Typewritten letter on official letterhead of the “Eida Charedit Prushim and Chassidim, Vaad HaIr of the Ashkenazi community of Jerusalem”. From 8th Nissan 1952. Addressed to “his honor the gaon rabbi…Yochanan Sofer shlita, Avdak of Erlau.”
In it, Rabbi Selig Reuven Bengis addresses strongly worded lines: “As notices were published about an organization of those who have left Orthodox communities who immigrated to Israel, in which the rabbi shlita was signed, the notice stated that your goal was to continue the tradition of the Chatam Sofer in caring for religious matters. But the main principle of Haredi communities founded abroad based on the method of the Chatam Sofer and his students, was rather to distinguish themselves from the non-religious and not to stand together with those breaking the yoke of Torah…
Indeed, upon this foundation the great student of the Chatam Sofer … Maran Yosef Chaim Zonenfeld arose, and found it necessary to found at the time the ‘Eida Charedit Vaad HaIr of the Ashkenazi community’…so that the evildoers will not affect the fate of the tzaddikim, and after that his heir Maran Yosef Zvi Dushinsky continued his legacy, until his last day, and the Eida Charedit remained separated (and has ever since) from the non-religious in all their varieties…and it is the only Haredi community in Israel carrying out in practice the Chatam Sofer’s method…
And some time ago, activists from the ultra-Orthodox immigrants approached the management of the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem for negotiations, and after the Eida Charedit declared before them the significance of the foundations of the Eida—which is the complete separation from the non-religious—and presented foundational questions, and here instead of giving a positive answer so that it is possible to really work together for the holy purpose, unfortunately instead you have come out in this publication inviting Haredim to organize a separate organization and with this notice you mention only the needs of the Eida, without mentioning the need to separate, which is its main goal…”
This is how he continues to describe his displeasure with Rabbi Sofer’s moves and the destructive consequences that may arise from them. He adds: “and I, who have been able in my old age merited from Heaven to serve in the Eida Charedit…find myself needing to enlighten the rav shlita and call in a loud voice for him to preserve this last ember [of righteousness] which the non-religious are rising to extinguish, this is the surviving remnant of the Jewish people…”
He signs by hand and stamps with his official seal.
Rare, exciting, strongly worded letter showing the great spirit of those days and the great respect rabbis had for one another amidst very strong disagreements.
21x28cm. The content runs over onto the reverse of the leaf, overall very good condition.
