Letter in the Hand of the Admo"r the Imrei Shaul of Modzhitz, Author of Imrei Shaul, with his Signature

Letter in the Hand of the Admo"r the Imrei Shaul of Modzhitz, Author of Imrei Shaul, with his Signature
Lengthy and interesting letter from the Admo"r Rabbi Shaul Yedidyah Taub of Modzhitz to Rabbi David Perkowitz of Jerusalem. Otvosk, 1936.

The letter was written, as mentioned, in 1936, while black clouds were darkening the skies of Europe, and the land shook under the feet of the Jews. The rebbe mentions the distress and persecutions in his letter, and attributes them to the approaching redemption, citing proof for this from the Zohar. The letter also mentions the Admo"r's planned trip to the Land of Israel and news of two of his sons: the Admo"r Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, author of Imrei E"Sh, referred to using the initials Sh. E., and his son Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak, referred to using the name Yitzchak only. The rebbe concludes his letter with blessings.

It is fitting here to relate the story of the famous Modzhitzer melody "Ani Ma'amin" attributed - mistakenly - to the Admo"r Rabbi Shaul Yedidyah Elazar of Modzhitz. The melody was composed by a cantor named Fastag, a Chassid of Modzhitz, who was murdered in the Holocaust. When he was deported together with his family to the Treblinka extermination camp, crammed into freight cars without air or water, he began to sing "Ani Ma'amin" to the sounds of the train's movements on the tracks and the engine's whistles. Fastag requested that if someone survives, to please bring this song to his rebbe who is residing in America. One of the Jews who succeeded in escaping wrote the melody's notes and its story, and sent them to the Modzhitzer Rebbe in New York, without noting the cantor's name. The rebbe, with his musical talent, and his familiarity with Cantor Fastag, knew to attribute the song to its composer. The words of the song are: אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה בְּבִיאַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיִּתְמַהְמֵהַּ עִם כָּל זֶה אֲחַכֶּה לּוֹ בְּכָל יוֹם שֶׁיָּבוֹא. [I believe with complete faith in the coming of mashiach, and though he tarries, despite this, I will await his arrival every day.]

The Admo"r Rabbi Shaul Yedidyah Elazar Taub [1887-1947] was the second Admo"r of Modzhitz. He moved to Otvosk, next to Warsaw, in 1929, where the letter before us was written, and he established a yeshivah named Tiferet Yisrael there. Many Chassidim and admirers flocked to his court from all over Poland. At the outbreak of WWII, he managed to flee to the United States. During his flight, he composed melodies that reflected the terrible tragedy of the Jewish people during the war. It is estimated that he composed 1500-2000 melodies over his lifetime, some simple and some complicated and complex. The Rebbe composed five melodies so complicated that they were related to as to operas. The fourth "opera" was composed while he sailed to the United States, and as such it is called "The Ocean Opera." His Torah thoughts are collected in Imrei Shaul and in Yisa Berachah. His son Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Taub was appointed his successor - the 'Imrei E"Sh, ' who is also mentioned in this letter.

[1] leaf official stationery, 21x28 cm. Transcription of the letter included. Fine condition. Professional restoration in the folds.