Bidspirit auction | Archive of Kollel Österreich in

Archive of Kollel Österreich in the Galilee, Safed and Tiberias. 1860-1922 - Invaluable treasury of over 100 documents, certificates, receipts, court rulings, and letters related to the Kollel Österreich in the Galilee. Some feature unknown historical revelations. [1860-1922]. When Galician immigrants in the holy cities of Jerusalem, Safed and Tiberias complained that they were being pressured by the trustees of the Russian kollel, Rabbi Chaim of Kossov, author of the Torat Chaim , opened Kollel Österreich together with Rabbi Mordechai Zeev Itinga, author of Magen Gibborim . They both served as ”nasi” of the kollel. Rabbi Chaim was the nasi of the ”Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes” kollel of the Jews of Bukowina, Maramureș, and part of Eastern Galicia, and Rabbi Mordechai Zeev was in charge of Western Galicia. When the author of Torat Chaim passed away in 1854, a disagreement arose between his sons regarding a successor for the Land of Israel administration. He had three sons: Rabbi Yaakov Shimshon, who took over his position in Kossov; Rabbi Yosef Alter, who ascended to the Land of Israel; and Rabbi Menachem Mendel, author of Tzemach Tzaddik , who settled in Vizhnitz. Two kollels were developed by his sons, for Kossov and for Vizhnitz, with the regions of each administered by Kollel Österreich. This led to disputes regarding who was in charge of which region - because the kollels were both funded from the same resources. In 1863, upon the passing of Rabbi Mordechai Zeev, his son - Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon, author of the Shu”t Mahari”a HaLevi , took over his position as nasi. Vizhnitz representatives were: Reb Moshe (son-in-law of R' Gershon) Tzeiger, his son-in-law Reb Todros - son of Rabbi Y. L. Lebech, Reb Mendel of Kopishnitz and Reb Yonah of Tarnopol. A few years later, disagreements broke out between the trustees themselves. Another wave of dispute began in 1867, when Reb Yissacher Dov Lustman of Sanok arrived in Safed and was appointed trustee of the Österreich Kollel on behalf of Lemberg. A sharp dispute broke out between Reb Dov and his supporters and the Vizhnitz trustees. To add fuel to the fire, the Austrian consul got involved. Hundreds of Austrian Jews living in Safed and Tiberias found it difficult to use the services of the Austrian consulate in Jerusalem. After many requests, the general consul in Beirut sent a consular agent to Safed in 1868, and he sided with the Vizhnitz faction. To make things worse, in 1875-1877 an additional sharp controversy ignited between the administration of the Österreich Kollel in Safed and the ”Nasi Eretz-Yisrael” in Lemberg, Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon Itinga. The dispute generated many placards supporting each side. In an ”open letter” published in 1876 by the Land of Israel representatives who traveled to Lemberg - R' Elimelech Perlman of Jerusalem and Avraham HaLevi Kalisher of Safed - they imply criticism of the management of Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon and express hope that things would improve upon his resignation. A few months later a ”critical letter” was published with stinging opposition to the trustees and support for Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon. As far as is known, Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon continued serving in this role for many years after this, and the dispute came to rest without any significant administrative changes in Safed or Lemberg. An agreement was reached between the Tzemach Tzaddik and Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon Itinga [refer to Siftei Tzadikim , 5] in 1886. In 1880, Rabbi Yaakov Shimshon of Kossov passed away, and his only son, Rabbi Moshe Hager, author of Leket Ani , took over his position, including the title ”Nasi HaKollel.” This triggered another row of disputes between the offices. In 1886, both sides reached an agreement to unite the two kollels. In 1890, there were some irregularities in the Vizhnitz Kollel, and a complaint was lodged with the Imrei Baruch, who expressed his opinion and admonitions on the issue. An external controversy continued to flare the conflagration: a dispute between the chassidim of Sighet, also from the Maramureș area, which negatively affected donations to ”Maot Eretz Yisrael” [Refer to Winner's Catalog, 100, item 41, letter from the Ahavat Yisrael in 1908]. In 1908, a big disagreement broke out in Sighet between the chassidim of Vizhnitz and Sighet. The chassidim of Vizhnitz wanted their rabbi, the author of Ahavat Yisrael , to continue serving as Nasi Kollel Maramureș in Safed, but the Sighet faction wanted their rabbi, Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, author of Atzei Chaim (1881-1926), to serve in this position. After many fights over a short amount of time, the two sides agreed to bring their claims to a beit din with five adjudicators: each side chose two adjudicators, and the four adjudicators chose a fifth - the author of Arugat HaBosem of Chust. The beit din ruled that Maramureș should be divided into two sections, the Ahavat Yisrael would be nasi of one section and the Atzei Chaim would be nasi of the other.