Letter of Good Year Wishes from the First Rebbe of Biala, R. Yitzchak Yaakov Author of Divrei Bina – 1886

Letter of Good Year Wishes from the First Rebbe of Biala, R. Yitzchak Yaakov Author of Divrei Bina – 1886
Letter signed by Rebbe "Yitzchak Yaakov son of R. Natan David". Biala (Biała Podlaska, Poland), 1886.
Letter of good year wishes: " …may we be remembered and granted salvation and mercy from the Source of blessings… with a twofold good inscription and sealing, in body and soul, with children, life and sustenance, perfect health… a good and sweet year, a life of satisfaction, joyous heart, and peace of mind for Torah study and worship of G-d…".
The first Rebbe of Biala – R. Yitzchak Yaakov Rabinowitz (1847–1905), a leading Polish rebbe. He was the son of Rebbe Natan David of Shidlovtsa, who was the grandson of the Yid HaKadosh, R. Yitzchak Yaakov of Peshischa. Already as a young child, he stood out for his exceptional intellectual capacities and his exalted soul (his father testified that he benefitted from a revelation of Eliyahu HaNavi as a child, and even before reaching the age of 13. R. Yechezkel of Kuzmir called him "Rebbi" and R. Eliezer of Dzikov presented him with a Kvittel. When he went with his father to the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, the latter stood up before the child and accorded him great honor). In 1873, he succeeded his father-in-law Rebbe Yehoshua of Ostrova-Lentsha as rebbe, with a following of thousands of Chassidim. Following the directive of Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh of Radzymin, he assumed the yoke of leadership, and many flocked to his court, which later relocated to Biala.
He was accepted and revered by all the great Chassidic leaders of Poland. Rebbe Yechiel Meir of Gostynin attested: "I didn't believe that there would be another
person with such mental capacities after the Rebbe of
Kotsk". The Rebbe of Gostynin would also send him a letter every Erev Rosh Hashanah, requesting that he mention him "in his eloquent prayers", with the approach of the High Holidays. Rebbe Chaim Yisrael of Pilov applied to him the saying: "the sage is preferable to the prophet". Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh of Radzymin, who was an elder rebbe of his generation, once honored him with giving over Torah thoughts at his Tish. Despite his young age, R. Yitzchak Yaakov had no alternative but to deliver some Torah thoughts. When he finished speaking, Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh of Radzymin exclaimed "True! True! True!". His teachings were published in the Divrei Binah and Yishrei Lev series.
He passed away during the Arvit prayers, and his soul departed in purity, while reciting "And all will accept the yoke of Your Kingship" in the Alenu LeShabe'ach prayer.
All his sons and grandsons were prominent rebbes in Poland, with large followings: His son Rebbe Yerachmiel Tzvi of Shedlitz (ancestor of the current rebbes of Biala), his son Rebbe Natan David of Partzeva (father of the rebbe of Munkacs-Petach Tikva), his son Rebbe Meir Shlomo Yehuda of Mezeritch, his son Rebbe Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Lublin and his son-in-law Rebbe Yosef Tzvi Kalish of Skiernivitz – first rabbi of Bnei Brak.
[1] leaf. Written by a scribe, with the rebbe's signature. 20 cm. Good condition. Dry paper. Filing holes and light wear to folds.
Provenance: Prominent private collection, New York. Acquired at Kedem, auction 48, item 49.