Very Beautiful Historic Letter from the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin to Sir Moshe Montefiore. Moscow, 1883

Very Beautiful Historic Letter from the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin to Sir Moshe Montefiore. Moscow, 1883

Very beautiful historic letter with interesting contents, entirely handwritten and signed in full, in rare form (as opposed to just being initialled), by the gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin, rosh yeshivah of Volozhin, during his tenure as chief rabbi of Moscow. The letter was sent to Sir Moshe Montefiore, and it deals with public affairs as well as personal matters. Moscow, 1883 [שנת "יום זה יום בשורה הוא לפ"ק [תרמ"ג]].

The gaon hador opens his letter to "The great minister of the Jewish people" with a lengthy and respectable list of honorifics, followed by his expression of appreciation for Montefiore's contribution to young students "on the day of the inauguration of his highness, the Emperor [apparently the czar of Russia, Alexander III]. The main part of the letter deals with the marriage of Rabbi Chaim Berlin's daughter, scheduled to take place in Tammuz "to a man of lofty stature, wise in Torah and great fear of Heaven ..." [the gaon Rabbi Ephraim Samonov]. In the margins of his letter, the gaon hador extends his blessings for the elderly minister, Moshe Montefiore, who was already close to his hundredth year.

The letter was written in the final period of Rabbi Chaim Berlin's term as rabbi of Moscow, after the expulsion of Jews from the city had already been decreed.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin.

[1] double leaf. 22x28 cm. Lined paper. Entirely handwritten and signed by the gaon Rabbi Chaim Berlin.

Fine condition. Fold marks. Aging stains. Tiny tears in the margins, without lack.