Hinei Yom Tzarah [pogrom in Posen]

A heart-rending appeal to the communal leaders of Berlin and surrounding communities recounting the tragedy visited on the Jews of Posen on Friday the 5th day of Av, following a murderous attack upon the community by Polish soldiers on the pretext that tax payments were owed to the State. The letter provides a detailed account of the slaughter of entire families, the plunder of homes and businesses and the destruction of synagogues and study-halls. Rabbis and Torah scholars are left suffering grevious wounds and the community is left destitute and facing starvation. Endorsed by rabbinic and communal leaders, including the Rabbi Jacob ben HaGaon Yitzchak and the Dayan Aryeh Leib. Directs funds to be sent to Dov Ber ben R. Meshulam Zalman, Rabbi of Hamburg. The incident referred to relates to the capture of the city of Posen by the Tarnograd Confederation in 1716. This was an armed uprising by a force from the Polish nobility who rebelled against the Monarchy. Unfortunately innocent Jews, although no more than bystanders, became victims of the conflict. The date this pogrom occured is especially poignant: Erev Shabbath Chazon. The letter is dated the day after Tisha B'Av