A letter from the esteemed Gaon Rabbi Moshe Halevi Soloveitchik to Rebbe Menachem Binyamin Ben Zion Rottenberg-Halberstam, regarding the acceptance of his son into the yeshiva and New Year’s blessings for the upcoming year.
New York, Elul 1938.
His letters are extremely rare! A letter has only appeared once at a public auction (not to be confused with his nephew, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Mordechai Soloveitchik [1916–1995], whose letters are much more common).
Rabbi Moshe Halevi Soloveitchik (1879 – Shevat 1941) was the son of the great Rabbi Chaim of Brisk and the elder brother of Rabbi Yitzchak Ze’ev Soloveitchik (the Brisker Rav). His mother, Lipshe, was the daughter of Rabbi Raphael Shapira, who served as the Deputy Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva at the time. Rabbi Moshe Halevi Soloveitchik studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva, and when his father, Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, was appointed Rabbi of the Brisk Jewish community, he continued his studies there under his father’s guidance. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Eliyahu Feinstein, Av Beit Din of Pruzhany.
A Torah giant known for his brilliant and in-depth teachings, he trained thousands of students in Europe and the United States. In 1910, he was appointed as the rabbi of Raseiniai (Rasayn), succeeding Rabbi Alexander Moshe Lapidus. At the initiative of the Sabba (Elder) of Slabodka, he established a yeshiva in the city, drawing elite students from the Slabodka Yeshiva. In 1913, he became the rabbi of Chaslovitz.
In 1929, he moved to the United States to serve as Rosh Yeshiva of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), succeeding the "Illui (prodigy) of Meitchet."
As the grandson of he Beit Halevi and Rabbi Raphael Shapira, son-in-law of the Netziv of Volozhin, and as the son of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, it can be said that Rabbi Moshe was born into the most prestigious rabbinic family of his time. His scholarship, diligence, and depth of understanding, along with the prestigious rabbinic positions he held in his early thirties, seemed to place him on a clear path to a prominent role in the Orthodox Jewish world.
However, within a decade, Rabbi Moshe found himself leading the Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary in Warsaw, embroiled in intense public disputes with much of the rabbinic leadership of Poland and Lithuania.
A series of dramatic events shaped this decade. World War I broke out in 1914, and conditions in Chaslovitz deteriorated. With the rise of the Communists, Jewish life there suffered an irreversible crisis. At the end of the war, his father and mentor, Rabbi Chaim, passed away. Rabbi Moshe had to leave Chaslovitz and was offered by his grandfather, Rabbi Raphael Shapira, the position of Rosh Yeshiva at the newly reopened Volozhin Yeshiva.
He moved to Minsk and attended his grandfather’s funeral, but was ultimately unable to assume the leadership of the yeshiva. Instead, his uncle, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, was appointed as the exclusive Rosh Yeshiva. Meanwhile, the Brisker rabbinical seat was given to his younger brother, Rabbi Yitzchak Ze’ev Soloveitchik (the Brisker Rav). Rabbi Moshe found himself wandering, eventually arriving in Poland, nearly destitute.
After much uncertainty, he received an enticing offer—to head the Torah studies at the Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary in Warsaw, where the secular studies department was led by the renowned historian Professor Meir Balaban. Rabbi Moshe accepted the position, even declining a previously accepted rabbinic post in Antopol.
In New York, he became a leading figure in Agudath HaRabbonim of America and Canada, serving in these roles until his passing in 1941.
His Talmudic commentaries on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah were published in Chiddushei HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Jerusalem, 1990), edited by his great-grandson Rabbi Yitzchak Lichtenstein. Additional writings were published alongside the works of his son, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, in Chiddushei Torah – Collected Essays (Jerusalem, 1984) and in Chiddushei HaGaon Rabbi Moshe and Rabbi Yosef Dov, Riverdale, New York (1993), both edited by Rabbi Yitzchak Lichtenstein.
His eldest son, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, initially remained in Europe but later joined his father in the U.S., where he became the rabbi of the Jewish community in Boston and succeeded his father as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University (RIETS).
Rabbi Moshe Halevi Soloveitchik trained numerous prominent scholars, including:
Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz
Rabbi Chaim Zimmerman
Rabbi Mordechai Gifter
Rabbi Avigdor Miller
Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg
Rebbi Menachem Binyamin Ben Zion Rottenberg Halberstam (1881–1957), the Sanzer Rebbe of New York, was a descendant of the illustrious Sanz and Kshanov dynasties. His lineage included:
Rebbi Aharon of Biala-Bilitz, Rebbi Yosef Zev of Kshanov, son of Rebbi David of Kshanov, Rebbi David of Kshanov, son of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz.
On his maternal side, he descended from Rebbi Alter Chaim of Walbrum, adopting the surname "Rottenberg" from this branch. A scion of several prominent Chassidic dynasties, his genealogy intertwined with the great tzaddikim of Ropshitz, Sanz, Or Lashamayim, Belz, and Apta.
Rebbi Rottenberg established his court in New York after emigrating to the United States. Revered as a spiritual leader, he presided over his beit midrash and served as the president of the Union of Rebbes (Agudas HaAdmorim).
27.9 cm.
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Lot #127