Historic Halachic Ruling of Leaders of Jerusalem; the Imrei Bina, Rabbi Shmuel Salant and Others.
Rare, historic document recounting a segment of the Ashkenazi settlement in Jerusalem; the polemic disagreement surrounding the purchase of land for the Eitz Chaim Yeshiva.
Rabbi Shaul Binyamin Karelitz, the Rabbi of Radishkowitz purchased a courtyard intended for the Eitz Chaim yeshiva using money donated by estate funds. Rabbi Shmuel Salant, along with the majority of Jerusalem’s scholars, valiantly opposed this purchase. Those on the opposition claimed that the donors had stipulated that only fruit-bearing land be purchased with their money, while this courtyard would not bear fruit.
Thus, a great and bitter dispute was instigated, with each side publishing pamphlets besmirching the other side.
The rare Halachic ruling revealed here brought the long affair to a final end. Both parties accepted the ruling rabbis as arbitrators and agreed to stand by their ruling.
This long and detailed ruling regards all of the various points of contention in detail, including a harsh description of the dispute and the resulting chilul Hashem.
The ruling is signed by the leading Rabbis: Rabbi Meir Auerbach, Av Beis Din of Kalisch, author of Imrei Bina; Rabbi Shmuel Salant, and Rabbi Moshe Nechemia Kahanov.
Large leaf | 37 x 23 cm | Double-sided | Minor fold marks
Rabbi Meir Auerbach (1815 – 1875), Av Beis Din of Kalisch and author of Imrei Bina, immigrated to Eretz Yisrael in 1860. Upon his arrival, Rabbi Shmuel Salant requested that he stand at the helm of the Jerusalem Beis Din and regularly refered to him as the "Rabbi of Jerusalem."
Rabbi Shmuel Salant (1816 – 1909) was the Rabbi of Jerusalem for seventy years, standing at the helm of its charity funds as well.
Rabbi Moshe Nechemia Kahana of Chaslowitz (1817 – 1887) was the Rabbi of Chaslowitz and Rosh Yeshiva of Eitz Chaim in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. He did much for the Jerusalem community and authored Nesivos Hashalom, Eretz Chefetz and others.
