Colorful Shadar Pinkas, written on behalf of the emissary Henoch Zaurompf who traveled to the USA on behalf of Otzar Hachesed- Keren Shmuel that was founded in 1906 in memory of the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Salant.
Letter of recommendation by the Jerusalem Beth Din for the Shadar Henoch Zaurompf. Signed by The Gaon Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank, the Gaon Rabbi Yercham Fishe Bernstein, & Rabbi Shmuel Aaron Weber. Jerusalem 1925.
Long letter of recommendation written, signed & stamped by the Gaon Rabbi Moses Zevulun Margolies. NY, 1925. He also signs again recording his donation of 5.
Letter of recommendation written, signed & stamped by Rabbi Hillel HaKohen Klein. NY 1925
Long letter of recommendation written & signed by the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Eskolsky. NY 1925.
Signatures of the founders & Gabaim of the fund in Hebrew & English
Rabbi Dov Ber Amramowitz, Former rabbi of St. Louis
Rabbi AsherDov Zusman Dileon. Please see Hebrew description for biographical details.
R. Yaakov Yitchak Teitelbaum
R. Chanoch Henoch Werner
R. Dov Vishnitzki. Please see Hebrew description for biographical details.
10 written sides. 19.6cm.
Overall Very Good condition, few stains, original binding shows signs of use.
The Gaon Rabbi Moses Zevulun Margolies was born in the small Lithuanian city of Meretz, not far from Kovna and Slobodka. On his father’s side, he was the grandson of Rabbi Abraham Margolies, chief of the bet din of Telshe, and of Rabbi Wolf Altschul, chief of the bet din of Lutzan who traced his lineage to Rashi. On his mother’s side, he was the grandson of Reb Eliyahu Krosczer, the brother-in-law of the Vilna Gaon. Ordained by his uncle and by Rabbi Yom Tov Lippman Halpern, the rabbi of Bialystok in the year 1876. He served as rabbi of Sloboda for 12 years. In 1889 he was invited to assume the chief rabbinate of Boston. In 1906 he was called to the rabbinate of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York, a post which he held until his death.
His primary occupation was study. The Talmud was always open on the dining room table. He began study at five in the morning and he would make a siyyum on the completion of the whole Talmud every year on the yahrzeit of his mother. It meant that he covered seven pages of the Talmud every day. Rabbi Margolies introduced the system which supervised the distribution of kosher meat in New York City. He served as president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada. He founded the New York Kehillah and the Central Relief Committee (later absorbed by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee). An early Zionist, Rabbi Margolies was a member of the Mizrachi Organization of America. He also served as president of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Yeshiva (which ultimately became Yeshiva University) for several years, presiding over the ordination of a generation of Orthodox rabbis.
Gifted with a sharp and crisp wit, he used it not to entertain people but to drive home a point and to help solve a problem. He was consulted by people of all religious persuasions on both personal matters and communal issues. On one occasion, he was consulted by the impresario Meyer Weisgal who had scheduled a performance of “The Romance of a People” at the Polo Grounds in New York on a Saturday night in late August which coincided with the first selihot (penitential service). The performance was to start 8:00 in the evening which, at that season of year, would involve violating the Sabbath. Weisgal wanted the rabbi to grant absolution for the Sabbath violation. “Mr. Weisgal, ” the rabbi responded, “You came to the wrong Moses; I would have to refer you to the original Moses. He was the one who gave us the Sabbath.” A wise and witty observation ended the inquiry.
His last public appearance just months before his death was at a Madison Square Garden rally against Hitler’s Nuremberg laws. He had to be carried on to the stage. His hands trembled, but his voice never wavered, as he read his message. When he finished, 20,000 people rose to their feet in reverence and appreciation. He was known to many as the RaMaZ (an acronym for Rabbi Moses Zevulun).
Rabbi Hillel HaKohen Klein was born 1844 in Baracska, Bars County, Hungary (now Bardonovo, Slovakia), to son of Zeev Tzvi, who was Talmid of the Chatam Sofer of Pressburg.
Rabbi Hillel was a Talmid of the Ktav Sofer, and was son-in-law of Mendel Hirsch, the director of Orth. Jewish school in Frankfurt, Germany, grandson of Frankfurt Rav Rabbi Samson Raphael Rafael Hirsch.
From 1874 to 1891 he was in Russia, first at Kiev then at Libau, where he held an important position as rabbi. With the increase of anti-Semitism in Russia, he was forced to leave the country, accepting the invitation of the late Rabbi Jacob Joseph to come to the Congregation Ohab Zedeck, then in Norfolk Street. He began his long service as a rabbi of this synagogue in 1891 and continued in charge after the merger in May 1923, with Pincus Elijah Congregation. He was president of the Kolel Shomre Hachomos. In February 1923, 300 friends of Dr. Klein gave a dinner in his honor at the Broadway Central Hotel.
He was very instrumental in preserving Kosher Ritual Slaughter Laws in the United States and fought hard for its existence.
Rabbi Klein was one of the most influential Rabbanim in prewar America. In addition, he was a member of Chief Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Joseph’s Bias Din (Rabbinical Court).
At the time of his death, he was the honorary president of the Agudas Ha-Rabbonim, president of the newly formed Agudath Israel of America, treasurer of the Ezras Torah fund, and Nasi of Kolel Shomrei Hachomos in Jerusalem. Although a member of all these organizations Rav Klein once remarked: “there is but one title that I bear with a conscious pride, and that is Hillel HaKohen”.
The Gaon Rabbi Dov Ber Abramowitz (1865-1926) an American Rav and Rosh Yeshiva of a Lithuanian descent. When he was approx. ten, his faily immigrmated to Eretz Yisrael, where he studied at the Etz Chaim Yeshiva and gave lessons on Halacha and Aggadah. In 1892, he moved to the USA. Was one of the founders of the Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchonon Yeshiva in New York and one of the founders of the union of rabbis of the USA and Canada. In 1920 he returned to Eretz Yisrael. Author of Dat Yisrael, Ketav Hadat and Sefer Ketubah.
The Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Eskolsky served as a rav in Europe for a few years (first in Rublie and then in Kazhan-Hardok) at the turn of the last century. He then came to the USA in late 1906 and became the Rav of the Beis Midrash HaGadol (aka the Penn Avenue shul) in Scranton, PA. Afterwards (around 1909 or 1910) he became the Rav of the Slutzker shul on Pike street in the lower east side of NY. In 1918, he became the Rav of the Bialystoker shul on Willet Street in the lower east side.
He was also a co-founder of the Ezras Torah fund in 1915 and served as its first secretary until about 1925. In 1926 He founded the Degel HaRabbanim organization and would serve as its leader.
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Lot #177