Rare Rabbi Eliezerov documents testify to rich Hebron history

Rare documents of an influential Hebron leader from the Old Yishuv
days were discovered in an archive. The added sense of history comes days before the
annual reading of Parshat
Chayei Sarah which describes the Biblical Patriarch Abraham’s purchase of
the Cave of Machpela.

In the Hebrew month of Kislev 1903, Rabbi Shlomo Yehuda Leib Eliezerov (1863  –
1952) was inaugurated as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Hebron.

Today, 117 years later, rare documents related to his appointment and career were
discovered.

Noam Arnon, spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron commented on the rare finds to
Rotter.net stating “the oldest Jewish history to be found is found
here in Hebron and we are writing a new page here every day. Hebron never ceases to
surprise with historical and archeological findings.”

The documents were found in the archives of the late revered Rabbi Moshe Shapira, by two
of his sons, Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira and Matanya Shapira, Deputy Director of the Yesha
Council.

“Decades ago, my father did a master’s thesis on the Chabad Jewish community in Hebron,”
Matanya Shapira told Rotter.net.

“As part of the work he went through a lot of documents. Among them we found letters
from [Chabad leader] Rebbe Rashab [Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn] that were sent to
Rabbi Eliezerov,” Shapira stated.

Rabbi Eliezerov was a descendant of the Alter Rebbe, founder of the Chabad-Lubavich
movement, and a friend and contemporary of Rabbi Chaim Hezekiah Medini, the famed
author of the Sdei Hemed who served as the city’s Sephardic Chief
Rabbi.

 

He founded Yeshiva Toras Emes in Hebron which was located at the Beit Romano building. The deeds
attesting to Chabad’s purchase of the property have been used throughout the years
to prove Jewish
ownership. Rabbi Eliezerov also headed the Magen Avot community
group in the city.

“He wrote all sorts of advice and responsa which was collected in book form,”
Shapira said.

Shapira also commented on Rabbi Eliezerov’s service for the Jewish community of
Bukharia, located in a majority-Muslim area of Central Asia in 1892. Today’s
Chabad  notes that as they prepare a shaliach to be sent to the United Arab
Emirates, the movement has a history of sending rabbis to Jewish communities in Islamic
lands.

“He was sent to the Bukharian Jewish community to raise funds for the benefit of the
Jewish community in Hebron,” Shapira noted, “and remained there at their request for two
years to serve as rabbi.”

Rabbi Eliezerov was a great-grandson of Rebbetzin Menucha Rochel Slonim, the fabled
matriarch of the Jewish community for over 40 years. She and her husband moved to Hebron
in 1845 where they helped the city thrive, attracting admirers from both the Jewish and
Arab neighborhoods. Rebbitzin Menucha Rochel was the granddaughter of the founder of
Chabad Lubavitcher Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter
Rebbe.

“My father and Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz were related to Rabbi Eliezerov’s grandson, so
apparently my father was able to obtained the rare documents,” Shapira
stated.

The announcement of the finds come days before the reading of Parshat
Chayei Sarah, the weekly Torah portion in which Abraham purchases the Cave of Machpela
in Hebron as a burial plot for his beloved wife Sarah. The towering complex which sits
atop the cave today usually attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the city during
this week, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the celebrations have been moved
online.

Arnon summed up stating, “Rabbi Eliezerov was a special figure and the backbone of
leadership in Hebron and in the Land of Israel. These newly discovered documents will
enrich the historical archive and consciousness of the city.”

 

 

* 117
years later: Rare documents from Hebron revealed – Rotter.net

* 117
שנים אחרי: מסמכים נדירים מחברון נחשפים – Srugim

* Chabad-Lubavitch
Announces Emissary to the United Arab Emirates

* Shlomo
Yehuda Leib Eliezerov – Wikipedia Hebrew

* Shlomo
Yehuda Leib Eliezerov – Chabadpedia (Hebrew)

* Detailed article
about Rabbi Eliezerov (Hebrew)

* Shlomo Yehuda
Leib Eliezerov (Kazarnovsky) – geni.com

* Letter
from “The Malach” To Rabbi Shlomo Leib Eliezrov Of
Hebron

 

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