A handwritten ketubah, from [April 4, 1896], given by the groom Moshe Yaakov HaKohen [Ravikov] to Rivka Leah bat Menachem [Lamn] in the village of Skidel in the Grodno district.
[1] leaf, 23×18 cm, written on one side.
Rabbi Moshe Yaakov ben Rabbi Yosef HaKohen Ravikov (1873-1967), “The Holy Shoemaker,” was a hidden righteous man and Kabbalist. He lived in Skidel and learned under the Kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, author of Leshem Shevo V’Achlamah. In 1896 he married Rivka Leah bat Menachem Lamn (died in Tel Aviv, 1954). He joined a group for settling the Land of Israel and bought a plot of land in Kfar Uriah in the Judean plains. In 1913 he immigrated to Israel and settled on his land. A short time later he moved to Jaffa and was one of the founders of Tel Aviv. He opened a shoe repair store, did much charitable work, and hosted hundreds of immigrants immediately upon their arrival to Israel. After Rav Kook stated that he was one of the thirty-six hidden righteous men of the generation, many people began to come to him to receive his blessings and for salvation. The Chazon Ish and the Beis Yisrael also visited his house. He died on Simchat Torah of 1967. Two years later (in 1969) the book Likutei Rabbi Moshe Yaakov was published, in which are summaries of the sermons that he publicly delivered every week.
Folding marks, wear on the edges of the leaf, reinforced by tape on the back of the leaf, a few stains. Fine condition.