Guide to the Papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher (1796-1874) 1840s-1874

Processed by Sandra Berliant in 1982 with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional processing carried out with the assistance of a grant from the Gruss Lipper Family Foundation.

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Email: archives@yivo.cjh.org
URL: http://www.yivo.org

Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD 2002 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia and Yakov Sklyar in March 2007. EAD finding aid customized in ARCHON in 2012. Description is in English.

Collection Overview

Title: Guide to the Papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher (1796-1874) 1840s-1874

ID: RG 27 FA

Extent: 8.75 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

Partial attempts to arrange the collection were begun by Isaiah Trunk and Steven Lowenstein. The collection was finally arranged and described in 1982 by Sandra Berliant with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This collection is arranged into three series:

Abstract

Eliyahu Guttmacher was a rabbi, Talmudic scholar, mystic, communal leader, and early Zionist. During his lifetime he was known as the Tsadik of Grätz and thousands of Jews flocked to him for blessings and advice. Guttmacher was also known for his support of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, an early Zionist, and for his extensive collection of funds for institutions in Palestine. The bulk of the collection consists of several thousand (written requests to a rabbi asking for a blessing or advice). The were received from Jews residing in Poland and other, mostly European countries. They reflect the social history of European Jews in the mid-19th century and relate to financial, medical, and family problems. In addition, the collection contains the following: general correspondence, including inquiries relating to religious matters, family correspondence, legal documents such as court and government papers, bills, certifications by unidentfied authors, discussions on Jewish law by unknown authors, an amulet, business documents, and receipts for contributions to charitable institutions in Palestine.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher span the latter years of his life at Grätz, mainly the 1850s to his death in 1874. They consist predominantly of kvitlekh and letters resembling kvitlekh but also include correspondence, family papers and financial documents (kvitlekh are notes written to a rabbi requesting blessings, amulets or advice).

The Papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher have been divided into three series. Series I includes kvitlekh and letters resembling kvitlekh. Series II consists of general and family correspondence, telegrams and miscellaneous documents. Series III includes receipts for contributions to Palestine and postal receipts.

The papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher are a valuable source for the following areas of research: the life of Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher; the history of the early Zionist movement; the social and economic history of the Jews of Poland during the mid-nineteenth century and genealogical studies. The collection at YIVO generally parallels the types of documents found in the Guttmacher papers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem except that the YIVO collection does not include Guttmacher's manuscripts. A brief description of the papers at the Hebrew University is in the RG folder of this collection.

Historical Note

Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher, Talmudic scholar, mystic, forerunner of Zionism and an early advocate of Jewish settlement in Palestine, was born in Borek in the district of Posen (Poznan, Western Poland) in 1796. At the age of nineteen he entered the yeshiva of Rabbi Akiva Eger of Posen (Polish Poznan), where he became a disciple of that famous scholar. There he began to study Kabbalah in addition to traditional Talmudic literature.

In 1822 Guttmacher was appointed the rabbi of Pleschen (Polish Pleszew). In 1841, he became the rabbi of Grätz (Polish Grodzisk Wielkopolski) in the Poznan province of Western Poland where he remained until his death in 1874.

Guttmacher's study of Kabbalah led him to delve into mysticism and Hassidism. Although not a Hassid, he adopted an austere way of life and acquired a reputation as a holy man. People began coming to him for blessings, cures, amulets and advice despite his efforts to discourage them. During his later years at Grätz he received thousands of visitors and letters, mostly from Poland and Russia but also from Prussia, France, England and America. Guttmacher was the only rabbi in Western Poland to be revered and sought after by masses of Jews as were the Hassidic rabbis of Eastern Poland. Toward the end of his life he became known as the Tsadik of Grätz.

Guttmacher's study of Kabbalah also led him to develop mystical Zionist theories and to support the activities of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, forerunner of the Hibbat Zion movement, whose work Drishat Tsiyon outlined the first practical plan for Jewish settlement in Palestine. Guttmacher believed that the Jewish people would be redeemed only after they returned to the land of Israel, worked the land and observed the commandments relating to the land. Instead of waiting passively for the Messiah, Jews should purchase land in Palestine, establish agricultural settlements and send poor Jews from Europe to be farmers. In the interim, Guttmacher urged increased financial support for Talmudic scholars in Palestine and issued a public appeal for funds in 1860 together with Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger of Altona.

To implement his ideas, Guttmacher joined Rabbi Kalischer in various appeals to European Jewry to raise money for Jewish settlement in Palestine. Together with Kalischer he attended the conference in Thorn (Torun, Western Poland) in 1860 which laid the groundwork for a society to promote such settlement. Later, he became an active member of the Society for the Settlement of the Land of Israel which was founded at Frankfort [Frankfurt am Main] by Dr. Haim Turia. When the society foundered, he and Kalischer reestablished it and served as its directors. Like Kalischer, he was in contact with Adolph Cremieux of the Alliance Israelite Universelle of France and with Sir Moses Montefiore in an effort to secure financing for settlement projects. He collected funds for Mikveli Israel, the agricultural school established near Jaffa in 1870 and for Petah Tikva, the first settlement outside Jerusalem established in 1878.

Guttmacher also organized a Kabbalist study group in Jerusalem, "Shenot Eliyahu," and, with the help of Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai Hershenson, he founded two societies for the support of Talmudic scholars in Jerusalem, "Sukkat Shalom", and "Meor Yaakov." He solicited yearly contributions to these funds from visitors, students and disciples and also forwarded to Jerusalem monies collected for these and other institutions by emissaries (agents) who traveled to the Jewish communities of Europe.

Although less of an activist than Kalischer, Guttmacher lent his considerable rabbinic stature to the support of the early Zionist movement. He wrote "haskamot" (a preface and statement of approval) for Kalischer's Drishat Tsiyon and for the writings of another Zionist, Rabbi Nathan Friedland. He also wrote letters of recommendation for rabbis who undertook to raise money, corresponded on matters of Jewish law with activists in Palestine, issued a pamphlet on the renewal of sacrifice in the Holy Land and helped lessen the opposition of the Ashkenazic rabbis of Jerusalem (led by Rabbi Meir Auerbach, formerly of Kalisz), to Zionist projects.

Guttmacher's influence extended beyond his immediate community because of his reputation as a rabbinic scholar. He was recognized unofficially as the rabbinic authority for many small communities in Poznan and throughout Germany. In addition, many of his students who became religious functionaries in Europe and America turned to him for advice in dealing with communal problems. He published commentaries on Mishna and Talmud and composed numerous novellae and responsa, most of which are still in manuscript form at the Hebrew University and the Mossad Harav Kook in Jerusalem.

Guttmacher's published works include Zafenath Paneah (Brody, 1875), Shenot Eliyahu (1879), Sukkat Shalom (1883) and commentaries in the Vilna edition of the Talmud published by Romm. Letters and essays by Guttmacher may also be found in the published works of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, Rabbi Nathan Friedland and R.A. Slutzki.

Two works that have appeared about Rabbi Guttmacher are: Aliyat Eliyahu a memorial volume published by the Kabbalists of Jerusalem and Hadrat Eliyahu, a book of wonder tales by Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg (which was translated into Yiddish as Der Graiditzer Piotrkow-Warsaw).

Guttmacher's rabbinate coincided with the rise of the Reform movement in Germany, although opposed to the movement and to the Reform rabbinate; Guttmacher nevertheless permitted his students to study German and to enroll in secular universities so that they would be able to make a living.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions:

Open to researchers with the permission of the Chief Archivist and by special appointment.

For more information, contact: Chief Archivist, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011. email: archives@yivo.cjh.org

Related Materials: Part of the collection that remained hidden in Vilna throughout the Nazi occupation was brought to YIVO after the war by Abraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski. These materials, consisting of letters to Guttmacher, are now in the Sutzkever-Kaczerginski collection of YIVO, {RG 223, folders # 13, 14, 15).

Preferred Citation: Published citations should read as follows:Identification of item, date (if known); YIVO Archives; Papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher; RG 27; box or folder number.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Series I:, undated, 1860s-1870s,
Series 2: Series II: General and Family Correspondence, 1860s-1870s,
Series 3: Series III: Financial Documents, undated,
All

Series II: General and Family Correspondence 1860s-1870s

Series II consists of correspondence related to Guttmacher's family, his activities on behalf of Palestine and his role as a communal leader. Nearly all the correspondence is addressed to Guttmacher. However, the family correspondence comprises letters to and from family members, which do not necessarily mention Guttmacher himself. The correspondence is from Western Europe, Eastern Europe and America.

The letters to Guttmacher include requests from colleagues and former students for opinions in matters of Jewish law, for advice on how to deal with communal problems and for advice on personal matters. The letters mention issues such as marriage, divorce conversion, army service, friction between religious functionaries, laxity in religious observance and other problems facing religious leaders in Jewish communities of Poland and Germany. Some letters ask for money; one is a condolence letter to Guttmacher on the loss of his wife.

A number of letters from emissaries such as Nahum Streisand (also known as Nahum Avak Poreah) and Yaakov Hertzfeld, report on the emissaries' success in collecting funds in various communities for the study societies established by Guttmacher in Jerusalem. There are also several letters from individuals in Palestine.

The letters and other documents in this series are in Hebrew, Yiddish, German and French. Most of the letters have been arranged by date with the correspondent identified wherever possible. A selective list of correspondents appears in the container list. Family correspondence is arranged separately by correspondent. Family correspondence includes letters and papers of Jacob Guttmacher, Solomon Guttmacher, Louis Levy, Sophie Guttmacher Levy and Raphael M. Levy. A few letters are signed by Eliyahu Guttmacher. These letters have been placed in a separate folder.

Series II also includes legal documents belonging to Guttmacher and his family, miscellaneous and unidentified correspondence, unidentified discourses on Talmud and Jewish law and unsigned certifications and amulets.

Sub-Series 1: General Correspondence before 1860-1874

Folder 2.1: Undated letters undated: Morits Cohn, Meyer S. Abrahamson, Avraham David Cohen Ara, S. Blumberg, Yaakov Segal, Meyer Rosenthal, Nahum Streisand (Avak Poreah, collector of funds for Sukkath Shalom and Meor Yaakov), David Cohen (collector of funds), Mordechai Alitzki, Yaakov Hertzberg, Aleksander Ziskind, Avraham Zilberfeld, Moshe Ledermann, Eliyahu Koppel, Menachem Mendel Landau, Jacob Fuchs, Dorothea Schmidtsdorff, Auguste Heilmann, Jakub Majer Brun, Burstein, Toybe, Rochel Blum, J.L. Asch, Wolf Greyak, Wolff Elias Hirsch, T. Heiman, Abram Walter, Meir Weinstein, Zunderland, D. Littmann, Samuel Milner, Dr. M. Levin, Adolph Meyer, Josef Messing, (3) Dr. Pinchas Neustadt, Zev Yirmiya(hu ?) Posner, D. Littmann, Yitzchak Koenigsberg, (2) Braina Rosenthal, Rachel Roth, Risch, Jakob Wallman, Meyer Hamberger (?)
Folder 2.1 A: Not clearly dated and lacking clear family names undated
Folder 2.2: L. Lewandowski before 1860
Folder 2.3: Laizer son of R. Dov Hacohen, Shmuel Zanvl (?) Brieger, Israel Grezel, Ziskind Hirsch, Neustadt, Dr. Pinchas Neustadt, Yakov Shmuel Krakauer 1860-1861
Folder 2.4: M. Wertheim, Aron Pulvermacher, Anschel son of Y. Segal, E.G. Prathe, Israel, Witkowski, Rafel Abraham, Sheine Rosenthal 1861-1862
Folder 2.5: Aaron Hapelberg, Yuda Tzvi Cohen, Philip Baer, Meir Gutmacher, Dr. Pinchas Neustadt, (2) Bilewsky, Hillel, Yakov Mreszinski (?), Moshe Rosenthal, Aaron Hafelburg (?) 1862-1863
Folder 2.6: M. Brok (quoting R. Akiva Eger), Laizer son of R. Dov Hacohen, Zvi Hirsh Gutmacher, Borchordz, Hayim, (2) Judah Zvi Hirsch Kohen, Moshe Landsberg, M. Frankel, Gabriel Zvi Krosow, Moshe Rosenthal, Leibush Sternberg 1863-1864
Folder 2.7: Yehuda Glans, Yitzchak Hirsch Heilprin, Robert Heumann, Shefya Friedland, S. Hamburger, H. Richter, Abraham Jacob Katz, A. Meyer, Shloyme Flessner, Hirsch Ruben, Samson Nathan Kaplan, Zev Rosoff 1864-1865
Folder 2.8: Zev Wolf Hertzfeld, H. Pallak, Aaron Hapelberg, I.H. Marcus, Yehonatan Zilberstein, S. Marcus, Yesroel Coeh, Moshe Gellert, Eliezer son of R. Dov Hacohen, H. Jaresewski, S. Bleichrader, Yoel Chaim Wilner, Aaron (?) Ziskind Josefsohn, Josef Messing, Schturman, Shmuel Haim Wilner 1865-1866
Folder 2.9: Zev Wolf Hertzfeld, Moshe Gellert, J.M. Rosenfeld, N.J. Leszynski, Shlomo Eisenberg, Hirsch (Hermann) Baer, Gerdam, Dr. Pinchas Neustadt (?), L. Friedland, Moses Rerisch, Schalmont, Moshe Yehuda (?) 1866-1867
Folder 2.10: Michael Moshe Biram, Shlomo Leibrecht, Gerson Heimann, Akiba Gluck, I.I. Orgler, H.J. Berlin, Dr. Wreschner, Josef Messing, (2) Dr. Pinchas Neustadt 1867-1868
Folder 2.11: S. Blumberg, Zev Wolf, Avraham Heller, Nahum Avak Poreah (Streisand), Aleksander Ziskind, S. (Ziskind) Brok, Yochanan Menachem Maravitch, R. Moslu Brod, Gustav Ephraim, Loser, Klein, Zvi Hirsch Lewandowski, Josef Messing, Simon Positz, Josef Rabinowicz, Dr. Pinchas Neustadt (?) 1868-1869
Folder 2.12: Kirschner, Saloniou F. Guttman, Avraham Dov Hacohen, Bilevski, H. Behrend, Eliezer son of R. Dov Hacohen, S. Bleichroder, Zelig Granevitz, Adeline, Joseph Isaac, S. Lehegott, Marcus Jastrow, Gustav Ephraim, Nahum Streisand, B.L. Monasch, letter from Nathan Friedland to Simkhe Firsht, Hirsh Kalisher, Haskel Bornstein, Yehuda Goldberg, Mordechai Barash Katz, Yekhezkl Bri, Mordkhe Wdaszinski, Solomon Lewin, Josef Messing, Yehuda Kachen, (2) Reysna Herzer (?), Zev Wolf (?) 1869-1870
Folder 2.13: Sol M. Zucker, Herman Davidson, T. Heiman, Felix Moser, E. Jankower, Fanny Loebl, Ludwig Schwartz, Moritz Cohn, Gustav Ephraim, Adeline Lippmann, Pauline Machol, Moritz Hartwig Mamroth, Nathan Friedland, Joseph Gersmann, Yechezkel Hertzfeld, (2) Abraham Sachs, H. Zalzbock, (2) Josef Josefsohn, Simon Lewin, Dr. Pinchas Neustadt, Asher Segal, Yehoshua Kachlinski (?), F. Schwarzbach, S.S. Schragenheim, Moshe Greifeshagen 1870-1871
Folder 2.14: Shefya Friedland, Julius Neustadt, S. Bermann, Yosef Heisler, Sol M. Zucker, Laizer son of R. Dov Hacohen, Ziskind Segal, T. Kleid, M. Weils, Gustav Ephraim, Gerson Heimann, Pauline Machol, Moshe Brak, Berend, Gustav Hirschberg, Abraham Sachs, Uri Wizhnishin, (3) F. Sanger (?), Jacob Cohn, Lewenstein, Moshe, Yechiel Peiser, Zalman Moshe Zucker, Isidore Kohn, Israel Spitzer, Moses Ungar, Meir Gutmacher, Yekl Heilbrunn (?), Shlomo Hertzfeld (?), Nahum Streisand 1871-1872
Folder 2.15: Aharon Moseh Halevi, Yochanan Menachem Maravitz, Shmuel Haim Wilner, M. Schneller, Benjamin Meshullemi, Zvi Hirsch Klausner, Moshe Arie, Bamberger, (2) Biates (?), Johann Hoff, Josef Josefsohn, Reisne Kohen, Yekutiel Ehrlich, L. Cohn (?) 1872-1873
Folder 2.15 A: Simkhe Firsht 1863-1872
Folder 2.16: Heschel Greenfeld, Laizer son of R. Dov Hacohen, Hirsch Rohrick, George Schneller, A. Ziskind (?), Yekutiel Ehrlich 1873-1874
Folder 2.17: Aleksander Ziskind, T. Kleid, Yisrael Brisch, Abraham Gunderman, Khaim Yekhiel, Rabbi Yehoshua, Ephraim Wolkowicz, Ewa Zoberman, Zialowski, Jozef Meizels, Miriam Kohn, Shloyme Kleiner, Meir Rosenthal, Eliezer Shapira (?), Schturman 1874
Folder 2.17 A: Letters without exact family names 1860-1874
Folder 2.18: Names of correspondents and contents of letters by date, compiled by Dr. Isaiah Trunk undated
Folder 2.19: Telegrams undated
Folder 2.20: Telegrams undated
Folder 2.21: Letters and certificate from Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher undated
Folder 2.22: Court and government papers for Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher undated
Folder 2.23: Bills for Rabbi Elias Guttmacher undated
Folder 2.24: Certifications, authors, unidentified undated
Folder 2.25: Discussions of Jewish law, commentaries on Talmudic texts, authors unidentified undated
Folder 2.26: Damaged and unidentified correspondence undated
Folder 2.27: Newspaper article with photograph of Rabbi Guttmacher undated

Sub-Series 2: Family Correspondence and Papers undated

Folder 2.28: Guttmacher family correspondence - General undated
Folder 2.29: Letters and papers of Jacob Guttmacher of Bromberg (now Bydgoszcz, Poland) undated
Folder 2.30: Bills and receipts for Jacob Guttmacher undated
Folder 2.31: Letters to Solomon Guttmacher of Paris undated
Folder 2.32: Papers of Louis Levy undated
Folder 2.33: Bills and miscellaneous documents for Louis Levy of Posen (now Poznan, Poland) undated
Folder 2.34: Court papers of Jacob Guttmacher and Louis Levy undated
Folder 2.35: Letters to Sophie Guttmacher Levy undated
Folder 2.36: Letters and papers of Raphael M. Levy of Posen (now Poznan, Poland) undated

Subseries 3: Miscellaneous Correspondence undated

Folder 2.37: Miscellaneous bills, receipts, and business documents undated
Folder 2.38: Amulets undated
Folder 2.39: Miscellaneous correspondence and documents undated
Folder 2.40: Miscellaneous correspondence and documents undated
Folder 2.41: Proclamation of Rabbi Akiva Eger undated
Folder 2.42: Documents not related to Rabbi Guttmacher undated: Includes letters to Mattityahu Strashun, manuscript by Jacob Reifman, Jewish Court decision, pamphlet
Folder 2.43: Unidentified documents and fragments undated

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Series I:, undated, 1860s-1870s,
Series 2: Series II: General and Family Correspondence, 1860s-1870s,
Series 3: Series III: Financial Documents, undated,
All