Important historic (and current) letter sent at the end of WWI by Va’ad Rabbanei Vilna, signed by four of the leading rabbis of Vilna: the gaon Rabbi Chanoch Henich Eigish, author of the Marcheshet ; the gaon Rabbi Avraham Ya’akov HaKohen, son of the Cheshek Shlomo; the gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz, eldest brother of the Chazon Ish; and Rabbi Ya’akov Zalman HaKohen Kaplan. Vilna, 1918.
The letter was sent to “the honorable [many honorifics] gabba’im ” – the leaders of the Vilna community. In their letter, the rabbis request that the parnassim raise the salaries of the rabbis serving in the city of Vilna, as a result of the post-WWI inflation that increased prices by over 1000%, such that them sum paid until that point “is very far from being able to fulfil the basic necessities of life, the price of which has now multiplied up to ten times or more.” The rabbis calculate in the letter that the minimum cost for the basic needs of a family is about 4,500 rubles, while the rabbis’ salary after all the supplements does not even reach half that.
It is interesting to note that during WWI, the rabbi of the city, the gaon Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, was forced to leave Vilna, and the author of Marcheshet filled in for him, so that the latter is the signatory on this letter as lead rabbi, and not Rabbi Chaim Ozer.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the gaon Rabbi Chanoch Henich Eigish , the gaon Rabbi Avraham Ya’akov HaKohen of Vilna , the gaon Rabbi Meir Karelitz , and the gaon Rabbi Ya’akov Zalman HaKohen Kaplan .
[1] leaf paper, 21×24 cm. It is possible that the body of the letter was written by the gaon Rabbi Avraham Ya’akov HaKohen of Vilna.
Fine condition. Fold mark in the center of the leaf. Tiny tears in the margins of the fold, without damage or lack.