Letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer. Addressed to his daughter Malka and her husband Falk, mentioning an attempt to purchase land near the city of Jaffa. Thorn (Torun, Poland), 5633 [1873]. Yiddish and Hebrew.
The first page of the letter is written in Yiddish. It is addressed to Kalischer's daughter and son-in-law, and is personal in nature; the rabbi speaks of his plans for the period between Passover and Shavu'ot and the invitation he received to visit Jerusalem, and sends regards to his grandchildren. The second page is a separate note, in Hebrew, and is addressed to Falk alone: "And to you, my son… I am telling you that I received a telegram from Jerusalem the Holy City… and they informed me that they had purchased a parcel of good land very close to Jaffa… filled with springs and good for planting grain and vegetables, and they asked me whether they could obtain from me an order of payment in the sum of 2,000 Reichsthaler which must be immediately paid…"
Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795-1874), scholar and author, was an early proto-Zionist. In 1862, Kalischer published his important work "Drishat Zion" (i.e., "Seeking Zion") in which he called for the renewal of Jewish immigration and settlement in the Land of Israel. The name of the book was chosen as a rhetorical response to the biblical passage "This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after" (Jeremiah 30:17). Kalischer was one of the foremost supporters of the creation of the Jewish agricultural school Mikveh Yisrael, and after its establishment near Jaffa in 1870, he invested considerable effort into purchasing land that could potentially be used for Jewish agricultural settlement.
[1] f. folded in half (2 written pages), 22.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines, creases, and few stains. Minor tears and minute holes along fold lines and to edges.