Bidspirit auction | “To Sever from the Source

“To Sever from the Source of Living Waters” – A Rare ‘Zealot’ Letter from the Chief Rabbis of Israel Against the Secular Establishment of the State of Israel - “…on the part of the secular stream, many efforts are being made to sever the immigrants and their children from the source of living waters, and from the faith of Israel and its holy Torah.” An exceptionally rare and unusual letter of protest, written by the two Chief Rabbis of Israel — Rabbi Isaac Isaac Halevi Herzog and Rabbi Ben-Zion Chai Uziel — and sent to rabbis throughout the world, containing a sharp and extraordinary outcry against the actions of the secular establishment in the Land of Israel. [Jerusalem, c. 1950]. The letter was written shortly after the establishment of the State, and in it the Chief Rabbis describe with pain and shock a systematic process of detaching immigrants and their children from Jewish tradition, with particular emphasis on the severe harm inflicted upon immigrants from Eastern countries, who arrived in the Land observant and whole in faith — and who, according to the letter, were subsequently caused to abandon their religion. The uniqueness of this letter lies in its marked deviation from the generally statesmanlike line that characterized the Chief Rabbinate throughout its generations, from the days of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook onward, which tended to support state institutions even during periods of severe tension, and even when those institutions trampled upon sacred Jewish values. Here, for the first time, the Chief Rabbis launch a direct and public attack against the secular stream, and disseminate their protest to rabbis worldwide in sharp language, more reminiscent of the protests of the zealots of Jerusalem than of the official tone of the leadership of the State of Israel. Among the shocking lines in the letter it is written: “It has become clear to us from reliable information that on the part of the secular stream, many efforts are being made to sever the immigrants and their children from the source of living waters, and from the faith of Israel and its holy Torah.” And further: “Fortunate are we that we have merited to witness the immigration to Zion, the home of our lives, by the thousands and tens of thousands… yet this immigration, which constitutes the beginning of the ingathering of the exiles connected with the dawn of redemption, places upon us a sacred obligation… particularly with regard to the education of children in the immigrant camps.” An item of the highest historical, public, and ideological significance, reflecting a rare moment of open confrontation between the supreme Torah leadership and the policies of the secular government in the earliest days of the State. [1] leaf, 22 × 28 cm. The letter is typewritten and bears, at its conclusion, the handwritten signatures of the two Chief Rabbis of Israel. Very good condition. Filing holes.