Lengthy letter (two leaves, 4 pages, approx. 60 lines), handwritten and signed by Rebbe Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa Mayer-Teitelbaum of Sassov, after the passing of his first wife, Rebbetzin Chayah Roiza daughter of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Location and date not indicated. [New York, Nisan 1954].
Written on the Rebbe's official stationery, and addressed to his step-uncle in Jerusalem, Rebbe Yehudah Zundel Hager of Savran. He begins by blessing Rebbe Yehudah Zundel upon the marriage of his daughter Rebbetzin Matil [to R. Moshe Yosef Miletzky, later a dayan in Jerusalem].
The main part of the letter discusses the establishment of a gravestone for his wife, who had passed away a short time earlier, on 11th Cheshvan 1953, and was buried in Tiberias. He asks Rebbe Yehudah Zundel and his brother-in-law R. Aharon Bernstein to ensure "there is no slackness" among the Torah scholars studying in his wife's memory. He goes on to discuss the arrangements necessary for establishing the gravestone for the Rebbetzin, and the appropriate text and honorifics, and asks to receive the precise formula before its engraving.
The Rebbe continues with an announcement that R. Mordechai Williger would be sent as his representative to the unveiling of the gravestone and asks to have the gravestone ready by that time, and apologizes for not being able to do so himself.
He goes on to inquire about the payment to the Chevra Kadisha of Tiberias and to the Torah scholars of Jerusalem to study in her memory.
Rebbe Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa goes on to discuss his home situation after the passing of his wife, which is being managed by "my daughter" [apparently referring to his half-sister Matil Mayer, who survived the Holocaust and was raised as his adopted daughter (see enclosed material)], and asks for help finding a match for her.
Rebbe Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa concludes the letter with blessings for the upcoming holiday of Pesach, and with his signature.
Rebbe Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa (Lipale) Mayer-Teitelbaum (1906-1966), son of Rebbe Chanoch Henich Mayer of Sassov-Keretsky and Rebbetzin Esther daughter of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet. Rebbe Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa married his cousin Rebbetzin Chayah Roiza in Irshava in 1924, after which time he lived near his father-in-law and uncle and was his close assistant in directing the yeshivas in Irshava, Carei and Satmar. He served simultaneously as Rabbi of Szemihaly (Bűdszentmihály) and head of the Satmar Beit Din. Both husband and wife were active in rescue efforts for the Satmar Rebbe during the Holocaust. He later established the Yitav Lev yeshiva in Jerusalem, and served as rabbi in the Ohel Rachel Satmar Beit Midrash in Jerusalem. In 1946 he immigrated to the United States along with their father Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar, where they lived until Rebbetzin Chayah Roiza's death, with no surviving children, on 14th Cheshvan 1953. Rebbe Chananiah Yom Tov Lipa remarried in 1955 and reestablished Sassov Chassidut in the United States. In 1963 he returned to Eretz Israel and built the Yismach Moshe neighborhood, where his son Rebbe Yosef David Teitelbaum now serves as rabbi and rebbe.
[2] leaves (4 handwritten pages). Official stationery. 21.5 cm. Fair condition. Large dampstains and fading of ink. Folding marks. Wear and creases. Inscriptions in pen.
