Description
Overview: A rare and tragic primary document from pre-war Polish rabbinic history, entirely handwritten, signed, and officially stationery-marked by one of the leading halachic figures of the Białystok district who was murdered in the Holocaust.
Content: An extensive, handwritten letter featuring dense European rabbinic cursive script, offered completely untranscribed and unstudied.
Author: The eminent Torah giant and community builder, Rabbi Yochanan Mirski (הגאון רבי יוחנן מירסקי זצ"ל הי"ד; c. 1892–1943). A premier, elite alumnus of the great Mir Yeshiva, he was a prized disciple of the Gadal of Mir, Rabbi Eliyahu Baruch Kamai. After studying at the famous Radin Yeshiva and the Chofetz Chaim’s Kollel, he married the daughter of the Gaon of Novogrudok. In 1925 (תרפ"ה), he assumed the prestigious position of Chief Rabbi and Av Beit Din of Zabłudów (זבלודובה), near Białystok.
The Invisible/Blind Stamp: The bottom corner preserves a rare, authentic interwar European administrative marking: a faint, colourless blind-embossed official seal reading "Sąd Grodzki w Zabłudowie" surrounding the Polish state eagle emblem, indicating its temporary registration or tracking during municipal proceedings.
Elite Historic Provenance: The reverse of the letter bears the prominent, highly sought-after circular blue ink provenance seal of the famous "Avigdor Feldman Collection, Jerusalem" (אוסף אביגדור פלדמן ירושלים / אוסף ציון), certifying that this document was curated within one of the 20th century’s most prestigious private archives of rare rabbinica.
Notable Connection: Rabbi Mirski was a fierce activist who fought tirelessly for the preservation of traditional kosher slaughter (Shechita) laws against Polish government bans. He was tragically murdered by the Nazis alongside his community in the Białystok Ghetto in 1943. Surviving autograph letters from his pre-war rabbinate are exceptionally rare and carry immense historical value.
Condition report:
Status: Very Good Archival Condition.
Details: The paper remains remarkably crisp and solid. It exhibits original horizontal mailing folds. The printed purple ink header of the rabbinate is highly distinct, and the extensive handwritten text block in dark ink remains fully dark and unblemished.
Markings: The blind-embossed seal on the front and the blue provenance stamp on the reverse are cleanly impressed with no tearing to the surrounding paper matrix.
