Lot : 182

The Ponovizher Rav’s Vision for Rebuilding Torah at the Height of WWII

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The Ponovizher Rav’s Vision for Rebuilding Torah at the Height of WWII

“A HUGE BUILDING FOR HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS…”

Historic Letter from Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman Regarding the Establishment of the Ponovizh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael; Bnei Brak, 1943

Chilling letter from the Ponovizher Rav where he details his prophetic vision for the rebuilding of the Ponovizh yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael.

The letter was written at the height of World War II. During this time, the Ponovizher Rav was all consumed with worry and apprehension over the tragic situation in Europe.

He writes: "To my great sorrow, I did not merit to save the precious souls of all of our families and of our holy yeshiva… Worry overtakes all of my thoughts and I am filled with great fear… Miraculously, I merited to begin establishing the building of the Ponovizh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael… This activity serves as my consolation… and my hopes for a great future… A large building for hundreds and thousands of precious bnei tzion… survivors of the sword and shmad…”

Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (1888-1969) was the renowned rabbi of Ponovizh and founder of the great Ponovizh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. He studied under the great rabbis of Lithuania, such as Rabbi Eliezer Gordon and Rabbi Shimon Shkop, in the Novardok Yeshiva, and later by the Chofetz Chaim in Radin. Aside from his astounding proficiency in Torah, the Ponovizher Rav was charismatic and served as a member of the Lithuanian parliament on behalf of the Agudas Yisrael.

The Ponovizher Rav escaped the Holocaust by a hairsbreadth. From that point forward, he invested all of his energy into reestablishing the Ponovizh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. At the time, when he described his vision for a yeshiva with hundreds of students in what was then a desolate Bnei Brak, his dream was ridiculed and deemed impossible.

This rare letter was handwritten by the Ponovizher Rav in the dawning days of the Ponovizh yeshiva in Bnei Brak.

Dated Rosh Chodesh Shvat, 1943, Zichron Meir, Bnei Brak.

Official letterhead | Good condition

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