Bidspirit auction | The Chief Rabbinate Controversy: A historic

The Chief Rabbinate Controversy: A historic rabbinic proclamation by rabbis of Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia. Białystok, 5682 [1922] - “To inform the entire world that the Chief Rabbinate in Eretz Israel is an institution of great value” A proclamation of great historical importance, published in the first year following the establishment of the Chief Rabbinate of Eretz Israel, in which seventeen rabbis of the Diaspora—from Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia—declare their full support for the institution of the Chief Rabbinate. Białystok, 5682 [1922]. The proclamation was written on the official letterhead of Rabbi David Fajans, Rabbi of Białystok, and bears a distinctly public and polemical character. The rabbis state in clear and unequivocal language: “To inform the entire world that the Chief Rabbinate in Eretz Israel is regarded as an institution of great value, whose authority is of great significance for Orthodox Judaism.” Background to the proclamation: In the month of Av 5681 [1921], the Chief Rabbinate was established by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Its establishment aroused fierce opposition within ultra-Orthodox circles, led by Rabbi Joseph Chaim Sonnenfeld. This opposition resulted in a split from the general religious community in Jerusalem and the founding of the Edah HaChareidis as a separate Jewish community. The struggle was accompanied by sharp propaganda campaigns. Rabbi Joseph Chaim Sonnenfeld published a proclamation stating: “According to the holy Torah, it is forbidden to participate in the elections scheduled to be held for the institution of the Chief Rabbinate, as they constitute a grave danger to the Judaism of Eretz Israel; and anyone who participates in these elections brazenly violates the laws and statutes of our holy Torah.” Against this backdrop, the present proclamation—signed by seventeen rabbis of the Diaspora, declaring that “the Chief Rabbinate is an institution of great value”—served as a highly significant counterweight to publications intended to undermine the legitimacy of the establishment of the Chief Rabbinate. Physical description: [1] leaf of letter paper, 21 × 28 cm. Good condition. Filing holes. Fold marks. Minor tears along the margins. Rabbi David Fajans [1861–1935], Av Beit Din of Białystok. Born in Neshvizh; studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva and was a distinguished disciple of the Netziv. He married the daughter of Rabbi Chaim Naftali Hertz Heilperin of Białystok, son of Rabbi Raphael Yom-Tov Lipman Heilperin, author of Oneg Yom Tov. In 5642 [1882], he received rabbinic ordination from leading Torah authorities of the generation, including Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spektor of Kovno; Rabbi Reuven Halevi Levin of Dannenberg; Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk; and others. He served as rabbi in Suprasl and later in Knyshin, where he founded and headed a yeshiva. Following the death of his father-in-law in 5679 [1919], Rabbi Fajans was appointed his successor as “Head of the Rabbinical Court and Council of Rabbis” of the Białystok community.