"I have saved my soul!" – An important Holocaust letter from the gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz

"I have saved my soul!" – An important Holocaust letter from the gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz

"The telegrams arriving from abroad in recent days inform us that there are possibilities to save European Jewry, which is being led to slaughter day by day, hour by hour…"

A rare and historically significant Holocaust letter concerning the rescue of European Jewry, authored by the gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz [the eldest brother of the Chazon Ish], a leader of Orthodox Jewry and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. Written on official Agudath Israel letterhead. Tel Aviv, 10 Menachem Av 5703 [August 1943].

In this letter, Rabbi Karelitz urgently summons twenty-five public leaders in Eretz Israel to an emergency meeting at the Agudath Israel headquarters in Tel Aviv to discuss the possibility of rescuing the majority (!) of European Jewry, which had not yet been exterminated at that stage of the Holocaust.

A commonly repeated claim is that the Yishuv in Eretz Israel remained largely indifferent to the horrors of the Holocaust. Aside from a few public gatherings, life in the Land of Israel continued as usual, as though hundreds of thousands of Jews were not being slaughtered every week. The official justification given was that the full scale of the Holocaust was not known until after the war.

However, this letter—written while the possibility of saving most of European Jewry still existed—reveals the cry of the victims through the voice of Rabbi Meir Karelitz. Between the lines, one can sense his outrage at the inaction and apathy of Orthodox Jewish leadership in Eretz Israel.

"And in recent times, we have almost entirely ceased all activity in our circles regarding this matter… What will we answer on the Day of Judgment? The gravity of the moment… has compelled me to convene this meeting, and if Your Honor does not find it necessary to participate in this meeting, I have saved my soul!!"

[1] sheet of paper, 22 cm. Typewritten, with the handwritten signature of the gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz. On the reverse: recipient details, stamps, and postmark.

Very fine condition. Filing holes.

The gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz [1875-1955], Rav of Lachowicze, co-founder of Chinuch Atzmai, and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. The eldest brother of the Chazon Ish and son-in-law of the Cheshek Shlomo. A close confidant of the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, he assisted them in establishing the Vaad HaYeshivos in Poland.

On the eve of World War II, he immigrated to Eretz Israel, where he became a founding member of the Vaad HaYeshivos and laid the foundation for Chinuch Atzmai. He served as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel and was a leader of the Orthodox Jewish community. The Beit Meir Yeshiva in Bnei Brak is named in his honor.