"תכתבו ותחתמו בס' החיים ברוב עושר וכבוד והצלחה טובה כי"ר, היום יום ד' ה' לחדש תשרי שנ' תרס"ב לב"ע". A letter of thanks to the philanthropists from the city of Aden in Yemen who gave their donations to Rabbi Avraham Shloush, with the signatures of the great rabbis of Yemen, the Gaon Rabbi Shalom Halevi Alsheich, the Gaon Rabbi Avraham Alandaf, the Gaon Rabbi Yosef B.R. Sadia Tzifira.
In their letter, the rabbis state the names of all the donors and the amount that each one of them contributed, and bless them with all kinds of blessings, longevity and livelihood, and add that their blessings will be received thanks to Jerusalem, and thanks to the Western Wall.
The Gaon Rabbi Shalom Halevi Elshich [1859-1944] Rabbi of the Yemenite community in Jerusalem. In 1888, he intended to immigrate to Eretz Israel, but when he arrived in the port city of Hodeida, the Ottoman government forbade his immigration, and he was forced to return to Sana'a. When he returned to the city, he appealed to the government, and the ban was lifted. He visited the Land of Israel for the first time in 1882, and in 1891 immigrated with his family and other community members and settled in the Nachalat Zvi neighborhood in Jerusalem. In 1893, he was chosen to head the community of Yemenites in Jerusalem, together with his friend Rabbi Avraham Alandaf. The community was independent under his leadership from 1908 until his death. After arriving in Jerusalem he studied at the Beit E-l Kabbalistic Yeshiva and the "Chesd E-l" Yeshiva. He participated in the establishment of the Talmud Torah "Torah Or" and the yeshivat "Torat Moshe" for the members of his community. Founded with Rabbi Haim Shaul HaCohen Duwik the "Rehovot Nahar" yeshiva. He wrote poems and prayers, a Kabbalistic commentary on the Torah and a chronicle of his community's history, in which he tells the hardships in Yemen on the eve of the immigration to Eretz Israel, and the settlement of the immigrants in Jerusalem and Jaffa. Most of his writings were not published.
The Gaon Rabbi Avraham Alandaf [1866 - 1940], one of the leaders of the Yemeni Jewish community in the Eretz Israel, Rosh Yeshiva, Dayan, and one of the first scholars of Yemeni Jewish literature among the immigrants from Yemen. In 1891 Rabbi Alandaf immigrated to Eretz Yisrael. When he arrived in Jerusalem he lived in the old city and was one of the founders of the Yemenite village in Shiloh near the City of David. He served as the leader of the Yemenite community in Jerusalem and headed it for 35 years. He established a cemetery on the Mount of Olives and the Yemeni community Committee. Founded Talmudi Torah, yeshivas, synagogues, seminaries and was the head of the Torat Moshe Yeshiva.
The Gaon Rabbi Yosef B.R. Saadia Zefira , his father's composition 'Kesef tzaruf' on the Five Humshei Torah, was brought to print in Jerusalem by him, also engaged in copying manuscripts.
[1] page. 20x13 cm. Stains, slight tears in the margins. Good condition.
