(Chief Rabbi of New York, 1840-1902). Letter Signed and stamped, written in Hebrew.

YOSEPH, YA’AKOV.

28th Adar

New York

1895

Presenting guidelines for the collectors of the Kollel Warsaw in New York issued by the Vaad HaKlali. Signed by 17 rabbis and lay leaders, with R. Ya’akov Yoseph’s bold signature at end.

The Vaad HaKlali was the organizing body in charge of the various Kollels or factions organized by geographic origin in Jerusalem, each in charge of collecting and distributing halukah support for its community. R. Ya’akov Yoseph studied at the Yeshiva of Volozhin, before his appointment as Rabbi of Vilna in 1883. In 1888 Rabbi Jacob Joseph of Vilna was called by the Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations to the United States in order to assume the newly created post of Chief Rabbi of the Orthodox Congregations of Russian Jews in New York City. While the goals of unity were ultimately not achieved, Rabbi Joseph grew to become well regarded for being the one rabbi who attempted to create order out of the sometimes anarchic religious situation that existed among immigrant Jewry in New York. However due to the tragedy of his extremely harsh experience at the hands of New York Jewry, he would be the first and the last “Rav HaKollel” - Chief Rabbi of New York. See Yonah Landau, The Rav Hakolel and His Generation: A Biography of Yaakov Yosef Chief Rabbi of New York and His Battles for Yiddishkeit at the Turn of the Century (2011). Due to sickness, it is rare for anything in the hand of the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York to appear for auction sale.