Early Letter from Rabbi Yehudah Leib Tzirelson, Av Beit Din of Kishinev

Early Letter from Rabbi Yehudah Leib Tzirelson, Av Beit Din of Kishinev

Lengthy letter [close to 90 words], rare and early, handwritten and signed (twice) by the renowned gaon Rabbi Yehudah Leib Tzirelson,  av beit din of Kishinev. The letter discusses Rabbi Tzirelson's sefer, Gvul Yehudah. 16 Shevat 1907. Letters by Rabbi Yehudah Leib from such an early period are very rare!

The letter was sent towards the end of Rabbi Tzirelson's service as av beit din of the city of Pryluky, where he served from the age of eighteen. A short time after the date of this letter, Rabbi Tzirelson began to serve in the senior position of av beit din of the large city Kishinev (famous for the Kishinev Riots - the 1903-1905 cruel wave of pogroms).

Rabbi Tzirelson responds in this letter to the addressee, Rabbi Mordechai Friedmann, telling him he received his letter with comments on his book Gvul Yehudah. However, he cannot reply "because of my weakness due to my many transgressions" despite [your] words "that were very good in my eyes, as they are said with consideration and intelligence."

Several months before the date of this letter, Rabbi Yehudah Leib Tzirelson published his book Gvul Yehudah. (Pietrkov, Av 1906), and he received many letters in response. There are known letters expressing thanks for receiving the book, received by the author from the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook from those very same weeks.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Yehudah Leib Tzirelson.

[1] double leaf paper. The text on the typical stationery was also written by Rabbi Yehudah Leib. 21.5x13.5 cm.

Fine condition. Minimal wear in the margins. Paper pasted on the bottom of the letter without damage to the text.