Letter/Kvittel Handwritten by Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Kluger of Brod to One of the Tzaddikei HaDor

Letter/Kvittel Handwritten by Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Kluger of Brod to One of the Tzaddikei HaDor

Extremely lengthy letter [close to 500 words], entirely handwritten and signed by the gaon Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Kluger, av beit din of Zhulkyev and only son of the glory of the geonim of Galicia, the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Kluger, of Brody. Sent to one of the Admo"rei HaDor, and wonder-workers. Rabbi Avraham Binyamin tells him that he and his widowed daughter require salvation - using their names and their mothers' names, per the custom. Brody, 1910.

Rabbi Kluger opens his letter with tremendous titles: "The great, sacred and famous rabbi, in Torah and sanctity, in purity ... pious and ascetic, scion of the sacred, Rabbi Yechiel shlit"a." This is likely the Admo"r Rabbi Yechiel Teitelbaum of Kolbasov, son of the rebbe, the Yitev Lev of Sighet and a sacred scion of Ropshitz, who was a famous tzaddik in his generation.

However, the date on the letter is 24 Menachem Av 1910, and his father, the sacred Rabbi Avraham Aharon, passed away on 12 Elul 1910, so this was before his tenure as an Admo"r. And in the letter, it says that he is praying for him, as is customary for the Admo"rim, and he describes him with titles befitting an Admo"r - HaKadosh HaMefursam, Butzina Kaddisha, Kvod Kedushat Shem Tifarto etc. But it could be the very fact that Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Kluger does not write the title Admo"r, but the title bnan shel kedoshim, demonstrates that it is indeed him, and the extreme titles that pertain to an Admo"r - are because he was already renowned in sacred his father's lifetime, especially towards the end of the latter's life, as an ascetic tzaddik, and people apparently appealed to him for salvation and prayer just like to an Admo"r. (Indeed, it is told that even before he was an Admo"r, he already had the conduct of an Admo"r and would prepare himself for prayer for many hours.)

The famous tzaddik - whom the letter does not explicitly identify by family name nor by the city in which he served - requested that Rabbi Kluger deal with a dispute from the city of Krotshin, between mechutanim about a shidduch, and reach a compromise between them to help the bridegroom. However, with his deep understanding, the rabbi refused, writing that it is very difficult for him to get into the thick of things here for several reasons: "There is a lot of arrogance these days ... and they will find less serious rabbis who decide the opposite ... and to enter into a dispute with these rabbis does not suit me nor the house of my father, ztz"l ... There is much hearsay, and our sacred Torah requires that both sides be heard ..." He then writes that he is only prepared to write a letter to warn, and then watch to see what happens next.

This letter was written as a response to what the famous tzaddik sent him, where he wrote that he is praying for him and mentioning him in his "pure prayer." Rabbi Kluger expresses his appreciation for this, and states that his was indeed ill for the entire summer period, and many people sent him letters from all over the world with halachic questions, as well as people who came knocking on his door for halachic clarification, but he was unable to respond. "And I hope that [your] prayers are fulfilled, with Hashem's help." At the end of the letter, he asks the tzaddik to pray for his daughter, the widow, Sarah Leah daughter of Pessil, who was childless, "to send her a good match soon, a match appropriate to our status and the status of our father, rabbi of the entire Jewish people [the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Kluger] so that we are not embarrassed or ashamed, Heaven forbid. He signs in his name and his mother's name - as is customary when writing to tzaddikim in a letter/kvittel.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the gaon Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Kluger of Brody and the rebbe, Rabbi Yechiel Teitelbaum of Kolbasov, may his blood be avenged.

[1] double leaf, written on both sides. 14.5x23 cm. 38 lines. Entirely handwritten and signed by him.

Fine condition. Aging stains. Fold marks. Small tear at the edge of the fold, without lack.