Bidspirit auction | “May it be a Year

“May it be a Year of Blessing and Success” Letter of Blessing for the New Year from the Seret-Vizhnitz Rebbe, the Mekor Baruch – 1959 * Handwritten and autographed letter by Rabbi Baruch Hager, author of Mekor Baruch, founder of the Seret-Vizhnitz dynasty and son of the Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz. Dated the 3rd of Tishrei, during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, the Rebbe extends heartfelt blessings to the recipient for the new year: “I send you my heartfelt blessings. May Heaven grant you salvation and abundant mercy, and may you be sealed for a good and blessed year. May you and your esteemed wife be privileged to raise your children in the ways of Torah and Yiras Shamayim, with ample blessing and prosperity. May we all merit to see a year of complete redemption — a year of deliverance, joy, blessing, and success; a year in which all wickedness will vanish like smoke, the rule of evil will be removed from the earth, the honor of Torah will be restored, and Klal Yisrael will dwell in peace and security.” He signs: “Your friend, eagerly awaiting Hashem’s salvation in the near future,  Baruch, son of the saintly Rabbi Yisrael, zt”l.” The “rule of evil” mentioned in the letter refers to Israel's eighth government, which enacted legislation concerning the controversial “Who Is a Jew?” issue. Among other provisions, the law allowed children of Christian mothers to be registered as Jews. The legislation caused deep anguish and outrage in the Chareidi community, ultimately leading the National Religious Party (Mafdal) to withdraw from the governing coalition. Although the government had already resigned by the time this letter was written, it continued to serve as a caretaker government until the elections. The Admor Rabbi Baruch Hager (1895–1963), the Mekor Baruch of Vizhnitz, was the son of the Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. He received semichah from the leading rabbanim of Galicia. In 1936, he became Av Beis Din of Seret and its surrounding district. After settling in Eretz Yisrael in 1947, he founded Kiryat Vizhnitz in Haifa, which today numbers many thousands of people. The present Seret-Vizhnitz Rebbe is his grandson, son of the Chochmas Eliezer of Seret-Vizhnitz. Ramat Vizhnitz, Haifa, 1959. Entirely in the handwriting and with the signature of the Rebbe. Official letterhead. Size: 13.7 × 22 cm. Condition: Good.