Bidspirit auction | “אמנם הכל תלוי במזל” —

“אמנם הכל תלוי במזל” — A Tzedakah Letter from the Grandson of the Pnei Yehoshua (1794) A rare letter of recommendation and appeal for assistance, written by Rabbi Yissachar Berish Bernstein, Av Beis Din of Hanover — son of the gaon R’ Aryeh Leib, author of Pnei Aryeh, and grandson of the illustrious R' Yaakov Yehoshua Falk —  the Pnei Yehoshua. Dated 21 Teves 1794 (תקנ״ד), the Rav writes on behalf of R’ Michel Hildesheim, urging that he be supported with dignity: “He is certainly worthy to be assisted in an honorable manner, for it is not laziness that prevents him from pursuing his livelihood. However, everything depends on mazal — especially in these difficult times… Thus speaks one who advocates for tzedakah.” This is not merely a recommendation. It is a window into how gedolei Yisrael viewed the mitzvah of tzedakah — with kavod habriyos, sensitivity, and a deep understanding that parnassah is not always a reflection of effort. The Author Rabbi Yissachar Berish Bernstein (1735–1804) served as Av Beis Din of Hanover. Raised in Frankfurt where his father served as Rosh Yeshiva, he later became a foremost talmid of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Berlin. His father-in-law was the famed Rabbi Isaac Hamburg (“Itzikl Hamburger”), who blessed his daughter at the chuppah that she merit twelve sons from this marriage — k’minyan ha-shevatim — and so it was. He was regarded as unique in his generation in chochmas ha-techunah (astronomy), as attested by Rabbi Raphael Sagal. Torah from him appears in his father’s and grandfather’s seforim (see Ksavim HaGeonim, p. 49). A single line in this letter — “אמנם הכל תלוי במזל” — carries the voice of a gadol who knew that parnassah is not always a measure of effort, and that tzedakah must be given with dignity and heart.