Bidspirit auction | Rare Polemical Letter from the

Rare Polemical Letter from the Three Rabbanim of Tunisia – Rabbi Chaim Choury, Rabbi Khalfon Moshe HaKohen, and Rabbi Tzion Cohen-Yehonatan Djerba, 1926 * A remarkable Tunisian letter signed by the three leading rabbanim of Djerba — Rabbi Chaim Choury, Rabbi Khalfon Moshe HaKohen, and Rabbi Tzion Dr Shushan Cohen-Yehonatan — addressed to the Chief Rabbi of Tunisia, Rabbi Moshe Shatrug. The letter discusses a Jew who demolished an ancient chamber that, according to longstanding tradition, had been designated by the Maharshach (likely Rabbi Shaul Hakohen) as a place never to be destroyed. The incident stirred sharp controversy and nearly led Rabbi Yosef Bucharitz, one of the rabbanim of Tunis and a friend of Rabbi Chaim Choury, to resign from his position. The letter bears the handwritten signatures of the three eminent Djerban sages: Rabbi Chaim Choury, Rabbi Khalfon Moshe HaKohen, and Rabbi Tzion Cohen-Yehonatan — all well-known Tunisian rabbanim of recent generations. Rabbi Chaim Choury was a holy tzaddik and was famous in Tunisia and beyond as a miracle worker. He served as Chief Rabbi of Gabès, immigrated to Eretz Yisrael in 1954, and passed away in 1957. Since then, thousands visit his grave, where, in the words of Rabbi Meir Mazuz, Rosh Yeshivas Kisei Rachamim, “miracles and wonders are wrought for them.” Rabbi Khalfon Moshe HaKohen , known as “Chacham Khalfon, ” served as Av Beis Din of Djerba, and was one of the greatest halachic authorities and transmitters of the Tunisian Torah tradition. His numerous sefarim reflect his towering scholarship and mastery of every area of Torah. He passed away in 1950 and his remains were transferred to Eretz Yisrael in 2006 in an international effort, and tens of thousands accompanied him once again to his final resting place on Har HaMenuchos. Rabbi Tzion Cohen-Yehonatan was Av Beis Din of Djerba for many decades, until his passing in 1931. He was only slightly older than his two friends Rabbi Chaim Choury and Rabbi Khalfon Moshe HaKohen. Three of his sefarim were published posthumously. His signature reads: “ע״ה ציון ד״ר שושן כהן ס״ט, ” where “Dr.” is an abbreviation for “Di Rabbi, ” meaning “the son of a Rabbi.” Djerba, 1926. A paper leaf. Size: 13.2 × 21 cm. Condition: Good; minor tears in the margins and two small holes.