Bidspirit auction | “Success and Prosperity in All

“Success and Prosperity in All Your Affairs” – A Rare Letter from the Holy Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer and the Leading Sages of Jerusalem - A fine and distinctive letter from the leading sages and communal heads of Jerusalem to a benefactor abroad, written in a European language on official letterhead of the “General Committee” (HaVa’ad HaKlali)—the body that unified all Ashkenazic communities active in the Land of Israel during the period of the Old Yishuv. The letter bears the handwritten signatures and seals of ten of the foremost sages and leaders of the Ashkenazic Yishuv in the Land of Israel, and was sent from Jerusalem on 18 Kislev 5667 [1907]. In the letter, the holy sages of the Land of Israel bless the benefactor with abundance, success, and prosperity in his affairs. Heading the signatories is the Mara de-Ara de-Eretz Yisrael, the holy gaon Rabbi Shmuel Salant, who at that time was already blind, and therefore signed solely with his sacred seal. The first handwritten signature is that of the holy gaon Rabbi Yitzchak (Itchele) Blazer, Av Beit Din of St. Petersburg and later one of the leaders of Jerusalem, the foremost disciple of Rabbi Israel Salanter and the principal continuer of his path in spreading the Mussar movement. Following him appear, in their own handwriting, the signatures of approximately nine additional leading sages and figures of Orthodox Jewry in the Land of Israel at the dawn of the twentieth century. Of particular note: all this considerable effort—the drafting of a letter in a foreign language by a scribe, the gathering of the signatures of ten leading sages of the generation, and the affixing of their seals—was undertaken for a donation of only one dollar ($1)!! This serves as a rare testimony to the dire economic conditions in Jerusalem at the time, to the strength of the American dollar, and above all to the profound sense of gratitude of the great sages of the generation. [1] Paper sheet, 29 × 22.1 cm. Condition: Fair to good. Folding marks. Small tears at the margins, without loss. Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer [1837–1907], the foremost disciple of Rabbi Israel Salanter and his successor in disseminating the Mussar movement, was among the greatest gaonim of his generation. He served as Av Beit Din of the imperial capital St. Petersburg, and after leaving his rabbinic post there moved to Kovno, where he headed the renowned Kovno Kollel. Rabbi Itchele regularly delivered Mussar discourses at the Slabodka Yeshiva, particularly during the month of Elul. In his later years he resided in Jerusalem, where he passed away and was buried on the Mount of Olives. Among his works: Pri Yitzchak, Or Yisrael, and Kokhvei Or.