Letters from gedolei Yisroel to soothe the soul and restore the spirit of those who have experienced loss

Nichum aveilim is an art, and throughout the generations, our gedolim have mastered this Torah-based art, in ways that have truly touched and comforted countless grieving souls.

In Voices of Consolation, Rabbi Doniel Hexter has compiled close to 120 letters of tanchumin from gedolei Yisrael of the recent (and not-so-recent) past. Translated into English, these letters, which were sent to individuals in mourning (some of them gedolim in their own right), are brimming with chizuk and nechamah. They serve as a Torah perspective on how to deal with loss, and provide a glimpse into the way our gedolim themselves dealt with their own personal losses.

The writers of these letters include the Rambam, Rav Yonasan Eibschutz, the Netziv, the Chafetz Chaim, the Imrei Emes of Ger, Rav Eliyahu Dessler, Rav Yitzchak Hutner, Rav Shach, Rav Moshe Feinstein, the Nesivos Shalom, Rav Shlomo Wolbe, and many other gedolim. Most of the letters are supplemented with biographical information about their author and to whom the note was penned, thus enabling the reader to connect better with these words of tanchumin and find true consolation in them.

By Rabbi Doniel Hexter