"News I bring. After hope and expectation, an event occurred to us… the likes of which have not been heard across the four corners of the earth, and it has brought us shame among the nations and scorn among peoples. While our honorable rabbi, the eminent Rabbi Elazar Chaim, may his light shine, was sitting peacefully and at ease in his home, the news arrived that the viceroy, the servant of the King Abdollah, may his majesty be exalted, would visit on Wednesday, the 4th of Tammuz, 1866.
Several of the elders of the Hamadan community, may it be preserved, gathered to go out and greet the viceroy outside the city, as is the custom in Persia for the Jewish community to go out and receive the prince, his son, or the viceroy.
The esteemed Rabbi Elazar Chaim, may his light shine, went out with the congregation, as is customary for the leaders and prominent members of the Jewish communities in every city, to go out and represent the Jewish community. They went to greet the viceroy, and as they were returning to the city and reached a market called Madrasa, which is their house of study, a gentile merchant who sold bread stood there, joined by several butchers and other merchants and residents of the Madrasa area.
They threw Rabbi Elazar Chaim to the ground and struck him cruelly with bayonets, stones, kicks, and all kinds of injuries, wounds, and cruel beatings. They struck his head with burnt bricks from a kiln and removed the turban from his head, the pocket watch from his neck, and the cash he carried. They also took the cloak from his shoulders, tore his clothing, and humiliated him.
They broke the heads of other Jews, injured many, and broke Rabbi Elazar Chaim’s arm. Around 500 gentiles gathered, intending to kill him, making false accusations. One claimed he had cursed their religion, another accused him of knocking over a Muslim woman when riding his horse, causing her to miscarry, which never happened. Meanwhile, many of the prominent gentiles shouted in the jailhouse, blaming the Jews for gathering and attacking the bread merchant.
The letter continues with detailed accounts of the hardships Rabbi Elazar Chaim and over a hundred community members endured until the viceroy and his son Abdollah dismissed the false accusations. Rabbi Elazar Chaim eventually recovered from his injuries.
The Turbulent Life of Mullah Rabbi Elazar Chaim:
Rabbi Elazar Chaim was the son of Dayan Mullah Eliyahu ben Elazar, who served as rabbi of the Hamadan community from the 1840s until the 1860s. In the 1850s, Rabbi Elazar Chaim was appointed head of the community, serving as its rabbi and dayan.
Mordechai Yaakov Mordechai, likely one of Hamadan’s scholars and who at times identified as a scribe, referred to him in 1861 as "a judge and light of our eyes, a prince and leader, a sign and a wonder of the generation, our brother and companion, the honorable Rabbi Elazar Chaim, whom God has graced with wisdom and greatness, a light to the diaspora in the city and capital of Persia, the great Hamadan."
Conflict and Imprisonment:
Over time, Rabbi Elazar Chaim came into conflict with members of his community. As a result, he was arrested, tortured, and sent to Tehran, where he endured severe hardships. Overwhelmed by his suffering, he converted to Islam. Around the beginning of 1866, Rabbi Elazar Chaim sent a letter to Baghdad, known as the Egypt Letter, describing these events. Isaac Luria, head of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Baghdad, involved the organization, requesting their intervention on the rabbi’s behalf. Through the efforts of the Alliance and the support of French and British diplomats, Rabbi Elazar Chaim was released and returned to Judaism. He subsequently relocated to Baghdad.
Further Trials and Accounts:
According to one account, Rabbi Elazar Chaim’s opponents lodged serious accusations with the Shah, alleging corruption in his role as dayan. The Shah ordered his immediate transfer to Tehran and imprisonment, forbidding any appeals on his behalf. While in prison, Rabbi Elazar Chaim, in his desperation, wrote a defense of himself in blood on a scrap of paper and sent it to the Shah. His eloquence and literary style moved the Shah, who summoned him to explain the meaning of a phrase. Rabbi Elazar Chaim’s detailed interpretation impressed the Shah, who ordered his release, on the condition that he abandon public affairs.
Later, Rabbi Elazar Chaim wrote a letter from Baghdad to HaMagid, describing how a year earlier, the Baghdad-based Meisharim newspaper published his Egypt Letter, recounting his ordeals. He reported being handed over to Iranian authorities, enduring severe persecution, but ultimately surviving due to the intervention of the Alliance and financial assistance from Europe.
Final Days:
According to Bahá’í sources, Rabbi Elazar Chaim became a follower of the Bahá’í faith. One account claims that during his journey to Baghdad, his adversaries poisoned his food, leading to his death there.
Hamadan elders recall that among Rabbi Elazar Chaim’s many books, his collection of illuminated manuscripts by Shahin of Shiraz, adorned with exquisite Persian miniatures, stood out. After his death, these books were reportedly sold to the British Library for an enormous sum.
22 cm.
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Lot #233