Interesting document, partially typewritten and partially filled in by hand, a “certificate of membership” testifying of the acceptance of the receiver as a member of the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood and society (Jerusalem): “the respected Adolf Levin from Koenigs-City”, as well as his agreement to the society’s rules. From 23rd of Kislev 1912. Signed by the rabbis who were members of the Chief Va’ad from the Moshava and of the Gamach Shaarei Chesed:
Mordechai Hertz Shapira,
Eliyahu Ram,
Avraham Aharon HaLevi of Prague,
Eliyahu Meir Leibowitz,
Shmuel Zenovil Spitzer,
Naftali Zvi Prush.
All signed approving the above with their signatures. Gabbay and administrators:
Yosef Haim Zonenfeld,
Shalom Simcha Scheinfinkel[?],
Menachem Nachum Katz,
Aryeh Leib ben Dov Beer HaLevi Epstein,
Nachum Bergman,
with official stamps of the Gamach.
On the back is a “Birrur Devarim” handwritten, in which the signatories testify to the deposit of the required amount by the new member to the society, signed:
Mordechai Hertz Shapira,
Avraham Aharon HaLevi of Prague,
Zalman Zweig,
Eliyahu Meir Leibowitz,
Shmuel Zenovil Spitzer,
Naftali Zvi Prush.
Light stains, size: 21x14cm. A rare and original item in overall good condition.
Background on Jerusalem’s Shaarei Chesed neighborhood: The initiators and founders of the neighborhood were the heads of the General Gamach organization, which served as a charity organization since 1870, headed by Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Prush. In 1908, the heads of the organization, led by Naftali Zvi Prush-Glickman (son of the above) and Shmuel Zenovil Spitzer, founded the Shaarei Chesed Company for Building Homes in Jerusalem, which was intended to help ultra-Orthodox Jews purchase a modest apartment in Jerusalem in interest-free installments. The neighborhood was intended for Ashkenazi families only, and the vast majority of its residents were yeshiva students and students. On Lag B’Omer 1909, a cornerstone celebration was held for the first thirty houses, in the presence of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, Rabbi of Jerusalem.
From its inception to the present day, Shaare Chesed has been characterized by the religious-conservative nature of its inhabitants. Since it was originally intended for ultra-Orthodox and Ashkenazi residents only, there are many stories about its inhabitants, which are described as majestic figures from classic Hasidic stories.
The synagogue, named after the Vilna Gaon, is located on Bar Zakkai Street in the center of the neighborhood. It was established in the second decade of the 20th century, close to the time the neighborhood was established, by Rabbi Ephraim Shmuel Lerner-Pepperman, who encouraged the neighborhood’s Pharisees. . It serves as a shtiblach, and among its worshipers over the years are well-known personalities from the neighborhood, including the neighborhood rabbis Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Harlap and Rabbi Avraham David Rosenthal, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Rabbi Shalom Mordechai HaCohen Shevdron and Rabbi Yosef Boksboim.
