LEVINE, CHAIM AVRAHAM DOV-BER HAKOHEN
(“The Malach, ” 1860-1938.) Autograph Letter Signed, written in Yiddish ...

LEVINE, CHAIM AVRAHAM DOV-BER HAKOHEN
(“The Malach, ” 1860-1938.) Autograph Letter Signed, written in Yiddish, to his son, R. Raphael Zalman (1900-92).


A letter filled with spiritual advice and blessing. A postscript reminds his son to inform him of progress in his study of the Maharal’s Nesivos Olam and Mishnayos. There is also a note directed to Fruma Sara (Fannie), the Malach’s daughter-in-law.
Four pages. 8vo.
(Bronx, New York): Thursday of Parshath Vayera (c. 1930)


Due to R. Levine’s otherworldly piety, he became known as the Malach (‘the angel’) during his later years in the United States. Initially an active participant in the world of Lubavitcher chassidim as a member of the Rebbe’s household, he withdraw affiliation due to dogmatic disagreements. Upon emigrating to New York, Levine became a unique spiritual mentor in the religious development of many American youth, especially those studying in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. Initially encouraged by Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz, relationships soured once the students became dissenters to the yeshiva which they saw as being too modern and Americanized. Zalman Levine, studied in Kamenitz under R. Baruch Ber Lebowitz and later attended R. Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (Yeshiva University). He settled in Albany, where he married Fannie Horowitz, the daughter of a local area rabbi. His father, the Malach, sent a steady stream of letters to his son with guidance, beseeching him to prioritize the learning of Torah and guiding him as to which rabbinic texts to focus on. The present letter forms a part of this highly prized spiritual correspondence. See J.R. Mintz, Hasidic People (1992), pp. 21-26 and B. Naor, God’s Middlemen (1998) pp. xlix-l; www.mishpacha.com/his-own-man/.