Personal passport of Rabbi Shlomo Kluger, Rosh Av Beis Din of Brody, issued in 1859 prior to his travels to Husiatyn, Russia for the wedding of his only son, Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Kluger.
The passport includes Rabbi Kluger's birthdate, the names of all his children as well as other personal details. It is signed by Rabbi Kluger himself.
On pages 2-3 are the stamps of the multiple border crossings from which it is possible to see exactly where Rabbi Kluger went and when.
The passport is a large and impressive document, black and pale blue, with the name of Emperor Franz Joseph I in the center.
Rabbi Kluger's nephew Rabbi Shlomo describes his travels to Russia in his sefer Toldos Shlomo:
"In that year, the year 1859 in the month of Elul, he traveled to the wedding of his only son… and the wedding was restricted to being in the city Husiatyn across the border of Russia. And if I said it, I will tell over like the tremendous amount of respect and dearness that was made for him from the time he left the city of Brody until his arrival in the city Husiatyn. Crowds of thousands and tens of thousands flocked to him from all sides… and when he arrived in the city of Husiatyn by the Russian border, there is no end to all the honor and dearness which the Border Police chiefs did for him. They literally carried him on their shoulders… and they did not check his suitcases, which were many, they just let him and all the people who were with him travel freely to the city which was on the other side of the border without any delay."
This is without a doubt an extraordinary item; the historical, personal passport of one of the leading Acharonim of the past two hundred years.
40 x 24 cm | 3 pages | Minor tears professionally restored | Exceedingly rare
