Important letter about the great virtue of maintaining Torah, and other matters, from the renowned gaon Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin – the Netzi”v of Volozhin, sent to Rabbi Moshe Aryeh HaLevi Bamberger, av beit din of Bad-Kissingen, Germany, after the latter sent a respectable sum from his community in Germany to support the glorious yeshivah in Volozhin, Lithuania.
The Netzi”v writes at length in praise of supporting Torah scholars, noting “… following in the ways of your father, the tzaddik [the Würzburger Rav], who loved aggada , I would like to expound a bit about the maintenance of Torah and to express appreciation to [your honor] for collecting a sum for supporting Torah, doing good with his people, to bring merit to his flock …”
He expounds the greatness of Torah supporters using words of praise from the Talmud and the midrashim. He adds an explanation of the verse “It is a tree of life for all those who hold on to it, and its supporters are joyous.” Who are these adherents – and what is the difference between them? He explains that there are two types of Torah supporters, the wealthy who are happy to support Torah and appreciate its value, and do so with much joy – these are the “etz chayim.” Whereas “tomacheihah” are those who begrudgingly give to idlers, and give out of necessity or honor, or so that the Torah doesn’t fall – they are only “me’ushar” and not “etz chayim.” He adds elucidations of sayings from Chaza”l in praise of Torah and its supporters.
He also wrote about several other issues:
1) He confirms that he received the sefer Meah She’arim by one of the giants from among the leading Rishonim, Rabbeinu Yitzchak ben Rabbi Yehudah ibn Giat, which was published by the recipient’s father, the Würzburger Rav, for the first time from an ancient manuscript hidden in a library in Paris. He writes: ” And I will not deny that I saw that many of his words are sealed and need elucidation.” In any case, “[Your] pious father is privileged in the afterlife in that he published precious light for Torah scholars.” 2) With respect to the question as to whether to propose a match between a couple known to be transgressors and who will not fulfil the requirements of family purity, he writes: “This requires much examination.” He indicates that he is writing a lengthy responsum on its own [not included with this letter]. 3) He requests counsel about whether it is worthwhile to send an emissary to Prussia to collect funds from the Jews there for the Volozhin yeshivah, “for it is a place where the few who are faithful to Hashem have not had the privilege of study; they may want to assist others to do so.”
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the gaon Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, the Netzi”v of Volozhin , and Rabbi Moshe Aryeh HaLevi Bamberger, rabbi and av beit din of Bad-Kissingen, Germany .
[2] leaf. 3 written pages. Entirely handwritten and signed by the Netzi”v. With an embossed stamp at the top of the leaf.
Size: 13×20.5 cm.
Fold marks. Stain at the bottom of the leaves. Very fine condition.