Shadar Letter for emissary, [“shd”r = Shelucha de-Rabbanan”] to be carried by Abraham Chaim Penso

(ISRAEL, LAND OF)

Jerusalem,

1863

40 manuscript pages, in Hebrew, English, French, German and Italian. Contains 32 signatures and stamps of Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rabbis; including R. Meir Auerbach, author of Imrei Binah, R. Moshe Yehudah Silberberg, of Kutna, author of Zayit Ra’anan, Chaim David Chazan, Rishon Le-Zion, Moshe Benveniste, Raphael Yedidya Aboulafia, Mordechai Eliezer Suzin, Rachamim Shlomo Ha-levi, Abraham Amar, and others. Contains a listing of 596 destitute families in receipt of welfare

The letters signed by the Rabbis emphasize that “Our messenger will receive nothing for himself but (all funds) will be...remitted to the hands of the undersigned, from whom annual receipts wil be sent.” This expedition by ”the very excellent Rabbi” Abraham Chaim Penso, to so many countries is unmentioned by Yaari in his landmark study, Sheluchei Eretz Yisrael. Yaari does note this emissary in connection with a later “Shelichuth” in 1867, travelling together with R.Aaron Azriel (p. 734)