Letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe - Encouragement to Publish Writings of the Rishonim - 1970

Letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe - Encouragement to Publish Writings of the Rishonim - 1970
Letter from Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Lubavitch-Chabad. Brooklyn, New York, Iyar 1970.
Typewritten on the official stationery of the rebbe, with his signature and handwritten correction and addition.
The letter is addressed to R. Avraham Sofer, editor of writings of the Rishonim, and expresses appreciation to him for sending the book Tosafot Chachmei Anglia on tractates Beitza, Kiddushin and Megillah (Jerusalem 1970), which he had edited and published. The rebbe writes: "I just received the book Tosafot Chachmei Anglia on tractate Beitza etc [the emphasized words are the rebbe’s handwritten additions]; thank you for thinking of sending it to me, since one cannot compare seeing the galley proofs to a complete, printed book. And may he see the realization of the saying of the sages - whoever has one hundred wants two… may his desire to publish the writings of the Rishonim increase, and may G-d bring his desire to fruition". Further in the letter, the rebbe writes several particulars pertaining to his activities in drawing students from the Bologna University in Italy closer to Judaism.
At the beginning of the letter, the rebbe corrected by hand the typewritten title of the recipient "HaRav Avraham" to "the rabbi, outstanding Torah scholar".
The letter was printed in Igrot Kodesh, XXVI, pp. 397-398; Menachem Meshiv Nefesh, II, p. 645. In both sources, the rebbe’s handwritten addition and correction were not printed.
The recipient of the letter, R. Avraham Sofer (1897-1982) was the son of R. Shimon Sofer Rabbi of Erlau, author of Hitorerut Teshuva. He served between 1925-1939 as rabbi of Corfu, Gorizia (Italy), and Rijeka (Croatia). In 1939, he immigrated to Jerusalem. He dedicated his life, already during his stay in Italy, to editing and publishing dozens of works of Rishonim, with the addition of his important notes. His most renowned achievement was the series Beit HaBechirah LehaMe’iri. He kept in touch with the rebbe for decades, primarily concerning his work of editing compositions found in manuscripts, and corresponded with him extensively. R. Sofer would send the galley proofs of the books to the rebbe before publishing, for the rebbe to proofread and correct. After the printing, the rebbe would send him additional comments and corrections on the printed version. The rebbe encouraged and supported R. Sofer in his enterprise, as can be seen in this letter, and even assisted him financially in printing some of the books (see enclosed material).
[1] leaf. 28 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding marks.