“THOSE WHO SACRIFICE HUMANS KISS THE CALVES”
Famous Letter from Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, AB”D of Vilna, Lambasting the Hypocritical Opposition Prohibiting Jewish Ritual Slaughtering; Vilna, 1932
Handwritten and signed letter from Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, addressed to Rabbi Yitzchak Unna, ab”d of Mannheim, regarding the German decree against Jewish ritual slaughtering.
In 1932, the Germans issued a decree prohibiting kosher slaughtering, claiming that it caused pain to the animals. Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky stood against this decree and refused any compromise on the matter, so long as there remained hope to rescind the decree. In this letter, he begs Rabbi Yitzchak Unna to do whatever he could to annul the decree.
In his well-known letter, Rabbi Chaim Ozer writes these famous words: “Those who hate our souls are libeling against us, and their entire purpose is to aggravate and make it bad for our brethren … [as is written, ] ‘Zovchei adam, agalim yishakun – those who sacrifice humans kiss the calves. (Hosheah 13)’ Their purpose is not to lessen the pain of animals, but to cause suffering to our People.”
Indeed, these words quickly proved prophetic as World War II broke out and Germans began slaughtering human beings.
21 x 25 cm | Personal letterhead | Good condition
