Bidspirit auction | Autograph Ledger of the Va’ad

Autograph Ledger of the Va’ad HaKlali. Jerusalem, 1906. A unique and highly valuable item - A large and thick bound accounting ledger [approx. 500 written pages], containing the complete record of income and expenses of the Va’ad HaKlali in Jerusalem, which served as the official representative body of the Ashkenazi communities in Eretz Israel and was authorized to manage all their needs. Jerusalem, 1906. This is an item of exceptional historical importance and rarity. It forms a historical archive of nearly ten thousand accounting entries, detailing down to the single dollar all the income and expenses of the Va’ad HaKlali, which oversaw the communal affairs of Jerusalem. It can be said that this ledger records virtually every coin spent in Jerusalem in 1906 by the Old Yishuv, almost all of which was organized under the Va’ad HaKlali. The ledger provides detailed information on the stipends distributed throughout the year to Jerusalem residents, including the names of the recipients and, when applicable, the reasons for additional grants beyond the fixed support, such as illness, marriage, and the like. [1] Large format ledger. 34 x 21 cm. [300] leaves, of which [476] pages are written. Condition: Good–very good. The Va’ad HaKlali Knesset Yisrael united under its auspices all Ashkenazi communities in Eretz Israel, primarily in Jerusalem, during the era of the Old Yishuv beginning in the 19th century. It served as the official representation of the Ashkenazi communities and was authorized to manage all their needs, including support for the poor, founding charitable and benevolent organizations, establishing educational institutions and Talmud Torahs, and later also the expansion of Jewish settlement in Jerusalem and beyond. The Va’ad was founded at the encouragement of the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, R. Shmuel Salant, and with the spiritual support of R. Meir Auerbach of Kalish, author of Imrei Binah. Their leadership endowed the Va’ad with prestige and standing, attracting many donors from Eretz Israel and the Diaspora, who contributed large sums of money as well as properties, many of which still serve as communal endowments to this day. In the founding booklet of the Va’ad, its objectives were defined: “To unite all the Ashkenazi communities, Perushim and Chassidim, under the name of one great congregation, organized and governed by the heads of the Kollelim, under the leadership of the Gaon R. Chaim Berlin, shlita; also, to protect and shield the communities of our brethren, the children of Israel in our land, for the preservation of the Yishuv in general and in particular, and especially in matters relating to the laws of the exalted government.”