Rabbi Aryeh Levin ‘HaTzaddik HaYerushalmi’. Recommendation letter for two students: ‘An excellent young man the grandson of the Gaon of Brisk R. Chaim Solovetchik’ and his roommate. Tishrei 1959.
[1] piece of paper, 14X10 cm. Handwritten entirely by him and with his signature.
Very fine condition.
Elegant and beautiful parchment scroll, written by an artistic scribe, expert and G-d-fearing, in Ashkenazic script – ‘Ktav Beit Yosef’ – with sparkling, shiny ink, on light, high-quality parchment. The meggilah is decorated along its entire length with delicate handmade artistic illustrations, colored in gold and a variety of rainbow colors.
At the beginning of the megillah is a colorful illustrated title page with the title “Perek Shirah” at center. Spectacular title at the beginning of each of the six chapters with the name of the chapter. Decorative opening words at the beginning of all the verses. The titles and the opening words are written and painted with an artistic hand, in letters decorated with a color that characterizes the theme of the chapter (for example, in the first chapter, which deals with heavenly bodies, the dominant color is light blue).
The recital of Perek Shirah – the Song of Creation – is a virtue/segulah for many blessings. Refer to the Hebrew text for relevant quotes.
Dimensions: 10 sheets. Scroll length: Approximately 8 meters. Width: 32 cm.
Condition: New.
Emissary’s document to receive a get from a wife, signed by the renowned gaon, Rabbi Yishmael HaKohen, Av Beit Din of Modena, author of Shu”t Zera Emet and the sages of his rabbinical court, Rabbi Ephraim Galiko and Rabbi Ya’akov Chaim ben Yichye.
Rabbi Yishmael HaKohen of Modena (1724-1811) was held in great esteem among the Jewish people. He was one of the great Later Authorities and rabbinic leaders of his generation in Italy. He served as the rabbi of Modena for over 30 years. He is known for his important work, Zera Emet , in three parts. He was admired by the sages of his generation and the Chid”a expounded his virtues and described him as the glory of the generation, the great light, the expert rabbi.
The author of Zera Emet writes much praise about the members of his above-mentioned beit din in his foreword: ‘my colleagues and partners from our beit din tzeddek … the great sage Rabbi Ya’akov ben Yichye and … Rabbi Ephraim Galiko …” [Rabbi Ephraim authored the work “Sha’ashu’ei Ephraim, ” which has remained in manuscript, Gironi p. 2 section 7].
Double leaf sized 18×28 cm. Very fine condition.
Lengthy letter, very important in its historic aspect. From the Rishon LeTziyon and chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, to the Council of Cardinals in France, with respect to the extradition of a member of the Algerian mafia in France (considered one of the most brutal mafias in Europe), hitman William Nakash.
William Nakash was a Jewish-French-Algerian mafioso, a known figure in the Parisian underworld. He was hired in 1983 to assassinate a person named Abdullah Khaker following a conflict about control of the nightclubs in the city of lights. Nakash, leading a squad of three assassins, shot Abdullah Khaker with 14 bullets and Khaker died on the spot. Nakash’s two partners in the murder were caught a few days later. Nakash, however, fled to Israel, immediately becoming a citizen under the Law of Return, using the fake name Rudy Atlan. The French government submitted a request to the State of Israel that he be extradited to France, but Nakash disappeared as if the earth had swallowed him up.
In March of 1987, the Israeli Supreme Court, under the leadership of Meir Shamgar, decided against Minister of Justice Avraham Sarir’s decision opposing extraditing Nakash. This for fear of his personal safety in prison in France. The Court clarified that the minister’s authority is not unlimited, and he does not have the freedom to decide this case. Nakash was extradited to France in 1987 and was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
The letter before us, revealed here for the first time, is an official letter bearing the State emblem at its top. According to the date, it was written several months after the the Supreme Court’s immediate extradition decision. Yet the letter writer, the person holding the highest rabbinical position in the State of Israel, considered one of its pre-eminent symbols, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, continued working behind the scenes, in a completely official capacity, to reverse the decision of the Supreme Court.
Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, considered the spiritual leader of the Mizrachi movement, known as a G-dly Kabbalist and lofty tzaddik, did not shy away from the inherent contradiction in the letter. Even more so, he sent the letter, with great irony, specifically to the Catholic cardinals in Paris, despite the fact that Nakash had just attempted to strike at one of the symbols of Christianity in Israel and rob the church treasury. Rabbi Eliyahu conducted himself as have leaders of the Jewish people throughout the generations – his personal honor is not his uppermost concern when there is a possibility of saving a Jew whose life hangs in the balance, with death awaiting him behind the prison bars in France – at the hands of the rival Corsican mafia. Rabbi Eliyahu believed this with his whole heart (although it was proven to be untrue in the end). The rabbi did all he could to prevent the extradition even at the cost of damaging the rabbinate’s honor, and even to some degree bringing insult to the Supreme Court and the State.
Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu appeals in this lengthy letter to the Council of Cardinals in France requesting assistance on a religious and humane matter of utmost importance, to exert its influence on President François Mitterand to cancel the extradition. The rabbi details William Nakash’s “suffering, ” and more so, that of his expectant young wife, and requests that in order to prevent inordinate suffering, William Nakash be tried in Israel and serve his sentence there. The rabbi stresses that Nakash’s new wife refuses to emigrate to France to be near her husband, and Nakash himself refuses to legally divorce his wife, resulting in her being doomed to becoming an agunah. However, if Nakash were to serve his sentence in Israel, they could still have a semblance of a family life. The rabbi notes that a woman who becomes a “living widow” is a serious tragedy in Judaism, in the visions of prophets and in all religious cultures of the world.
[2] leaves. 27 cm. Official chief rabbi of Israel stationery, signed and stamped with the rabbi’s official stamp. Very fine condition.
Zivchei Shlamim by Rabbi Yeudah Gyuan, in manuscript. Achmat bni Mansour [South Yemen].
In the colophon: Completed on Tuesday, 8 Tishrei ‘קס”ח לשטארי in Mata Alachmet Bni Mansour.
The book was printed in Constantinople in 1728 and the transcriber also transcribed the title page of the printed book, with the decorative border.
[56] pp, 16.5×11 cm.
Fine condition. Worming perforations. Aging stains. Tear in the margins of the first leaf, far from the text.
Handwritten notepad with the halachahs of ritual slaughter and checking, and Kabbalistic sermons. Yemen?
[146] pp, 11.5×9.5 cm. Incomplete at the beginning.
Fine condition. Aging stains. Slight fading in the writing of several leaves. Bound in a new binding.
Letter on official stationery, signed and stamped by the gaon Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, Av Beit Din of Galanta, Chust and Jerusalem, during his time as rabbi of Chareidi Jewry in the Land of Israel.
In this letter, written as a court ruling, the Mahari”tz reestablishes the regulation “רבני קדמאי גאוני הישוב” – that one third of the income of the Chevra Kaddisha be transferred to the Talmud Torahs in Jerusalem. The Mahari”tz emphasizes that the founders of the Chevra Kaddisha were the first Bada”tz of Jerusalem, and that they wrote and signed on this regulation as a founding regulation that is not to be changed.
The gaon Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky [1868-1949] was one of the most well-known rabbinic leaders of his time. He served in the rabbinate of Galanta and Chust, where he led the yeshivah – one of the largest and most prominent in the Hungarian countries. In 1933, he ascended to the Land of Israel and was immediately given the position of leader of the Edah HaChareidit in Jerusalem, and leader of Chareidi Jewry in the Land of Israel.
[1] leaf paper, 27 cm. Official stationery, typewritten, with the Mahari”tz Dushinsky’s signature and stamp.
Very fine condition. Fold marks. Minimal creases. Aging stains.
Letter about the importance of Oztar HaPoskim’s endeavors. From Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer to Rabbi Isser Yehudah Unterman. Jerusalem, 1945.
Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer writes at length about Otzar HaPoskim ‘s endeavors and its significance for rabbis. He writes that for this holy purpose his friend Rabbi Herzog established this important institute, together with the assistance of the Committee of Aid for Rabbinical Refugees from Russia (an organization headed by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer). Rabbi Isser Zalman requests the support and assistance of Rabbi Isser Yehudah Unterman, who was then the rabbi of Liverpool and later chief rabbi of Israel.
Attached to the letter is Otzar HaPoskim’s brochure, and a printed pamphlet, providing a sample of the first volume of Otzar HaPoskim’s books.
Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1953) was a disciple of the Netziv and of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik in Volozhin. He served as the head of the Slobodka yeshivah and then served as the head of the Slutzk yeshivah starting in 1897 . He was also the city’s rabbi beginning in 1925, simultaneously serving as head of the Etz Chaim yeshivah in Jerusalem until his passing.
Signed in his hand.
Rabbi Yishmael Kohen Gadol’s Request – written at the top: Anyone who recites this request every day with great intent will [be well received], his name will precede him everywhere Jews reside; his dreams will be resolved for the good, he will remember his Torah his entire life. Sins of his youth will be forgiven; he will be saved from the evil inclination and the evil eye … and from evil spirits and from demons, damagers and all enemies … I and Rabbi Akiva are guarantors for him, for a portion in the next world and a good portion in this world. [3] leaves. 17 cm, slightly blemished in the margins.
Interesting note handwritten and signed by the Ra’ava”d of Jerusalem, the gaon Rabbi Pinchas Epstein, to the principal of the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah in Jerusalem.
In this interesting note, the ga’avad recommends accepting a boy to the Talmud Torah after he tested the child during the holiday and saw that he is a “good boy.” Lest we forget, we are speaking of the Ra’ava”d of the Edah HaChareidit, the head of the Avot Batei HaDin! Yet in absolute simplicity and humility, the Ra’ava”d occupies himself with testing a small boy and he even writes a ‘tzetaleh’ to the principal so that he is accepted to the ‘cheder.’ Oh, those Jerusalem tzaddikim, there are none like them left in the world.
Rabbi Pinchas Epstein immigrated to the Land of Israel at the age of 18, and was a moreh tzedek in the beit din of the Eidah HaCharedit led by Rabbi Sonnenfeld and Rabbi Diskin. He taught at the Torat Chaim yeshivah. He was appointed Ra’ava”d of the Eidah HaCharedit in 1948 and served as such until his passing on 17 Tevet 1969. He authored Orin Talitai [1913], Minchah Charivah [1923] and Minchat Yerushalayim , Part I, [Jerusalem, 2000]. Many of his writings were burned in the Old City during the War of Independence.
[1] slip of paper, approximately 5×14 cm. Entirely in the Ra’avad’s hand and with his initialled signature.
Fine condition. Aging stains. Fold marks, tiny tear in the white margins.
A scion of the ancient will grow from the vine / And for seekers of his good, his beauty will shine / His produce will be consumed as his sweet law / Indeed his praise resembles him, Selah! (Ramcha”l, in his poem on Rabbi Yisrael Gedaliah Kazis)
Document attesting that a youth divorced his fiancée per Jewish law, signed in the hand of Rabbi Yisrael Gedaliah Kazis, Av Beit Din of Mantua. Enacted in the Beit Din of Mantua in 1787.
Aside from Rabbi Yisrael Gedaliah Kazis’s signature, there are also signatures from two additional dayanim: Rabbi Azriel Yitzchak HaLevi and Rabbi Zerach Ya’akov b”r Rephael Naftali Katz. The bridegroom’s signature and others also appear, in Italian.
Rabbi Yisrael Gedaliah Kazis, Av Beit Din of Mantua [d. 1793] was a leading Italian sage, expert in both depth and breadth, and a wondrous sermonizer; rabbi of Mantua beginning in 1754. The Ramcha”l wrote a lengthy poem (20 stanzas!) in his honor. And the Chid”a, who heard his sermons, praised them extensively (see Ma’agalei Tov p. 79). He authored poems and prayers, as well as halachic responsa. His writings include: A prayer for the Jews of Mantua; a prayer for Kaiser Jozef’s victory in his war against the French armies. (Also refer to: Toldot Gedolei Yisrael B’Italia p. 160; Simonson Toldot HaYehudim BeDuchsot Mantuva p. 541.)
Rabbi Azriel Yitzchak HaLevi [d. 1809] was a lecturer, dayan and sermonizer in Mantua. (Refer to: Toldot , p. 283, Simonson, ibid, p. 523).
Rabbi Zerach Ya’akov b”r Rephael Naftali Katz [d. 1794] was a dayan and a poet. (Refer to: Simonson, ibid, p. 335, note 433).
[1] leaf double paper. 17×23 cm. High-quality paper.
Very fine condition. Fold marks.
Letter from the Sefrou community near Fes to the Maghreb Committee of Jerusalem about the “Kupat HaKahal” and “Kupat Yechezkel Hanavi” and the people in charge of them Rabbi Eliyahu Ovadya and Yisma”ch Ovadya and referring to the emissaries Rabbi Shmuel Mizrachi of Safed and Rabbi Avraham Pinto who draws hearts close with his pleasant sermons, and Yosef Abutbul of Tiberius.
[1] leaf, 27X21 cm. Official stationery of the city committee of Sefrou.
Moderate fine condition, the margins of the letter are torn, filing perforations.
Letter from the “chosen and courteous committee of the Sefrou K”K” to the committee of the Maghreb community of Jerusalem.
28X21 cm. official stationery of the community committee.
Moderate condition, torn margins, filing perforations.
Letter handwritten and with the full signature of Jerusalem emissary Rabbi David Yekutiel HaKohen to philanthropist Rabbi Avraham Azaryahu Otlingo from Akway, Italy.
In the letter, the emissary requests from Rabbi Avraham Azariah that he expedite the members of his community to send the charity funds that have been collected for the benefit of settlers in the Holy Land. The letter also mentions: Mahara”m Zakut [son of Rabbi Eliyahu HaLevi, rabbi of Alessandria della Paglia] and Rabbi Ya’akov Nunis Vais of Livorno.
Rabbi David Yekutiel HaKohen traveled as a trusted emissary for the benefit of the Sephardic settlement in Jerusalem – in 1790, 1806 and 1821. On his way, he printed books by his grandfather, Rabbi David HaKohen [Rapaport]: Da’at Kedoshim (Livorno 1749) and Ben Heh Heh (Livorno 1823). Refer to: A Ya’ari Shluchei Eretz Yisrael pp. 704-706 and in the quarterly Jerusalem Book II, pp. 149-146.
[1] leaf paper 18×15 cm. Oriental script; fine condition. Minimal aging stains.
Rabbi Moshe Zev Neched was one of the leaders and glory of the group of Boyan Chassidim in Safed. He devoted himself to the Admor of Sadigura and his son, the ‘Pachad Yitzchak’ of Boyan.
Rabbi Moshe Zev was born in Safed in 1855. His father was Rabbi Yechiel Dov, who named him for his grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Zev Auerbach of Chmielnik. He married Sarah Rachel daughter of Rabbi Shalom Meir, son of the righteous Rabbi Avraham Shlomo , son of the holy Rabbi Yisrael Chaim of Ludmir, son of Rabbi Avraham “the angel” and son-in-law of Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin.
In Safed, Rabbi Moshe Zev warmed himself by the light of the Chassidic leaders, by the Saba Kadisha of Ruzhin and his son Rabbi Avraham Ya’akov of Sadigura. As just a young man, Rabbi Moshe Zev already stood out as a role model among the cadre of the Chassidim in Safed.
[1] leaf. 22×14 cm. All in his hand and with his signature. Fine condition. Aging stains.
Correspondence between Rabbi Yechiel Michel and the chief rabbi, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac HaLevi Herzog, about calculating the Shemmitah year, according to inscriptions on tombstones from the time of the Tana’im and Amora’im in Judah and the Galilee.
[1] leaf, 22 cm. Ink on the official stationery of the ‘Herbert Samuel’ Pension, entirely handwritten and signed by Rabbi Herzog. Placed in the original envelope.
Very fine condition. Fold marks.
Enclosed is the gaon Rabbi Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky’s response, typewritten, not signed.
Legal Ruling of ‘Beit HaDin HaGadol LeKol Mikhalot HaAshkenazim’ with the handwritten signatures of the three dayanim, R’ Tzvi Pesach Frank, R’ Yosef Gershon Horowitz and R’ Eliyahu Rom. Kislev 1938.
In the halachic ruling, the dayanim determine that the holy places in the city: The Western Wall and Rachel’s Tomb, belong to the entire city, and are not private property. Therefore, all the revenues from donations in those places are dedicated to the city’s Talmud Torahs “which is the greatest duty imposed on the public.”
[1] leaf, 32 cm. official stationery, typewritten with the handwritten signatures of the dayanim and the stamp of the beit din.
Very fine condition. Fold marks.
Sefer Shnem Asar Derashot L’HaRa”n , Lvov edition 1781.
The flyleaf bears an owner’s signature and a lengthy inscription: Received as a gift from Rabbi Rephael Shmuel Segal, son of my brother-in-law, the belated Rabbi Moshe Segal of Gridetz, and signed by the youth Rabbi Shmuel Zanvil of Wallenstein. Written here in the above-mentioned community on Thursday, 24 Menachem Av 1821 [chronogram: גואל ישראל].
The title page of the book is lacking and is completed by hand, in the form of the manuscript, also in Rabbi Shmuel Zanvil’s script.
Rabbi Shmuel Zanvil, Av Beit Din of Wallenstein was Rabbi Akiva Eiger’s in-law [some say that he was the father-in-law of Rabbi Avraham Eiger – refer to Toldot Mishpachat Munk – and this should be investigated] and he corresponded with him in halachah. Refer to Shu”t RA”E , first edition, section 161 and second edition section 141. Rabbi Shmuel, in his approbation to Shu”t Gavr”i (Frankfurt am Main) calls him “my in-law” in the body of the book, where responsa from him are printed.
There is a handwritten gloss on page 15b, fine condition, simple binding. Minimal detached leaves.
Volume of writings in Italian script.
20 cm. Dozens of pages.
Poor condition, Severe dampstains and mold stains.
Letter from Eliezer Rousseau. Venice, Late 18th century
Early letter to the heads of the San Marco congregation, Venice and Constantinople.
[1] folded paper leaf, 30×21 cm, Italian [Ladino?] in Hebrew script, Sephardi handwriting. Signs of a wax seal on the rear side.
Very fine condition.
6 leaves from an account book of a Jew who was a moneylender to upper-class Jews and non-Jews.
[6] folded leaves, written on both their sides. 24×17 cm.
Moderate condition, worming damage and stains.
At the top: “Secrets of the Kabbalistic sage Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla …”
[1] leaf. 21×16 cm. Dense Ashkenazic script on both sides.
Fine condition.
Song for Rosh HaShanah – h andwriting on paper. End of the 18th – beginning of the 19th Century. Eight stanzas, in memory of Moshe Yehudah in the city קורייניא.
Poem on the topic of yirah [awe/fear] towards the upcoming day of judgment, trembling of the people at the sounding of the Shofar, the first day of the forty days in which the people of Israel’s sin was forgiven [= the first of Elul], regarding the need to strengthen oneself in Torah, to fulfill vows and arise early to guard the law. The poem hints at learning משנ”ה for עילוי נשמ”ה, and integrates the names יאוד”ה and מש”ה.
[1] leaf, high quality paper. 17X26 cm.
Fine condition, fold marks, stains. The leaf underwent professional restoration.
Regulation from Aleppo transcribed letter by letter from Rabbi Luvton’s script.
Heads of the community signed on the letter: Chaim, Yosef, Ezra, Siman Tov, Matlov and Yitzchak Avraham Sithon, Meir Reuven Gabbai, Yitzchak Aharon Shalom, Shalom Mizrachi, Nissim Ya’akov Entibi, Yehoshua Moshe Sasson, Aharon Ovadiah, Yeshayah Yitzchak Harrari.
Rabbi Moshe Anhori z”l was a native of Salé-Rabat, Morocco, described by the Ya’avetz as “The complete sage, sharp as Matityah, ” expert across the width and depth of Torah. In 1817, he traveled by way of Aleppo and was appointed rabbi of the city, and then moved on to Egypt. During WWII, Egyptian Jewry prayed at his grave.
[1] leaf paper, 28×11 cm.
Moderate-fine condition, worn margins.
