan 1944, while his brother, Rabbi Shlomo Eliezer, had been killed even earlier, on the 23rd of Iyar 1944. A painful letter of profound, tragic-historical significance, bearing witness to the desperate efforts made from overseas to rescue Jews from the Holocaust, and to the once vibrant Jewish world of Europe that had already been destroyed. The Admor Rabbi Pinchas Shalom HaLevi Rottenberg of Koson (1892–1966) served as Rebbe in the Bronx, New York, and later relocated to Brooklyn. He was the son of the Admor Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Rottenberg of Kleinwardein and later Los Angeles, and the grandson of Rabbi Yosef Rottenberg of Koson, author of Bnei Shloshim, and son-in-law of the first Rebbe of Tosh. Many of his descendants were Rebbes. Bronx, 1944 . Entirely in the Rebbe’s handwriting and with his signature. Official letterhead. Size : Approximately 21.5 × 28 cm. Condition : Fair to moderate-good; thick yet delicate paper, with tears along the margins and fold marks.