Bidspirit auction | Rare Letter from Rabbi Moshe

Rare Letter from Rabbi Moshe Harari, Av Beis Din of Aleppo – Sent to the Rishon LeZion, the Yisa Brachah – 1896 * A handwritten and autographed letter by Rabbi Moshe Harari, one of the leading rabbanim of Aleppo, sent to the gadol hador of Jerusalem, the Rishon LeZion Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar, author of Yisa Brachah. In the letter, Rabbi Moshe informs the Yisa Brachah that he gladly accepts his request to attend to the household affairs of the sage Rabbi Eliyahu HaTishbi of Jerusalem. The background to the letter, as well as the identity of Rabbi Eliyahu, become clear from Rabbi Moshe's major work, Pnei Moshe (published only recently, in 2009), where the original request sent by the Yisa Brachah to Rabbi Moshe appears in print. From that correspondence it emerges that the Rabbi Eliyahu mentioned in the present letter is Rabbi Eliyahu Dweck HaKohen, father of the renowned kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Shaul Dweck HaKohen, known as Harav Hasad”eh. Originally a resident of Aleppo, Rabbi Eliyahu later settled in Jerusalem. He had inherited a one-third share of a house in Aleppo, but the tenants refused to pay the rent due to him. The Yisa Brachah therefore appealed to Rabbi Moshe to intervene on Rabbi Eliyahu's behalf and recover what was rightfully his. Letters by Rabbi Moshe Harari are very rare. This letter has never been published. Rabbi Moshe ben Rabbi Yitzchak Harari (1831–1918) was a Rav and posek in Aleppo, where he served as Av Beis Din. He was a great-grandson of the well-known gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Harari, author of Zechor LeYitzchak (Livorno, 1818). He maintained an extensive correspondence with many of the Gedolei Hador, including the Yisa Brachah, who addressed him with exceptional honorific titles such as “my beloved friend, the illustrious Rav” and “our beloved, the light of our eyes.” He also corresponded with Rabbi Nachman Batito, Rabbi Rachamim Franco, Rabbi Yitzchak Labaton, Rabbi Avraham Palagi, and others. He later moved to Egypt and eventually settled in Eretz Yisrael. His Torah writings were published under the title Pnei Moshe, a collection of teshuvos exchanged with leading poskim together with many customs of Eretz Yisrael (Jerusalem, 2009). The volume also records his numerous descendants. The title Pnei Moshe was chosen by the Rishon LeZion Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, as related in the introduction. The recipient of the Yisa Brachah's request, Rabbi Eliyahu Dweck HaKohen (d. 1903) , was one of the sages of Aleppo. He later settled in Jerusalem, where he became recognized as an outstanding talmid chacham. His son was the renowned kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Shaul Dweck HaKohen, Harav Hasad”eh, who himself immigrated to Eretz Yisrael in 1890. (See: LaKedoshim Asher BaAretz, p. 85, no. 67.) Aleppo, 1896. One page, entirely in the handwriting and with the signature of Rabbi Moshe Harari. Size: 14 × 20 cm. Condition: Good. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope in which the letter was sent to the Yisa Brachah. The address is written in Arabic, while on the reverse, the Yisa Brachah himself noted in his own handwriting the sender's name, Rabbi Moshe Harari. Size: Approx. 11 × 16 cm. Provenance: From the personal archive of the Yisa Brachah. Special thanks to Rabbi Shalom Hillel shlita, editor of Min HaGenazim, for his assistance. Letter by the Yisa Brachah to Rabbi Moshe Harari