Autograph Letter Signed in Hebrew (in Rashi script) written to philanthropist Farha [Flora] Sassoon from Menachem ch[athan] R. Zalman.

(AMERICAN JUDAICA)

7th Menachem-Av

San Francisco

1906

Acknowledgment of financial aid in the wake of the San Francisco Earthquake of April 18th, 1906.

The writer describes how in the aftermath of the tragic San Francisco earthquake, thousands are forced in live in tents in open fields and with the destruction of the city's synagogues, Menachem's source of income has evaporated. One might therefore deduce that Menachem had once officiated in some rabbinical capacity. Flora Sassoon (1859-1936) managed the fabled Sassoon firm in Bombay after her husband Solomon's death in 1894. In 1901, she settled in London, where she achieved renown on account of her Jewish learning and strict observance of Jewish law, coupled with unusual generosity. See EJ, Vol. XIV cols. 899-900.