Bidspirit auction | Large and Impressive Emissary Document

Large and Impressive Emissary Document (Shadarut), Signed by Nine of the Leading Sages of Jerusalem, Headed by the Maharit Algazi. Jerusalem, 1799 - Lengthy Emissary Letter to the Community of Pesaro, Signed by the Leading Sages of Jerusalem Headed by the Maharit Algazi. Jerusalem, Parashat Terumah, 1799. Written for the mission of the emissary Rabbi Raphael Abraham Lev Aryeh, rabbinic envoy (shadar) of the Sephardic kolel of the Holy City of Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt and established. The letter is penned in a fine scribal hand characteristic of the Oriental communities. The present emissary document bears ornate rabbinic signatures of the foremost rabbis of the Holy City of Jerusalem. At the head of the signatories on the right: The gaon and kabbalist Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi, known as the Maharit Algazi, of blessed righteous memory. Chaim Mordechai Suranga. The Rishon LeZion Rabbi Mordechai Halevi. Bachar Abraham Meyuchas. Rabbi Yitzchak Kovo [the first]. Rabbi Moshe Aharon Halevi. Rabbi Abraham Azulai, son of the Chida. Rabbi Yehudah Burla, among the leading sages of Jerusalem. The Rishon LeZion Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Yosef Meyuchas. Other emissary letters received by this shadar are known. In Shnot Dor VaDor (Part II, pp. 282–283), this mission is discussed, and a facsimile of the shadar’s own manuscript from 1803 appears there, summarizing his activities in Pesaro. He records that the community was moved to tears upon hearing of the hardships endured by the Jews of Jerusalem. [1] Folded paper sheet. 24 × 35 cm. Very fine condition. Bound in a new leather binding. The Emissary – Rabbi Raphael Abraham Lev Aryeh Rabbi Raphael Abraham Lev Aryeh was among the leading sages of Jerusalem. He was a descendant of Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh, who served as an emissary of Jerusalem in 1679 and experienced a miracle during his mission: left alone in the desert on Shabbat, a lion appeared and guarded him, and at the conclusion of Shabbat returned him upon its back to his caravan. Following his forebears, he too served as an emissary on behalf of the holy communities of the Land of Israel. In 1788 he was in Livorno, where he met the Chida, who received him with exceptional honor and wrote to his son, Rabbi Raphael Yeshayah, rabbi of Ancona, urging him to assist Rabbi Abraham. He authored Heichal Melech, containing his numerous responsa written even during his travels, as well as novellae on the Rambam, and left a manuscript work entitled Abraham Yagel. He passed away in Jerusalem and was buried in the Cave of the Hasidim on the Mount of Olives. The Gaon and Kabbalist Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi (1727–1802) Among the foremost sages of Jerusalem. Born in Jerusalem to Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov Algazi, who served as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He studied under his father and Rabbi Yonah Navon, author of Nachpah BaKesef. By 1758 he was already counted among the scholars of the great and renowned Neveh Shalom Yeshiva, founded by his father. That same year he joined the fellowship Ahavat Shalom, headed by his father together with the divine kabbalist Rabbi Shalom Sharabi (the holy Rashash) and their colleague the Chida, who undertook a regime of strict ethical conduct. He traveled on emissary missions together with Rabbi Yaakov Chazak between 1770–1775, and returned to Jerusalem in 1777. Shortly thereafter he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Following the passing of Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, head of the kabbalists’ yeshiva Beit El, he was appointed to lead the institution and was also designated Rishon LeZion. In 1795, in his old age, he was again compelled to travel abroad as an emissary. He passed away in Jerusalem at the age of seventy-five. His works include: Hilchot Yom Tov – on the laws of Bekhorot and Challah according to the Ramban. Simchat Yom Tov – responsa. Kedushat Yom Tov – responsa and novellae. Yom Tov DeRabbanan – homiletical discourses. He signed numerous emissary letters of Jerusalem’s envoys and granted approbations to many works of Jerusalem sages. While traveling from France to Holland on his mission, he passed through Frankfurt and met the Chatam Sofer. When Hilchot Yom Tov was later republished in Pressburg, the Chatam Sofer wrote in his approbation: “I knew him previously when he was an emissary of Zion in Frankfurt, close to the year 1774, and the land shone from his glory; yet he had not reached even half the honor befitting him, as is evident from this work Hilchot Yom Tov on Bekhorot and Challah. He performed wondrously and displayed great wisdom, and since the composition of the Mishneh LaMelech, no work like this has been seen.” Rabbi Chananel Nefi wrote of him: “I merited to know him, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God.” Additional Signatories Rabbi Raphael Chaim Mordechai Suranga, Av Beit Din in Jerusalem and deputy to the Maharit Algazi; co-author with Rabbi Binyamin Navon of Pi Shnayim (Salonika, 1806). He passed away young on 27 Adar 1799,