Important and Interesting Historic Letter by the Rosh Yeshivah of 'Etz Chaim' Regarding the Controversy of Secular ...

Important and Interesting Historic Letter by the Rosh Yeshivah of 'Etz Chaim' Regarding the Controversy of Secular Study - the Montefiore Plan
Polemic letter from the rabbis of the 'Etz Chaim' yeshivah, - the oldest institution in Jerusalem, to the gaon Rabbi Simchah Bunum Sofer, author ofֲ Da'at Sofer, of Pressburg, discussing studying secular subjects and Arabic language study per the Montefiore Plan. Jerusalem, 19th century. Historic document.
Letter sent to the head of the Hungarian exile, the author ofֲ Da'at Sofer of Pressburg, with a sharp complaint against the members of Kollel Ungarin who reside in Jerusalem, who are harassing the Etz Chaim yeshivah since they began the 'Montefiore Plan' and introduced secular study into the Talmud Torah. In their letter, the rashei yeshivah describe the progression of the matter in great detail, and the reason which prompted them to accept the Plan: "... some youths from the Talmud Torah who were not successful in their Torah studies ... and the Arabic language is making its way in our Land ... We, with the agreement of the geonim of our city, desired to fulfill the will of the righteous Sir Moshe Montefiore." Yet they almost immediately retract from the Plan and commit to distancing themselves from it. Between the lines, we can sense the great bitterness, that is not to say the jealousy of the residents of Jerusalem of the Kollel Ungarin members, a kollel which distributed a regular monthly stipend to each of its members, albeit scant, but those years hunger was rampant, and that stipend made the difference between life and death by starvation, literally. This was also a sanction taken by the heads of Kollel Ungarin against the Etz Chaim yeshivah, because if a kollel member sent his children to study at the yeshivah, his stipend would immediately cease. It is no wonder that this sanction quickly caused Etz Chaim to retract from participating in the Montefiore Plan.
[1] leaf graph paper. 26 cm. Scribal script with remnants of the signature of the rosh yeshivah, the gaon Rabbi Moshe Nechemiah Kahanov. Moderate condition. Tears. Large tear in the lower right corner, erasing the names of the signatories on the letter.