Printed leaf, "Modaah Rabba!" – "Important notice! This is the Torah's decree made in 1878" – notice of the ban of secular schools and studies, with 17 (printed) signatures of R. Yehoshua Leib (Maharil) Diskin, Rabbi of Brisk, and other rabbis of Jerusalem and leaders of the Ashkenazi communities in Jerusalem from 1878 – with three new letters, dated Adar 1896, from the Maharil Diskin, the Gaon of Lublin R. Shneur Zalman Liadier Rabbi of Lublin, and R. Shmuel Salant Rabbi of Jerusalem. [Jerusalem: printer not indicated, Adar 1896].

The last notice of the ban printed by the Maharil Diskin in the last years of his life.

In 1856, the rabbis of Jerusalem had already issued a ban against the Lämel school, one of the first schools in Jerusalem to incorporate secular studies (established with the financial support and at the initiative of the wealthy Lämel family of Austria, and headed by teacher and journalist Ludwig August von Frankl). The 1856 notice was signed by R. Shmuel Salant, his father-in-law R. Yosef Zundel of Salant and many other rabbis. The ban was renewed and expanded in 1862, 1866 and 1873, adding signatures of R. Meir Auerbach Rabbi of Kalisz and Jerusalem (author of Imrei Binah), R. Moshe Yehudah Leib Silberberg the Gaon of Kutno (author of Zayit Raanan), R. Nachum of Szadek and others.

One of the main goals of Maharil Diskin Rabbi of Brisk, upon his arrival in Jerusalem on 29th Tamuz 1877, was to strengthen the breaches in holiness and education in Jerusalem, and to assist the rabbis of the city in their fight against the Haskalah. This was after various parties from outside of Eretz Israel established various institutions in order to interfere with traditional Jewish education in Jerusalem. When the Maharil Diskin arrived, the rabbis and leaders of Jerusalem redoubled their efforts in the fight against Haskalah schools, renewing the ban printed in full in Alot HaBrit (see Kedem, Auction 99, 5 November 2024, Lot 195): "Forbidding learning of secular studies – even those which are halachically permissible to study are nevertheless forbidden to study under a dedicated teacher who is paid from abroad. Likewise forbidding study of foreign scripts and languages, not to be studied in a group in any place, neither in a school nor as an added subject in Torah schools, even absolutely trivially, in any way, even by a G-d-fearing supervisor… The decrees and bans apply even to the official language. The decrees and bans are binding on all who come to learn and teach… and all who found and assist, and fathers of boys and girls…".

In the present ban, the Maharil Diskin added R. Shneur Zalman, the Gaon of Lublin, author of Torat Chesed, who immigrated to Jerusalem at that time and was highly respected by all Chassidic communities. In addition, the Maharil Diskin added two new letters, his own and one by R. Shmuel Salant, reinforcing the earlier bans.

The leading rabbis of Jerusalem, headed by Maharil Diskin and R. Shmuel Salant and his Beit Din, announced several bans against the Lämel school and the Alliance Israélite Universelle schools founded in its wake (to this day, many Orthodox institutions in Jerusalem avoid teaching foreign languages in class, allowing only tutoring in pairs – as some of the original bans apply the prohibition of teaching foreign languages to a class of three or more students).

During the Maharil Diskin's fierce battle against the schools in Jerusalem, a tourist staying in Jerusalem at the time describes his impressions on a visit to the Maharil Diskin's home: "…I saw the Rabbi of Brisk for a whole hour, and people of bitter heart and soul afflicted with suffering and sickness would come to him one by one to receive a blessing, to ask him to pray to annul the strict decrees, and the rabbi would sympathize with the pain of each and every one; his whispering voice was sweet and his eyes were full of compassion, sitting and listening to their groans and offering them his blessing and counsel, and he was visibly sick with the sickness of the offspring of the holy people… And when I stood up to leave, I innocently touched on the question of the schools in Jerusalem, and in a moment his appearance was changed; the rabbi stood shaking from his chair and was filled with a great zeal to the point that all his bones shook and his tongue swept fiery coals and he was like one of the fiery angels… He stripped off one form and took on another – and what man is privy to the secret of his conduct and inspiration, which is beyond my grasp…?" (Amud Esh, Jerusalem 1954, p. 112).

On several occasions, the Maharil Diskin sent his disciples (R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, R. Leib Chefetz, R. Shlomo Zalman Porush) to publicly declare the ban, as for instance during the visit of the leaders of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in the Hurva synagogue and on other occasions. These disciples declared the ban at high personal risk, and were beaten savagely by thugs hired to that end by the initiators of the school – as already documented at length in historical books and periodicals of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, which detail the battle for the souls of the community's children (see: Tochachat Megulah poster, Jerusalem 1887 – Kedem, Auction 98, 17 September 2024, Lot 181; and see further: Amud Esh, Jerusalem 1954, pp. 125-126; HaIsh Al HaChomah, 2023 edition, II, chapter 16, pp. 47-82; and more).

The Gaon of Lublin, R. Shneur Zalman Liadier (Pradkin; 1830-1902), author of Torat Chesed, was born in Liadi and was known from childhood as a prodigy and outstanding Torah genius; From 1868 he served as Rabbi of Lublin and was one of the celebrated Torah scholars of his generation. In 1892 he immigrated to Jerusalem where he was recognized as a foremost Torah sage (together with Maharil Diskin and R. Shmuel Salant). In 1899 he moved to Hebron (at the request of the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch), but returned to Jerusalem shortly thereafter. In 1901, as he grew older, R. Shmuel Salant sought a successor to the Jerusalem rabbinate and invited the Aderet (R. Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim) who was serving as Rabbi of Mir, Lithuania (present-day Belarus), to take the post; this caused a disturbance in the Chassidic communities of Jerusalem who hoped that the Gaon of Lublin would be appointed. Still, in spite of the controversy, the two rabbis remained close friends and held each other in high esteem. R. Shneur Zalman died in 1902 and the title "Rabbi of the entire Jewish people" is inscribed on his gravestone.

[1] large leaf. 48 cm. Greenish paper. Fair condition. Wear and tears to folds, slightly affecting text.

The present poster is rare. Many copies of this historical poster have been reprinted in Jerusalem over the course of time. The present poster is the original, printed in the lifetime of the Maharil Diskin, in 1896.