In 1770, the New World was home to a mere handful of Jews, with the substantial influx of Jewish immigrants from Europe commencing several decades later. The Jewish population in the Holy Land during this period was similarly modest, their settlement in the ancestral land constrained by both local rulers and the Ottoman Empire. Economic subjugation by the ruling powers, coupled with widespread destitution in the region, further curtailed the growth of Jewish communities. In the city of Hebron, the Jewish populace at the time numbered only a few hundred individuals. Thus, it is particularly thrilling to have recently acquired an exceedingly rare broadside that documents the relationship between the Jewish community of Hebron and their Jewish benefactors in America and Europe during this era.
Titled Limud VeSeder HaYeshivah Asher Be’Ir HaKodesh Chevron [The study and order of the day of the yeshiva in the Holy City of Hebron], this eighteenth-century document forges a connection between the Holy Land and the Jewish communities of the New World. The broadside, an emissarial letter, outlines the order of study and prayer at Yeshivah Keneset Yisrael, a prominent rabbinical institution in Hebron. A significant portion of their scholarly endeavors was undertaken for the spiritual welfare of the institution’s financial patrons from Europe and America. The primary intent of this publication was to assure donors that their generosity was both acknowledged and reciprocated. The study program stipulates that daily sessions commence with a prayer dedicated to the welfare of these benefactors. This prayer forms the latter half of the broadside.
From the prayer: “Your mercy has aided us… and you have prepared our sustenance through your children… our brethren from the Diaspora, the wealthy and generous men from the great cities Amsterdam, The Hague, Hamburg, London, America and all the cities of Italy, Rumania and France who have supported the scholars of the Yeshivah of Hebron…”
The dispatch of emissaries from the Holy Land to distant Jewish communities is a tradition with deep historical roots. Abraham Yaari, in the introduction to his monumental work on the subject, notes that these messengers began undertaking fundraising missions to the Diaspora shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. They journeyed across the globe, reaching wherever Jewish populations had established themselves. Their reports, often the sole surviving records, provide invaluable insights into the existence and history of isolated Jewish communities.
