A collection of letters that Yaacov Wexler wrote to his family in Chicago. A collection of condolences which his parents received after his murder in Hebron in the bloody clashes of August 24, 1929.
Yaacov (Jack) Wexler was born in Chicago in 1912 to a wealthy family. His father Yerachmiel (Richard) Wexler was a business partner of Rabbi Yitzchak Dvortz, the principal of the Yeshiva. In the summer of 1928, Yaacov came to visit Eretz Israel with his parents and decided to stay in Yeshivat Hebron. In "Sefer HaZikaron LiKedoshei Yehsivat Hebron" page 105 it is written that his last words were "I am happy that I die as a Jew…!".
In the letter he writes his parents on his progress in learning; yeshiva life and his friends; a description of Simchat Torah in the Yeshiva [- I've never experienced happiness my whole life as in Simchat Torah in Hebron]; the engagement and marriage of the daughter of the Rosh Yeshiva to Rabbi Aharon Cohen; the visit of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchack of Lubavitch to Eretz Israel; descriptions of the way of life in Eretz Israel and the conflicts between Jews and Arabs. He even tries to convince his parents to move to Eretz Israel. It is horrifying to read the letters he wrote days before his death. There is a postcard with a picture of the city of Hebron.
In the second half of the collection there is a telegraph to bereaved father stating a catastrophe has occurred to his son - "prepare for the worst", condolence letters.
Over 20 letters. Varying sizes and conditions.