Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
Letter by Rabbi Avraham Tzoref "Sheli'ach Zion" - One of the Leaders of the Perushim, Disciples of the Vilna Gaon in Jerusalem - Livorno, 1850 - Letter from the Year of his Assassination
Opening: $2,000
Unsold
Letter by R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref "Sheli'ach Zion", to "the elder notable… R. Shlomo Ber Sokritriya" of Pesaro. Livorno, 25th of Cheshvan [1850].
R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref was leader of the Perushim - disciples of the Vilna Gaon in Jerusalem, and was one of the first ten Ashkenazim who settled in Jerusalem. Ascended to Eretz Israel in 1811 and joined the small Ashkenazi community in Safed, headed by R. Menachem Mendel of Shklov. About a year after he arrived in Safed, an epidemic broke out in the Galilee to which many succumbed causing R. Tzoref to flee Safed to Jerusalem. [In those days, Ashkenazim could not settle in Jerusalem due to the heavy debts left by the followers of R. Yehuda HeChassid, and the fact that Arabs considered all Ashkenazim guarantors for these debts. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman and his family were among the first to settle in Jerusalem in those times, concealing their origin and disguising their identity by donning Sephardic garb]. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman convinced R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow to join him in Jerusalem and together with nine families, he moved from Safed to Jerusalem, becoming the nucleus of the Ashkenazi settlement of the Vilna Gaon's disciples in Jerusalem. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman was one of the central pillars of the community and close assistant of R. Menachem Mendel of Shklov. His good connections with the local government and with the Russian and Austrian consuls facilitated canceling the debt of the Ashkenazi community and attaining authorization from the Sultan to rebuild the Hurva of Rabbi Yehuda he-Hasid. At that time, he traveled as a "Sheli'ach Zion" (emissary) to collect donations for the yishuv in Eretz Israel. His activities in restoring the Hurva provoked the Jerusalem Arab population and he was murdered by several Arabs who struck him with swords after a previous unsuccessful assassination attempt by an Arab gunman. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref is today considered one of the first terror victims in Eretz Israel. His sons and grandchildren used the surname Solomon. R. Yoel Moshe Solomon, one of the founders of Nahalat Shiv'a and Petach Tikva is his grandson.
This letter by Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref was written during his stay in Livorno, less than a year before his death.
Leaf, 24.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding creases. On the verso is the address and postmarks.
R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref was leader of the Perushim - disciples of the Vilna Gaon in Jerusalem, and was one of the first ten Ashkenazim who settled in Jerusalem. Ascended to Eretz Israel in 1811 and joined the small Ashkenazi community in Safed, headed by R. Menachem Mendel of Shklov. About a year after he arrived in Safed, an epidemic broke out in the Galilee to which many succumbed causing R. Tzoref to flee Safed to Jerusalem. [In those days, Ashkenazim could not settle in Jerusalem due to the heavy debts left by the followers of R. Yehuda HeChassid, and the fact that Arabs considered all Ashkenazim guarantors for these debts. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman and his family were among the first to settle in Jerusalem in those times, concealing their origin and disguising their identity by donning Sephardic garb]. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman convinced R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow to join him in Jerusalem and together with nine families, he moved from Safed to Jerusalem, becoming the nucleus of the Ashkenazi settlement of the Vilna Gaon's disciples in Jerusalem. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman was one of the central pillars of the community and close assistant of R. Menachem Mendel of Shklov. His good connections with the local government and with the Russian and Austrian consuls facilitated canceling the debt of the Ashkenazi community and attaining authorization from the Sultan to rebuild the Hurva of Rabbi Yehuda he-Hasid. At that time, he traveled as a "Sheli'ach Zion" (emissary) to collect donations for the yishuv in Eretz Israel. His activities in restoring the Hurva provoked the Jerusalem Arab population and he was murdered by several Arabs who struck him with swords after a previous unsuccessful assassination attempt by an Arab gunman. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref is today considered one of the first terror victims in Eretz Israel. His sons and grandchildren used the surname Solomon. R. Yoel Moshe Solomon, one of the founders of Nahalat Shiv'a and Petach Tikva is his grandson.
This letter by Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref was written during his stay in Livorno, less than a year before his death.
Leaf, 24.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding creases. On the verso is the address and postmarks.