Autographed letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, regarding Igros Kodesh from his father the Rashab!
From the resort town of Purkersdorf, 1937
A fascinating letter from the Rebbe Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of Lubavitch, with his holy signature. In the letter, the Rebbe requests from the recipient to send him copies of
"Igros Kodesh in the holy handwriting of… my master, father and teacher, the holy Rebbe of blessed memory" – referring to the Rebbe Rashab, father of the Rayatz.
Due to the great importance of the holy letters in the eyes of the Rebbe, he requests to photograph the letters with great precision, "in the size of the original, not to reduce or enlarge" and also requests to prepare a list of various writings with additional details and send it to him.
The Rebbe wrote this during his stay in the Austrian resort town of Purkersdorf. In this town and in this year, the famous photograph showing the Rayatz playing chess with his son-in-law and successor, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, was taken!
The Rebbe Rayatz, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950) was the sixth Rebbe in the Chabad dynasty, which he led from 1920. He worked extensively to strengthen Judaism in Russia under Soviet rule and established a secret network of Torah schools and yeshivas there. He was arrested and sentenced to death but was eventually released. In 1940 he immigrated to the United States where he continued building the great Chabad Chasidic movement.
His son-in-law and successor is Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe in the Lubavitch dynasty.
Purkersdorf, 12th Menachem Av 1937.
Official letterhead (at the top of the page there is a handwritten notation about the place of writing).
Size: 16 x 24.5 cm.
Condition: Very good.
The letter was sent to Rabbi Chanoch Hendel Havlin, a prominent Chabad chassid in the Eretz Yisrael. The letter was published in Igros Kodesh from the Rebbe Rayatz, Vol. 4, Letter 525.
