Reshimath Anshei…Hareuyim Lehenoth Meperi Izavon Hasar Hatzaddik Sir Moshe Montefiore [List of people worthy of being beneficiaries of the estate of Sir Moses Montefiore]

(ISRAEL, LAND OF).

Jerusalem

c. 1886

Manuscript in Hebrew, in a neat Aschkenazic hand.

Sir Moses Montefiore the great English philanthropist (1784-1885) died without children and a large portion of his extensive estate was designated for the benefit of the Jews resident in Jerusalem. The present series of lists were presumably for the benefit of the executors of Sir Moses’ estate in deciding the amount of funds needed for allocation. Included are over 800 names divided by the Kollel system then prevalent in Jerusalem, whereby families stemming from different parts of the world were supported by funds sent to the Kollel representing their area. The lists commence with those from the region of Vilna and is further subdivided into categories of full-time Torah scholars, poor people, widows and orphans. Other Kollels represented include: Zamut, Suvalk-Lomza, Kollel Chabad, Kollel Oestreich, Walachia, Slonim, Zhitomir, Pinsk, Moldava, Warsaw, Karlin, Ungaren, etc. Alongside each name is the number of family-members. This listing can be regarded as a form of census of the people of Jerusalem and is invaluable as a study of immigration patterns to the Jerusalem of the time.