A Large Collection of Letter and Documents - From the Archive of the Kabbalist R. Asher Ze'ev Werner Rabbi of ...

A Large Collection of Letter and Documents - From the Archive of the Kabbalist R. Asher Ze'ev Werner Rabbi of Tiberias - Signature of the Netivot Shalom, Rebbe of Slonim / R. Werner's Chanukah Lamp
Collection of items from the kabbalist R. Asher Ze'ev Werner Rabbi of Tiberias:
• Large collection of letters, documents, postcards, photographs and paper items, from the archive of R. Asher Ze'ev Werner Rabbi of Tiberias and his family. Tiberias, 1941-1957.
The collection includes: 32 promissory notes from the Oneg Yom Tov free-loan society run by R. Asher Ze'ev Werner, handwritten by the lender R. Asher Ze'ev Werner. The signatures of the borrowers and guarantors appear at the foot of the notes, and include: Rebbe Shalom Noach Berezovsky of Slonim - the Netivot Shalom (3 signatures), R. Asher Ze'ev's father-in-law R. Aharon Yosef Luria - author of Avodat Pnim, and others. The collection also includes a document from the Tiberias Beit Din, handwritten and signed by R. Asher Ze'ev; receipts and letters addressed to him and to his wife, some from rabbis and public figures including: R. Shmuel Baruch Werner - head of the Tel Aviv Beit Din, R. Yitzchak Gerstenkorn - founder of Bnei Brak, R. Binyamin Mintz and others; family photographs of his son R. Moshe Werner (d. 2010), and of his brother-in-law Rebbe Meir Halberstam of Tshakava.
R. Asher Ze'ev Werner (1892-1957), Rabbi of Tiberias and prominent kabbalist. He was the close disciple of R. Moshe Kliers, author of Torat HaAretz. He studied under the elder disciples of the Yesod HaAvoda of Slonim, and absorbed from them much guidance in worship of G-d. During WWI, he sojourned in the United States where he served as rabbi of several cities and was tremendously successful in bolstering Torah observance. In 1934, he returned to Tiberias upon the request of R. Kliers, and shortly thereafter was appointed Ashkenazi rabbi of Tiberias. He engaged in profound study of kabbalah and Chassidism from a young age, and was exceptionally well-versed in the writings of the Arizal and the Rashash, within which he innovated his individual approach. The majority of his novellae in Halacha, Kabbalah and homily are recorded in his books Taam Zekenim (Jerusalem 1955) and BiNe'arenu UbiZekenenu (Jerusalem 1957). Most of his halachic responsa were printed in his biography Me'od Naalah (Jerusalem 2013).
R. Asher Ze'ev Werner was reputed as the pillar of lovingkindness and charity in his generation. His home was like that of our patriarch Avraham, open to any needy, despondent or embittered person. His home was always filled with guests, who ate and slept there as if it were their own home. During his stay in the United States, he raised funds for the recovery of the Jewish settlement in Tiberias (which was under threat of collapse during WWI). Upon his return to Tiberias, he managed several large free-loan societies, with the support of American donors. The societies served people from throughout the country. The present documents give us a glimpse into his extensive activity in this field. The documents disclose the scope of the sums of money he loaned in the early 1950s, during the Israeli austerity-period.
• Chanukah Lamp which belonged to the kabbalist R. Asher Ze'ev Werner Rabbi of Tiberias. He lit this Chanukah lamp in the final two years of his life, Chanukah 1956 and 1957.
A large upright Chanukah lamp, with scrolling vines, the Tablets of the Law, lions and a Star of David. Warsaw, [ca. early 20th century].
Stamped and cast copper alloy, silver plated; the candlestick is marked "Zybert Galw. Warszawa".
Large Chanukah lamp, designed as a candlestick bearing the upper part of the lamp - a central arm, eight branches and a shamash. The candlestick and oil fonts are decorated with architectural pillars, wreaths, vine leaves and clusters of grapes. The branches of the lamp are fashioned as scrolling vines, with leaves and clusters of grapes. The central branch is topped with a ball bearing a pair of heraldic lions supporting the Tablets of the Law, surmounted by a Star of David. The shamash is removable.
97 paper items (including 33 documents handwritten by R. Werner, one of them with his stamp) + 3 photographs. Size varies. Overall good condition. Chanukah lamp: Height -Approx. 73 cm. Width - Approx. 44 cm. Good-fair condition. Bends. Losses to silver plating in large areas of the candlestick and branches.