Beautiful and Rare Emissaries' Letter Signed by the Admo"r Rabbi Duvid'l of Lelov and the Torah Chessed of Lublin

Beautiful and Rare Emissaries' Letter Signed by the Admo"r Rabbi Duvid'l of Lelov and the Torah Chessed of Lublin

"With David, their king, at their lead"

Lengthy and beautiful emissaries' letter for the emissaries Rabbi Alter Weinstock and Rabbi Fishel Linder, signed by Jerusalem tzaddikim, the managers of Kollel Polin, the leading Admo"r of the Land of Israel, Rabbi David Tzvi Shlomo Biderman of Lelov, the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Bahara"n Lowey, and the gaon hageonim, the author of Torah Chessed of Lublin (with his handwritten addition). Jerusalem, 1901.

In their rare and lengthy letter, Jerusalem's sacred leaders use horrifying words to depict the terrible conditions prevailing in the Land. History books extensively describe the starvation and plague in Jerusalem during WWI (1914-1918). In this letter, the tzaddikim describe another famine, one that took place about 15 years earlier, also followed by a plague, which resulted in Kollel Polin being in a "huge, massive state of debt."

"... our brethren, natives of Poland who reside in Jerusalem, are presently suffering from great starvation, they are hungry for bread and water, no exaggeration. Over the duration of the entire winter, the skies were stubborn, with no early- or late-season rains. Our hearts ambush us from inside as we see that we cannot help, we cannot provide bread and water, because, to our sorrow, Hashem's wrath has been poured into our city for three years and we were rebuked with pains and fatal diseases which, due to our many transgressions, were released into our city ... Our hearts melted like water when we saw a great and respectable community of fifteen hundred souls, their blood flowing like water ..."

An entire passage was added after the signatures, handwritten and signed by the mighty gaon, the author of Torah Chessed of Lublin: "I could not restrain myself from requesting mercy for the poor of Kollel Warsaw. Send help urgently though these emissaries, help them as much as you can. This tremendous mitzvah will stand by you, and you will reap Heavenly reward for this and more, all blessings for goodness, words of he who pleads, Shneur Zalman, previously av beit din of Lublin, presently of the Holy City." (Letters and his signatures from him are very rare.)

At the beginning and end of the letter, the tzaddikim bless the donors with tremendous blessings: "And in this merit, may Hashem have mercy on you to protect you from all evil, to bring you back to tranquility, when Hashem returns his people to Tziyon in salvation, with David, their king, at their lead, speedily in our days, amen."

Stamp in the margins of the letter from the Admo"r of Lelov: "David Tzvi Shlomo son of the sacred tzaddik R' Elazar Menachem Biderman ztzllh"h" and an especially large stamp (5.5 cm diameter) of "Machoz Polin HaYashuvim B'Arba Artzot HaChayim: Yerushalayim, Chevron, Safed, Teveria ..." The emissaries mentioned are: Rabbi Alter Menachem Koloymous b"r Baruch Ze'ev Binyamin Weinstock and Rabbi Yechiel Fishel b"r Yehudah Leib Linder - both natives of Jerusalem of yesteryear and scions of multi-branched and prominent families.

Chassidic legend relates that due to the aforementioned "huge, massive debts, " the Turkish government imprisoned the Admo"r Rabbi Duvid'l of Lelov on the eve of Passover. The sacred Admo"r sat in prison until the Admo"r of Gur, the author of Sefat Emet, and the sacred gaon, the author of Avnei Nezer, stood next to huge empty barrels in the center of Warsaw and collected funds from the city's Jews. By the end of the day, the barrels were full to the brim with money and the necessary amount was obtained to release the Rebbe from prison. 

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the Admo"r Rabbi David Tzvi Shlomo Biderman, the gaon Rabbi Shneur Zalman Friedkin-Ladier and the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Bahara"n.

[1] leaf paper, approximately 29x23 cm.

Fine condition. Aging stains. Fold marks. Professionally restored stains in the folds, with blemishes in a few words.