Bidspirit auction | The Kollel Controversy in Jerusalem:

The Kollel Controversy in Jerusalem: The Ridbaz in an Unprecedented Attack: “Do Not Dare Send Schnorrer Letters”; Unpublished - The Kollel Controversy in Jerusalem: “Do Not Dare Send Schnorrer Letters!” — A Rare and Sharp Letter in the Handwriting of the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky, the Ridbaz, Reveals the Intensity of the Rift Surrounding “Kollel America” at the Beginning of the 20th Century. Safed, 1912. The letter, entirely in the holy handwriting and signed by the Ridbaz, was sent to the renowned Jerusalem communal leader Rabbi Nachman Gedaliah Broder — one of the leaders of the Old Yishuv, founder of Batei Horodna, and chairman of the Vaad HaKlali Knesset Yisrael. A man who would later receive extraordinary praise from all the leading rabbis of Jerusalem is subjected here to an attack of remarkable severity. In language that leaves no room for interpretation, the Ridbaz writes: “I hereby send you a warning that you must not dare send schnorrer letters to any person in Chicago and rob the poor of Jerusalem, Kollel Chicago.” The background to the letter was the fierce controversy that erupted in Jerusalem with the establishment of “Kollel America, ” which was founded to support the poor of Eretz Israel who had emigrated from the United States. The veteran kollelim, led by the activists of the Old Yishuv, fought its establishment with all their might, yet the new kollel ultimately succeeded in establishing itself. The Ridbaz now felt that another attempt was being made to undermine the sources of support for the kollel’s poor. He therefore continues and warns Broder in an especially forceful tone: “And do not rely upon rabbis in Jerusalem from whom you may obtain signatures — for there are many more rabbis in Chicago — and I stand at their head!” The threat was particularly extraordinary in light of Broder’s elevated standing in Jerusalem: the right-hand man of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, one of the most influential figures in the institutions of the Old Yishuv, and a key figure in virtually every public institution in the city. Yet the Ridbaz, renowned as an uncompromising champion of the poor of Eretz Israel, does not stop there and concludes with a severe warning: “And if you do not do so — you will regret it in a manner that will be of no benefit to you whatsoever!” Before us is a rare and exceptional polemical document — one that, apparently, has never been printed — remarkable both for the intensity of its language and for the content of its direct threats, even in comparison with the famously sharp Jerusalem letters of controversy. The Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky — the Ridbaz (1845–1913) — one of the foremost rabbis of Lithuania, served as Av Beit Din of Slutsk and was considered one of the most influential rabbinic figures of his generation. After a period in Chicago, which he left following the well-known shechitah controversies, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and headed a major yeshivah in Safed until his passing. [1] personal paper leaf, 21 × 14 cm, on official ruled stationery. The entire letter is in the holy handwriting and signed by the Ridbaz. Good to very fine condition. Fold marks. Remnants of adhesive tape at the margins.