Lengthy, rare and important letter handwritten by the pure wife of the gadol v’kadosh hadorot Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen of Radin, known as the Chafetz Chaim. Radin, the eve of Rosh HaShanah 1933. Very rare. Yiddish.
In her letter, the Chafetz Chaim’s widow describes her life of widowhood, the funds she requires to live and for the poor who come knocking at her door, as they were accustomed to the Chafetz Chaim’s distributions. She mentions her husband’s sefarim , Mishnah Berurah , which she sells, and she expresses her appreciation to the addressee, R’ David Potash, for his work with Rabbi Yehoshua Ze’ev Schwartzman, so that he purchase Mishnah Berurah from her. She also describes her secret desire to ascend to the Holy Land. [This had also been her husband’s, the Chafetz Chaim’s, desire. A home had already been prepared for him – extant to this day – in the Petach Tikvah settlement, but time ran out.]
We will note that if the date was indeed as it appears in this letter, “the eve of Rosh HaShanah 1933,” the letter was sent in the midst of the shivah for the Chafetz Chaim, who passed away just a few days before Rosh HaShanah, 1933. The widow probably intended to write the eve of Rosh HaShanah 1934.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rebbetzin Fryda Kagan, the Chafetz Chaim’s widow .
[1] leaf paper, 28 cm. Official stationery of the Chafetz Chaim.
Moderate-fine condition. Aging stains. Light tears, restored. Blemish in one or two words.