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Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander ztz”l for close to five years. He received Semicha from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg ztz”l. Rabbi Alt has written on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of the books, Fascinating Insights and Incredible Insights. His writings inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. He lives with his wife and family in a suburb of Yerushalayim where he studies, writes, and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance.
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Letter to Mothers
At the end of a letter that the Maharam Shick[1] wrote to his son when he was learning in yeshiva in the city of Tzahalim, he writes: “Write to your mother in German a separate letter or at the bottom of a letter because she will be delighted in reading it herself since she doesn’t understand the language Lashon Hakodesh that you wrote me.”
R’ Mordechai Aryeh Halevi Horowitz in his sefer B’shem Mordechai,[2] writes about his father R’ Avraham Halevi Horowitz (1864-1942):[3] “Every Erev Shabbos my father would write to his mother. Once he wrote to her that he is careful in doing this (i.e., writing letters to her) like putting on tefillin. I remember times when there weren’t any cards in the house. He would then stand outside in the rain and snow to find someone that could bring him cards in order to fulfill the mitzva of kibud av v’eim. It’s the right thing for you to also be careful to write each week a letter to us.”
His grandson added[4] that the great Belzer chassid, R’ Eliezer Rosen, who was a student of the B’shem Mordechai, related that during World War One there was no mail and he wasn’t able to send letters to his mother. What did he do? He wrote a letter each week to his mother like he was accustomed. He would then put them in a closet for safekeeping until he was able to show these letters to his mother.
The Munkatcher Rebbe related that R’ Nosson Dovid Rabinowitz of Partziva[5] (1866-1930) was accustomed to sending a letter each week to his mother who was the Biala Rebbitzen. In the letter, he would ask her how she was doing and wished her a good Shabbos. On the day he passed away, R’ Nosson Dovid called his daughter and showed her a package of letters that were written and prepared a while before. He instructed her to continue sending a letter each week to his mother in order that she shouldn’t feel that he was gone which obviously would cause her pain. The package of letters that he prepared was exactly enough for three months. After those three months, when the letters were all sent, his mother passed away.
[1] Maharam Shick Al Hatorah at the beginning of the sefer.
[2] Letter 9.
[3] He was regarded as one of the greatest halachic authorities of his time. He received semicha from the Maharsham and the Kochav Mi’Yaakov. In 1889, following the endorsement of the Belzer Rav, he accepted the post of Rav of Probinzhna, a position which he held for over a half-century. Among his famous works is his two-volume Shu”t Tzur Yaakov. Following the passing of R’ Meir Shapiro, he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Chachmei Lublin where he delivered shiurim for a short period of time. The Shevet Halevi once remarked: “There is not a line in the Beis Yosef or Beis Shmuel that R’ Avraham Horowitz does not know by heart.” He, his five daughters with their entire families perished in the Holocaust.
[4] In a comment on the sefer B’shem Mordechai, p. 180 in the name of the sefer Nafshos Chasidav, Volume 2, p. 117.
[5] He was the son of the Biala Rebbe known as the Divrei Bina (1847-1905).
