At the end of the letter sent from Brisk to Switzerland, where Rabbi Shteinman, ztz”l had fled, his sister added four handwritten lines with her signature in Yiddish, in which she asks how he’s doing, “Write something personal for once, all your letters are full of things that can benefit the whole world, but you don’t write about yourself at all…”

Interesting family letters from 1938 to the gaon Rabbi Yehudah Leib Shteinman are now being offered for sale at Winner’s Auction House and they demonstrate his famous humility as well as the economic conditions of the period.

Two different letters, which were sent from Brisk to Switzerland on one piece of paper, to save on postal expenses – one letter to Rabbi Aharon Leib, and the second to his friend Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik – provide a glimpse of the bond sustained between the young men and their families.

In this family correspondence from Rabbi Aharon Yehudah Leib’s sister, his characteristic humility is revealed. His sister Golda asks how he’s doing, tells him what’s happening in the family and asks him to write about his personal experiences: “Write something personal for once, all your letters are full of things that can benefit the whole world, but you don’t write about yourself at all …”

She asks how the trip was, his impressions of the country, how he’s becoming acclimated to the foreign language, and about his clothing.

Golda jokes that he can go skiing in the mountains as an athlete, and tells him that Chayah Sarah (apparently their sister) is a smart girl and speaks about Rabbi Aharon Leib a lot.

There are 342 rare items offered for sale, including:

A Shabbat HaGadol drashah by the Chatam Sofer

A letter from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein to then Prime Minister Golda Meir in which he expresses Daat Torah that the State of Israel must meet the terrorists’ demands…

Letters from the Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik and the Chazon Ish, as well as Rebbes including Rabbi Shmelke of Zhvill and the Kotzker rebbe’s son

A complete 500-year-old manuscript by the author of Shiltei Gibborim

Rare sifrei kodesh, Judaica items and illustrated ketubot

The sale will take place at the company offices in Jerusalem and will be broadcast online on June 19 at 5:30. To view the sale catalog and to participate, visit winners-auctions.com