' d='M0 0h21v15H0z'/%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23b)' d='M0 0h21v3H0zm0 12h21v3H0z'/%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23a)' d='M0 3h21v9H0z'/%3E%3Cpath d='M7.575 9.25L10.5 3.985l2.925 5.265h-5.85z' stroke='%23093EC5' stroke-width='.5'/%3E%3Cpath d='M7.575 5.75l2.925 5.265 2.925-5.265h-5.85z' stroke='%23093EC5' stroke-width='.5'/%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=small}
Lot 157:
Buyer's premium: 23%
Sales Tax: On buyer's premium only
Add to Favorites
‘I the poor young one merited being one of those drinking thirstly from the Torah of Rabbi Chaim Halevi’; Special letter on the activity of the Gaon Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz the Rosh Yeshiva of Beis Yitzchak and author of Birkas Shmuel for the grandson of his Rav Maran the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Halevi of Brisk who immigrated to Eretz Yisroel. Vilna, 1923.
An extremely rare letter in which the Gaon Rabbi Baruch Ber refers to his teacher and Rav Rabbi Chaim of Brisk and which clarifies a little the mysterious affair of the disappearance of one of the important grandsons of Maran Rabbi Chaim of Brisk.
The letter was sent in Teves 1923 to the rabbinic Ze’ev Shachor, an important dignitary in Jerusalem and a relative of the Natziv of Volozhin.
Rabbi Baruch Dov begins with blessings and then moves to deal with Rabbi Yosef Dober, the son of the great Gaon Rabbi Yisroel Gershon Soloveitchik, the eldest son of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Halevi of Brisk. The Gaon Rabbi Yisroel Gershon was married the great-granddaughter of the holy Rav the Chidushei HaRim of Ger and his son is the famed Gaon Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik of Zurich.
Historical background of the mysterious affair: In 1923, the grandson of Maran the Gaon Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, Yosef Dober, who was named after the great grandfather Maran the Beis Levi, immigrated to Eretz Yisroel. Yosef Dober was an important Tzurba MiDeRabbanan and his future was in front him. However, what happened to him after leaving Brisk is unknown.
We appealed to the Gaon Rav Shimon Yosef Meller, who writes the history of Brisk and is familiar with its secrets and he referred us to what he wrote in his Sefer ‘HaRav NiBrisk’ section I [p. 243], things he had heard many tomes from his teacher and Rav the great Gaon Rabbi Meshulam David Soloveitchik, who described the heartbreak of his uncle the Gaon Rabbi Yisroel Gershon over the disappearance of his son and how he hired a carriage and horses to look for him in nearby villages.
After a period, it was rumored that gentiles murdered the son and some even claimed that a body that washed up on a shore of a nearby river was his; this, however, could not be confirmed and his disappearance remained an unhealed wound.
This letter is a stunning finding, indicating that before his disappearance, the exalted grandson was required urgently to immigrate to Erezt Yisroel, and Rabbi Baruch Ber writes about this: עבור נכדו של מורי ורבי קדוש ישראל….חסיד ויקר בתומתו כש"ת מר יוסף דובער נרו יאיר…..כשת"ה ר’ ישראל גרשון הלוי נרו יאיר…מכרח לנסוע לירושלים והנני יודע זאת.. לטובת נכד מו"ר אנא מכבודו הרמה לעשות חסד עם זרעא דמורי ורבי קדוש ישראל זי"ע, אשר בטח …בעולם האמת עבור כש"ת שיחי’. ואופן הטובה הוא שישיג משם א[יזה מכתב?] שמבקשים אותו לבא לירושלים וישלח לכבוד בן מו"ר הרב המאוה"ג הצדיק…גרשון נ"י הלוי סאלאוויציק, ויהי’ בטוח כ"ת כי לא יוצרך הבחור…לתמיכת כ"ת כי הוא יתפרנס מבית הוריו יחי’ גם מיגיע ..ולא יבקש מכ"ת שום תמיכה רק זאת הטובה שיכתבו כתב טר..מהכא להתם… he must immigrate to Jerusalem, where he was never seen again.
Many years later, almost a hundred years, the Geonim Rabbi David and Rabbi meir, the sons of Maran the Griz, would cry bitterly when recalling this painful affair and the disappearance of the beloved son and grandson who was supposed to lighten the world with his Torah and Yirah.
The entire right side of the letter is blemished and torn; therefore, the quotes introduced here are partial and assumed, including the quote in the title. The signature is also blemished.
The letter indicates the tremendous efforts Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz made for his Rav as well as his great admiration for him and the love he felt for Rabbi Chaim Halevi’s son, the Gaon Rabbi Yisroel Gershon.
The letter is from 1923, when the Knesses Beis Yitzchak Yeshiva was located in Vilna as written on the stationery.
The Holy Gaon Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz (1870-1939), one of the greatest of is generation. Was renowned for his holiness and piousness, alongside his great genius. A leading disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. In his youth, he established in Kremenchuk a yeshiva, which he headed. In 1904, he was appointed the Rosh Yeshiva of the "Knesses Beis Yitzchak" Yeshiva which was established by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Rabinowitz the son of Rabbi Yitzchak Elchonon Spektor and the Rav of Kovno. Authored the Seforim of Birkas Shmuel on the Shas, which are inalienable assets of the religious world.
[1] official stationery of the Gaon Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz. The entire right side is torn and accordingly, the left side of its verso; thus many words and lines are missing. Restored with paper. Stains and tears. Fold marks. What is left of the letter is in good condition yet the general condition is fair.
………………………………………..
Talk to us on WhatsApp
Share this lot:
