Letter of Recommendation from R. Akiva Sofer, Rabbi of Pressburg – Pressburg, 1926

Letter of Recommendation from R. Akiva Sofer, Rabbi of Pressburg – Pressburg, 1926
Letter handwritten, stamped and signed by R. Akiva Sofer Rabbi of Pressburg, author of Daat Sofer. Pressburg (Bratislava), Tevet 1926.
Certificate and recommendation for a student of his yeshiva, R. Michael Schay, a native of Pressburg, who was travelling to the United States for his wedding. The rabbi of Pressburg praises his disciple and describes his success in his studies, as a young boy in the local boys' school and later in the great yeshiva of Pressburg: "…he was amongst the prominent students… to acquire understanding and knowledge… he studied diligently… and was beloved and popular amongst his peers, due to his proper actions and ways…". R. Akiva Sofer relates to his disciple's journey to the United States for the purpose of getting married there: "…and now that he has built a home for himself, and he is realizing the saying of the sages – 'some travel to their match', since he left his country and hometown to travel overseas, to set up his home near his father-in-law… may G-d be with him and he should succeed and strengthen himself… in Torah and fear of G-d, and may he continuously rise… Akiva son of R. S.B.S.".
R. Akiva Sofer (1878-1960), author of Daat Sofer, son of R. Simcha Bunem author of Shevet Sofer, who was the son of the Ketav Sofer. He served for 33 years as rabbi and yeshiva dean in Pressburg, since the passing of his father in 1907. In 1939, he fled to Switzerland, and during the Holocaust immigrated to Jerusalem, where he reestablished his yeshiva and community. He was a leader of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah.
The recipient of the letter, R. Michael Schay (1894-1979, HaChatam Sofer VeTalmidav, p. 648), a rabbi in New York. He studied under the Daat Sofer in the Pressburg yeshiva, and under R. Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky in Khust. He was the son-in-law of R. Alter Shaul Pfeffer, rabbi of the Hungarian Beit Midrash in New York. Following his wedding, he served as rabbi in New York, succeeding his father-in-law in 1936.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 23 cm. Good-fair condition. Minor dampstains, folding marks, with minor wear.