Auction 6
Special and rare items
Nov 22, 2018
(Your local time)
Israel
Yehuda ha-Nasi St 22, Jerusalem
ספרים ומכתבים, מסמכים היסטוריים, ארכיונים של גדולי ישראל, פולמוס, תצלומים, אנטישמיות ושואה, הרצל וציונות, בולאות, שטרות, חפצי יודאיקה ואמנות
The auction has ended
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LOT 166:
Letter of Appreciation by the Jewish Genius who Solved the Mysteries of the Universe, Albert Einstein, for the ...
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Sold for: $2,600
Start price:
$
1,000
Estimated price:
5,000-8,000$
Auction house commission:
20%
VAT: On commission only
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Letter of Appreciation by the Jewish Genius who Solved the Mysteries of the Universe, Albert Einstein, for the Sandals Made for Him by Orphans in the Land of Israel
A typewritten letter by Einstein and his secretary, Mrs. Hellen Dukas, to his old friend Dr. Siegfried Lehman, the founder and manager of the "Ben Shemen" youth village. German. With the handwritten signature and stamp of Einstein. Princeton, 26.3.1955.
The content of the letter: Einstein expresses his gratitude to Dr. Lehman and the children of Ben Shemen for the sandals they had made for him for his birthday. He thanks them for the pair of sandals and sends them his love.
Dr. Siegfried Lehman (1892-1958) was an educator, the founder and manager of the "Ben Shemen" youth village, which was the first institution in the Land of Israel for immigrant youth. In his youth, he studied with Albert Einstein in Berlin and even since they were close friends. Einstein admired Lehman and saw him as a guide for realizing Jewish humanism. "For many years I have been following Dr. Lehman's rare achievements in saving and rehabilitating Jewish children", Einstein wrote.
During World War I, Dr. Lehman served as a physician of the German army. He was a guide of a group of Zionist youth in Berlin, in an area that absorbed refugees from central Europe.
In 1919, he opened a shelter for Jewish boys, orphans of the war of Kovno. In 1926, he immigrated to the Land of Israel with several of his pupils. He established the agricultural youth village of ben Shemen and was his first manager.
As indicated by the letter before us, Einstein had corresponded with Dr. Lehman and the children of the youth village and helped raise funds for the village. During that time it was decided that the youth village will be named after Einstein.
In 1957, Dr. Lehman won the Israel Prize for his educational enterprise. He died in 1958 and was buried in the youth village of Ben Shemen.
Condition: Good. Folding marks.
