Order by the Beit Din of Rabbi Kook to Sell Parcels of the Land of Israel in the First "Heter Mechira" Sale Permit ...

Order by the Beit Din of Rabbi Kook to Sell Parcels of the Land of Israel in the First "Heter Mechira" Sale Permit - Historical Document
In 5669 (1909), the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel was shaken by a heated halakhic debate as to whether to allow, for the upcoming Sabbatical year (Shmitah), the “sale permit” that rabbis had permitted in previous Shmitah years. The farmers of the Jewish settlements called upon Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook, then the Rabbi of Jaffa and the Settlements, and he published his support for the sale permit.
It was then that Rabbi Kook published his famous Shmitah book Shabbat HaAretz, whose introduction is dedicated to understanding the permit and its conditions. Rabbi Yaakov David Wilovsky of Safed opposed the sale permit, in what became a huge halakhic dispute with significant consequences. Ultimately, the settlements followed Rabbi Kook’s decision.
This is the original document that details this sale permit, dated 3 Av 5669 (1909). It was sent by Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Roheld, secretary of Rabbi Kook’s religious court, in Rav Kook's name, to Dr. Arthur Ruppin, representative of the Jewish National Fund (JNF/KKL). It permits the JNF, which owned national lands in the land of Israel, to sell all of them for the year.
Rabbi Kook wrote this historical document while resting at a summer home in Rehovot. During his vacation he had to carry out the sale. He therefore contacted his secretary, Rabbi Roheld, and instructed him to send Dr. Ruppin the “Shmitah permit”, “so that he could sign it for the Nationalfonds [later the JNF] lands in order to proceed with the permit".
This letter is the one sent by Rabbi Roheld at Rabbi Kook’s behest and in his name, together with the “Shmitah permit." At the end of this letter, Rabbi Roheld requests Ruppin to “return it [the Shmitah permit]" to Rabbi Kook.
The letter is written in Roheld’s handwriting and adorned by the seal of Rabbi Kook’s religious court, which bears the verse: “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts".
Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (1865-1935) was born in Latvia, where he served as rabbi in the towns of Zoimel and Boisk. In 1904 he made Aliyah to the Land of Israel to serve as the Rabbi of Jaffa and the Settlements. Chosen in 1920 to be the Rabbi of Jerusalem in 1921 he established the Chief Rabbinate and served as the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi. In 1923 he established the “Merkaz Ha’Rav” yeshiva.
Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Roheld (1875-1950) was a learned scholar and public figure. A young student of Rabbi Naftali Hertz HaLevi, first rabbi of Jaffa. Served for 40 years as secretary of the Shaarei Torah Talmud Torah in Jaffa. His efforts enabled the establishment of the religious court in Rabbi Kook's house. He served as the court’s secretary and registrar, and also as the secretary of the Tel Aviv Rabbinate for decades. He was utterly devoted to Rabbi Kook, and praised him in numerous publications, and in his memoirs “Shma Shlomo."
The recipient, Dr. Arthur Ruppin (1876-1943), was the representative of the “Nationalfunds”, which owned national lands and was renamed the Jewish National Fund (JNF/KKL). He was a Zionist leader, economist and sociologist, director of the Land of Israel office in Jaffa, and had considerable influence on the shape of the Zionist settlement project in the Land of Israel. He headed the settlement divison of the Yishuv’s Zionist Leadership and was a member of the Jewish Agency’s Board.
Condition: Excellent. Filing holes.