Lengthy letter (approx. 18 lines), handwritten and signed by R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, Rabbi of Brisk (the Brisker Rav). Brisk "on the Bug river", Kislev 1936.

Addressed to his friend R. Yechezkel Abramsky, rabbi of the Machazikei HaDat community in London. Recommendation for a yeshiva student named Pinchas Bard from Kamenets, traveling from Lithuania to England, seeking to be accepted in the Etz Chaim yeshiva in London under R. Abramsky's leadership. The Brisker Rav asks to assist the student in receiving a summoning from England and apologizes for addressing the matter a second time: "…Moreover, there is little time to save the life of the above excellent student. So for the precious mitzvah of saving a life I implore you again to please finish this great mitzvah that you have already begun working on… to save a dear life in the tents of Torah". The Brisker Rav describes the student as "highly excellent in Torah and in everything precious, a treasure the like of which is hard to find".

The letter concludes with blessings: "And blessings of all good to you and all yours. I am your friend, esteeming and respecting you and always seeking your peace and welfare from heart and soul – 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-fair condition. Stains and folding marks. Minor tears to folds.