Exile of Baranovitch Yeshiva at the Beginning of World War II
Autographed Letter from Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman
Trakai, near Vilna, 1940
A previously unknown handwritten letter from Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, Rosh Yeshiva of Baranovitch, to the United States, addressed to Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath.
With the German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Elchanan fled with his yeshiva students to Vilna. However, in the month of Kislev 1940, under orders from the Lithuanian government, he was forced to move his yeshiva out of Vilna and relocate it to the nearby city of Trakai. There, they remained for about half a year under harsh living conditions. Nevertheless, they continued their studies with diligence. As Rabbi Elchanan wrote at the beginning of a letter:
"It has been about three months since we moved the yeshiva here, and after the upheavals and wanderings we endured, we have found rest here, b”h and the students are studying with great dedication."
Later in the letter, Rabbi Elchonon asks Rabbi Shlomo to print and distribute the letter
"that I sent to Young Israel". This is in reference to the article ‘Torah Magana U’Matzla’ in which Rabbi Elchonon addressed the cause of the troubles befalling Klal Yisrael at that time. (The article was printed in several newspapers of that period, see Kovetz Ma’amarim V’Igros Vol. 1 p. 97 and the notes there.)
At the end of the letter, he inquires about Rabbi Moshe Blau’s activities in America on behalf of Agudas Yisrael.
The Rav Mendelowitz mentioned in the letter is Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, one of the greatest builders of Orthodox Judaism in the United States.
Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman (1875 – 1941) served as Rosh Yeshiva of Ohel Torah in Baranovitch and was a leading Torah figure in prewar Lithuania. He was a primary disciple of the Chofetz Chaim. His sefarim, ‘Kovetz He’aros’ and ‘Kovetz Shiurim’, as well as his hashkafos (worldview) are a cornerstone of the yeshiva world today. From the city of Trakai, Rabbi Elchonon moved with his yeshiva students to the town of Smilishok and from there to Kovna, where he was killed Al Kiddush Hashem. In his final words, he said to his students: "The fire that will burn in our bones is the fire that will rebuild Klal Yisrael anew."
The recipient of the letter,
Rabbi Shlomo Heiman (passed away in 1945) was among the greatest disseminators of Torah in Lithuania and the United States. In 1923 he was asked by Rabbi Elchonon to serve as Rosh Mesivta in Yeshivas Ohel Torah in Baranovitch and in 1935 was tasked by Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski to serve as Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath in the United States. He was known for his sefarim ‘Chiddushei Rabbi Shlomo Heiman’.
Trakai, near Vilna. Wednesday Parshas Tzav [17 Adar II 1940; 27.3.1940]
Page size: 15 x 21 cm. All in Rav Elchonon’s handwriting and with his signature.
Condition: Good; fold marks.
To the best of our research, this letter was never published. This letter is referenced by Rabbi Elchonon in another letter he sent to Rabbi Shlomo Heiman two weeks later – see Yeshurun Vol. 8 p. 180 and Igros U’Ma’amarim Vol. 2 p. 214.
