Bidspirit auction | “Illustration of the Courtyard of

“Illustration of the Courtyard of Rashbi”: Rare and Fascinating Letter from Rabbi Shmuel Heller – Instructions for Preparing His Seals and the Seal of the Beis Din of Tzfat * A handwritten and autographed letter of the gaon Rabbi Shmuel Heller, the renowned Rav of Tzfat and one of the great luminaries of Eretz Yisrael in the 19th century. In the letter, Rabbi Shmuel provides detailed guidance to a skilled artisan who had arrived in Yerushalayim from Chernowitz and worked in creating seals, explaining precisely how to design his personal seal as well as the official seal of the Ashkenazic Beis Din in Tzfat. In his great humility, Rabbi Shmuel requests that his personal seal bear only his personal name: “Hakatan Shmuel Heller from the holy city of Tzfat, ” without indicating that he was none other than the head of the long-established and important community of Tzfat, one of the four holy cities! In a sefer recounting the history of Rabbi Shmuel Heller, it is written that, among other reasons, due to the simplicity of his seal and the absence of titles on it, many of the Gedolei Hador who corresponded with him were unaware that he served as the Rav of Tzfat, and therefore did not mention this at the head of their letters (HaRav HaManhig VeHaRofeh, pp. 135, 137). He then instructs on how to prepare the seal of the Beis Din Tzedek of Tzfat. This seal was especially impressive, and due to its remarkable beauty, it is fitting to quote some of the instructions: “Please prepare for me another seal… [and write within it:] ‘Beis Din HaTzedek Ashkenazim of the holy city of Tzfat, may it be built and established, ’ and this shall encircle the seal [that is, in a circular form]. And within it, there should be an illustration of the courtyard of Rashbi, and beneath it shall be written ‘Tzion Rashbi’… and… it should be made with the utmost beauty.” Zaidy Auction House is aware that Rabbi Shmuel himself possessed at least six types of seals, though only one closely corresponds to the instructions described here. Likewise, a seal of the Beis Din is known, which partially matches these directions. See attached pictures. To the best of Zaidy’s knowledge, this letter has never been publicized, and it reveals fascinating historical information about the “behind the scenes” process of producing these seals. It should be emphasized that these seals were not merely decorative embellishments; rather, they served as an essential means of verifying the identity of a public figure, providing further assurance against forgery of the handwritten signature appearing on the letter, and thus held great importance for the public. Rabbi Shmuel Heller, Av Beis Din of Tzfat (circa 1803–1884), was a tzaddik and renowned kabbalist. He visited the Chozeh of Lublin several times during his youth, and the Chozeh personally placed tefillin on him and blessed him. He immigrated with his father to Tzfat where he gained a reputation as a great sage and Kabbalist and was appointed to be the Rav of the city. Tzfat, 1857. A full page in Rabbi Shmuel’s handwriting and with two of his signatures. The right side (blank portion) of the page was folded and used as an envelope, upon which the recipient’s name was written, also in Rabbi Shmuel’s handwriting. Size of main page: 19.5 × 17 cm. Condition : Good, with slight tears and folds.