Bidspirit auction | Rare Letter from the Admor

Rare Letter from the Admor Rabbi Moshenu of Boyan–Cracow, Hy”d, Leader of Polish Jewry  Cracow, 1934 *   A long, two-page handwritten and autographed letter by the Admor Rabbi Moshenu Friedman of Boyan–Cracow, author of Da’as Moshe and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin. In the letter, the Rebbe expresses his gratitude for receiving a copy of the sefer Beis HaBechirah by the Meiri from its publisher, Rabbi Avraham Sofer, Av Beis Din of Gorizia, Italy. Among his heartfelt words, he writes: “I wish to express my deepest thanks… Your gift was received with great appreciation, beyond what words can adequately describe.” He then explains the delay in replying: “Because of the many preparations during the four days before Yom Tov, followed by the sanctity of the festival itself, I was unable to write until today.” A precious surviving letter from the Rebbe, whose writings were largely destroyed during the Holocaust. The Admor Rabbi Moshe Friedman of Boyan–Cracow (1881–1943) was one of the leaders of Polish Jewry before the Holocaust. Following the passing of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, he became president of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, and was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael. Rabbi Meir Arik described him as “unique in the generation in both the revealed and hidden Torah, ” and even entrusted him with a kvittel requesting his prayers. He was born into the illustrious Ruzhin dynasty. His father, Rabbi Shalom Yosef, was the son of Rabbi Mordechai Shraga of Husiatyn, the youngest son of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, while his mother was a granddaughter of the Maggid of Trisk. After his father passed away at the age of just twenty-three, Rabbi Moshe was raised first by his grandfather, the Rebbe of Husiatyn, and later by his uncle, Rabbi Yisrael of Husiatyn. He married a granddaughter of the Boyaner Rebbe, the Pachad Yitzchak, a daughter of Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Czernowitz. From 1918, he served as Rebbe in Vienna, and in 1925 relocated to Cracow, where he became known as the Boyan–Cracow Rebbe. He was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943. According to accounts, shortly before his death, he approached the Nazi commander, grasped his lapel, and declared: “You are the world's most terrible and despicable murderers. Do not imagine that you will destroy the Jewish people. The Jewish people will live forever and never disappear from the stage of history. But you, lowly murderers, will pay a terrible price…”. He then proclaimed Shema Yisrael aloud with great fervor. Hashem yikom damav. Many of his manuscripts had previously been sent to London, but were destroyed during the wartime bombings. His Torah teachings were published in the sefer Da’as Moshe. The volume concludes with thirteen of his letters, including two addressed to the same recipient as the present letter. However, the present letter was not printed there. Cracow, 1934. Entirely in the handwriting and with the signature of the Rebbe. One folded leaf, comprising two handwritten pages. Official letterhead. Size : 14.5 × 22 cm. Condition : Good. The letter is mounted on archival conservation cloth. Attached are newspaper clippings containing a biographical article about the Admor.