Interesting, Lengthy Letter from the Rogatchover, Rabbi Yosef Rosen –...
Interesting, Lengthy Letter from the Rogatchover, Rabbi Yosef Rosen – Shanah Tovah Blessing and Torah Thoughts
Lengthy letter (2 pages) handwritten and signed by the Rogatchover Gaon, R. "Yosef Rosen, Rabbi of Dvinsk". Elul 1920.
Sent to R. Yitzchak Ginsburg, who had sent him financial assistance. He begins with thanks and a blessing for a "Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah and a Shanah Tovah", continuing with Torah thoughts, an ingenious pilpul characteristically weaving together different topics: Moses, receiving the Torah and the service of the Levites, as well as other topics.
The present letter was printed with notes and explanations in Responsa Tzafnat Paneach HaChadashot (Modiin Illit, 2012, Part II, letters section, letter 10, pp. 439-441).
R. Yosef Rosen (1858-1936), Rabbi of Dvinsk, author of Tzafnat Paneach, known as the Rogatchover (after his birth town Rogatchov-Rahachow), a Chabad-Kopust follower. His father took him as a child to the Tzemach Tzedek, who blessed him with exceptional scholarliness and instructed him to study Tractate Nazir (some say this was the reason the Rogatchover did not cut his hair). In his youth, he studied under R. Yosef Dov Ber Soloveitchik, the Beit HaLevi, alongside the latter's son R. Chaim of Brisk.
From 1889, he served as Rabbi of the Chabad Chassidic community in Dvinsk (Daugavpils, Latvia), alongside the city's Rabbi, the Or Sameach, a position he held for 40 years. A remarkable figure, he was renowned for his tremendous sharpness and genius, his comprehensive knowledge of all areas of the Torah, down to its finest details, and for producing profound definitions, hypotheses and original methods of Torah study. Tales of his genius and diligence abound.
His legendary brilliance was also highly regarded by the secular world in his days and Bialik reputedly said that "two Einsteins could be carved out from the mind of the Rogatchover". The Rogatchover dealt extensively in explaining the teachings of the Rambam and wrote numerous halachic responsa. His responsa and novellae were published in the Tzafnat Paneach series. His printed books are a small part of the incessant flow of the inexhaustible fountain of his Torah. Due to the profundity of his teachings and his concise, cryptic style of writing, several projects have risen in recent generations to decipher and explain his teachings, resulting in the publication of annotated editions of his works.
[1] leaf. 21 cm. Closely written on both sides. Good condition. Slight marginal open tear.
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Interesting, Lengthy Letter from the Rogatchover, Rabbi Yosef Rosen – Shanah Tovah Blessing and Torah Thoughts
Lengthy letter (2 pages) handwritten and signed by the Rogatchover Gaon, R. "Yosef Rosen, Rabbi of Dvinsk". Elul 1920.
Sent to R. Yitzchak Ginsburg, who had sent him financial assistance. He begins with thanks and a blessing for a "Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah and a Shanah Tovah", continuing with Torah thoughts, an ingenious pilpul characteristically weaving together different topics: Moses, receiving the Torah and the service of the Levites, as well as other topics.
The present letter was printed with notes and explanations in Responsa Tzafnat Paneach HaChadashot (Modiin Illit, 2012, Part II, letters section, letter 10, pp. 439-441).
R. Yosef Rosen (1858-1936), Rabbi of Dvinsk, author of Tzafnat Paneach, known as the Rogatchover (after his birth town Rogatchov-Rahachow), a Chabad-Kopust follower. His father took him as a child to the Tzemach Tzedek, who blessed him with exceptional scholarliness and instructed him to study Tractate Nazir (some say this was the reason the Rogatchover did not cut his hair). In his youth, he studied under R. Yosef Dov Ber Soloveitchik, the Beit HaLevi, alongside the latter's son R. Chaim of Brisk.
From 1889, he served as Rabbi of the Chabad Chassidic community in Dvinsk (Daugavpils, Latvia), alongside the city's Rabbi, the Or Sameach, a position he held for 40 years. A remarkable figure, he was renowned for his tremendous sharpness and genius, his comprehensive knowledge of all areas of the Torah, down to its finest details, and for producing profound definitions, hypotheses and original methods of Torah study. Tales of his genius and diligence abound.
His legendary brilliance was also highly regarded by the secular world in his days and Bialik reputedly said that "two Einsteins could be carved out from the mind of the Rogatchover". The Rogatchover dealt extensively in explaining the teachings of the Rambam and wrote numerous halachic responsa. His responsa and novellae were published in the Tzafnat Paneach series. His printed books are a small part of the incessant flow of the inexhaustible fountain of his Torah. Due to the profundity of his teachings and his concise, cryptic style of writing, several projects have risen in recent generations to decipher and explain his teachings, resulting in the publication of annotated editions of his works.
[1] leaf. 21 cm. Closely written on both sides. Good condition. Slight marginal open tear.
