Auction 61 - Rare and Important Items
Rabbinical Letters Protesting the Draft of Women for Sherut Leumi - Jerusalem, 1953
Opening: $1,000
Unsold
Two letters signed by dozens of rabbis during the protests against the draft of women for Sherut Leumi. Jerusalem, Summer 1953.
· Letter with an announcement of an international day of prayer on 10th Av, against "the decision of the government to draft religious girls to Sherut Leumi", signed by R. "Tzvi Pesach Frank", rabbi of Jerusalem; "R. Isser Zalman Meltzer", Rosh Yeshivat Etz Chaim; and R. "Chizkiya Shabetai", head of the Sephardic batei din (rabbinical courts). Jerusalem, [Summer 1953]. With listings, typewritten and written by pen, regarding sending copies of the letter to Agudat Harabbonim (Union of Orthodox Rabbis) and Agudat Yisrael in the United States, to Mr. Goodman in London, and to Hitachdut Harabbonim (Central Rabbinical Congress) and Young Israel in the United States.
· Letter with 25 signatures of Ashkenazic and Sephardic rabbinical figures, forbidding the draft of women for Sherut Leumi. "We hereby publicize that the draft of women for Sherut Leumi is against our holy Torah". [Jerusalem], June 1953. The signatories include: R. Avraham Eliyahu Meizes, R. Bezalel Stern rabbi of Papa, R. Yerucham Asher Warhaftig, R. Nachum S. Sasonskin rabbi in Samarkand, Rebbe Yochanan of Rachmastrivka, Rebbe Yochanan of Tolna, R. Yisrael Yitzchak Halevi Reisman, R. Yehoshua Heschel Haltovsky, R. Eliyahu Zlotnik, R. Avraham Antebi, R. Ezra Attiya, the Kabbalist R. Eliyahu Moshe Maaravi, R. Avraham Raful, R. Shlomo Matalon, R. Yehuda Tzadka, R. Shlomo Schreiber, and other rabbis from various sectors.
It is noteworthy that most of the Sephardic signatories were from the community of Aleppo expatriates in Jerusalem.
These letters were signed with great self-sacrifice on the part of the signatories, since the government at the time used great force to deter those who opposed the draft. R. Yisrael Grossman, Rosh Yeshivat Karlin, who was among the organizers of the opposition to the draft, was imprisoned for publicizing the opinion of the rabbis against the draft, and was tried in court for attempting to sabotage the security laws. The biography of R. Grossman relates that R. Isser Zalman Meltzer hesitated to sign the rabbinical ban, as imprisonment would pose a grave danger to his failing health. However, he decided to sign nevertheless (see: "Gadol B'Yisrael", II, pp. 17-23). The campaign was a drawn-out affair, as the rabbis refused to back down despite the imprisonment of R. Grossman and the harassment of other rabbis by the Israeli security forces. These letters document the wide-ranging activities during the summer of 1953 (approximately a year following the publication of the original ban on the women's draft and Sherut Leumi), including the signatures of R. Isser Zalman Meltzer and dozens of other rabbis, who risked their lives to protect the honor of Jewish girls.
[2] leaves. 21-32.5 cm. Thin paper. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Torn filing holes.
· Letter with an announcement of an international day of prayer on 10th Av, against "the decision of the government to draft religious girls to Sherut Leumi", signed by R. "Tzvi Pesach Frank", rabbi of Jerusalem; "R. Isser Zalman Meltzer", Rosh Yeshivat Etz Chaim; and R. "Chizkiya Shabetai", head of the Sephardic batei din (rabbinical courts). Jerusalem, [Summer 1953]. With listings, typewritten and written by pen, regarding sending copies of the letter to Agudat Harabbonim (Union of Orthodox Rabbis) and Agudat Yisrael in the United States, to Mr. Goodman in London, and to Hitachdut Harabbonim (Central Rabbinical Congress) and Young Israel in the United States.
· Letter with 25 signatures of Ashkenazic and Sephardic rabbinical figures, forbidding the draft of women for Sherut Leumi. "We hereby publicize that the draft of women for Sherut Leumi is against our holy Torah". [Jerusalem], June 1953. The signatories include: R. Avraham Eliyahu Meizes, R. Bezalel Stern rabbi of Papa, R. Yerucham Asher Warhaftig, R. Nachum S. Sasonskin rabbi in Samarkand, Rebbe Yochanan of Rachmastrivka, Rebbe Yochanan of Tolna, R. Yisrael Yitzchak Halevi Reisman, R. Yehoshua Heschel Haltovsky, R. Eliyahu Zlotnik, R. Avraham Antebi, R. Ezra Attiya, the Kabbalist R. Eliyahu Moshe Maaravi, R. Avraham Raful, R. Shlomo Matalon, R. Yehuda Tzadka, R. Shlomo Schreiber, and other rabbis from various sectors.
It is noteworthy that most of the Sephardic signatories were from the community of Aleppo expatriates in Jerusalem.
These letters were signed with great self-sacrifice on the part of the signatories, since the government at the time used great force to deter those who opposed the draft. R. Yisrael Grossman, Rosh Yeshivat Karlin, who was among the organizers of the opposition to the draft, was imprisoned for publicizing the opinion of the rabbis against the draft, and was tried in court for attempting to sabotage the security laws. The biography of R. Grossman relates that R. Isser Zalman Meltzer hesitated to sign the rabbinical ban, as imprisonment would pose a grave danger to his failing health. However, he decided to sign nevertheless (see: "Gadol B'Yisrael", II, pp. 17-23). The campaign was a drawn-out affair, as the rabbis refused to back down despite the imprisonment of R. Grossman and the harassment of other rabbis by the Israeli security forces. These letters document the wide-ranging activities during the summer of 1953 (approximately a year following the publication of the original ban on the women's draft and Sherut Leumi), including the signatures of R. Isser Zalman Meltzer and dozens of other rabbis, who risked their lives to protect the honor of Jewish girls.
[2] leaves. 21-32.5 cm. Thin paper. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Torn filing holes.