"Rabbi Kalmanowitz… He is like a guardian angel!"
Letter from Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir
Shanghai Exile, 1946
A lengthy handwritten and autographed letter by the illustrious Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, who served as Rosh Yeshivah of Mir during the five years of exile from Europe to Shanghai.
In this letter, he announces: "We all already have visas to the United States", and states his desire to travel from there to Eretz Yisrael.
He then expresses his clear opinion on whether the yeshivah should be reestablished in the United States or in Eretz Yisrael and discusses the role of Canadian Rabbanim who were involved in the matter.
Regarding Rabbi Kalmanowitz who exerted tremendous efforts to secure visas to the United States and certificates for Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Shmuelevitz writes: "He is like a guardian angel!"
Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz (1902-1979), known in his youth as "the ilui (prodigy) of Stetchin", came from the Grodna Yeshivah to the Mir Yeshivah in 1924, where he quickly gained recognition as one of the yeshivah’s elite students. In 1929, he married the daughter of the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Leizer Yehuda Finkel. Rabbi Chaim served at the helm of the yeshivah during its exile in Shanghai, and succeeded his father-in-law’s position following his passing in 1964.
A full page in Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz’s handwriting and with his signature. Size: Approx. 22.4 x 27.2 cm.
Condition: Good. Filing holes.
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The Mir Yeshivah in Shanghai
The Miraculous Rescue
The wondrous flight and rescue of the Mir Yeshivah during World War Two is one of the most inspirational tales of the Holocaust era and a clear manifestation of Divine providence.
In 1939, the Mir Yeshivah and its students fled Poland to Vilna, where they remained for a brief period of time before Lithuanian authorities expelled the yeshivah from its borders. In an extraordinary twist of fate, the Japanese consul in Kovno, Mr. Chiune Sugihara, agreed to issue Japanese entry visas to all the yeshivah’s students and its esteemed Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz. This enabled the immediate escape of the entire yeshivah via the Trans-Siberian Railroad to Japan where they remained for nine months before continuing their travels to Shanghai, China.
The Mir Yeshivah remained in exile in Shanghai for five years. Under the leadership of the venerable Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, the yeshivah’s students immersed themselves in the holy world of Torah, elevating themselves and creating a glorious chapter in the annals of Jewish history.
