An early and rare reception received by the Shliach DeRbanan Rabbi Yehuda Leib of the Predenan community (Netherlands) and the surrounding area for 'officials and clerks of the holy cities, residents of the city Amsterdam' to the people of Safed and Tiberias who survived the famous earthquake that struck the area in 1837 And lost all their property in it - "Those who remain alive, after the earthquake that was there on Sunday the 24th of Tevet last year, there will be no trouble again, and G-d will be with the help of the survivors, will fill their lack from another place ...". Signature of Rabbi Zalman son of the late Yehuda Ber Rosenbaum and stamp of the leader of the Prushim in Safed Rabbi Zvi Hirsch son of Rabbi Avraham Moshe Leharen, Elul 15, 1837.
The earthquake of 1837 was a strong earthquake that hit the Galilee in the Land of Israel and Lebanon, left thousands dead and destroyed the city of Safed and its surroundings, and also severely affected the city of Tiberias. The cities of Nablus, Acre, Nazareth, Tzor and Sidon were also slightly affected. Many houses collapsed during the earthquake and were destroyed. The earthquake severely damaged the Jewish community in the city of Safed, following this, many Jews left Safed. Among the dead were Rabbi Eliezer of Slonim, Rabbi Yosef of Chortkov, Rabbi David of Wiska DeLita, one of the rabbis of the Prushim in Safed at that time, the Kabbalist Rabbi Nissim Zarchia Azulai (born in Jerusalem in 1780, grandson of the Hid'a) and with him were buried the the books and manuscripts which were with him, as well as the community's honorable Mrs. Sarah, daughter of Rabbi Yehoshua of Minsk. The earthquake of 1837 also changed the face of the Jewish community in the Galilee. The population has dwindled both because many were killed and because parts chose to leave the disaster-stricken area. The vast majority of the Pharisees left for Jerusalem, interpreting the event as a punishment for preferring Safed, leaving the city largely Hasidic. The leader of the Prushim public, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Leharen, whose stamp appears in the receipt before us, wrote regarding the earthquake in a letter he sent to the Gr'a disciples: "ועוד כתב [ר' ישראל משקלוב] שמצפה שהיא [רעידת האדמה] אתחלתא דגאולה ונסמך מחז"ל 'והגליל יחרב'". [And more wrote Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov that he expects that the earthquake is Atchalta D'Geula, based on Chaz'al "And the Galilee will be destroyed'.
[1] leaf. 22x9 cm. Slight tears in margins. Folding marks. Antique reinforcement by gluing adhesive tape on the back. Good condition.
