UncategorizedContemporary Era
ארכיון מכתבים ודפים בכתב-יד - המקובל רבי יהודה זאב ליבוביץ
ארכיון מכתבים ודפים בכתב-יד - המקובל רבי יהודה זאב ליבוביץ
Archive of letters and manuscript pages in the handwriting of the Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Zev Leibowitz. [Tel Aviv, 1962–1969].
Approximately seventy letters and manuscript pages. The great majority of the letters were sent to his friend the Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Weinstock, who, like him, was a disciple of the author of the Sulam and one of the disseminators of his teaching. A number of letters were sent to his friend the Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Yair Weinstock.
The letters contain significant content of kabbalistic ideas, commentaries on the Zohar and the esoteric tradition, Hasidic discourses and Torah teachings, and stories about Hasidic Rebbes. In one of the letters he writes: "In honor of the Hillula of our holy Rebbe, may his memory be a blessing, I will reveal to Your Honor certain things by word of mouth… these matters cannot be printed, for the world would not understand them in any case… but it is forbidden to print matters of such a lofty nature." In another letter, in the context of the Russian missiles brought to Egypt during the Six-Day War period, he writes: "All of Israel awaits Heaven's mercy… we do not know what the Russian bear is seeking and wants here. May the Holy One, blessed be He, in His great mercy and lovingkindness, confound them, for they are heretics and apostates, and I fear them greatly, greatly. I do not fear their missiles as much as I fear the corrupted ideas and heresy which they are liable to spread throughout the entire world, should they expand, God forbid…" In several letters he discusses with Rabbi Yosef Weinstock matters concerning the printing of the book Talmud Eser HaSefirot by their teacher, the author of the Sulam.
The Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Zev Leibowitz (1922–2010), a disciple of the Baal HaSulam and one of the hidden righteous men of his generation, was born in the town of Satmar. He studied under the Rebbe Rabbi Yoel of Satmar and under Rabbi Yehuda Rozner, Av Beit Din of Szekélyhid, author of Imrei Yehuda. During the Holocaust he lost his family in Auschwitz, endured torments that subsequently prevented him from marrying, and was miraculously saved from the gallows. After the liberation he ascended to the Land of Israel and settled in Tel Aviv, where he lived alone in a single room. In the Land he joined the circle of Kabbalists who were disciples of the Rebbe Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ashlag, the Baal HaSulam — Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi Brandwein, Rabbi Moshe Yair Weinstock, and Rabbi Yosef Weinstock. Unlike them, he remained unknown for many years, yet maintained close ties with the great figures of his generation, rabbis and Rebbes, such as the Rebbe Rabbi Aharon Rokeach of Belz, the Rebbe Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam of Sanz-Klausenburg, and others. These held him in great esteem, and some regarded him as one of the thirty-six hidden righteous men. In his old age he moved to the city of Bnei Brak; among those who would visit him and study under him at that time were Rabbi Wosner and Rabbi Mordechai Gross. Wondrous miracle stories are told of him — of his holy spirit, of his power to "read" before the person facing him his sins and their rectification, and of people who were healed through his merit and witnessed great salvations. It is told that he was privileged to a revelation of Elijah the Prophet, and that the souls of righteous men came to visit him [in one of the letters before us he writes: "I saw the honor of Maran, may his memory be a blessing, while awake"]. He was a wondrous Gaon in Torah, in the revealed and the hidden, and from his writings the following books were printed: Kol Yehuda Ba'al HaKetavim, VeZot LeYehuda, Yizal Mayim MiDalyav, Or Levi Ziv Yehuda, and others. See attached material.
Approximately 70 letters and paper items, held in a binder. Generally good condition, with fold marks, stains, and filing holes.
Attached is a blessing medallion "Chayyei Mezzonei" by Rabbi Yehuda Zev Leibowitz, a gift from the institutions of Rabbi David Chaim Stern in the Holy Land.
