Varied collection of letters from rabbis. Eretz Israel and other countries. 19th and 20th centuries.
* Ruling of Beit Din signed by the rabbis of Safed: R. Shmuel Heller, R. Refael Zilberman, and others. Safed, [1871]. * Handwritten, signed letter from R. Moshe Kliers, rabbi of Tiberias, to R. Avraham Leib Zilberman, rabbi of Safed. Tiberias, [1932]. * Smicha (approbation) for a shochet signed by the dayanim of the Chassidic Beit Din in Jerusalem: R. Lipman David Shubkes, R. Yosef Yehuda Halevi and R. Toviah Aryeh Goldberger. Jerusalem, 1901. * Letter of recommendation for a shochet with the signatures of eight rabbis and shochetim on the official stationary of the "Agudas Hashochetim BeLublin". 1927. * Handwritten, signed letter from R. Moshe David Ostreicher, rabbi of Tchimpa. Brooklyn, NY. * Letter signed by R. Mordechai Yaakov Breish, Zurich, 1959. * Letter signed by R. Yaakov Landau, Bnei Brak, 1954. * Handwritten, signed halachic letter from R. Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss (author of "Minchat Yitzchak"). Manchester, 1963. * Letter from the Bada"tz Eida Hachareidit, signed by the "Scribe of the Beit Din", R. Avraham Chaim Na'eh. Jerusalem, 1941. * Letter from the Bada"tz Eida Hachareidit signed by the head of the Beit Din R. Moshe Aryeh Freund. Jerusalem, 1996. * Letter from the Bada"tz Eida Hachareidit signed by the dayanim R. Meir Bransdorfer, R. Avraham Yitzchak Ullman, and R. Naftali Herzka Frankel. Jerusalem, 2008. * Other items.
13 Letters. Size and condition vary.

Large collection of letters, manuscripts, and signed documents from the archives of the famed R. Yechiel Avraham Zilber and his father R. Binyamin Zilber.
* Letters signed by R. Binyamin Zilber and R. Yechiel Avraham Zilber. (Including several blank pre-signed letters). * Manuscript of Torah novellae by R. Binyamin Zilber. * Signed gemach (free loan organization) notes. * Various family documents. * Letters from Torah scholars around the world - topics include various halachic issues, correct day/night timing, and charity issues. (Letters are handwritten and signed by R. Simcha Bunim Waldenberg, R. Moshe Sternbuch, R. Gershon Edelstein, R. Yosef Leiberman and others).
Over 70 items. Size and condition vary. Overall good condition.

Large collection of letters and rabbinic rulings signed by the Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Approbations of sefarim, recommendation letters and more.
Rabbinic rulings and divorce records are signed by R. Ovadia and the other dayanim of the Jerusalem Beit Din: R. Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg and R. Yosef Kapach (Qafih).
R. Ovadia Yosef (1920-2013) was born in Baghdad and at a young age moved to Jerusalem, where he became one of the greatest disciples of R. Ezra Attiya, Rosh Yeshiva of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva. During 1948-1951, he served in the rabbinate of Egypt. On his return to Israel, he served in the Petach Tikva rabbinate and delivered sermons and Torah discourses in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. During 1958-1969 he served as Dayan in the Jerusalem Beit Din and in the Great Rabbinical Beit Din. In 1969, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yaffo and in 1973 he became Rishon L'Zion and Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel. He was especially renowned for his vast Torah erudition and his clear Torah rulings. With time, he reached the status of one of the leading Torah authorities of our days and became an unequalled influential spiritual leader. He was very active in teaching Torah to the masses and raised the honor and authority of Sephardic Jews in Israel. One of his major undertakings was "restoring the past glory" of Sephardic Jewry; this goal was portrayed in the area of halachic rulings and in the social and political arenas as well. In the framework of this vision, he stood at the helm of Mo'etzet Chachmei HaTorah and navigated the worldwide Shas movement. R. Ovadia left a huge yield of books, including: Yabia Omer responsa (10 volumes), Yechava Da'at responsa (six volumes), Chazon Ovadia (18 volumes) and many other books.
29 items, including 7 letters, 16 signed rabbinical court rulings and 6 signed divorce records. Size and condition vary.

Album with letters of blessings and appreciation and photos of the activities of the Mif'al HaTorah organization which was supported by the Joint (JDC). The album was given by the "Mifal HaTorah - on behalf of the yeshivas in the State of Israel" to Mr. Shmuel Pesman, upon his retirement from the position of Chairman of the Joint in Israel. Jerusalem, 1958.
The album is composed of letters with blessings by yeshiva heads and educational institutes, incorporated with colored calligraphic ornamentation and original photos of the activities of yeshivas and institutions: Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, Jerusalem; * Sha'ar HaShamayim Kabbalist Yeshiva. * Bnei Akiva Yeshiva in Kfar HaRo'eh; Midrash Bnei Zion Yeshiva; Torah U'Melacha Yeshiva; Midrashiat No'am in Pardess Chana; Torat Chaim Yeshiva; Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshiva; Bnei Akiva Yeshiva in Moshav Meron; Torat Yerushalayim Yeshiva; Or Yisrael Yeshiva in Petach Tikva; Netiv Meir Yeshiva; Bnei Akiva Yeshiva in Nechalim.
* Photos of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Joint, 15th of Shevat 1955, with the attendance of the Israeli Chief Rabbis, the US ambassador, ministers of the Israeli government, rabbis and heads of Yeshivas. * Photos of the medical assistance and of the dental clinics of the Mifal HaTorah and the Joint, for yeshiva students and their families. * Photos of various ceremonies.
Album, [20] leaves, 39X27.5 cm. Approximately 50 photographs and 13 letters by heads of yeshivot. Good condition. Minor wear and tears. Original binding with special embossment: "Souvenir in honor and appreciation of Mr. Shmuel Pesman. By the Mifal HaTorah Yeshivas in the State of Israel - Tevet 1958".

Long autograph letter (7 pages) signed by Rabbi Mordechai of Chechelnyk, Rabbi of Berdychiv, to R. Efraim Zalman Margaliot of Brody. Berdychiv, [c. 1810s]. The margins of the first leaf bear the signature of the recipient, R. "Efraim Zalman".
Halachic responsum on the laws of "petzu'a daka". The writer opens the responsum writing that this same question was posed to R. Yosef HaCohen of Khmelnik (Chmielnik) who responded with a "heter", but unwilling to rely on his ruling alone, R. Yosef sent the query to "the famous… R. Eliyahu HaCohen R. of Berdychiv and requested that this venerable rabbi study this abstruse matter…". The responsum is signed by "Mordechai son of R. Zvi Hirsh of Berdychiv".
A response to this question appears in the Beit Efraim responsa, Even HaEzer Siman 2: "I have been asked by an exceptional Torah scholar…". [A different responsum appears in Siman 133, addressed to R. Mordechai of Chechelnyk with lofty titles of reverence and esteem].
R. Mordechai (Mottel) of Chechelnyk served as dayan, posek and rabbi in Berdychiv during ca. 1805-1840. Before this tenure, he served as member of the Chechelnyk Beit Din headed by his teacher R. Moshe Zvi of Savran and was counted among the greatest Torah scholars of his times. He exchanged halachic responsa with R. Yosef Landau R. of Iasi, with R. Ya'akov of Smila [disciple of the Magid of Mezeritch], R. Efraim Zalman Margaliot, and others. His fame as a posek endured during the following generations as well [see the venerable titles bestowed on him in the responsa by the Mahariz Enzil Siman 52]. He was also one of the initiators of the Berdychiv printing of the Rambam. His approbations were printed at the beginning of the Slavita Talmud (1835) and in various books printed in Ostroh from 1818-1819.
Rabbi Efraim Zalman Margaliot of Brody (1761-1828), author of Beit Efraim and Mateh Efraim was a famous Torah scholar, renowned throughout the Diaspora as a leading posek who corresponded with many contemporary sages. He lived in the times of the Netivot HaMishpat and the Ketzot HaChoshen. In his younger years, he served a short stint in the rabbinate of Uhniv after which he moved to Brody. There he did not accept a rabbinical position since he was blessed with extreme wealth. His books of responsa and halacha became basic books of halachic rulings and were noted already in his lifetime. The Chatam Sofer eulogized him: "Every day his teachings from the books he wrote resound in our Beit Midrash" (Ishim B'Teshuvot Chatam Sofer, pp. 79-81).
[7] written pages, 22 cm. High-quality bluish paper. Good condition. Stains.
Enclosed is an expert's letter of authorization detailing the content of the responsum and containing identification of the signature of R. Efraim Zalman Margaliot. Also enclosed is a detailed article about the life of R. Mottel of Berdychiv.