“When [you] travel on the way, [your] thoughts as [you] leave [your] city, a fter reciting Psalm 121, should focus on what to request from Hashem when [you] marry this woman, and again before entering the city. When getting married, recite this kapitel by moving [your] lips only. Consider also w hat should be found in this woman, and again when [you] depart from there for the return trip, and also before re-entering [your] city”
Extremely important letter of rare beauty and Kabbalistic/mystic content. Entirely handwritten [approximately 250 words] and signed in full using the name of the wonder-worker of the generation and leading Ashkenazic amulet writer of his generation, the sacred gaon Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher, av beit din of Gredits, one of the gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger’s leading disciples, using his name and his father’s name. Gredits, Tuesday of Tetzaveh [Adar I] 1872.
The letter is addressed to the gaon Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Leib Bamberger, av beit din of Bad-Kissingen, eldest son of the Würzburger Rav and son-in-law of the Aruch LaNer. This letter is rare and important from every perspective, for its historic importance and due to the identities of the sender and the addressee – two gedolei hador , yet primarily for its mystic element – blessings and segulahs handwritten by the leading Ashkenazic amulet-writer of his generation (refer to the biography in the Hebrew catalog text for further discussion of this).
As a matter of course, this letter between two gedolei hador deals with many and varied topics, mainly public matters, various appointments, etc. However, the majority of the letter deals with an extremely personal/private matter regarding Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Bamberger, who had lost his first wife, Rebbetzin Sarah, daughter of the Aruch LaNer, just a few years previously, and is presently going to marry another woman [Esther Goldschmidt]. It is evident from the letter that Rabbi Moshe Aryeh consulted the tzaddik of Gredits, who advised him as to the proper course of action for the success of the marriage, and for his blessing. The tzaddik of Gredits, due to the prominence of the addressee, expounds on the segulahs in his letter, along with blessing for the success of the match.
The tzaddik of Gredits states as follows: “[You] write that [you] will soon embark on the trip to [your] wedding, mazal tov. [You] asked if I have any advice for [you]. I would say that one who conducts himself purely will be secure. When [you] travel on the way, [your] thoughts as [you] leave [your] city, after reciting Psalm 121, should focus on what to request from Hashem when [you] marry this woman, and again before entering the city. When getting married, recite this kapitel by moving [your] lips only. Consider also what should be found in this woman, and again when [you] depart from there for the return trip, and also before re-entering [your] city.” The merit of [your] ancestors will stand by [you], especially as [you] have obeyed their order to marry this blessed woman. Raise [your] daughter Genendel together with her to the wedding canopy and good deeds. May you have sons and daughters together with this wife, all for your joy for goodness at all times, and for the joy of [your] ancestors. [Your] friend and … the small one, Eliyahu son of … Gredits.
The tzaddik of Gredits was one of the leading and one of the first disciples of Rabbi Akiva Eiger in Poznań. He received not only his rabbi’s teachings in the revealed and the concealed, but also learned from his conduct and also gave segulahs and amulets towards the end of his life, and many appealed to him for amulets. These included geonim such as the author of Nefesh Chayah of Kalish, Rabbi Kalisher and many others. ( HaRav Eliyahu Guttmacher – HaTzaddik MiGredits , Jerusalem, 1969, pp. 11-23 and from p. 129 onward).
There is a relatively unknown detail about the gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger, that he would very occasionally use amulets (refer to Iggerot Rabi Akiva Eiger , Jerusalem, 1994, p. 137, iggeret 87). There was a known amulet by Rabbi Akiva Eiger for a plague that became popular during the coronavirus plague. There is also the famous story about the amulet written by the gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger for a critically ill patient who recovered. The gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger made a condition that the amulet not be opened, but many years later it was indeed opened. No Kabbalistic Names were found in it, just this sentence: “May he recover in the merit of the insight I had in the Tosafot in Sukkah with respect to the clouds of glory.” This is a letter from Rabbi Akiva Eiger’s leading disciple, known primarily for his amulets and wonders, with explicit segulahs, incantations and blessings upon his (re)marriage, for nachat and “goodness for [you] for all [your] days.”
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher, av beit din of Gredits .
[1] leaf paper, 23×14 cm. High quality glossy paper. Beautiful, orderly script.
Fine-very fine condition.