Bidspirit auction | Rare Letter by Rabbi Mordechai

Rare Letter by Rabbi Mordechai Eliasberg, One of the Founders of 'Chibat Zion' - Rare Letter by Rabbi Mordechai Eliasberg, One of the Founders of 'Chibat Zion' RABBI MORDECHAI ELIASBERG, Russian rabbi; born in Chaikishok, government of Grodno, Feb., 1817; died in Bausk, Courland, Dec. 11, 1889. In 1852 he became rabbi of Zezmer, government of Wilna, and remained there for six years, until his wife's illness forced him to return to Kovno. About 1861 he became rabbi of Bausk, where he officiated until his death, having declined the more important rabbinate of Suwalki, which had been offered to him in 1876.  When the Zionist movement began to spread in Russia, Eliasberg became one of its most ardent advocates. He gave his decision, as a rabbinical authority, permitting the colonists in Palestine to sow their fields in ”shemiṭṭah” (fallow year), which gave rise to a heated controversy with the rabbis of Palestine and other opponents of colonization. Eliasberg's part in the discussion was conducted with mildness and broad-mindedness. קרעים בצד עם חסר בטקסט