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Letter of Rabbi Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav – Brisk, 1936 – Finishing Printing Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi, and Why He Can't Ordain Shochatim
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Letter (approx. 14 lines), handwritten and signed by R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, Rabbi of Brisk (the Brisker Rav). Brisk, 28th Iyar 1936.
Addressed to his friend R. Yechezkel Abramsky, rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London. He answers R. Abramsky's query about the kosher status of meat slaughtered by a shochet from Uruguay who had studied shechitah in Brisk. The Brisker Rav explains he avoids personally ordaining shochatim, as he is not personally acquainted with knife-sharpening, but states that he was certified by local shochatim.
He goes on to discuss the printing of his father's important Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi on the Rambam (which was concluded that year). He congratulates R. Abramsky for the upcoming printing of his work on Seder Kodashim, and asks him to send him a copy.
The letter concludes with friendly blessings and a signature: "Yitzchak Ze'ev son of R. Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik".
R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav (1886-1959), son of R. Chaim HaLevi of Brisk, and grandson of the Beit HaLevi. Already at a young age, still in his father's lifetime, he was considered one of the prominent Torah leaders of the generation. In 1919 (about the age of 32), he succeeded his forefathers as Rabbi of Brisk, and with his Torah authority, he governed all religious matters in his city and the entire region. He managed to escape the Holocaust together with some of his children who fled from Brisk to Vilna, from which they immigrated to Jerusalem in 1941.
His authority was recognized by the entire Torah world in Eretz Israel and abroad. His books: Chidushei Maran Riz HaLevi on the Rambam and the Torah. His oral teachings were published as Chidushei HaGriz. His teachings serve to this day as a cornerstone of in-depth yeshiva learning and form the basis for the thought of large portions of Orthodox Jewry. He was famous for his searing fear of heaven and zeal for pure truth.
The recipient, R. Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), close disciple of R. Chaim of Brisk and close friend of his son R. Yitzchak Ze'ev. Shortly after his marriage, he traveled to Brisk to study under R. Chaim ca. 1910 (at the advice of his father-in-law R. Yisrael Yehonatan Yerushalimsky, a disciple of R. Chaim during his Volozhin period), where he stayed for some four months, after which point he became devoted to his Torah teachings for the rest of his life. While serving as Rabbi of Smilavichy, he visited his teacher R. Chaim, then staying in Minsk, for long periods, during which time he would clarify Torah topics with him. R. Yechezkel would say of his teacher R. Chaim's method of learning: "R. Chaim goes at once to the heart of the issue".
R. Chaim greatly appreciated his disciple's wisdom, and in one letter he calls him a friend (Melech BeYofyo, p. 95). During those periods R. Abramsky became a close friend of his teacher's son, R. Yitzchak Ze'ev (R. Velvele), which led to some fifty years of friendship and a close correspondence. Some of their Torah discussions and correspondence are printed in Chidushei Maran Riz HaLevi. When R. Abramsky was living in Jerusalem (after he immigrated to Israel in 1951), they met often and dealt with Torah issues and public affairs together.
In the 1930s, R. Abramsky was one of those encouraging the family members of his teacher R. Chaim Soloveitchik to accelerate the printing of Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi. Famously, after his expulsion from Russia to Latvia by the Bolsheviks, his first telephone call from the border telephone station was about the progress of printing the book (see: Melech BeYofyo, pp. 219-221).
[1] leaf. Official stationery. 28.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Wear and folding marks.
This letter was printed with a facsimile in Igrot Maran Riz HaLevi, Jerusalem 2008, letter 67, pp. 165-167.
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