Auction 44
Lot 251:
Copy of one of the famous letters from the Kherson geniza, a letter from the Admor HaZaken to his student Rabbi Aaron Levi of Staroselye. He writes to his student in detail about his imprisonment and redemption, the story of their visit to/discovery of the Maggid of Mastrich and his son in his cell, “here in my dream the Admor Rabbi Maggid came to my jail cell with his son Admor also, and said to me ‘we arose from our place in the Garden [of Eden] and we will not return until Hashem frees you from this prison’.” This story appears often in a slightly different version, in which the Maggid and the Baal Shem Tov visit him, but here it’s the Maggid and his son.
On the back of the leaf is a copy of handwriting from Rabbeinu Yisrael of Ruzhin (whom, it is known, claimed to be the owner of the letters that were taken from him by the Russian Tsarist police): “This letter is one of four from the Rebbe HaKadosh from his redemption, I received as a gift from the Rabbi of Aphtha, and I gave for tem silk and silver, Yisrael ben Shalom.” Before us is an early copy of the letter close to the period in which it was discovered. The scribe does not note that he saw the letter by the Admor of Chabad, and it could be that the copy was made before the geniza letters reached Chabad (in 1919). The scribe notes the description of the letter itself, “written on four pieces of paper…with signature of the Ruzhiner”, who himself writes: “I almost faked a holy signature when he was there.” It should be noted that the geniza letters disappeared when the Rayatz escaped Poland at the beginning of World War II. At the end of the letter the scribe signed: “Yehezkel ben Miriam.” Probably carried out the copy at the request of an Admor.
This is an exciting remnant of a story that shocked the Chassidic world at the time. Two written leaves on both sides, 13x21cm. Tears, folding creases, cellotape, otherwise the text is in good condition.
Share this lot:
