Letter signed by Rabbi Shmuel Heller, Rabbi of Tzfas.

Letter signed by Rabbi Shmuel Heller, Rabbi of Tzfas.

Important Document signed by 4 Rabbis, including Rabbi Shmuel Heller of Tzefat.

R' Samuel Heller (1803-84) Chief Rabbi of Safed, a leader of many aspects of community affairs of the Old Yishuv. R. Heller was born to a hasidic family in the Lublin area, probably in 1803. Ten years later, he came with his family to Safed, and as an adult was part of the Ashkenazi leadership of the Galilee town. Along with producing provocative halakhic rulings, R. Heller served in a significant administrative role as "Head of those in charge of distributing money in Israel on behalf of the organization of officials of Amsterdam." In his role as head of the rabbinical judges in Safed, R. Heller wielded great influence in setting the public agenda, but no less in the private realm. His rulings and actions reveal a clear Land of Israel, ultra-Orthodox trend, one that placed at its center the Holy Land and the ancient traditions that represented for him the coveted pre-exilic world. He craved what was perceived as authentic to the Land of Israel and strove to connect to local traditions, which became his guide.

On one occasion, R. Heller was required to rule on the tradition of the hilula of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron on Lag B'Omer. The tradition of burning expensive clothes during the ceremony roused the most opposition. In a pamphlet "The Honor of Kings" R. Heller countered those positions of important Ashkenazi figures such as the Hatam Sofer, R. Yosef Shaul Nathanson and even R. Yosef Hazan, and supported the tradition of Meron. R. Heller saw the hilula as a continuation of an authentic, sacred Galilean tradition. In another case, R. Heller caused animal images to be removed from the Ark, built in the grand tradition of Galicia, of the Ari Synagogue in Safed. In a pamphlet "Purity of Holiness" he expanded on his resolute opposition to the ark. He especially emphasized the inappropriateness of these images in the Land of Israel.

R. Heller's boldest ruling was in polygamy. In 1876, R. Akiva Yosef Schlesinger asked him to present his position on this issue, having lifted Rabbenu Gershom's herem or ban and thus bringing a herem or embargo on himself. R. Heller's reply came quickly - he emphatically supported lifting the ban. R. Heller's court in Safed won a reputation as a haven for men to receive legal dispensation to marry another wife in cases where the first wife refused to live in the Land of Israel. This ruling represented the epitome of ultra-Orthodoxy in the Land of Israel, indicating the centrality of the Land of Israel - concrete and historical. Immigration to the Land of Israel was highly important, even if the attitude to Israel in the Torah world of that time was ambiguous. R. Heller, who actualized this ideal, sought to connect to the source of holiness in the land and strengthen those who did not shy away from religious tensions involved in settling there.

As a leader, Heller was called on to address all aspects of life. He supported settlement, helped in finding sources of provision such as growing citrons, instituted regulations that encouraged work, and in his days the Jews even took part in guarding the district. Productive life was, in his eyes, an arena for expressing Jewish life.

Size: 20 x 29 cm.

Condition: Very good condition.