Bidspirit auction | ”Oso Ha-Ish” — The Most

”Oso Ha-Ish” — The Most Virulent Broadside Ever Published Against Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook. Jerusalem, ca. 1927 - A rare and little-known polemical broadside directed against Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, published in Jerusalem by the extremist anti-Zionist circles following the visit of the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter, author of the Imrei Emes, and particularly in response to his highly publicized meetings with Rabbi Kook, then Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. The Imrei Emes’s visit to Eretz Israel in 1927 generated considerable public attention. During his stay, he met several times with Rabbi Kook, and these meetings were conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect and admiration, despite their well-known ideological disagreements regarding the Zionist movement. The Gerrer Rebbe spoke of Rabbi Kook in exceptionally warm terms, declaring: “He is a man of many accomplishments, possessing comprehensive knowledge in all areas... a pure and righteous man, entirely free of personal motives.” Such statements provoked outrage among Jerusalem’s extremist circles, particularly the members of the Vaad Ha-Ir Ha-Ashkenazi, who regarded Rabbi Kook as their principal ideological adversary. The public endorsement of Rabbi Kook by a leader of the stature of the Gerrer Rebbe was perceived as a serious blow to their long-standing campaign against him. The broadside offered here is among the most sophisticated and sharply worded products of that controversy. Unlike the more familiar broadsides of the period, which relied on open insults and direct attacks, its anonymous author adopted a far subtler approach. Outwardly, the text lavishes praise upon the Imrei Emes; yet beneath its respectful tone lies a clear attempt to distance the Rebbe from Rabbi Kook and reinterpret the significance of his visit in accordance with the zealots’ worldview. It is precisely this restraint that gives the broadside its particular sting. The authors of the broadside employ an exceptionally extreme and inflammatory tone toward Rabbi Kook—perhaps among the harshest ever printed against him. They refer to him as “Oso Ha-Ish” (“That Man”), the traditional Jewish appellation for Jesus, and this is clearly no accidental choice of wording. Later in the broadside they develop this theme further, attempting to explain the Imrei Emes’ favorable attitude toward Rabbi Kook through an allusion to the Talmudic passage concerning Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachiah and Jesus, thereby creating a pointed, though implicit, comparison. Such language is virtually unparalleled in the polemical literature of the period and vividly reflects the depth of the opposition, the intensity of feeling, and the sharp polarization that characterized Jerusalem during those years. Unlike the well-known broadsides of the period, which achieved wide circulation and have been reproduced and discussed on numerous occasions, the present broadside is virtually unknown. To the best of our knowledge, it has appeared at public auction only once (Winner’s Auction 143, Lot 232), and even that example was in significantly inferior condition to the present copy. Furthermore, the version preserved in the National Library is merely a typewritten transcription, whereas the present example is the original printed broadside itself, exactly as it was distributed in Jerusalem at the time. Its exceptional rarity, combined with its unusual and sophisticated content, makes this an important primary document from one of the most turbulent ideological controversies in the history of Orthodox Jewry in Eretz Israel. [1] Broadside, 35 × 25 cm. Condition: Good to very good. Fold marks. Fingerprint impression in lower blank margin.