(Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh, 1899-2001). Autograph Letter Signed in Hebrew, written on letterhead to Rabbi Yehoshua Yogel (Yagel).

SCHACH, ELAZAR MENACHEM MAN

Motzei Shabbath of Parshath Tetzaveh

Bnei Brak

1964

Response to an inquiry from Rabbi Yogel seeking recollections of his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Shalom Tzvi Lamport, whom R. Shach knew from his youth in the yeshiva in Kletzk (Belarus).

R. Yagel was seeking biographical information to be included in his grandfather’s work, the soon to be published, Nethivoth Sholom (1965). R. Shach writes here that he is not offering an approbation, since Rabbi Lamport’s brilliance in Torah study was beyond the need for that. R. Shach notes that his own rabbis and relatives, R. Isser Zalman Meltzer and R. Aharon Kotler, enjoyed discussing Torah with Rabbi Lamport in Kletzk since he had tremendous drive for his Torah studies in which he was an expert. Born in Lodz, R. Yehoshua Yogel (1916-2006) was a student in Lithuanian yeshivas, including Kletzk, under the tutelage of R. Aharon Kotler. He emigrated to Eretz Israel in 1936 and continued his studies at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav. Although active in the Mizrachi camp, he maintained positive relationships with both the Chazon Ish and Rav Shach (who calls him here his ‘dear friend’). Rabbi Yogel was a founder of Yeshivat Midreshet Noam and remained a bridge between the circles of Daati Leumi and the Chareidi world. Rabbi Lamport (1857-1936) was born in Kletzk, and studied in Volozhin. Rabbi Yogel’s introduction to his grandfather’s Nethivoth Sholom includes many testimonies concerning his exceptional learning and dedication to Torah study. See https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/history/articles/tzvi-hirsch-lamport-piskei-ha-gra-natalie-zemon-davis.