Bidspirit auction | Letter Signed by Rabbi Yitzchak

Letter Signed by Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin, Leader of the Eidah Chareidis in Jerusalem, Son of the Maharil Diskin – Jerusalem, 1910 * A letter in Yiddish-German from the heads and administrators of the Diskin Orphanage, founded by Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin of Brisk, under the leadership of his only son, the eminent gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin. At the conclusion of the letter, the president of the institution, Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin, added two lines in his own handwriting, together with his signature: “…and I plead for mercy on behalf of the hundreds of orphans, students of this exalted institution, and may the Father of orphans bless those who contribute and assist, with every goodness, selah… The president of the institution, Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin.” Also signing the letter are the orphanage's administrators: Rabbi Yisrael Leib Bernstein, Rabbi Pinchas Leibush Weber (father-in-law of the well-known zealot Rabbi Amram Blau), and Rabbi Zev Wolf Lider. At that time, the orphanage housed approximately 300 orphans (as noted in the letter's margins), and it was one of the most important charitable institutions in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin (1839–1925) was the son and primary disciple of Maharil Diskin. Despite his greatness in Torah, he refused to derive a livelihood from the rabbinate. Only in his later years was he compelled to assume roles in communal leadership and charitable institutions, such as the presidency of the Ohel Moshe–Diskin Yeshiva, the Diskin Orphanage, and the honorary presidency of Agudas Yisrael in Jerusalem, among others. He moved to Eretz Yisrael in 1908, and following the passing of Rabbi Shmuel Salant in 1909, he was regarded as one of the leaders of the chareidi community in Eretz Yisrael alongside Rabbi Chaim Berlin. After the British conquest of Eretz Yisrael, he was one of the founders of the Eidah Chareidis together with Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. Many of his letters from his later years were not personally signed but stamped with an ink stamp bearing his signature. The present letter, however, bears his original handwritten signature. Jerusalem, 1910. Two handwritten pages on official printed stationery of the orphanage, including two lines in the handwriting and signature of Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham. Size : 23×29 cm. Condition : Fair; tears and minor losses at the margins, with stains and folding marks.