Printed letter, Michtav Galui – open letter from Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem R. Avraham Ashkenazi (Rishon LeTzion), on rectification of Hebron public institutions. Jerusalem, Adar 1879.

Open letter on the appointment of Hebron rabbis and tzedakah collectors, appointed for distribution of funds to Torah scholars and the poor, naming the individuals appointed to receive donations.

Bibliographically unknown document from the controversy over tzedakah institutions in Hebron, launched when Chief Rabbi Avraham Ashkenazi (in the present letter) appointed R. Rachamim Franko as Rabbi of Hebron, and Mercado Romano (founder of Beit Romano) as member of the city council. R. Avraham Chaim Penso then had Minchat Kenaot printed in Jerusalem, attacking these appointments, along with sharp letters of other Jerusalem rabbis opposing the appointment of R. Franko (and firing of R. Eliyahu Mani). The rabbis of Hebron then published Dimat Ashukim in support of R. Avraham Ashkenazi.

[1] leaf. 21.5X17.5 cm. Dry paper. Good-fair condition. Folding marks. Minor marginal tears.

Bibliographically unknown. Undocumented by Sh. Halevy and NLI catalog.

Large printed leaf, Gabbaei Kodesh – letters to money collectors and donors to institutions, from the united fundraiser of the Torah and charitable institutions Etz Chaim yeshiva and Bikur Cholim hospital. Jerusalem, Tevet [December] 1889. Hebrew and Yiddish (vocalized). Sent alongside 1889 annual report.

Stamps of R. Shmuel Salant, Chief Rabbi of Ashkenazic community of Jerusalem; Etz Chaim Torah school and yeshiva; and Bikur Cholim hospital. Signatures of treasurers R. Abba Yaakov Sendrowitz, R. Natan Gringart, R. Shalom Shachna Gottman and R. Sheima of Volkovysk.

[1] leaf. 40 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Open tear to bottom corner of leaf, not affecting text.

Rare. Not documented by Sh. Halevy or in NLI catalog.

Provenance: Formerly of the collection of Dr. Israel Mehlman (Ginzei Yisrael), with his handwritten inscription in pencil: "Not documented bibliographically".

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.

Statutes of Yemin Moshe society, Yehudit Street division. Jerusalem: Sh. HaLevi Zuckerman and partner, [1892]. Bilingual booklet, in Hebrew and English.

Statutes of society for sale of property in Yehudit Street in the Yemin Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem, meant for the poor of the Sephardic community of Jerusalem. The Yemin Moshe neighborhood was built in memory of Sir Moses Montefiore, and Yehudit Street was named after his wife Judith Montefiore.

The statutes were printed in Hebrew and English. On p. 12, contract (printed, filled in by hand) with one purchaser of a home, with signatures of leaders of the society: R. Yitzchak Ashkenazi, R. Shmuel Meyuchas, R. Eliyahu Moshe Panigel and others, and stamp of the society.

Blank leaves at end of volume, of which 6 pages are filled in by hand with accountings, documents and transfers of property ownership, 1893-1921, signed by treasurers of society R. Shmuel Meyuchas, R. Mordechai Meyuchas, R. Aharon Chaim Ferrera and others, with stamps of society.

12, 4 pages + approx. [6] handwritten pages. Lacking pp. [5-6] of English part. 18.5 cm. Dry, brittle paper. Fair-good condition. Stains. Creases and wear. Marginal tears and open tears to some leaves. Creases and wear. Old binding, with defects.

Large, hand-decorated poster – Hon VaOsher Beveito – call to found a library in Midrash Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon Beit Midrash in Jerusalem – with letters and handwritten signatures of thirteen rabbis of Jerusalem, including R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld and R. Shlomo Zalman Baharan Löwy [whose letters oppose the secular libraries established in the city in those days which mixed holy and secular books]. Jerusalem, [ca. 1897].

Announcement of treasurers and administrators of the Midrash Eliyahu in Jerusalem, written as a personal appeal, with a blank space left to be filled in with the name of the donor, to establish a Beit Midrash for Torah and prayer, and a library, to be named after the Vilna Gaon, in Jerusalem.

Thirteen rabbis of Jerusalem signed the letter, some of whom added brief handwritten letters of support and assent, including R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who adds that this would have the additional benefit of preventing people from visiting a library that mixed holy and secular book [apparently referring to the B'nai B'rith library established in Meah Shearim during that period]; and R. Shlomo Zalman Baharan Löwy, whose letter also opposes the new secular library.

The present poster also features signatures and letters of R. David of Izabelin, R. Yisrael Isser of Slonim, R. David Tzvi Hirsch, R. Isser son of R. Naftali Hertz Ginzburg, R. Asher Anshel son of R. Elyakim, R. Yedidiah son of R. Nachman of Grodno, R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Yadler [author of Tiferet Yerushalayim, disciple of R. Yehoshua Leib Diskin], R. Yehoshua Epstein of Vilna, R. Asher Dov Ber Zusman, R. Shmuel Dov of Vilna, and R. Yitzchak son of R. Yosef Segal.

[1] large leaf. 46 cm. Fair-good condition. Folding marks and creases. Stains and wear. Tears to margins and folds.