Letter to the Diaspora Jewry from the leading disciples of Chasam Sofer
Jerusalem, 1862
Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim.
Letter and appeal to Diaspora Jewry in Hungary, Moravia, Bohemia, and Austria from the founders and directors of Kollel Shomrei Hachomos in Yerushalayim.
In this letter, the Kollel leaders announce that they opened a new kollel and are not receiving any financial assistance from other groups or kollels. They entreat for assistance in opening a hospital that would provide medical care to poor residents who cannot afford hospital costs. The letter is signed by the Kollel founders and directors, three of whom were famous disciples of the Chasam Sofer who journeyed and settled in Eretz Yisrael:
1. Rabbi Shimon Deitsch (d. 1878), father of the illustrious Deitsch family in Yerushalayim, was one of the first disciples of the Chasam Sofer to journey and settle in Eretz Yisrael. Much of the Chasam Sofer’s written legacy was printed based on Rabbi Shimon Deitsch’s personal copies of the Chasam Sofer’s manuscripts. His eulogy upon the Chasam Sofer was published in Shadayim Sofdim (Jerusalem, 1872).
2. Rabbi Aharon Ber Baratz (d. 1864) was also known as Rabbi Aharon Ber of Trebitsch-Ungvar. He was one of the founders of the Batei Machseh neighborhood in Yerushalayim and of the founders of Kollel Shomrei Hachomos.
3. Rabbi Aharon Moshe Baumgarten (1812-1877) was a disciple of the Chasam Sofer and founder of Yeshivas Ohel Moshe in Yerushalayim, which he named in honor of the Chasam Sofer. He was renowned for his exceptional yiras Shamayim and purity.
4. Rabbi Yonah Leib Mendelson-Lobel (1816-1886) was a disciple of the Chasam Sofer who dedicated his life to Torah and avodas Hashem. He embarked on several fundraising journeys on behalf of the Kollel.
5. Rabbi Nosson Yosef Goldberg (d. 1880). Originally from Liska, he was one of the venerable dayanim in Yerushalayim and authored Zichron Tziyon (Jerusalem, 1872).
6. Rabbi Meir Sheinbaum (d. 1890) was a tzaddik and mekubal who numbered among the founders of the Batei Machseh neighborhood and was a key community activist in the Yishuv.
Jerusalem, circa 1862. Single, double-sided leaf with one side printed in lashon hakodesh and the verso in Yiddish. Page size: 20×35 cm. Good condition.
Extremely rare. This page is not listed in the S. Halevi Bibliography of books printed in Jerusalem nor present in the Jerusalem National Library.
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