Emissary Letter given by Rabbi Moshe Levy – son-in-law of Rabbi Shmuel Ha’alir, to Constantinople, to help and assist the Jewish community in Safed who was beaten with severe hunger, Signed by the rabbis and geniuses of the Ashkenazi community in Safed, the Gaon Rabbi Shmuel Ha’alir , and the Gaon Rabbi Raphael Zilberman, and the rest of the geniuses of the city. Safed, Sivan 1859.
Rabbi Shmuel Ha’alir [1803-1884]. Rabbi and great leader of the Ashkenazi community in Safed for over forty years. A descendant of Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman Heller, author of the “Tosfot Yom Tov”. Rabbi Shmuel Heller received the leadership of the Ashkenazi community in Safed when the city was battered and depleted due to natural disasters and political and military shocks, which occurred during the 1830s, in a complex organizational reality, Rabbi Heller was required to engage in many intertwined systems. He was able to quickly integrate into the Land of Israel, learn Hebrew fluently, learn Arabic and have a fruitful dialogue with the residents of Safed and its environs, most of whom were Arabs, and at the same time manage all the Jewish affairs of the city. From his writings: Derech Nesher, Kvod Melachim – Regarding the burning of clothes at the celebration of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Jerusalem 1874. Refuot Usgulot, Jerusalem 1907.
Rabbi Raphael Zilberman [1839-1918], a Dayan and Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Safed for over fifty years, was born in Uman, Ukraine, and as a child in 1851, At the age of 11, he immigrated to Eretz Israel with his father. He used to be alone and study Torah in the beit midrash near the Rashb’y tomb in Meron. Known for his greatness and wisdom and was even revered by the Turkish authorities who gave him the title “Chacham Pasha”.
[1] leaf. 30×21 cm. Filing holes. Good condition.
