Letter from the Netziv of Volozhin – Blessings for the Seventieth Birthday of Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer – Volozhin, 1890

Lengthy and interesting letter handwritten and signed by R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin – the Netziv of Volozhin. Volozhin (Valozhyn) 1890.
Addressed to R. Azriel Hildesheimer in Berlin, the letter contains heartfelt blessings in flowery terms, on the occasion of his 70th birthday – "May G-d add to him years of life, vitalize him, guard him and satisfy him… and may his fragrance be amongst his people like the wine of Harel and Ariel". The Netziv praises his accomplishments in the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin: "I am like the masses of the Jewish nation, who know and understand that he has achieved much, by building and planting in Prussia (Germany) a place for the study of Torah and Halacha, an abode for the honor and service of G-d, and he is comparable to the glow of the stars, who illuminate the night for the multitudes. Therefore, I hereby extend by blessings and prayers, that G-d should help him build more pathways to serving Him and may the light of the merit of the Torah guide his ways, to draw after him the Jewish people pleasantly…".
The Netziv signs off the letter with a request from R. Azriel Hildesheimer to in turn bless him: "And may I as well be blessed with his blessings, to continue guarding the yeshiva, at the age when one already requires rest from old age. I, his friend who is loaded with a great deal of work. Awaiting G-d's salvation – Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin".
R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin – the Netziv of Volozhin (1817-1893), a foremost and outstanding Torah scholar of his generation, was the son-in-law of R. Yitzchak of Volozhin and his successor as dean of the yeshiva for decades. His father, R. Yaakov Berlin of Mir (1794-1868), immigrated to Jerusalem in 1854 and was one of the leaders of the Prushim community in Jerusalem.
Known for his great diligence and brilliance, the Netziv led the Volozhin yeshiva with devotion and love for many years, until the yeshiva became the main breeding ground for Torah leaders who were the glory of Lithuanian, Russian and Polish Jewry. With his noble personality and profound, thorough erudition, he produced generations of eminent Torah scholars, yeshiva deans, dayanim and rabbis. He was also engaged in public leadership and his opinion was conclusive for all community matters in Russia and Lithuania. He responded to halachic queries which many rabbis sent to him, customarily signing his letters in those years as "he who is laden with work". He composed many books, including HaEmek She'ela – novellae on She'iltot; HaEmek Davar on the Torah; Responsa Meishiv Davar; Talmudic novellae and commentaries on Halachic midrashim: Mechilta, Sifri and Sifra.
The recipient of the letter, R. Azriel Hildesheimer (1820-1899), a leader in his times, was a disciple of the Aruch LaNer and of R. Yitzchak Bernays of Hamburg. He served as rabbi of Eisenstadt between 1851-1869 where he founded an innovative yeshiva integrating secular studies according to the Torah with Derech Eretz doctrine. This move drew opposition and criticism both from the Reform movement and from certain sects of Orthodox Judaism. However, the leading rabbis of Hungary and Germany recognized his greatness and backed his yeshiva. In 1869, he was appointed rabbi of Berlin, where he established the Rabbinical seminary, standing at the helm of Orthodox Jewry in Germany.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 25 cm. 17 handwritten lines. Good-fair condition. Stains and creases. Minor wear.