Bidspirit auction | Polemic! Kol Kore Betzeddek -

Polemic! Kol Kore Betzeddek - Broadside Issued by the Vaad Haklali Ashkenazim and Prushim and Rabbi Shmuel Salant Echoing the Struggles of the Kolels - Jerusalem, 1891 - ”והם בונים במה לעצמם במה של חטאות ואשמות” - Kol Kore Betzeddek - early printed letter  Issued by the Vaad Haklali of the Kolelot Ashkenazim and Maran Rabbi Shmuel Salant - Jerusalem, 1891.  In their letter, the managers of the Kolel appeal to philanthropist to stand by them as the holiday of Passover approaches. They mention the plague that was raging in Jerusalem at the time: ”And most are children, leaving behind many grieving fathers and mothers; and the disease has not yet departed, may G-d have mercy...”. Further in the letter, the Gabaim, using sharp language, complain that while the Va'ad supports all the Kolels in Jerusalem, it collects money abroad solely for its own benefit: ”There is not a single Kolel among all the Ashkenazic Kolels... that does not receive its portion from it... all with just accounting and upright order... Yet they build for themselves an altar of sin and guilt, sending their own Shluchim and letters... mentioning the names of all the Kolels ”Russia, Poland, Austria, etc.” and all this to blind the eyes and exploit the charity boxes of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess...”. At the end of the letter, the Kolel managers demand: ”To strive with all one's might, not only to prevent those Shluchim and requests from succeeding in their deeds, but to gather strength to nullify their actions and distance them entirely...”. The letter bears the printed signatures of the managers of the Va'ad Haklali, and beneath their signatures appear the words of Maran the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Salant: ”I too appeal to our dear brothers, blessing them with all my heart, and I request and request again that they take heed of all the matters mentioned above, which are said out of a love for justice, law, peace, and unity; and I conclude with a blessing, Shmuel Salant”.   Early Jerusalem broadsides from those years are extremely rare! [1] broadside. 46X29 cm. Fold lines and minor stains.