(Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. 1816-1909). Letter Signed, with his personal stamp. Plus four additional signatures of the members of his Beth Din: Rabbis Moshe Nechemia Kahanov, Ya’akov Yehudah Levi, Abraham Eisenstein and Meir of Anikst.

SALANT, SAMUEL.

17th Av

Jerusalem

1880

Written in Hebrew to the leaders of Chevra Petach Tikvah. Concerning the care of those sickened with malaria.

HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT LETTER CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PETACH TIKVAH. The city of Petah Tikvah was founded in 1878 by religious pioneers led by Yehoshua Stampfer and Aryeh Leib Frumkin. It was the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement (hence its nickname “Mother of the Moshavot.”) However the land the pioneers purchased - apparently against advance warning - was located in what was a malarial swamp and subsequently many of the new residents became sickened. They in turn were brought to Jaffa for medical treatment expenses for which were paid for via the public purse. This letter admonishes the leaders of the “Chevra Petach Tikvah,” stating that according to law, all expenses relating to those who contracted malaria in Petach Tikvah must be covered by the Chevra. The rabbis write here: “We cannot take away funds from widows and orphans to care for irresponsible people who …have wantonly thrown themselves into a place of dreadful degradation. If you do not agree to take upon yourselves the burden of these medical expenses, we shall publicize the failure of your venture to prevent others from placing their lives in similar such danger. It is immediately incumbent upon those who presently live in the lower section near the water to move to a healthier area with better air.” Indeed by 1881 most of the first settlers had left Petach Tikvah, heeding the pleas of their relatives in Jerusalem. Settlement was re-established in 1883. Today, Petach Tikvah is a city with a poulation of more than 200,000 and the home of the the second-largest industrial sector in Israel. Published in: Sepher Hayovel: Commemorating Fifty Years Since the Establishment of Petach Tikva (Heb.) pp. 45-6.