Some of my favorite rabbinic letters I have acquired over the years are the ones that speak of the so-called mundane aspects of their lives, which are often a window in to the humanity and struggles of our great rabbinic leaders. One such letter I acquired this week is dated 1919, sent by the young 18-year-old Rabbi Rahamim Hai Havita Hakohen (1901-1959), a Tunisian rosh yeshiva and dayan, who later served as Chief Rabbi of Djerba. The recipient of the letter was then serving as Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Cairo (a thriving community until the antisemitic acts after ’48), Rabbi Ahron Mendel Hakohen (1866-1927), a prolific, ambitious and pioneering figure.
R. Rahamim Hai Havita Hakohen was born in Djerba to a rabbinic family. In 1916, he began studying under R. Halfon Moshe Hakohen, the Chief Rabbi of Djerba, Tunisia, and he remained his prized disciple throughout his life. In 1919, he traveled for medical reasons to the city of Tunis, during which time he managed to master the French and Arabic languages, and obtained rabbinical ordination. Upon his return to Djerba, he married and began serving as a clerk in the local Bet Din. By 1921 he was teaching students and by 1925 was appointed rosh yeshiva. Despite suffering from many illnesses, he was well known for his vast knowledge and learning intensity. He was eventually appointed as Av Bet Din and Chief Rabbi of Djerba. In 1954, he arrived in Israel by ship via France, where he served as rabbi of Moshav Berachya until his passing in 1959. He was a prolific author with over a score of his works having been published.
The recipient of the letter was Rabbi Aharon Mendel HaCohen (1866-1927), a native of Tiberias who served as Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazic community in Cairo for decades. He is best remembered for his ambitious attempt of renewing the Sanhedrin and reinstating the semicha. To achieve this, he developed an extensive network of connections between rabbis throughout the world, he organized the Cracow Gathering in 1903, founded Agudat HaRabbanim, and after World War I he founded the Knesset Yisrael Association. His worldwide rabbinic organization numbered over 500 rabbis from every part of the diaspora and Eretz Yisrael. He worked in cooperation in much of his activities with his colleague, Rabbi Eliyahu Bechor Hazan, who served at the same time as Chief Rabbi of Alexandria. He was also active in purchasing land in Jerusalem for Jewish settlement, including large swaths of the then undeveloped land near the neighborhoods today of Bayit Vagan and Bet Hakerem. He passed away in Haifa in 1928, where his grave is a well-known pilgrimage site for North African Jews in Israel.
In this letter, the young R. Rahamim writes: “As you know, the financial situation today is not what it was in the old days, inflation has reached the high heavens, the poor and middle-class can’t bear the financial burden of these days. Therefore, I said to myself that I shall open up a business for religious articles, sefarim of Tanach and poskim, mezuzot, tefillin, wool tallitot, etc. I therefore ask you, if you may find me a supplier of such merchandise of your acquaintance. Though I have asked for much, and bother such a great man with such a matter, I know that alongside your greatness I have seen your humility, I am grateful in advance.
“It has now been two months since my wedding, I await your blessings for me and my wife of my youth with sons that will be talmide hakhamim.”
R. Rahamim signs off as a clerk and witness of the Bet Din and as secretary of the Agudat Ateretz Zion, Djerba, a Zionist organization founded by R. Halfon Moshe Hakohen.
