Rare Letter of Blessings with Revelations of Humility, Handwritten by the Gadol HaDor, Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi of Brisk

Rare Letter of Blessings with Revelations of Humility, Handwritten by the Gadol HaDor, Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi of Brisk

Rare letter of blessings [close to 100 words - all blessings], handwritten and signed by the rabbi of the entire Jewish people, the gaon Rabbi Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik of Brisk. Sent to the gaon Rabbi Yehudah HeChanochi, av beit din of Chechnowski. Brisk, Lithuania, 28 Elul, 1911.

As can be seen from the date, the letter was sent on the eve of Rosh HaShanah, as blessings/ greetings for Rosh HaShanah, to the gaon Rabbi Yudel HeChanochi, who was known in his time as a prominent rabbi despite his position as rabbi of a small town. After the rare and lengthy list of blessings with which Rabbi Chaim of Brisk blesses the addressee and his entire family, the gaon Rabbi Chaim requests, in his renowned humility, that the gaon Rabbi Yudel bless him (Rabbi Chaim) and his entire family - with a detailed list of the blessings Rabbi Chaim would like from Rabbi Yudel.

The gaon Reb Chaim of Brisk blesses rare blessings in this letter: "Many years of life ... [you], [your] family, and all [your] descendants to be blessed with long, happy lives, that are good and pleasant, blessed with the blessings of all goodness to the end of the world ... May [your] home be filled with blessing." 

Here Reb Chaim requests from the addressee that he bless him as well: "I ask that you pray for me and my family, that we be written and sealed for a long, blessed life forever, and may Hashem willingly accept [your] prayer for us and the entire Jewish people for the good."

Towards his conclusion, Reb Chaim adds a series of blessings: "May you and your family be written and sealed for a good, long blessed life, immediately, in the book of complete tzaddikim. Blessings from your admirer, Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik, 28 Elul, 1911.

Manuscripts from rabbinic leaders of all sectors, Mitnagdim and Chassidim alike, have been known throughout the generations to be tried-and-true amulets - especially with so many detailed and explicit blessings from the rabbinic leader of the generation! Here are two stories on the topic that deal specifically with Jewish leaders who are not counted among Chassidim:

The first story is brought in the book Chut HaMeshulash about an amulet written by the gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger for a fatally ill patient - and the patient recovered. The gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger made a condition that the amulet not be opened. After his passing, the amulet was opened, and no Kabbalistic Names were found in it, just the following sentence: "In the merit of the insight I had in the Tosafot in Sukkah with respect to the clouds of glory, may he recover."

The second story appears in Ruach Chaim by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, as follows: "There is a story about our master, the gaon, author of the Ta"z. A woman wailed to him that her son was so weak he was about to die. He said to her - Am I in place of G-d? She replied: I am wailing to my master's Torah, because the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the Torah are one [קב"ה ואורייתא חד הוא]. He said - This I will do for you - the Torah thoughts I am occupied with at this time with my disciple I will give as a present to the boy. Perhaps in this merit he will live, as it says 'With this matter you will prolong your days' (Devarim 32). At that moment, the boy recovered! The power of the devotion of any involvement in Torah can revive the dead."

It is proper to note how the gaon Reb Chaim blesses in this letter. Exactly as in his famous halachic novellae in which he covers an issue from every angle, in his blessings here he goes down to minute detail, as if it were a legal contract. (Perhaps Reb Chaim reasoned that the minute detail leaves no room for misinterpretation, a segulah for the blessings to be fulfilled. Support for this can be found in the blessings Reb Chaim asks for himself.) We note that aside from Reb Chaim being the rabbinic leader of the generation in Torah, he was known in his generation for his tremendous greatness in Kabbalistic wisdom. Leading Kabbalists would go to him to clarify their uncertainties in Kabbalah.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the gaon, Rabbi Chaim HaLevi Soloveitchik of Brisk ["Reb Chaim"] and the addressee, the gaon Rabbi Yehudah Yudel HeChanochi, av beit din of Chechnowski [Chechanowitz].

[1] postcard. 14x9 cm.

Fine condition. Crease in the center of the postcard. Stains.