A Letter of Blessings and Guidance to a Chassan from Rabbi Yoshe Buxbaum of Galanta
An autographed letter in the holy handwriting of the righteous Gaon Rabbi Yoshe Buxbaum, Hy”d, Rosh Yeshiva of the prestigious Galanta Yeshiva and among Hungary’s most renowned Rabbanim.
In the letter, Rabbi Yoshe warmly blesses his student on the occasion of his wedding: "May it be His will that this joyous occasion brings complete joy to all of Klal Yisrael, and may we all merit the ingathering of the exiles and rejoice with songs and praises alongside the righteous and pious of all generations in the rebuilt Beis HaMikdash, speedily in our days."
At the conclusion of the letter, he repeats and reinforces his blessing: "And I sign as I began – may you merit to rejoice in the joy of a mitzvah, and may you bring joy and inspiration to all our Jewish brethren, that they may soon be redeemed with complete salvation, through miracles and wonders, with salvation and consolation, Amen, may it be His will."
In the letter, Rabbi Yoshe guides his student with wise counsel for his upcoming marriage, encouraging him to study the relevant laws with those well-versed in them.
Rabbi Yehoshua Buksbaum (1874 – 1944), Av Beis Din of Galanta, was a prominent Hungarian leader before the Holocaust and a valiant fighter against the Enlightenment and any changes to authentic Judaism. He studied Torah under the Beer Shmuel of Unsdorf and Chassidus under Rabbi Yechezkel of Shinova and the Darchei Teshuva. Rabbi Yehoshua stood at the helm of the large yeshiva in Galanta, one of the most prominent yeshivas in Hungary, producing thousands of disciples. His letters and chiddushim were published in the sefer ‘Ohr Pnei Yehoshua’.
The recipient of the letter is Rabbi Yechiel Michel Segal Gold of Munkatch (1899-1944), a student of the Minchas Elazar of Munkatch. He studied Torah despite poverty and authored several sefarim, including the remarkable sefer ‘Massef L’chol HaMachanos’ and other works.
The chassan is Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Gold Segal of Montreal, author of ‘Chayei Tzvi’, a relative of the aforementioned Rabbi Yechiel Michel.
Galanta, circa 1936. All in Rabbi Yoshe’s holy handwriting. Size: Official letterhead, 13.7 x 20 cm. Condition: Good. The letter was printed (with slight variations) in ‘Ateres Yehoshua’, page 97.
A remarkable story about the promise that the holy Rabbi Yoshe made while in Auschwitz to this particular student-chassan that he would survive, appears in the sefer ‘Zekenecha V’yomru Lach’, as told by his grandchildren:
"When he [Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Gold Segal] was taken away for forced labor, he was sent to Ukraine. His friends mentioned him to his Rebbe, the holy Gaon Rabbi Yoshe Buxbaum of blessed memory, the Galanter Rav, who called out passionately, "For my Moshe Hersh I have no fear! Wherever he goes and wherever he stands, two angels will accompany him, and he will return home safely!" He struck the table and concluded with the verse, "No man shall stand before you; the Lord your G-d will cast your fear and dread upon the land where you set foot."
The grandfather would recount how this blessing continuously accompanied him. Even when he performed back-breaking labor digging trenches for the wicked Nazis, and deadly mines were exploding all around him, taking the lives of many unfortunate victims, he felt the power of the blessing – ‘Hashem will cast your fear and dread upon the land where you set foot’’ and he was never harmed." (Page 240).
