Letter Handwritten and Signed by the Chazon Ish - Regarding Assistance from Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski for ...

Letter Handwritten and Signed by the Chazon Ish - Regarding Assistance from Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski for Shemittah Observers in Eretz Israel - Av, 1937
Letter, approximately 10 lines handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, author of Chazon Ish. [Bnei Brak], Av 1937. The letter is addressed to one of the Agudist, Shemittah-observant settlements (presumably the initial members of Kibbutz Chafetz Chaim, in Kfar Saba), with the approach of the 1937-1938 Shemittah year. In the letter, he informs them that he received a letter from R. Chaim Ozer, who "hopes to provide you with the sum of … to allow you to observe the Shemittah in accordance with Halacha, and he has already discussed this with R. Y. Rosenheim". The Chazon Ish advises them to set up a committee which will oversee the expenditure of the money. The Chazon Ish recommends that they build a detailed plan for the use of the money, and that they should correspond directly with R. Chaim Ozer in this regard: "…it would be beneficial for you to describe your plan for the usage of the money in your letter, and also promise in your letter to protect your land, to prevent strangers from usurping it during Shemittah". The Chazon Ish signs the letter with his customary acronym "Ish", and then adds: "Please inform me of the receipt of this letter", as well as the address of R. Chaim Ozer in Vilna. R. Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz (1879-1953), author of Chazon Ish, a foremost scholar in Halacha and Jewish philosophy in our generations. A preeminent Torah scholar and hidden righteous man, his first book Chazon Ish was published in 1911 anonymously, and he thereafter became known under that title. He immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1933, where he became recognized as the leading Torah authority, and stood at the helm of the resurrection of the Torah world in our generation. He encouraged and bolstered the observance of Halacha and of the commandments pertaining to the land. He battled fiercely for the observance of Shabbat and Shemittah, and was the only Halachic authority the Orthodox, Shemittah observant agriculturists relied upon for their questions on the laws of Shemittah and other laws pertaining to the land. He authored and published numerous volumes of Chazon Ish, which were written with great toil and in-depth study, covering nearly all Talmudic topics. Shemittah 1937-1938 was the first Shemittah since the Chazon Ish arrived in Eretz Israel. That year, the Chazon Ish battled staunchly to uphold the Shemittah, fiercely opposing the Heter Mechirah, which in his opinion was dubious. The Chazon Ish supported the few settlements who observed Shemittah that year, in various ways. He delved into researching the Talmudic topics as well as the agricultural aspects, issuing halachic rulings and guiding the Agudist settlements in the intricacies of Shemittah observance, which agricultural activities are prohibited and which are allowed, and providing for the needs of the valiant Shemittah observers. [1] leaf. Approx. 13X22 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and folding marks. Light wear.