Collection of over 60 letters sent to R. Shmuel Salant by rabbis, tzedakah collectors, emissaries and philanthropists from England, South Africa, Australia and various countries in the British Empire. [Ca. 1880s-1900s].
The letters were sent to R. Shmuel Salant, Rabbi of Jerusalem. Some are also addressed to other rabbis who assisted him in managing the tzedakah funds in the city: R. Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim (the Aderet); R. Yitzchak Blazer, the Rabbi of St. Petersburg; R. Chaim Berlin, the Rabbi of Moscow; and additional rabbis and tzedakah collectors directing the Vaad HaKlali and other institutions in the city.
The authors of the letters include Yaakov Chaim son of R. Eliezer HaLevi (secretary of Montefiore); R. Eliyahu son of R. Shlomo Yaakov, a rabbi in Manchester; R. Moshe Avigdor Chaikin, Rabbi of the United Synagogue in London; R. Yoel HaLevi Herzog, a rabbi in Leeds (2 letters); R. Mordechai Yitzchak HaLevi Epstein, Rabbi of Sheffield; R. Aharon Leib Newman of Jerusalem, maggid in the Torah society in London; R. Yaakov Dov Ber son of Meir Moshe Lenzer, prayer leader of Mikveh Yisrael synagogue in Melbourne; R. Yehoshua Meir Reifman of Pretoria, South Africa; R. Aryeh Tzvi son of R. Moshe Fishel Isaacs, prayer leader and maggid of Kimberly, South Africa; the emissary R. Yosef HaLevi Horowitz of Johannesburg (4 interesting letters); R. Menachem Mendel Wolpert of Johannesburg (3 letters), and many more authors.

R. Shmuel Salant (1816-1909), immigrated from Salant to Eretz Israel in 1841 to serve as posek and rabbi of the Perushim community of disciples of the Vilna Gaon in Jerusalem. His father-in-law R. Yosef Zundel Salant immigrated to Jerusalem in the same period. In his capacity as rabbi of Jerusalem, a position he held for close to seventy years, he founded the educational and charitable institutions in the city, established the Beit Din and strengthened the Ashkenazi community. He was renowned for his brilliance and practical approach to halachic ruling and in running communal matters in Jerusalem and worldwide.

63 letters. Varying size and condition.

Large assorted collection of over 70 letters, from rabbis and community leaders from England, ca. 1890s-1960s. Hebrew and English.

The authors of the letters include: Chief Rabbi Hermann Adler (Tishrei 1895); R. Eliyahu son of R. Shlomo Yaakov, rabbi in Manchester (Tevet 1889 and 1899); R. Yisrael Yaakov HaKohen Yaffe (Manchester, Kislev 1920); R. Tzvi Hirsch Ferber (London, 1926); R. Shemaryah Yitzchak Bloch (Birmingham, 1914); R. Shemaryah Menasheh HaKohen Adler (London, Tishrei 1921; sent to R. Shlomo Breuer, Rabbi of Frankfurt); R. Aharon Hyman (2 letters, ca. 1900-1901); R. Yoel HaLevi Herzog (4 letters; Leeds, ca. 1909-1910); R. Yisrael Chaim Deiches (Leeds, 1934); R. Yehudah Leib Ostrinsky (Leeds; two letters); R. Binyamin Benish Atlas, Rabbi of Glasgow (6 letters); R. Yaakov David Luria (Glasgow; 6 letters); R. Michel Asher HaKohen Matlin, Rabbi of Dublin (4 letters); R. Yitzchak Meir Yoselson (Dublin, 1909); R. Shmuel Yitzchak Hillman (London, 1931); R. Yitzchak Eizik HaLevi Herzog; R. Isser Yehudah Unterman (Liverpool; 5 letters); R. Asher Grunis (Cardiff, 1937); R. Nachman Shlomo Greenspan of Leeds (a letter from him, and many letters to him); R. Chaim Heller and R. Yerucham Leiner (postcard to R. Greenspan with letters from both of them); R. Joseph Hertz, Chief Rabbi of England (two letters); R. Yisrael Brody, Chief Rabbi of England; R. Avraham Moshe Babad (Sunderland, 1946); R. Yaakov Schechter, Rabbi of Belfast (2 letters); R. Aryeh Leib Grossnass and his Beit Din (London, 1966); and more letters from many rabbis.

77 items, including over 70 signed letters, most on official stationery. Varying size and condition.

Patient diary, handwritten by the kabbalist R. Yitzchak Kaduri. [Jerusalem, ca. 1960s].
Notebook with dozens of leaves, containing 282 entries, in which R. Kaduri documented in detail in his own handwriting the various requests of people who came to him for blessing, advice and pidyon nefesh, with questions about engagements, marital issues, cures for sicknesses and more. R. Kaduri documented the questions he was asked and the answers, advice or amulets he gave, usually based on Goralot he performed and astrology.

R. Yitzchak Kaduri (ca. 1899-2006), born in the late 19th century in Iraq, studied Torah and kabbalah under Torah scholars of Iraq and Jerusalem, to which he immigrated in 1922. In his early years in Jerusalem he made a living binding books and manuscripts, and he studied in the Beit El and Porat Yosef yeshivas. Over the years he became renowned as a foremost expert in all areas of kabbalah. Many flocked to him for his blessings, advice and amulets, as he was considered one of the only individuals in his times proficient in producing kabbalistic amulets. He passed away over 100 years old, and hundreds of thousands of people attended his funeral.

[43] leaves. 22 cm. Good condition. Some stains and wear. Detached leaves. Bound in an early leather binding, damaged.

Provenance: Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, EI.011.019.