Eye-Opening Letter by Harav Chaim Shmuelevitz, Rosh Yeshivas Mir. Shanghai, 1946.
“If you have any news from the accursed land, please inform me immediately…for I have no information at all… We are abandoned and forlorn.”
Handwritten, autographed letter by Rosh Yeshivas Mir Hagaon Harav Chaim Shmuelevitz exposing a glimpse of the hardships and suffering shared by the talmidim of Yeshivas Mir exiled in Shanghai.
This letter, replete with fascinating historical content, recounts the exploits of Yeshivas Mir in Shanghai. The following quotes are excerpted from the letter:
1. “They study in the Yeshivah with outstanding diligence, and many of your acquaintances have soared to incredible heights, baruch Hashem.”
2. “The bachurim wish to travel to the United States and Canada. My intention and desire is to travel to Eretz Hakodesh to reunite with my father-in-law and mentor [Hagaon Harav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel] shlit”a.”
3. “Our physical conditions have vastly improved from what they were.”
4. “If you have any word from the accursed land, please inform me immediately to revive my wretched soul, for I have no information at all… We remain abandoned and forlorn, and any communication with our friends is a welcome relief.” This quote refers to Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz’s inquiries about his extended family, many of whom perished in the Holocaust.
In the letter, the Rosh Yeshivah shares good news about the marriage of several of his talmidim in Shanghai, among them Harav Chaim Milikovsky to the granddaughter of the Amshinover Rebbe. (The shidduch between a Lithuanian yeshivah bachur to the granddaughter of a Chassidic Rebbe was a novelty even then.)
Tuesday, 23 Cheshvan, 1946. Page size: 21×14 cm. Double-sided handwritten, autographed letter. Fold marks and hole punches.
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