Extremely important historic manuscript, one-of-a-kind: charter of the Bada”tz Edah HaChareidit – the highest authority in Yerushalayim shel Ma’alah , from its inception at the beginning of the previous century to this very day. Signed by the founding fathers, all the gedolim of Jerusalem, led by the Mara d’Ara Yisrael , the gaon Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. Jerusalem, 1919.
Noted at the top of the manuscript: “Assembly of the administrative committee in the presence of the honorable president, and the rabbis and geonim , members of the Bada”tz.” Document title: “Implementation of the Decision of the Committee of Seventy (the authoritative body of the Old Yishuv) to Appoint a Beit Din .” On this occasion, the administrative committee appointed the first beit din – The gaon Rabbi Moshe Nachum Wallenstein was appointed as ra’ava”d , alongside him as first dayan , the gaon Rabbi Mordechai Leib Rubin, “and another will join them for a beit din tzeddek of three, to rule and instruct our sacred community. The third dayan yet to be appointed, as stated explicitly at the end of the document, was the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Frankel, “who will give his answer tomorrow morning.”
The document goes on to state the three fundamental rules according to which the beit din will conduct itself: 1) The custom until now will continue – when a litigant wants his case to be heard before a dayan of his choice, he may do so. 2) The Bada”tz sits in the inner city (within the walls). 3) The beit din will sit every afternoon. On the back of the document is a declaration by the appointed dayanim affirming their presence at the assembly and that they agree to all that was said, with a signed declaration by the ra’ava”d Rabbi Moshe Nachum Wallenstein.
The reason for this is that the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Frankel delayed his response, necessitating writing a vague text, not the traditional one for constituting a beit din . This was apparently because the beit din was established against the backdrop of a dispute and division from the Old Yishuv’s Beit Din Prushim , who disagreed with the dayanim there (Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank and Rabbi Eliyahu Re’em) supported uniting with the Rabbinate’s beit din . As a result, the ra’ava”d Rabbi Moshe Nachum Wallenstein firmly opposed this and, together with Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, founded the Bada”tz Edah HaCharedit, which exists to this day.
Signatories on the document: The 16 leaders of the Edah, led by the Mara D’Ara Yisrael , the gaon Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, and the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham Diskin. Additional signatories include the gedolim, Rabbis: Menachem Tzvi Jaffe, Aryeh Leib Tauber, Menachem Mordechai Teomim-Frankel, Mordechai Ben Tzvi Edelman, Baruch Reuven Shlomo Jungreis (secretary), Ya’akov Yitzchak Teitelbaum, Chaim Yehudah Feldman, Pinchas Epstein, Yosef Leib Chagiz and more.
In the margins of the letter, next to the signatures, are blessings from the sacred geonim of Jerusalem: “May we merit receiving Mashiach Tzidkeinu V’Rabboteinu B’Rashei Geulim , happy and joyous upon the building of our glorious holy city, with the banner of the light of our Torah and our people, speedily in our days, amen .”
[2] pp, 27 cm. High-quality paper with watermarks. Beautiful letterhead, entirely handwritten and signed by gedolei Yerushalayim and stamped by the Va’ad HaIr.
Fine condition. Filing perforations. Fold marks. Tiny tear in the margins of one of the folds, without damage or lack.