Bidspirit auction | Letter on Behalf of the

Letter on Behalf of the Poor of Eretz Yisrael by Rabbi Dov Berish Meisels, Av Beis Din of Cracow – 1840 * A letter of recommendation and testimony regarding the emissary Rabbi Avraham of Tzfas, described as “a man of faith, ” righteous in his ways and pure in his deeds, who was collecting funds for the Jews of Eretz Yisrael. ”Therefore, I have raised the banner of this endorsement, to awaken the goodness and kindness of his exalted honor, to stand by the side of this bearer and by the side of our impoverished brethren in our holy Land of Israel, in all matters.” Rabbi Dov Berish further notes that Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov (who had passed away less than a year earlier) had previously written to him, asking him to act on behalf of the poor of Eretz Yisrael. The letter is signed by Rabbi Dov Ber Meisels, Av Beis Din of Cracow and one of the great Torah leaders of Poland in his generation: “Dov Berush Meisels, of the holy congregation of Cracow.” Rabbi Dov Ber Meisels (1798–1870) was one of the leading rabbanim of his generation and a distinguished member of the Meisels family. He served as rav of Cracow from 1832, and from 1857 as rav of the large city of Warsaw. He was deeply involved in the welfare of Polish Jewry. His writings include Chiddushei Mahardam on Sefer HaMitzvos. Eretz Yisrael was profoundly dear to him, and he worked tirelessly to strengthen the Jewish settlement there. For decades he acted and advocated on its behalf, as evidenced in the present letter. The letter was addressed to the philanthropist Shabtai Shima, one of the wealthy members of the Sephardic community in Vienna, and for that reason, the body of the letter was written in Rashi script. Cracow, 1840. Written by a scribe, with the signature of Rabbi Dov Berish Meisels. Size: 12 × 22.4 cm. Thin paper. Condition: Good to fair; minor tears, fold marks.