Antiquarian booksellers are often propelled by the excitement that occurs when you stumble across an important discovery that sheds light on otherwise unknown areas. This week I came across such a discovery, when I was offered a collection of letters sent to a great American philanthropist who has yet to receive his proper recognition, Abraham Meyers of New York. The letters, dated mostly to the early 1930s includes 10 letters from R. Aaron Kotler in Kletzk, 13 Letters handwritten by Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, several others by Rav A. I. Kook, R. Moshe Rosen, R. Yechiel Michel Gordon of Lomza, R. Isser Zalman Meltzer and others as well as several personal familial letters.
Abraham Meyers arrived an orphan from Poland to New York in the early 1900s and achieved financial success early on. Per the family legend, he traveled back to his native Poland as an adult and used the occasion to visit the saintly Chofetz Chaim (January 26, 1838 – September 15, 1933). Awed and inspired by his experience, he devoted himself to promoting, distributing and encouraging the usage of the sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim and for decades forthcoming imported and distributed the sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim in the New World pro bono. One of the Mishnah Berurah editions published in Piotrikov, Poland, bears a dedication page in honor of Meyers and the first edition published in America, published in 1943 by the Zaks family was also sponsored by Abraham Meyers. Meyers was also a supporter of all the major yeshivas in Eastern Europe, as well as a major supporter of the Ponovezh Yeshiva. In addition, the Chazon Ish made use rent-free of a home owned by Meyers in Bene Brak, which served as the Chazon Ish’s residence until his passing.
Among the letters found in this collection are a series of letters by Rav A. I. Kook in 1932 responding to a letter by Meyers requesting assistance in promoting the Chofetz Chaim’s works. R. Kook first responds that the Chofetz Chaim is the leader of the generation and it would be an insult to need someone like him to promote the Chofetz Chaim’s work. Rav Kook then relents and says that he is willing to write something if the Chofetz Chaim would be agreeable to the idea. In a following letter, apparently after receiving approval, Rav Kook does indeed write a promotional letter encouraging the use and purchase of the Chofetz Chaim’s seforim. An additional letter from 1932, this one being a 3-page letter sent by Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz is also devoted to an extensive praise of the Chofetz Chaim and promotion of his sefarim. Abraham Meyers lost his eyesight towards the end of his life, and spent his aging years in the home of his of one of his 10 children, that of his son Hillel, in Long Beach, NY until his passing in the early 1950s.
