Bidspirit auction | Letter of the Leaders of

Letter of the Leaders of “Supporters of the Poor of the Land of Israel” in New York to the Rabbi of Jerusalem, the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Salant – Signed by the Chief Rabbi Rabbi Jacob Joseph Charif. New York, 1896. - A rare, lengthy, and historically important letter from the heads of the committee Machzikei Aniyei Eretz Israel in New York, addressed to the rabbi of Jerusalem and president of the General Committee, the gaon Rabbi Shmuel Salant, and concluding with the autograph signature of the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York, Rabbi Jacob Joseph Charif. Before us is a vivid and fascinating document reflecting the deep bond between the young American Jewish community and the Old Yishuv of Jerusalem, as well as the sense of responsibility felt by the Jews of New York for the sustenance of the poor of the Holy Land and the support of its institutions. The content of the letter concerns a dispute surrounding the distribution agreement with the Warsaw Kollel, requesting that the agreed terms be honored and that the members of the kollel receive the share due to them. The committee leaders describe how members of the Warsaw Kollel had sent an angry letter to Rabbi Yehoshua Sigal of Szeps, one of the prominent rabbis of New York and overseer of the Warsaw Kollel, claiming that the leaders of the General Committee in Jerusalem were not honoring their commitments. As a result, a large public assembly was convened in New York, attended by rabbis, communal leaders, and heads of the major synagogues, in order to address the matter and seek a solution. Among the principal resolutions adopted was the appointment of ten new treasurers, who would work to increase donations for the Jews of Jerusalem and strengthen the system of support for the Holy Land. At the end of the letter appears the list of the newly elected officials. Heading the signatories stands Chief Rabbi Jacob Joseph Charif, followed by the committee officers, among them well-known figures of the New York Jewish community: Mr. Zelig Weissman, Mr. Dover Silberman, and Rabbi Yechezkel Schlang. The special importance of this letter lies in the fact that it was written at the beginning of 1896, before the outbreak of the controversy surrounding the American Kollel, founded later that same year. It therefore reflects an early and important stage in the relationship between American Jewry and the institutions of Jerusalem. Rabbi Jacob Joseph Charif (1840–1902), author of LeBeit Yaakov, was the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York. A student of the Volozhin Yeshiva and disciple of Rabbi Israel Salanter in Kovno, he had previously served as halachic authority and famed preacher in Vilna. In 1888 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of New York, where he labored greatly to strengthen religious observance, founded the Agudath HaRabbanim of America, enacted important reforms in kosher slaughter and supervision, and became the central rabbinic figure of New York Jewry in its formative years. Before us is a moving and illuminating document, testifying to the hearts of diaspora Jews whose eyes were turned toward Jerusalem, and to their constant efforts to sustain its poor and its inhabitants. [1] Paper leaf. 20 x 31 cm. Autograph signature of the Chief Rabbi. Condition: Good. Repaired tear along fold lines.