"May All Your Heart's Desires be Fulfilled for the Good ..." Letter of Recommendation and Blessing Entirely in the ...

"May All Your Heart's Desires be Fulfilled for the Good ..." Letter of Recommendation and Blessing Entirely in the Hand and with the Signature of the 'Kedushat Tziyon' of Bobov. Extraordinarily Rare
"... and may the merit of our holy ancestors stand by you so that you are blessed that all your heart's desires be fulfilled for the good ..."

Letter of recommendation and blessing entirely [approximately 72 words] in the Admo"r Rabbi Ben Tziyon Halberstam of Bobov's hand, with his signature and stamp. Bobov, 1910. Letters from the Kedushat Tziyon of Bobov are especially rare.

The letter before us opens with the words, "Peace and blessings to my beloved people." The Admo"r writes in his letter that he avoids giving recommendations as much as possible (he even uses the word "vow"! with this apparently being the reason for the scarcity of letters from him). However, the case before us, as the Rebbe writes, is an exception in its importance, and, "for such a case I did not make a vow." The exceptional case to which the Rebbe refers is the mitzvah of redeeming captives "for the avreich, the Chassid, of prestigious lineage, Rabbi Ya'akov Yisrael, " - this is Rabbi Ya'akov Yisrael Schmerler, a descendant of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk and Rabbi Meir of Premishlan, in whose merit and with whose powers the Rebbe infuses his blessings for all those who assist him. The Rebbe concludes his letter, "May you be blessed that all your desires be fulfilled for the good ..." The Admo"r adds his stamp in the margins of the letter as "Av Beit Din of Bobov and environs."

Rabbi Ben-Tziyon Halberstam [1874-1941] was the author of Kedushat Tziyon of Bobov. After the passing of his father, Rabbi Shlomo, the first Admo"r of Bobov and grandson of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, the Chassidim appointed Rabbi Ben-Tziyon Admo"r when he was just 31 years old. He established the Etz Chaim D'Bobov yeshivah, with dozens of branches throughout Galicia and Poland, and his impact on the youth was tremendous. In his day, Chassidut Bobov became the largest Chassidut in the area. Rabbi Ben Tziyon composed over 100 melodies. Some of the more famous are: "Yah Ribon,   "Mikdash Melech, " and "Mah Ashiv." During WWII, Rabbi Ben Tziyon stayed in the home of one of his Chassidim. During the pogrom known as "Petliura Day, " when the Rebbe was removing his Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, the door suddenly opened and a Ukrainian gentile entered the house. He realized that he was dealing with a respected person, and ordered him to accompany him. An eyewitness related that "he saw from the window how the rabbi, who was dressed in his Shabbat finery, was attacked by soldiers. The cruel Ukrainian soldiers hit him in his head with the butts of their rifles, and his kippah fell to the floor. The rebbe occasionally bent forward to pick it up, and they beat him even more forcefully." Three days later, on Monday, 4 Av, he was executed in the Yanover forest, on the outskirts of the city. 20,000 Jews were massacred that day, including the Rebbe, his son, and his three sons-in-law. May their blood be avenged.

[1] leaf, 14x22 cm. Entirely in his hand. Fine condition. Aging stains. Fold marks.

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