Bidspirit auction | 333

333 - Drafts and Copies of Various Letters: Letter to the Ksav Sofer, Letters Regarding the Visit of One of the Great Torah Leaders and His Father-in-Law to Eretz Yisrael, and More. Europe, 1884 Folded leaf with copy and drafts of various letters and notes. [1] Leaf, half measuring 34 cm, the other half partially missing up to 17 cm. Including: Copy of a letter addressed to the Gaavad of Pressburg, 10 Tevet 1842. [1] page, across the width of the folded sheet, 21 cm. Content of the letter: A request from the Ksav Sofer (who succeeded his father, the great Torah leader, the Gaon the Chasam Sofer, in 1840) to assist the writer, who had married off his daughters to Torah scholars and is now impoverished, weak, and oppressed: “And aside from the marriage assistance, they receive from me yearly as their due until they imposed upon us new enactments or misfortunes, God forbid. And to whom shall we cry out, if not to our honorable Nasi, may he live, to bring our justice to light… to place his eye and heart upon us for good.” Draft of a long letter, [54] lines, written on the full page and on two half pages. The writer discusses the need to establish the settlement of Eretz Yisrael and the fulfillment of the mitzvah of settling it in holiness, to create a refuge for the Nation of Israel, to establish sources of income for the residents so they do not rely on charity and fundraising abroad, and to beware of heretics and missionaries in the land. The writer reveals his plan to travel with his father-in-law to Eretz Yisrael in summer 1884:  “And Hashem, the Righteous One, has sent His servants with the message of seeking Zion and the peace of Jerusalem, with many sefarim, pamphlets, and letters… that stirred [the people] to found Zion and to prepare a refuge for His people and inheritance… so that the choice will be to choose good, without coercion, like those coerced by poverty, coerced by danger… for they know they are starving… The Roei Yisrael understood and hastened to provide refuge for the souls of infants and sucklings, abandoned orphans who found no bread… to found in Zion stone upon stone, stones of justice and righteousness, stones of holiness and Temple… and the settlement of Eretz Yisrael, aside from being an explicit public mitzvah (Ramban, Commandment 4), and for the purpose of removing the shame of impurity from the dwellers of Zion, to purify a woman to her husband. Now [the Land] is like a desolate woman in her impurity, benefitting from charity funds (Sanhedrin 81)… and furthermore, your eyes see how border dwellers go from city to city – leaving their wives as agunos and their children as orphans… and upon you rests the burden at this time to prepare a refuge and rescue. And see… how tens of thousands have been ravaged – those who fell by the sword and by famine, refugees fleeing to Zion and falling into the hands of captors… who hunt souls to heresy and denial under the guise of settlement of the land. Therefore, corresponding to this, an obligation lies to appoint in the land a righteous ruler, one who fears Hashem, over the shepherds’ dwellings in truth and righteousness, and let them no longer stumble with a support that is a snare spread upon the fortress of Zion… And how good and pleasant it would be to gather for this, to form counsel, and to appoint overseers who, like a half-shekel offering, will collect from all who donate willingly, and they will gather counsel to elevate their joy, and because of this matter Hashem will bless you from Zion, and you shall see the good of Jerusalem… and in my heart was to travel to the Holy Land with my honored father-in-law to exchange counsel… and if he wishes to exchange counsel on the matter with me and my father-in-law, he knows the place and time. Then my father-in-law and I shall come to seek Zion.” Later, in different ink, it says: “It was agreed between us regarding my trip, summer 644 [1884], with G-d’s help, we shall travel together… concluded with good success… the s.  A.H… This letter before us is an important historical document regarding support for the settlement of the Land and plans for its development by the rabbis of Israel, even before the rise of the Zionist movement. The content of the letter fits the activity of Rabbi Chaim Elazar Wax, author of Nefesh Chayah, who was dedicated to the settlement of Eretz Yisrael, served as president of Kollel Poland in Eretz Yisrael, and traveled in 1886 to the Land with his father-in-law, the Gaon Rabbi Yisrael Yehoshua of Kutna, to develop an employment center for etrog cultivation in the land of Kfar Chittin for members of Kollel Warsaw and families intending to immigrate and join the labor of the land. Various notes, such as: an announcement regarding sefarim that were printed and deceptively had some pages replaced, and a list of sources (apparently for a discourse or class). Folding marks, missing sections of the page, stains, tears and cuts. Fair to good condition.