Lengthy letter from Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook to the directors of the Anglo-Palestine Bank with a request to transfer money from R’ Yeshayah Borisov’s account to his wife, the widow, as he has passed away. Jaffa, 1907.
During the period the letter was written, Rabbi Kook served as av beit din in Jaffa. After some time, he went to Europe, where he was stranded with no way home as a result of WWI. After the war’s end, he returned to the Land of Israel and was appointed chief rabbi of the Land of Israel, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Letters from Rabbi Kook during this period are extremely rare!
It is likely that today the Israeli banking system would have required more official documents to release a deposit made by a customer who has passed away. However, at the beginning of the previous century, apparently a note from the chief rabbi “To the honored directors of the Anglo-Palestine bank” was sufficient to release the money to the orphans.
[1] leaf paper, Official stationery blank. Entirely in his script, concluding with his signature and stamp. 21.5×28.5 cm.
Moderate condition. Tears with slight lacks. Aging stains and fold marks.