Large assorted collection of letters, documents, receipts and various documents, most signed by Sephardic rabbis in Tiberias, between ca. 1900-1960.
Among other things, the collection includes: Official stationery and printed receipts, some printed in color, decorations and pictures of holy sites, filled in by hand and signed or stamped by the rabbis.

Some items included in the collection:
• Letter of blessing for the bar mitzvah of Mordechai son of Avraham Nachum, neatly written, with the signatures of the city rabbis (calligraphic signatures): R. Aharon Alchadif, the Chacham Bashi (with his stamp); R. Yehudah Toledano; R. Shmuel Ben-Kiki; R. David Soudri; R. Baruch Toledano and R. Machluf HaKohen. Tiberias, 25 Shevat [1900].
• Large printed leaf with Shanah Tovah wishes, from the Sephardic Jewish community in Tiberias, with the addressees, the brothers Ashkenazi, filled in by hand. Stamps of Tiberias institutions and signature-like stamps of R. Shmuel Ben-Kiki and R. Avraham Abuchatzeira. Tiberias, [ca. 1890s-1910s].
• Certificate declaring Yosef son of Yeshuah Zrihan unmarried, with (calligraphic) signatures and stamps of dayanim R. Shmuel Ben-Kiki (head of Tiberias Beit Din), R. Yaakov Chai Zrihan and R. Eliyahu Illouz. Tiberias, 1914.
• Certificate declaring Yosef son of Yeshuah Zrihan unmarried, signed and stamped by R. Chaim Yissachar Abulafia, the Chacham Bashi. Tiberias, 1914.
• Letter from the Chacham Bashi R. Chaim [son of R.] Aharon Alchadif to R. Bentzion Uziel. Lengthy handwritten letter [scribal writing?], with R. Alchadif's official stamp and signature-like stamp. Tiberias, Tamuz [1919].
• Reports on Torah and educational institutions in Tiberias, signed by R. Meir Vaknin. 1920s-1930s.
• Postcard with letter from R. Meir Vaknin to his son Pinchas Vaknin. 1943.
• Three postcards with letters handwritten and signed by R. Meir Vaknin (with his stamp), to R. Shimon Ohayon, a rabbi in Jaffa. Tiberias, Cheshvan and Kislev 1959.
• Receipts and signed letters (on official stationeries of the institutions in Tiberias), signed by the rabbis and emissaries: R. Yaakov Vaknin, R. Bechor Yehudah Vaknin, R. Chaim Yosef Maman, R. Refael Bibas, R. Yaakov Chai Zrihan, R. Shalom Malka, R. Baruch Toledano and others.
• Two photographs on postcards, with letters from R. Bechor Yehudah Vaknin. One postcard shows a photograph of a procession of Torah scrolls at the celebration of R. Meir Baal HaNes, and the other shows a photograph of R. Bechor Yehudah and his wife. Tiberias, Adar 1930 / Elul 1931.

28 letters and printed items. Varying size and condition.

Assorted collection of over thirty letters and documents, rulings issued by Beit Din and wills. Safed, ca. 1880s-1930s.
The signatories on letters and halachic rulings in the present collection include: R. Avraham Leib Silberman, Rabbi of Safed; R. Efraim Shraga Weingott, a rabbi in Safed; R. Nachum Etrog, a rabbi in Safed; dayanim of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem: R. Tzvi Pesach Frank, R. Bentzion Cuenca and R. Yerucham Fishel Berenstein; R. Baruch Kahana Malayov; R. David Kahana; R. Menachem Mendel Kahana; R. Yechiel Schneerson and his father R. Moshe Shalom Schneerson; and more.

33 paper items. Varying size and condition.

Collection of documents and publications of Orthodox organizations for purchasing land and settling in northern Jerusalem (in the Nabi Samwil area, near the tomb of the prophet Samuel), ca. 1920s. Includes signatures of: R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld [chief rabbi of the Edah HaCharedit], R. David Beharan, R. Asher Lemel Beharan, R. Yitzchak Tzvi Rivlin [rabbi in Zichron Moshe], R. Amram Blau [later head of Neturei Karta], R. Yisrael Yitzchak Reisman [later dayan of the Edah HaCharedit], and others.

• Letter from Ramatayim Tzofim, an organization for Orthodox settlements in Eretz Israel, signed by Yisrael Luria, on acquisition of land in Ramah. Jerusalem, 1923.
• Handwritten document from Ramatayim Tzofim, signed by rabbis and leaders of the organization, authorizing R. Avraham Hershkowitz to sell estates. Signed by directors of the company, R. David Beharan, R. Yechiel Yehudah Schlesinger, R. Eliyahu Tzvi Krauser, R. Amram Blau and R. Avraham Steiner; along with a letter of approval from the Beit Din Tzedek, signed by dayanim R. Yitzchak Frankel, R. Dov Tzvi Karlenstein and the scribe R. Avraham Chaim Naeh. On the margins of the leaf is a letter of approval and blessing handwritten and signed by R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. Jerusalem, Tamuz 1924.
• Handwritten document with seven signatures, on the sale of a plot of land to R. Yosef Levi Chagiz – signed by R. Yitzchak Tzvi Rivlin, R. Matityahu Naftali Elbe, R. Asher Lemel Beharan [Weissfish], R. Aharon Sari Levi, R. David Yitzchak Altschuler, R. Yisrael Moshe Goldschmid and R. Alter Streltzer. Jerusalem, Tevet 1923. The signatures are crossed out, with the inscription "paid" [apparently the present document of sale was used as mortgage for a loan from the renowned Orthodox philanthropist R. Yosef Levi Chagiz].
• Kol Mevaser Yeshuah, printed poster with letters from the heads of Nachalat Yisrael Ramah and R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, on resettling the Ramah neighborhood, the residence of the prophet Samuel. Jerusalem, [ca. 1921-1922].
• Document of sale for land in the Nachalat Yosef neighborhood founded by Ramatayim Tzofim, filled in by hand with signatures of the directors of the organization: R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman, R. Pinchas Tzvi Shenberger, R. Moshe Holtzman, R. Abba Eisenbach and the secretary R. Amram Blau. Jerusalem, Elul 1922. On the verso is a confirmation dated 1985 on the voiding of the share, by a lawyer from Ramatayim Tzofim.
• Advertisement from the Peli Agency for brokerage services in purchasing plots of land in Jerusalem and the region, sold by the Tamuah company. [Jerusalem, ca. 1920s-1930s].

6 leaves. Varying size and condition (open tears at the top of the letter of authorization signed by R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld).

Lengthy letter (2 pages), handwritten and signed by R. Yerucham Yehudah Leib (Perelman), Rabbi of Minsk, author of Or Gadol. Minsk, 1888.
Sent to R. Avraham Pinchas, Rabbi of Romanova (Lenino). The letter deals with the interpretation of the Tosefta regarding purification and cleansing of vessels, also bringing up textual issues.
The present letter does not appear in the Or Gadol HaShalem edition of the author's works published by Machon Yerushalayim, and has apparently never been printed.

R. Yerucham Yehudah Leib Perelman (1835-1896), known as "the Gadol of Minsk". Disciple of the renowned Torah scholar R. Yaakov Meir Padua. He served as Rabbi of Seltz (Sialiec) and Pruzhany, and as Rabbi of Minsk from 1883 until his passing. His comments on the Mishnah and responsa are published under the title Or Gadol. He was the only one in his generation who earned the title of Gadol, an honor mentioned on his tombstone.

[1] double leaf, written on both sides + the recipient's address on a third page. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, wear and folds. Marginal open tears, slightly affecting text.

Letter of approbation handwritten and signed by R. Yaakov David (Wilovsky), Rabbi of Slutsk. Warsaw, Chanukah 1897.
Approbation to the publication of the works of the son of the Rebbe of Radzymin, R. Aharon Menachem Mendel Guterman. The Ridvaz praises him highly and recommends the public dissemination of his works.

The Ridvaz – R. Yaakov David Wilovsky (1845-1913), was a prominent Torah scholar renowned since his youth as a leading Torah scholar in his generation. He served as rabbi in several locations, including Slutsk, Chicago and Safed. He authored many books, yet his magnum opus remains his comprehensive commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi, included in most editions of the Yerushalmi. His granddaughter married the chief rabbi of the London Beit Din, R. Yechezkel Abramsky, author of Chazon Yechezkel.

The subject of the letter, Rebbe Aharon Menachem Mendel Guterman (1860-1934), only son of Rebbe Shlomo Yehoshua David of Radzymin, a leading rebbe in Poland. Disciple of Rebbe Avraham Borenstein of Sochatchov and Rebbe Shlomo Zalman Schneersohn of Kopust. Began to serve as rebbe after his father's passing in 1903, and established a yeshiva in Radzymin. Headed the R. Meir Baal HaNes Kollel Polin fund and was involved in the founding of Bnei Brak.

[1] double leaf. 21 cm. Good condition. Stains, wear and folding marks.