Plea for Assistance from Rabbi Shmuel Salant and Leaders of the Prushim Community Addressed to Sir Moses Montefiore
Heartfelt letter addressed to Sir Moses Montefiore requesting financial assistance, signed by Jerusalem’s leading rabbis.
The letter was sent before Pesach, in light of the dire poverty facing Jerusalem’s Jews who could not afford to buy flour for matzos and other holiday essentials.
The letter is signed by :
Rabbi Shmuel Salant (1816-1909) served as the rabbi of Jerusalem’s Ashkenazic settlement for seventy years and stood at the helm of its charity funds.
Rabbi Yaakov Berlin of Mir was the father of the Netziv of Volozhin and the father-in-law of the Aruch HaShulchan. He immigrated to Eretz Yisrael where he was respected as a leading Jerusalem rabbi. He is buried alongside Rabbi Yosef Zundel Salant.
Rabbi Yeshaya Bardaki (1789-1863) was a son-in-law of Rabbi Yisrael Shklov, author of Pe’as Hashulchan, and a disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. He immigrated to Tzfas in 1809 and later moved to Jerusalem following the Galilee earthquake of 1837. In Jerusalem, he served as a rabbinical leader, standing at the helm of Jerusalem’s Ashkenazi settlement.
Rabbi Yaakov Te’omim was the ab”d of Vilan. He is a signatory on the Kollel’s checks and in other various documents from Jerusalem’s leaders. He passed away in 1866.
The letter was handwritten in the beautiful handwriting of the scribe, Rabbi Yosef Rivlin. The title, date and name of Sir Moses Montefiore and his wife are written in red ink.
Dated Jerusalem, 1862.
28 x 21 cm | Thin blueish paper | Marginal tears not affecting text
