Bidspirit auction | “Better to Me Are the

“Better to Me Are the Gleanings of Lithuania than the Vintage of the Negev” — A Rare and Content-Rich Letter in the Handwriting of Maran Rabbi Chaim Berlin to the Rabbis of Jerusalem; Elisavetgrad, 1902 - An Extraordinary and Lengthy Letter, Spanning Approximately Two and a Half Pages, Entirely in the Holy Handwriting and Signed by the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin — One of the Greatest Rabbis of Lithuania and Jerusalem, Son and Successor of the Netziv of Volozhin, and Later Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Elisavetgrad, 1902. The letter is addressed to the leaders of the Etz Chaim Yeshivah in the courtyard of Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid in Jerusalem — “the mighty of the treasured nation, the eyes of the congregation.” In its opening section, following warm words of blessing, Rabbi Chaim Berlin, with his characteristic integrity and transparency, presents an accounting of the funds he collected for Eretz Israel from communities and private individuals, down to the last kopeck, meticulously listing donors and donation amounts in remarkable detail. The document sheds unique light on Rabbi Chaim Berlin’s devotion to the poor and institutions of Jerusalem many years before his own immigration to the Holy City. Although he was then serving as rabbi of Elisavetgrad, it is evident how immense efforts he invested in raising funds for the Old Yishuv in Jerusalem, working throughout the Jewish world and even among his relatives, including his distinguished in-law, the renowned philanthropist Rabbi Yehudah Leib Lubanov. The letter reflects a profound spiritual and practical connection to Jerusalem and its institutions at a time when it was not yet imagined that he would one day serve as the city’s leading rabbinic authority. The second portion of the letter reveals an exceptionally rare and personal dimension. Rabbi Chaim Berlin shares with the rabbis of Jerusalem his deliberations regarding a rabbinic position offered to him by the community of Volkovysk in Lithuania—a community considerably smaller than Elisavetgrad, where he was serving at the time: “Regarding Volkovysk... three emissaries came to me... to adorn me with the rabbinate of their congregation... I did not send them away empty-handed, although Volkovysk cannot compare to Elisavetgrad. Nevertheless, I felt that the gleanings of Lithuania are better for me than the vintage of the Negev...” He continues by describing how the members of his own community refused to contemplate his departure: “And the members of my congregation will not hear of it; such matters do not enter their ears at all, and they are united in this... they will not permit me to leave them — and time will tell.” He concludes with subtle irony: “And we shall see what becomes of their dreams...” The letter further reveals an almost entirely unknown historical detail concerning the celebrated Lithuanian tzaddik Rabbi Mordechai’le of Oshmiany, one of the few wonder-working figures in Lithuania to whom masses flocked for blessings and salvation. Rabbi Chaim Berlin relates that he approached him with a request to accept the honorary presidency of the Etz Chaim Yeshivah: “I sent a second letter to the Gaon of Oshmiany, asking him to accept the responsibility of the presidency... together with me, and two are better than one.” To the best of our knowledge, there is no other known reference to Rabbi Mordechai’le’s involvement with any institution in Eretz Israel, lending this letter additional unique historical significance. Beyond its personal and communal content, the letter contains extensive references to the economic and political realities of the period, including the repercussions of the Sino-Japanese War, the economic condition of European Jewry, and the challenges of fundraising on behalf of the Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel. The Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin (1832–1912) was among the most illustrious figures of the Lithuanian Torah world. The eldest son of the Netziv of Volozhin, he served as Chief Rabbi of Moscow, as Rosh Yeshivah of the famed Volozhin Yeshivah—the “Mother of Yeshivos”—and as Av Beit Din and Rosh Yeshivah in Volozhin and Kobrin. In 1906 he was invited to Jerusalem, and following the passing of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, he was recognized as the spiritual leader of the Ashkenazic community of the city, although he declined to accept the position officially. [3] written pages (out of 4), all in the holy handwriting and signed by the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin. Condition: Very fine.