A letter by Rabbi of Harbin, the Gaon Rabbi Aharon Moshe Kisilav

A letter by Rabbi of Harbin, the Gaon Rabbi Aharon Moshe Kisilav

A thrilling letter in the handwriting and signature of Harbin Rabbi, Rabbi Aharon Moshe Kisilav to the Hebrew Congregation in London regarding the rescue of 'the rabbis suffering from hunger' in Russia 'begging to reach out to them help and save them from hunger'. Av 23, 1933.

In his letter, the genius details at length the difficult situation of the chief rabbis in Russia, how their income was completely eliminated in the small towns, and the terrible impoverishment in these cities and that "the rabbis and their families are starving in the full sense of the word. Hundreds of Letters received from rabbis in various cities asking for help from afar ... ". He adds that the poor ability of the Harbin communities is not able to help the geniuses of Russia and urges the leaders of the Hebrew community in London to collect charity for this purpose and blesses that they will no longer need help from afar. And requests to send the money directly to him as soon as possible.

In the city of Harbin in China, there was a small Jewish community, established on the eve of the First World War, by Russians. The first and last rabbi of the community was Rabbi Aharon Moshe Kisilov [1866-1949], a Lubavitcher Chassid and a disciple of the "Great of Minsk" and Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik. Rabbi Aharon Moshe came to Harbin in 1913, after serving for many years in the rabbinate of Borisov in the Minsk region. In 1937, he was elected chief rabbi of all the communities in the Far East. With the conquest of the city from Japanese rule to Chinese rule, and the establishment of communist rule in China, the Hebrew community in Harbin was abolished.

[1] Official stationery leaf. 29x23 cm. Filing holes. Folding marks, good condition.