NEW YORK (VINnews) — A letter written 91 years ago by the renowned Mashgiach Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz led to a $1 million donation for yeshiva students in the Land of Israel.

In a special interview on the “Tzav Ma’atzar” (“Arrest Warrant”) program on Kol Hai Radio, hosted by Bnei Brak Deputy Mayor Gudi Silman, Miami businessman Rabbi Tzvi Bogomilsky revealed the remarkable chain of events that, contrary to his original intentions, led him to donate $1 million to the Keren Olam HaTorah (World of Torah Fund).

“I never planned to donate. I said from the outset that I would provide my home for the event, but I wasn’t going to donate even one dollar,” Bogomilsky, a Chabad businessman from Miami, began.

Bogomilsky explained that when representatives of Keren Olam HaTorah approached him to host a fundraising dinner for yeshivot and kollels in Israel, he happily agreed to host the event but made it clear that he did not intend to contribute financially.

Then, he said, an extraordinary series of events unfolded.On the 18th of Sivan, the yahrzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz, marking 90 years since his passing, he received the request to host the dinner.

A few days later, on Shabbat, which coincided with the yahrzeit of his grandfather, Rabbi Shmuel Pesach Bogomilsky, he sat with his son discussing the family’s history. During their conversation, he opened a family history book published by his uncle and, for the first time, discovered a rare letter written by Rabbi Yerucham to his great-grandfather, Rabbi Tzvi Kaplan.

The letter had been written 91 years earlier, after Rabbi Yerucham had arranged the marriage between Rabbi Tzvi Kaplan’s daughter and his student, Rabbi Shmuel Pesach Bogomilsky.

Following the wedding, Rabbi Tzvi Kaplan sent Rabbi Yerucham $30 as a traditional matchmaking fee. Rabbi Yerucham replied that he could not accept the money for himself. Instead, he asked that it be used for a sacred purpose – helping rescue yeshiva students from conscription into the Polish army. He also requested assistance in raising funds for a special fund he had established for that purpose.

“When I read the letter, I began to cry,” Bogomilsky recalled. “I realized that 91 years ago Rabbi Yerucham asked our family to help save yeshiva students from the draft decree, and now I was about to host an event whose entire purpose was to help yeshiva students in the Land of Israel.”

During the fundraising dinner, Bogomilsky shared the story of the letter with those in attendance. He said that he did not know whether his grandfather had ultimately fulfilled Rabbi Yerucham’s request, but he felt that the mission had now come to him.

Although he had stated in advance that he would not make a donation, he announced at the event that he would contribute $1 million to Keren Olam HaTorah.

According to the article, the interview left a deep impression on listeners and illustrated how a letter written more than nine decades ago continues to resonate today in efforts to support the Torah world and yeshiva students in Israel.