Bidspirit auction | Letter of Inquiry from the

Letter of Inquiry from the Sdei Chemed to Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Concerning the First Chassidic Yeshiva in Jerusalem 1894 * A letter signed in the holy handwriting of the venerable and outstanding gaon, Rabbi Chaim Chizkiyahu Medini, author of Sdei Chemed. Rabbi Medini was one of the greatest sages of Sephardic Jewry, “for whom the entire Torah lay spread out like the palm of his hand” [with perfect clarity and mastery]. In this letter, the Sdei Chemed asks Rabbi Shmuel Salant whether there indeed exists in Jerusalem a Talmud Torah and a yeshiva named Chayei Olam. If so, he requests that the charity funds be delivered to its directors. The Sdei Chemed signs his name twice. At first, he signs, “The young Chaim Chizkiyahu Medini, known as חח”מ, may his light shine, ” and after an additional passage, he signs again with his well-known expression, “The words of חח”מ, may his light shine.” A remarkable letter, demonstrating the Sdei Chemed's exceptional caution in overseeing tzedakah money. In his letter, the Sdei Chemed details the sequence of events that brought him to turn to Rabbi Shmuel Salant. Several months earlier, he had received a letter from the yeshiva's administrators calling for support. In his goodness of heart, he was moved, noting that “their words entered the depths of my heart.” Although in his city, the majority of the community were 'Krimchakim' (Crimean Jews) and not Ashkenazim, and the matter was of no concern to them, nevertheless, the Sdei Chemed made the effort to approach the few Ashkenazim there, and succeeded in gathering a certain sum for the yeshiva. However, shortly before sending the funds, an Ashkenazi shadar arrived and told him that he did not recognize such an institution. This is why the Sdei Chemed turned to Rabbi Shmuel, requesting that if the institution did not exist, the funds should be transferred to Yeshivas Eitz Chaim. The chassidic institution Chayei Olam did indeed exist, founded less than a decade earlier (in 1886) by Rabbi Yisrael Yehoshua, Av Beis Din of Kutna, author of Yeshuos Yisrael, and Rabbi Chaim Elazar Wax, Av Beis Din of Piotrkow, author of Nefesh Chayah. The Admor Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Shlomo Biderman of Lelov stood at the head of Chayei Olam, as the Sdei Chemed himself mentions in the present letter. It is possible that the aforementioned shadar had left Jerusalem before 1886 and, therefore, was not present at the yeshiva’s founding and was unaware of its existence. Rabbi Chaim Chizkiyahu Medini (1833-1905) was one of the greatest Sephardic sages, authors, and scholars of Torah literature. His magnum opus Sdei Chemed, which functions as a Talmudic encyclopedia, earned him international acclaim. The Sdei Chemed was so revered among both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews that, when it became known that he wished to leave Karasu-Bazar, the Polish community of Warsaw offered him the position of being the rav of their community! (HaMelitz, 1 Sivan 1899, p. 3). The letter was printed in Tzfunos, vol. 6, pp. 59–60. Karasu-Bazar, 1894. [1] folded leaf, containing three pages written by a scribe, with two signatures of the Sdei Chemed and an additional word in his handwriting that had been omitted in error by the scribe. Size : 13×21 cm. Condition: Good to good-fair. Light tears at the margins and traces of folding.