Bidspirit auction | “Wealth, Happiness, Health, and Success”

“Wealth, Happiness, Health, and Success” — A Letter of Blessing and Segulah in the Hand of Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. 1964 - An early autograph letter, handwritten and signed by Maran Rishon LeZion Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt”l, who would later emerge as the foremost leader of Sephardic Jewry and one of the greatest halachic authorities of the modern era. Written in Jerusalem, Elul 5724 [1964], and sent to the gaon Rabbi Simcha Cohen Kaplan, Chief Rabbi of Safed. Throughout the generations, the handwritten letters of the righteous and great Torah leaders—and especially their signatures—were treasured throughout the Jewish world as proven sources of blessing and salvation. All the more so the present letter, written and signed entirely in the holy hand of Maran Malka, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt”l, a shining link in the rare golden chain of Israel’s spiritual leaders and halachic giants, including the Rambam, the Chida, the Ben Ish Chai, and the great sages who preceded them. In this letter, Maran showers the recipient and his entire household with heartfelt blessings, wishing them the most precious and sought-after gifts in life: “Wealth, happiness, health, and success.” The second part of the letter offers a glimpse into Maran’s legendary memory, of which it was said that he never forgot anything he had learned. So remarkable was this gift that a popular tradition arose claiming that, in his youth, he had eaten from the mysterious “Baldor” (or “Balzor”) plant mentioned in the Talmud, whose consumer would never forget what he had learned. Maran expresses surprise that Rabbi Kaplan had not yet acknowledged receipt of Yabia Omer, Volume IV, which he had sent him more than four months earlier. One can only imagine how many hundreds of rabbis, synagogues, and institutions received copies of this important work, and how many matters—family harmony, Torah publication, halachic rulings, rabbinical adjudication, communal leadership, and the countless needs of the generation—passed across Maran’s desk during those months. Yet, despite all this, more than four months later he still remembered this seemingly minor detail, noting that he had yet to receive confirmation from the Chief Rabbi of Safed that the volume had arrived. A remarkable illustration of the rabbinic adage: “a cistern that loses not a drop.” [1] Postal card. 14 cm. Very good condition. Filing holes.