Letter by the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin Concerning the Donation for the Construction of the Diskin ...

An extensive and significant letter in the handwriting and bearing the signature of Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin, addressed to the philanthropist Rabbi Yosef Reizes, regarding the purchase of land and the construction of the permanent building of the Diskin Orphanage in Jerusalem—an edifice that remains standing to this day. Jerusalem, 1911.

In his detailed letter, Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham impresses upon the Jerusalem benefactor the urgent need for a permanent structure for the institution. He emphasizes that the monthly rental payments weigh heavily upon and steadily deplete the meager resources of the orphanage. He further adds a striking observation: throughout Jerusalem there exists no suitable building capable of properly accommodating the institution. Accordingly, he requests that Rabbi Yosef Reizes, during his forthcoming journey to Australia, meet with additional philanthropists and work with them to secure the necessary funding for the construction of the building.

Indeed, these efforts bore fruit. In 1922—approximately eleven years after the present letter was written—the large and impressive building was completed, one of the most prominent and renowned structures in Jerusalem of its time, and notable even by contemporary standards.

Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin (1839–1925) was among the foremost Ashkenazic rabbinic leaders of the Old Yishuv in Jerusalem. Born in Łomża, he was the only son of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin, the famed Maharil Diskin, and of Hinde Rachel née Broida. He received his Torah education from his father and, despite his towering scholarship, refused to derive personal livelihood from the rabbinate.

Following his father’s passing in 1898, the leaders of the Old Yishuv approached him to ascend to the Land of Israel and assume leadership of the institutions founded by his father—the Diskin Orphanage and Yeshivat Ohel Moshe. Only a decade later, in 1908, did he immigrate to Jerusalem and settle there. After the passing of Rabbi Shmuel Salant in 1909, he became one of the senior rabbinic authorities of the Ashkenazic community in the city.

Following the First World War, a proposal was raised to appoint him as Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem; however, the appointment did not materialize due to various objections. He was among the opponents of the establishment of the Chief Rabbinate and was counted among the founders of the Eidah HaChareidis.

 

[2] pages, 28 cm. His holy autograph signature at the conclusion of the letter.

Good condition. Fold marks, age stains, and minor marginal tears.