A special letter from the holy Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Grünwald, Av Beit Din of Zelem, to the Admor Rebbi Menachem Binyamin Ben Zion Halberstam-Rotenberg of Sanz-Widislaw, who served as the President of the Agudas HaAdmorim.
…I have received the letter inviting me to the assembly, and I must inform you that I am unable to take part in the gathering, as I have a siyum in my Beit Midrash, and it is self-evident that I must be present there.
To speak the truth and not withhold it, if I saw that there was a genuine desire to correct the situation, I would be prepared to make every sacrifice. However, at the previous assembly, I observed that matters of the utmost importance, including some that are invalid even post-facto, were neglected.
Instead, all the effort was directed toward issues that, as far as I know, involve no prohibition. For example, the question of certain mohaliom who separate the skin of the foreskin from the flesh before making the cut, and the like—what is the great uproar about this? In my opinion, the primary focus should be on rectifying matters that are integral parts of the mitzvah, and certainly on those that are invalid even post-facto, which require a new drawing of covenantal blood.
Therefore, I hope Your Exalted Honor will not take offense if I do not participate in the assembly."
Brooklyn, Tue Lech Lecha, 1941.
Notice the erasure of his his titles as rabbi of Jehal Yeraim- Kehal Charedim.
This erasure was due to historic reasons:
In the 1930’s Congregation Khal Charedim was established in New York’s Lower East Side by a group of devout and G-d-fearing individuals of Hungarian origin who, due to various circumstances, found themselves in America. Determined to uphold their traditions and unwilling to compromise one iota from their religious standards, they founded Khal Charedim. The bylaws of the kehilla only permitted membership to like-minded individuals who undertook that they and their spouses would maintain the accepted religious and Chassidic standards practiced in Europe. This was almost unprecedented in an era where the prevailing attitude was, that the European standards of yiddishkeit could not survive and certainly not flourish in America.
Although originally the community did not have an official Rav, in 1938 they appointed the Gaon Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Grünwald to that position. The Rav had narrowly escaped the Nazi invasion of Austria and without a position waiting for him in the US could not have obtained an entry visa. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak however, did not settle in the Lower East Side but in Williamsburg where he opened his own Bais Ha’Midrash. The times being what they were and with only one main supporter helping him to establish himself in America, the Rav felt compelled to overlook the sad fact that the family of the lay-leader of his new kehilla were lax in certain areas of religious behavior with his wife not covering her hair. Although the new kehilla too, was strictly orthodox they did not require the same personal standards from their members and their families as did Khal Charedim.
A disagreement arose whether Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of the Khal Charedim could preside at the same time over his Tzeilem congregation which did not necessarily conduct itself in accordance with the Khal Charedim standards. The president of Khal Charedim, Reb Moshe Shea Ha’Cohen Perl, presented the question to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum then serving as Rav in the City of Satmar, Romania. Orthodox Jewry was a crossroads at this critical juncture and the dilemma posed to the Satmar Rav would have ramifications that would decide the very fabric of Orthodox life in the New World. On the one hand, one of the leading Torah personalities of the time had reached the shores of America and stood poised to elevate the general populace. Here was an opportunity for the Satmar Rav to urge the people to accept the Rav’s leadership. On the other hand, this small existing bastion of undiluted yiddishkeit was asking that even a tiny breach not be allowed in the wall that they had erected to maintain their age-old standards.
This historic handwritten reply sent by the Satmar Rav declared that there was no room for compromise. Upon the receipt of the Satmar Rav’s response, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak felt compelled to resign as rabbi of Khal Charedim. As he was in fact established in Williamsburg, the resignation was basically a formality, but to the devout Jews sacrificing themselves daily to maintain the standards of old, it was a watershed event. Subsequently in 1948, when the Satmar Rav immigrated to America, it was the same Khal Charedim which signed the required affidavit legally bringing the Rebbe to America to serve as their Rav.
The Gaon Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Grünwald (1893-1980), outstanding Torah scholar and holy man. Youngest son and close disciple of Rabbi Moshe Grünwald Rabbi of Khust, the Arugat HaBosem. Served as rabbi of various Hungarian communities, and later of Tzeilem (Deutschkreutz, Austria). In 1938, he settled in Brooklyn, where he founded and headed the Arugat HaBosem community. He campaigned for true Torah observance in the United States, especially on matters of kashrut and purity, and was at the forefront of the establishment of Torah and Chassidut in the United States.
Rebbi Menachem Benjamin Ben-Zion Halberstam-Rotenberg of Sanz-Widislaw [1881–1957] A descendant of the righteous dynasties of Sanz and Kashanov, through the holy Rebbi Aharon of Biala-Bilitz and Rebbi Yosef Ze’ev, son of Rebbi David of Kashanov, who was the son of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz.
On his maternal side, he was the grandson of Rebbi Alter Chaim of Wolbrom, from whom he adopted the surname Rotenberg. He was also a descendant of the righteous sages of Ropshitz, Sanz, Ohel Moshe, Belz, and Apt. From these illustrious lineages, his genealogy extended to numerous righteous figures. He later immigrated to the United States, where he served as the leader of his synagogue and was president of the Agudas HaAdmorim (Association of Rebbes).
27.8 cm.
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Lot #131