Letter by Rebbe Shalom Rokeach of Apta

Letter by Rebbe Shalom Rokeach of Apta
Letter signed by Rebbe Shalom Rokeach Av Beit Din of Apta (brother of Rebbe Aharon of Belz). Apta (Opatow), Tevet 1937.
Long interesting letter, in scribal handwriting, with his signature: "Shalom son of my father, my teacher the Rabbi of Belz, Apta". Sent to Eretz Israel to Kfar Ata, concerning a shidduch in which the groom moved to Kfar Ata and the bride lives in Apta, Poland.
Rebbe Shalom Rokeach - the last Rabbi of Apta (1907-perished in the Holocaust in 1943), youngest of the four sons of Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz. Son in law of Rebbe Yisrael Perlow of Karlin-Stolin. From his youth, he was renowned for his great holiness and diligence in Torah study and Chassidism. He was particularly exceptional in his noble and magnanimous character and excessive humility. [Even in his youth, the story is told that once he returned home without his coat and was asked to the whereabouts of his coat. He answered that he is prohibited to tell. This reached the ears of his father, the Rebbe. His father called him and asked him about his coat. He answered: "One child had worn torn trousers and had no coat and was very ashamed. I did not want to tell this to others, because they would then all know that this child had torn trousers…"]. His father, Rebbe Yissachar Dov loved him dearly and was very proud of his pious son and called him an "unblemished sacrifice", whose attributes are very similar to the first Rebbe Shalom of Belz, an elevated holy man.
He would study with much enthusiasm and yearning and would delve into halachic complexities. He reviewed the four parts of the Shulchan Aruch and books of responsa many times. In 1931, he was appointed Rabbi of Apta and was revered by the city's inhabitants, who saw his holy conduct in Torah study and prayer and his acts of chesed and love of his fellow man.
During the Holocaust, he fled to his brother in the abandoned city of Belz and later hid in Drohobych, Stryi and Przemyśl. Eventually, he fled to the forest and attempted to find his way to Hungary (to join his two older brothers, Rebbe Aharon of Belz and the Biłgoraj Rebbe Mordechai Rokeach). In the autumn of 1940, Rabbi Shalom died in the forest from exposure and starvation. Upon hearing of his brother's demise, Rebbe Aharon of Belz eulogized him in Budapest and lamented: "He was a tsaddik, G-d fearing, greatly charitable and pious person" (Ele Ezkera Vol. 5 pp. 175-179). His wife and children also perished in the Holocaust.
[2] written pages, 19.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Torn filing holes, affecting text and signature.