Appeal for donations for the Jewish settlement in Palestine, by R. Eliyahu Guttmacher and R. Zvi Hirsch Kalische – printed broadside. Toruń, 1866. Hebrew and German.

An appeal for donations to assist the Jews of Palestine, suffering from poverty and hunger. The rabbis write that the establishment of the Yishuv Eretz Israel society had aroused hope for the improvement of the situation of the Jewish people in Palestine, and note that the society enjoys the support of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (founded in Paris in 1860), headed by Adolphe Crémieux, who promised to assist with purchasing land in Palestine. They also mention a letter received from Sir Moses Montefiore, with information on Jewish families in Palestine pleading for agricultural work.
The rabbis appeal to those who can afford it to make two yearly donations: a donation of 2 Reichsthaler to be collected by the community leader in each city, and an additional donation of 1 Reichsthaler and 10 Silbergroschen for the activities of the Alliance. The rabbis add that apart from bringing salvation to the Jewish people in the Holy Land, these donations would enable the renewed fulfillment of the commandments pertaining to the Land of Israel, commandments which have not been observed for many generations. The funds would be sent to Paris, and then brought by an agent to Palestine, once the sum of one hundred Reichsthaler was collected "and perhaps even R. Zvi Hirsch Kalischer… will travel with him to oversee every detail and to ensure that everything conforms with the laws of the Torah".

The Yishuv Eretz Israel society was founded in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1860. Its objective was to facilitate Jewish agricultural settlements in Palestine by purchasing land, which would be settled by Jewish farmers who would work it, earn a living from it, and fulfill the commandments pertaining to it. Shortly after its founding, R. Zvi Hirsch Kalischer Rabbi of Toruń (1795-1874) and R. Eliyahu Guttmacher Rabbi of Greiditz – the "Tzadik of Greiditz" (1796-1874) joined the society, and became its leaders. The rabbis propagated their ideas extensively in books, writings, letters and sermons, and strived to prove that the settlement of the land and renewal of the sacrifices was the start of the redemption of the Jewish people.
R. Kalischer, a precursor of Zionism, was known for his close ties with the Alliance and its president, Adolphe Crémieux. He believed that the wealthy and influential philanthropists – "Israel's Notables" as he terms them, would play a decisive role in the redemption of the nation and the land: Amschel Mayer Rothschild, Moses Montefiore, and others, would be those to enable the resurgence of the Jewish people in the Holy Land, even though they would not serve as leaders from a political and spiritual point of view. R. Kalischer worked to recruit new members to the Alliance (by various means, including the present broadside), and he himself served as head of the Alliance branch in his city, Toruń.

Despite his Zionist views, R. Kalischer never settled in Palestine.

For more information, see: From Rothschild to Crémieux – The Israel's Notables in the Thought and Activity of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, by Yedidya Asaf. Cathedra, 155, Nissan 2015. Pp. 47-72.

41X34 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases. Minor closed and open tears to edges, not affecting text.