Bidspirit auction | Kfar Atta (1937) – Original

Kfar Atta (1937) – Original Handwritten Arbitration Settlement by Rabbi Benjamin Mendelson on Brokerage Commission Dispute - An original, rare, and historically significant document dated 1937 (Hebrew year 5697) consisting of an arbitration settlement (“Peshar”), written entirely in the hand of Rabbi Benjamin Mendelson, Rabbi of Kfar Atta (now Kiryat Ata, Mandatory Palestine). The document records the settlement of a commercial dispute concerning brokerage commissions between Mr. Moshe Orman, Mr. Weidman, and Mr. Silberstein and Mr. Zivner, setting out the rabbi’s decision in a mutually agreed arbitration proceeding. The ruling states, in part: ”…the above-mentioned claimants are not permanent brokers for Mr. Zivner and therefore are not entitled to brokerage fees from every transaction he conducts. They are entitled to brokerage only in transactions in which they actually assisted him, according to the customary brokerage practice in the country.” The document provides a valuable insight into the way commercial disputes were resolved within the Jewish community of Mandatory Palestine through rabbinical arbitration and according to Jewish civil law and contemporary business customs. Rabbi Benjamin Mendelson (1904–1979) immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1934 and became Rabbi of Kfar Atta. He later served as Rabbi of Moshav Komemiyut, became a leading advocate of Sabbatical year observance through Keren HaShevi’it, and later gained national prominence during the Yossele Schumacher Affair, from which he was acquitted in 1962. Documents from Rabbi Mendelson’s early years in Kfar Atta that are entirely handwritten by him are exceptionally scarce and highly desirable to collectors of Judaica, Mandatory Palestine history, legal manuscripts, and the history of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. Details * Date: 1937 (Hebrew year 5697) * Place: Kfar Atta (now Kiryat Ata), Mandatory Palestine * Original handwritten arbitration settlement (“Peshar”) * Subject: Brokerage commission dispute * Entirely handwritten by Rabbi Benjamin Mendelson * Historical document from the British Mandate period Condition: Good overall condition for its age, showing expected folds, handling wear, age toning, and minor edge wear. Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the description.