Guide to the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection, Part II: Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts RG 223.2

Processed and described by YIVO archivists in the 1950s-1960s. Yiddish finding aid compiled by Itsik Gottesman in the 1980s. Collection processed and English finding aid prepared in 2009 by Shmuel Klein under a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in New York, the Fondation pour la Memoire de la Shoah, the Memoire de la Shoah, and with the support of the USHMM in Washington DC. Collection prepared for microfilming and digitization and finding aid enhanced and expanded by Shmuel Klein and edited by Fruma Mohrer with the assistance of a grant from the Nathan Ruderman Foundation and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, New York, 2014

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

EAD compatible Finding Aid created by Ettie Goldwasser and Fruma Mohrer in Archon version 3.14 in 2014.

Collection Overview

Title: Guide to the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection, Part II: Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts RG 223.2

ID: RG 223.2a FA

Extent: 10.0 Linear Feet

Abstract

The Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection, Part II: Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts contains letters, manuscripts, and historical documents which were saved by the Yiddish poets Avraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna Ghetto. Members of the conscripted Jewish workers who were forced to work under the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, the Nazi unit which plundered cultural treasures across Europe, Sutzkever and Kaczerginski saved thousands of books, manuscripts and documents at great risk to their lives and hid them in the various hiding places in the Vilna Ghetto. After the war they recovered many of the hidden items. Sutzkever sent many of these rescued materials to the YIVO Institute in New York from the period 1947 to 1956. The collection consists of 8 series and includes correspondence of writers, intellectuals, communal leaders, rabbinical figures; manuscripts of Yiddish and Hebrew writers; theater documents; folklore materials; rabbinical responsa and writings; historical and legal documents; pinkasim [communal registers] and J0ewish communal records.

The collection was microfilmed and digitized with the generous support of the Nathan Ruderman Foundation and the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The collection consists of items saved in the Vilna Ghetto by the Yiddish poets Avraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski and holds c. 650 folders, arranged in eight series, and includes correspondence with literary, communal, political and religious figures, Yiddish and Hebrew literary manuscripts, documents of the Yiddish theater and Jewish folklore materials, historical and legal documents, rabbinic responsa and writings, pinkasim [communal registers] and other Jewish communal records. The bulk of the materials cover the period from the 18^th century through the eve of World War II. The collection includes fragments of YIVO’s prewar archival collections, as well as documents from other collections of the prewar period, such as materials from the S. Ansky Historical and Ethnographic Society of Vilna, private papers of Matisyahu and Shmuel Strashun, local synagogue and communal records from Vilna and outlying areas.

A multiple provenance collection, its very fragmentary nature reflects the circumstances of war and the activities of the Nazi plundering unit called the Einsatzstab Rosenberg whose pillaging resulted in the breakup and destruction of much of the YIVO Archives and other Jewish cultural treasures. The collection is also in very poor condition because much of it was hidden underground for years and was smuggled out of Vilna into Poland in the postwar period, then into France, before being sent to New York. The collection holds documents which cover a wide range of subjects including the social, literary, political and religious life of Jews in Eastern Europe and also includes materials generated by leading Jewish literary, political and religious figures of the 18^th through 20^th century.

The value of the rescued materials can be understood only in the light of these wartime circumstances and the situation faced by Sutzkever, Kaczerginski and the members of the ‘paper brigade’ who had good reason to believe that Jewish civilization in Eastern Europe had come to an end and that the work of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg would destroy all vestiges of Jewish life. The collection reflects what aspects of Jewish culture were valuable to Jewish intellectuals in the Vilna Ghetto who needed to make quick and on-the-spot decisions about what to save. In surveying the collection, we see that their notion of what was valuable was a broad one. They saved everything from documents relating to traditional Jewish religious life, to artifacts of modern Yiddish and Hebrew culture. The collection also reflects the deep connection and passion these intellectuals felt for Jewish culture, folklore and history. The notes below provide additional information about the most important series in this collection.

Series 1: Correspondence with Individuals

Series I consists of 436 folders of correspondence, arranged alphabetically according to the Yiddish alphabet. The Series includes correspondence to and from a wide range of writers, scholars, communal figures and rabbinical figures. Included are a number of letters of distnguished and prominent indviduals. The bulk of these letters were part of the original YIVO Archives in Vilna. Many of these letters bear the original YIVO stamp. The other groups of materials in this Series include letters formerly collected by the S. Ansky Historical and Ethnographic Society in Vilna, by the family of Rabbi Shmuel Strashun and his son Matisyahu Strashun. Some of the most noteworthy individuals in this Series: S. Ansky, ethnographer and playwriter, leader of the Ansky Ethnographic Expedition; Ber Borochov, founder of the Labor Zionist movement and early scholar of the Yiddish language and Borochov's family; Nathan Birnbaum, advocate of the Yiddish language and organizer of the Czernowitz conference on Yiddish in 1908; Jacob Benjacob, the early bibliographer; Ignaz Bernstein, the compiler of Yiddish proverbs and bibliographer; Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodziensky, spiritual head of the Jewish community of Vilna; Simon Dubnow; Jacob Dinesohn, pioneer Yiddish writer; Abraham Mapu, early Hebrew novelist; Mendele Moykher Sforim, grandfather of modern Yiddish literature; Moses Montefiore, Jewish communal leader and philanthropist in England; Noah Prylucki, early YIVO leader and Yiddish scholar; Isaac Leib Peretz, one of the greatest classic Yiddish writers, his wife Helena, and his family; Abraham Reisen, the Yiddish poet, mostly to his brother Zalman; Zalman Reisen, a founder of YIVO and a prominent Yiddish scholar; Nachum Shtif, a founder of YIVO and a Yiddish scholar; Matisyahu Strashun, bibliographer, scholar and philanthropist in Vilna; Samuel Strashun, scholar and commentator on the Talmud; Sholem Aleichem, father of modern Yiddish literature.

One of the most significant correspondents in this Series is the early modern Hebrew writer Abraham Mapu who was born in the Kovno area to a scholarly family, and received the traditional education of the time, but was later able to learn a number of European languages on his own. He was the first Hebrew novelist of the Haskalah period, using biblical style Hebrew, to present contemporary literary as well as early Zionist themes. He was a Hebrew teacher, and authored some teaching manuals for Hebrew and French. Mapu became a popular author and was active in the affairs of the Jewish community of Kovno.

YIVO’s extensive archive of Mapu’s letters, mostly written to his younger brother Matisyahu who lived in Paris, and some other relatives and friends, provides a window into the social history of the Jews of Kovno and Paris of the 1850’s and 1860’s. The letters provide insights into Mapu’s literary career, and the details of his family life and personal finances. This collection of letters came to YIVO in the early 1930’s from the descendents of Mapu’s brother through the efforts of Elias Tcherikover, one of YIVO’s founders, who was then living in Paris. The letters were then transferred to the YIVO Archives in Vilna. The Israeli historian Ben Zion Dinur had typescript copies of these letters made for him by the YIVO staff during the 1930s, which is fortunate, because many letters did not survive the Holocaust, or survived in severely damaged condition. These copies serve as the basis for Dinur’s 1970 edition of the Mapu letters. Please note that not every letter in the Sutzkever Kaczerginski collection appears in Dinur’s edition. The letters are now in Yivo Archives RG 223 Part II, folders 37.1-43.7. [References:Dinur, Ben Zion: Mikhteve Avraham Mapu (Jerusalem, 1970). Slouzch, Nahum: Mapu’s letters in: Ha-Zeman, 1905. (Hebrew).]

The correspondence of the Yiddish literary figure Zalman Reisen (1887-1940?) constitutes a significant part of this Series. Reisen was a YIVO leader from its founding in 1925. He was an important Yiddish phuilogist and edited the multi-volume Reisen Lexicon of Yiddish Literature and corresponded extensively with Yiddish writers in order to compile information for his lexicon entries. Many of the letters to Zalman Reisen in this Series appear to be from the materials Reisen was accumulating for his yet unpublished fifth volume of the lexicon. This volume was never published. Portions of similar materials for Reisen’s unpublished volume are found in the YIVO Archives, in the Collection of Yiddish Literature and Language (RG 3).

The letters to and from the Strashun Family constitute another section in this Series. Matisyahu Strashun (1817-1885) was a prominent a Talmudic Scholar, maskil, and philanthropist in Vilna. He occupied himself with the communal affairs of Vilna, serving through the years in several positions. He was one of the most important bibliophiles of his time. A catalog of his book collection, Likutei Shoshanim, including a number of manuscripts, appeared in 1889. After his death, his library became the property of the Vilna Kehilla. A large portion of this library is now housed in the YIVO Library.

The Strashun family related items include personal letters in folders 81.1-81.13. Folders 82.1-8.5 contain letters to Matisyahu’s father, Samuel Strashun (1793-1872), who was known for his commentaries on the Talmud, printed at the end of most standard editions of the Talmud. They are still studied in contemporary Talmudic academies all over the Jewish world.

The impact of Matisyahu Strashun on the contents of the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection is greater than meets the eye. Since he was both a maskil and a serious rabbinic scholar, and was in contact with Hebrew book dealers in various countries, he was able to acquire the correspondence of several earlier well-known maskilim and prominent rabbis, as well as important manuscript items which had been in the hands of bibliophiles of previous generations. Much of the material of this nature in this collection derives from Matisyahu Strashun’s intensive collecting activity over many years. Sometimes we have his book stamp on the item to confirm his connection with the item, sometimes it can only be an educated guess. Some examples of items in this collection which probably had belonged to Matisyahu Strashun would be: folder 34a.1, a letter from the maskil Isaac Baer Levinson tp M. Strashun. Page 2 of this letter actually contains a note by M. Strashun himself. Folder 52.1 holds a letter written by Judah Eliasberg, who was M. Strashun’s business partner and relative. Folder 145.1 contains the title page of a manuscript with M. Strashun’s ink stamp. It was signed by Eliakim Carmoly (1802-1875), an avid bibliophile of the previous generation.

The correspondence of Sholem Aleichem is one of the important groups in this Series. The Sholem Aleichem letters cover the period c. 1888 – 1915. There are 52 folders of Sholem Aleichem letters and postcards, from Folder 83.1 to Folder 88.5. The bulk of them are original letters and a small number are photostatic copies which were procured by the YIVO Institute in Vilna before the war. The letters are addressed to various individuals. Quite a number of them were written to Jacob Dinesohn. In addition, there some Sholem Aleichem letters to the writer Yecheskel Kotik and to Dr. Gershon Levine, to Sholem Aleichem's son-in-law Y.D. Berkovitz, There is also a photostatic copy of a letter from Sholem Aleichem to Madame Theodore Herzl written days after Theodore Herzl’s death, which was acquired by YIVO in the prewar period.

Series 2: Manuscripts (Folders 95-153a)

Subseries 1: Works of Known Authors, Arranged Alphabetically

This series includes the writings of a number of well known literary and political figures. While many writers are represented in this Series, prominent in this group are writings of S. Ansky, Theodor Herzl, Shloime Ettinger, Joseph Perl.

This series holds fragments of the play The Dybbuk written in his own hand by S. Ansky (1863-1920). An early Yiddish version of the play was destroyed in a fire. According to information provided by early YIVO archivists of the 1950s and ‘60s, Hayyim Nachman Bialik, the Hebrew poet, had translated the original version of The Dybbuk into Hebrew. After the fire destroyed the early Yiddish manuscript, Ansky translated Bialik’s version into Yiddish. The manuscript of The Dybbuk was kept in the Ansky Historical and Ethnographic Society in Vilna until World War II and a few fragmentary pages of it were saved by Avraham Sutzkever in the Vilna Ghetto. When writing the play The Dybbuk, Ansky was able to draw upon the folk beliefs and folklore collected during the Baron Horace Guenzburg Ethnographic Expedition which he led from 1911 to 1914. During the expedition which was conducted in Volhynia, Podolia and Kiev Province, a great deal of ethnographic and ethnomusicological materials were collected by means of a variety of methods including interviews with the local Jewish population residing within the geographic scope of the expedition.

The series also contains the handwritten diary of the early Zionist leader Theodore Herzl. The diary covers the years 1882-1887, when Herzl was a young man, and contains his literary journal, notes about the books he was reading while completing his education, as well as personal and introspective observations. In 1930, while on a visit to London, Zalman Reizen discovered the diary in the possession of a friend of Herzl’s son Hans, who had passed away. According to a report by Max Weinreich, after Zalman Reisen brought the diary to Vilna, YIVO decided to purchase it. [Reference: News of the YIVO, No. 22, Sept, 1947.] According to Dr. David Fishman, who presented a lecture at the YIVO Institute on November 24, 2014, Sutzkever found the Herzl diary among a pile of other papers at YIVO in April 1942, and buried it in a cellar at number 6 Shavel Street, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Nazis. After Vilna had been liberated by the Russians, he recovered it in late August 1944. The Herzl diary finally reached YIVO in New York City in 1947.

Folders 116.1 to 121.6 hold 28 items which originally came from Max Weinreich’s personal collection of original materials relating to the early Yiddish writer and playwright Shlomo Ettinger (1803-1856), given to Weinreich by Ettinger’s heirs, his daughter Disha and grandson Nosson Shapira of Lodz. These materials were the basis for Weinreich’s 1925 Vilna edition of Ettinger’s collected works. During the Haskalah period, Shloime Ettinger (1803-1856) was one of the first to write in modern literary Yiddish, and is noted for his fresh, clear style. Even though fluent in German, he was able to keep it from influencing his Yiddish writing. His drama ‘Serkele’ was one of the earliest modern Yiddish plays. He was considered by Max Weinreich to be “the grandfather of Yiddish literature.” [ Reference: Weinreich, Max: Ale ksovim fun Dr. Sloyme Ettinger, Vilna, Ferlag Fun B. Kletzkin, 1925. In two volumes.]

Folder 123.1 of this series holds manuscripts by the early Yiddish writer Joseph Perl (1773-1839) including a story entitled: "Once There Was a Very Great King," written as a satire of a similar tale by R. Nahman of Bratslav. Numerous crossings out and corrections indicate that the manuscript is the author’s autograph, as does the comparison with a facsimile of a personal letter in Perl’s own handwriting printed on the page facing p. XVI of: “The Yiddish writings of Joseph Perl”, Vilna, 1937 (Yiddish), and with the facsimiles of works in his hand, published by Shmuel Werses in Ha-Universitah, vol. 19 (March 1974), pp. 46-51.

Series 3: Theater Documents

This small series appears to have fragmentary documents from at least two original YIVO Archives collections created in Vilna during the prewar period. These are the Esther Rachel Kaminska Theater Museum Archive and the Records of the Jewish Actors Union of Warsaw. The series has only 10 folders and includes a colorful Yiddish language memoir of an actor, Hersh Amesia, who joined Goldfaden’s troupe; an actor’s membership card; the libretto of a Yiddish operetta and an actor’s theater contract, 1909.

Series 4: Ethnographic and Folklore Materials

This series holds 27 folders and includes fragmentary materials from YIVO’s Ethnographic Committee which was modeled on the activities of the Ansky Expedition and which collected original folklore and ethnographic materials during the prewar period. There are also fragmentary materials from the Ansky Historical and Ethnographic Society and from the Institute for Yiddish Proletarian Culture. This series includes folktales, religious customs such as those observed on Shabbat Shira when bread crumbs are prepared for the birds, customs of mourning, customs of the Maharsha’s synagogue in Ostrog, materials about Yiddish language and philology.

Series 5: Historical and Legal Documents (Folders 171-179)

The series, which contains 16 folders, holds historical and legal documents, such as contracts, rabbinical court decisions, judgments of the municipal/regional courts, legislation, agreements, property documents, and financial documents. Including are documents about the sale and transfer of synagogue seats or inheritance rights to synagogue seats, the sale or rental of a house, etc. The bulk of the series relates to the Jewish community of Vilna with several documents pertaining to the sale or transfer of synagogue seats in the Great Synagogue of Vilna. There is also a document relating to the community of Pinczow. Folder 179.7 is a deed of gift of a synagogue seat in the women’s section of the Great Synagogue. Under this deed, Rabbi Yechiel, son of Rabbi Avraham Danzig ( well known author of the “Chayei Adam,”) transferred the ownership of the seat to his wife Bashka. The “Chayei Adam” was a prominent scholar and the Dayan of Vilna and a mechutan (in-law) of the Vilna Gaon. This series is related in subject and genre to the Series 7: Pinkasim and Jewish Communal Records.

Series 6: Responsa and Other Rabbinical Writings (Folders 179a-179f)

The most significant materials are the letters to the renowned rabbinic authority Rabbi David Luria (1797-1855, known as the RaDaL), who wrote a commentary on the rabbinical work "Pirke d’Rabi Eliezer" and was also the author of many notes on the Talmud and on the Midrashim. The letters to Rabbi Luria are significant because they reflect his recognized role as a leading scholar to whom the majority of elite scholars turned with difficult questions. The letters were included in the first finding aid to the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts where it was noted that letters to Rabbi Luria had been saved by Sutzkever and sent to YIVO in New York. The series contains 33 folders.

Series 7: Pinkasim and Jewish Communal Records

This series has a range of Jewish communal records including a number of pinkasim (communal registers), among them the pinkasim of the Jewish communities of Narovlya, Pruzhan, Skoudas, Śniadowo, Vilna, and the pinkas of the Vilna Gaon’s kloyz.

One of the most important documents in this Series throws light on the history of the Jewish communityy of Vilna is the Pinkas of theVilna Gaon's Synagogue or kloyz. The synagogue or 'kloyz' of the Vilna Gaon was the place where the renowned sage and scholar, Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797) prayed and studied. Founded during his lifetime in 1758, the synagogue, or "Vilna Gaon's kloyz" as it was known, continued to function after the Gaon's passing in 1797, as a prayer house and center of Torah study and remained active until the eve of World War II. The handwritten Hebrew language Pinkas of the Vilna Gaon's Synagogue records the legal and financial transactions of the 'kloyz', includes references to the children of the Vilna Gaon and his students, and is an important original source on the history of the Jewish community of Vilna. The Yiddish poets Avraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski rescued the original volume and hid it in the Vilna Ghetto. After the war, in July 1944, Sutzkever retrieved it from its underground hiding place and in 1947, while in Paris, Sutzkever sent the Pinkas of the "Vilna Gaon's kloyz" to the YIVO Institute in New York where it has been preserved for close to 7 decades.

Historical Note

The Rescue of Manuscripts and Documents by Sutzkever and Kaczerginski

The subject of this Historical Note is the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection, Part II: Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts which was microfilmed and digitized under a grant from the Nathan Ruderman Foundation and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in New York. Part I of the collection which relates to the Vilna Ghetto Archives, has been described in a separate finding aid funded under a separate grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany in New York, the Fondation pour la Memoire de la Shoah in France, the Memorial de la Shoah, and with the support of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Information about the finding aid to Part I of the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection can be obtained by writing to archives@yivo.cjh.org. This Historical Note also focuses on the history of the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection once it was it received by the YIVO Institute in New York.

The story of the rescue of Jewish cultural treasures in the Vilna Ghetto has been described by the historian David Fishman in his monograph ‘Embers Plucked from the Fire: The Rescue of Jewish Cultural Treasures in Vilna” (second expanded edition, 2009). Two lectures delivered by Dr. Fishman at the YIVO Institute, in November 2014 and in January 2015, provide additional information about Fishman’s original research on this subject. The purpose of this Historical Note is to share the story of the rescue work and to link this story to the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection currently held in the YIVO Archives.

The Sutzkever Kaczerginski collection held in the YIVO Archives holds the original manuscripts rescued by the Yiddish poets Avraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski in the Vilna Ghetto and sent to the YIVO Institute after the war. The collection is named in honor of the two Yiddish poets who worked in the underground ‘paper brigade’ and smuggled more than 10,000 manuscripts, books and artifacts into the Vilna Ghetto, hiding the saved materials wherever they could, often in underground places. The members of the ‘paper brigade’ were assigned by the Nazi plundering unit, called the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, to the task of sorting through the contents of tens of thousands of books, artifacts, documents, manuscripts, letters, religious artifacts and art works. They were instructed to select the most valuable materials for transfer to Germany, where they were to be eventually become part of a museum of the ‘extinct’ Jewish people. The materials not selected by the conscripted Jewish ‘selection’ group were to be sent to the paper mills. The sorting process took place primarily in the YIVO building which had been taken over by the Einsatzstab Rosenberg. Determined to save valuable materials from being sent to Germany, the ‘paper brigade’ hid manuscripts and artifacts and managed to smuggle them one by one into the Vilna Ghetto, hoping that the rescued documents would survive destruction. As Sutzkever and Kaczerginski sifted through the books and documents in the YIVO building while working for the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, they made decisions about what they thought was precious and irreplaceable and important for posterity.

After the war Sutzkever and his colleagues painstakingly searched for and found hidden documents, books and artifacts and brought them to the new Jewish Museum of Vilna. When it became apparent that the Soviet authorities had no intention of safeguarding these materials or making them available to the public, and when it became known that portions of the documents in the Museum during the Soviet period had been removed to the paper mills for destruction, Sutzkever and Kaczerginski devised a plan to smuggle out suitcases of materials to be taken first to Poland and then to France. From France the rescued documents were sent to the reestablished YIVO headquarters in New York. A portion of the documents were taken to Israel and sent to YIVO from Israel. The sending of materials to YIVO by Sutzkever was carried out from 1947 to c. 1956.

The smuggling of the materials from Soviet controlled Vilna to Poland and from Poland to France was an activity fraught with its own set of risks and dangers and required for its successful accomplishment a great deal of ingenuity and determination on Sutzkever’s and Kaczerginski’s part. Due to the great volume of the materials to be sent to YIVO in New York and due to their great value, Sutzkever devised a wide variety of methods for shipping the documents, which included sending some of them by regular mail to Max Weinreich in New York, on occasion by air mail for very select and precious items, and from time to time by personal courier. The details of these shipments have been researched by Dr. David Fishman and were described in his lecture at the YIVO Institute presented in January 2015. After Sutzkever had succeeded in sending the bulk of the rescued materials to YIVO, Max Weinreich agreed that recognition of Sutzkever’s and Kaczerginski’s heroic efforts would be preserved in perpetuity by naming the entire collection in their honor.

The documents and artifacts saved in the Vilna Ghetto contained categories of materials relating to a) The Vilna Ghetto, including diaries, reports about the Judenrat, cultural and educational and religious activities in the Ghetto (this group of documents is described in a separate finding aid). b) YIVO Archives documents and manuscripts held in the YIVO Institute in Vilna before the war, many of them bearing the original YIVO stamp. c) Documents from special archival collections in Vilna, such as the S. Ansky Historical and Ethnographic Society in Vilna. d) Documents relating to the Strashun Library including Rabbi Shmuel Strashun and Matisyahu Strashun and documents and manuscripts collected by the Strashun family. e) Books from the YIVO Library in Vilna and from the Strashun Library and from other Jewish libraries in Vilna

Early Efforts to Process the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection

The first finding aid to the Sutzkever Kaczerginski was compiled in the 1950s and 1960s by YIVO Archivists. The original finding aid was divided into 2 parts: Part I: Vilna Ghetto Archives and Part II: Catalog of Documents and Books Hidden in the Vilna Ghetto. From the 1960s through 1986, only the Vilna Ghetto portion of the collection had a detailed finding aid with assigned folder numbers. Part II of the finding aid, the Literary and Historical Manuscripts, which is the focus of this finding aid and which was the subject of a grant from the Nathan Ruderman Foundation and the Claims Conference in New York, was titled: Catalog of Documents and Books Hidden in the Vilna Ghetto. The ‘catalog’ provided a list of categories, such as Photographs, Letters, Manuscripts, Communal Registers (Pinkasim), Theater Documents, Folklore Materials, and Books. However, the list of documents included in each of the categories were described very generally, without any details, and there was no indication as to specific folder numbers assigned to specific documents. In the mid 1980s, a Yiddish language folder list was compiled and specific documents were assigned folder numbers. YIVO Archivist Itsik Gottesman created this first detailed listing, basing it very closely on the original list of materials described in the first Yiddish finding aid mentioned above.

The Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection Today

Of all the categories listed in the original Yiddish finding aid, only two categories are no longer held in the YIVO Archives’ Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection, Part II. These are the Photographs and the Books. During the 1970s and 1980s the photographs were removed from the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection and placed into the YIVO Photo Archives where they were added to the existing collections of prewar photographs on Poland and Russia. The Books, listed as the last category in the original finding aid, were transferred to the YIVO Library. The YIVO Library maintains selective lists of books saved by Sutzkever and Kaczerginski.

YIVO Collections in Offenbach, Germany

The materials in the YIVO building selected by the Jewish intellectuals conscripted by the Einsatzstab Rosenberg were sent to Germany in several shipments in 1942 and 1943. The YIVO materials were discovered in the Offenbach depot after the war and in 1947, under the auspices of the American army, 420 crates of YIVO books and archival materials were sent to YIVO’s newly reestablished offices in New York. The contents of these crates were identified, sorted and organized by YIVO Archivists and Librarians over next few decades as part of a long term and challenging YIVO project.

During the 1970s, a major project supported by a grant from the NEH resulted in a complete reorganization of the entire YIVO Archives in accordance with the principles of provenance. Papers and collections would no longer be dispersed throughout the Archives according to different subjects but to the extent possible documents generated by the same original creator would all remain within the same record group. To implement this task, the entire YIVO Archives was surveyed over the course of several years and the Archives was progressively divided up in to Record Groups which were each assigned a number. The numbers were assigned in ascending order with the earliest collections accessioned assigned the lowest numbers.

As the provenance origins of the ‘Vilna Archives’ were progressively determined under the NEH grant of the 1970s, YIVO archivists began to realize that many of the documents came from the same origin, for example from the same school in Vilna, or from the same theatrical organization, or from the same Jewish community. The documents which had a common origin were then grouped together in separate record groups. These included the Records of the Yivo Institute in Vilna, the Records of the YIVO Autobiography Contest in Poland, the Esther Rachel Kaminska Theater Museum Archive, the Records of the Jewish Actors Union in Warsaw, the records of the Tarbut Teachers’ Seminary, the records of the TSYSHO Yiddish secular schools, the Papers of Eliyahu Guttmacher, the Papers of the cantor Abraham Bernstein, the Records of the Vilna Jewish Community Council, the Papers of Simon Dubnow and many others. The documents of the Vilna Archives were assigned Record Group numbers 1 to 100, reflecting the fact that these were the earliest accessions in the YIVO Archives.

Provenance History of Documents in the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection

When Sutzkever was sending shipments of materials to YIVO over the course of almost 10 years (from 1947 to 1956), YIVO archivists did not know the detailed contents of the salvaged YIVO Archives which were shipped from Offenbach, Germany. They therefore did not know that there were documents in the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection which had the same ‘origin’ (or provenance as the term is known in archival parlance) as some of the documents in the general YIVO Archives. The reason for this common origin is that both the general YIVO Archives and the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection hold documents which originally belonged to YIVO in Vilna or which belonged to the Anksy Historical and Ethnographic Society in Vilna.

During the period in the 1970s and 1980s when the YIVO Archives as a whole was moving forward in the direction of ‘provenance based organization,’ as described above, a small number of documents in the Sutzkever Kaczerginski collection were identified as having the same origin as certain collections in the Vilna Archives and were removed by YIVO Archivists, and were added to a number of newly identified provenance based record groups in the general YIVO Archives. With the exception of these few documents which were removed for reasons of ‘provenance’, the rest of the Sutzkever Kaczerginski collection remained intact, as per the agreement between Max Weinreich and Avraham Sutzkever.

Examples of those few materials removed to the general YIVO Archives are a set of letters to Rabbi Eliayahu Guttmacher originally in the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection which were added to the Papers of Eliayahu Guttmacher (Record Group 27 in the YIVO Archives) during a processing project during the 1980s; and some letters of the Union of Jewish Writers and Journalists, which were added to the newly identified Records of the Union of Jewish Writers and Journalists. (Record Group 55 in the YIVO Archives)

Additional transfers of manuscripts from the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection to the YIVO General Archives are not contemplated at present even if provenance based links between the Sutzkever Kaczerginski collection and documents in the general YIVO Archives are discovered in the future. The most important reason for this is that the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection memorializes and honors the heroic work of the underground ‘paper brigade’ in the Vilna Ghetto who risked their lives to save Jewish cultural artifacts for future generations during a period of unparalleled tragedy for the Jewish people. A second reason is that the work done during this funded project has resulted in what is now a ‘fixed’ digitized and microfilmed reproduction of the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection and a full description of the contents of the collection. Current technology has made it possible to create ‘virtual’ links between the digitized version of the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection and documents of the same provenance in the general YIVO Archives , whenever it is physically impossible to effectuate a physical reunification of archival materials.

To view the video of the lecture by David Fishman on November 24, 2014 titled: From the YIVO Archives: If Books Could Talk: The Story of Three Jewish Treasures Rescued from the Vilna Ghetto, go to: http://yivo.org/video/index.php?tid=203&aid=1369

Avraham Sutzkever– An Overview of his Activities during World War II

Abraham Sutzkever(1913-2010) was born in Smorgon and resided in Vilna from 1921 on, where he was educated, and began his writing career. By 1933 he had become a member of the dynamic Yiddish literary group Yung-Vilne. Sutzkever was interned in the Vilna Ghetto from June 1941 on, where he continued to write poetry dealing with the horrors of ghetto life. He was a member of the ‘paper brigade’ and hid many historical and cultural artifacts in the Vilna Ghetto. He escaped from Nazi occupied Vilna in September 1943, and joined a group of partisans under Soviet command. After Vilna was liberated by the Russians in June 1944, he returned there for some time, uncovered some of the treasures hidden during the war and brought them to the new Jewish Museum in Vilna as described above in the early part of this Historical note. The rest of Sutkever’s activities with regard to the documents he saved during war are described above in the main part of the Historical Note. Sutzkever lived in Poland in 1946, moved on to Paris, and then on to Palestine in 1947. He settled in Israel, becoming the poet laureate of Israel and receiving much acclaim for his literary achievements. Sutzkever was the editor of the last Yiddish periodical in Israel titled Di Goldene Keyt.

Szmerke Kaczerginski (1908-1954)

Szmerke Kaczerginski was born in 1908 in Vilna. As a young man, he was involved in The communist movement and was also a journalist. During the mid-1930s he joined the Yiddish literary group "Yung Vilne." He found himself in the Vilna ghetto during the Nazi occupation, writing poetry and songs with Holocaust themes. He was engaged in organizing cultural and educational activities in the Vilna ghetto. He worked together with Sutzkever and others to hide as much of Jewish cultural material from the Nazis as possible, and in September 1943, escaped from the Vilna ghetto to join a Soviet partisan unit together with Sutzkever. After Vilna was liberated by the Russians in June 1944, he returned there for a while, aiding in locating the cultural treasures the members of the “paper brigade” had hidden away and organizing the new Jewish Museum in Vilna, while continuing to write about his experiences as a partisan. In 1946 he moved to Łódź, then on to Paris, and in 1950 settled in Buenos Aires. He met his untimely death in a plane crash in April 1954.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions: The collection is open to qualified researchers with the permission of the YIVO Chief Archivist. Access to the collection can be obtained by writing to archives@yivo.cjh.org.

Use Restrictions: Materials in the YIVO Archives may be copyrighted. Researchers wishing to publish any verbatim quote from any documents in the YIVO Archives must obtain advance permission from the YIVO Chief Archivist by writing to archives@yivo.cjh.org

Other Note: The collection is microfilmed and digitized. Researchers should refer to MK 552. The microfilm edition is on 3 microfilm reels. To order hi-res copies of specific documents or to obtain an appointment to access the microfilm edition of the collection please write to: archives@yivo.cjh.org.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Correspondence with Individuals,
Series 2: Manuscripts (Folders 95-153a),
Series 3: Theatrical documents (Folders 154-161),
Series 4: Folklore, Ethnography, and Miscellaneous Items (Folders 162-170),
Series 5: Historical and Legal Documents (Folders 171-179),
Series 6: Responsa and other rabbinical writings (Folders 179a-179f),
Series 7: Pinkasim and Jewish communal records (Folders 180-184),
Series 8: Sheimos. Damaged pages found in the ruins of the YIVO Ghetto

Series 1: Correspondence with Individuals

This Series contains correspondence with literary, poliitical, cultural and religious figures. The correspondence is arranged in Yiddish alphabetical order. For a full scope note of this Series please go to the Scope and Content Note located in the beginning of this finding aid.

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Folder 1.1: Adler, Nathan 1877: Letter from Rabbi Nathan Adler (1803-1890), British Chief Rabbi, London, to R. Segal [?], on the subject of matchmaking. 3 pages written in black ink. Printed stationery says: “Office of the Chief Rabbi.” With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 2.1: Eisenstadt, Moses Eleazar 11/26/1914: Letter from R. Dr. Moses Eleazar Eisenstadt (1869-1943), government-appointed rabbi of St. Petersburg and Hebrew author, to Mr. A. Neuschul of Vilna. Written to encourage Mr. Neuschul to provide monetary backing for a new journal of Jewish communal affairs. 2 pages written in black ink; one in pencil. Printed stationary. Some water damage, faded text, and text broken off. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 3.1: Ansky, S. 1/3/1896: Letter from S. Ansky, Paris, to Isaac Leib Peretz. Ansky mentions, among other things, that a story of his was translated without his authorization and part of it was published, also without his authorization. 6 pages written in black ink. Signed in Russian: “S. Rappaport.” Russian and Yiddish.
Folder 3.2: Ansky, S. 3/19/1911: Letter from S. Ansky to Isaac Leib Peretz. Among other things, Ansky apologizes to Peretz for not writing. He writes that he has been travelling and been 'on a train' for months and that there was no appropriate moment for a deep or thoughtful letter. After his travels Ansky suffered pains and was cared for by a doctor who almost gave up on his recovery. His wife was also sick and needed to travel abroad [for recovery]. He refers to Jacob Dinesohn's suggestion that Peretz's son work for the organization 'IKO'. Anksy has looked into the matter and was told that if Peretz's son has a good background in "pedagogy and psychology," that he can be an "educational guide" for the Yiddish teachers at "IKO" in the Russian region with a salary of 150 to 200 rubles a month. 4 pages written in black ink, with the third page of a typescript copy. Pages 1 and 2 of the typescript copy are missing. Stationery printed in Russian. Yiddish and Russian.
Folder 3.3: Ansky, S. 1915: Letter from S. Ansky, St. Petersburg, to Isaac Leib Peretz. Mentions that Mrs. Winaver had requested 500 tickets for a "lottery". She has not received the tickets yet. Ansky sends greetings to Jacob Dinesohn and to Alter Kacyzne and his wife, and to Peretz's wife and children. He asks that Peretz send back to Ansky some personal belongings which Ansky had left behind when he had visited Peretz. 2 pages written in ink. Signed in Yiddish: “S. Rappaport.” Stationery printed in Russian. Yiddish.
Folder 3.4: Ansky, S. 11/18/1916: Letter to S. Ansky, from a young female friend, replying to his prior missive. 2 pages written in black ink. Letter is incomplete. Russian.
Folder 3.5: Ansky, S. 2/20/1917: Letter from Rosa Manesohn, to S. Ansky. 4 pages written in black ink. Russian.
Folder 4.1: Ansky, S. 1910: Letter from Baal Makhshoves (pen name of Dr. Isidor E. Eliashev), to S. Ansky. Baal Makhshoves was a prominent Yiddish literary critic and writer. 2 (narrow) pages written in blue ink. Russian.
Folder 4.2: Ansky, S. 1910 (?): Letter from Baal Makhshoves (pen name of Dr. Isidor E. Eliashev), Riga, to S. Ansky. Baal Makhshoves was a prominent Yiddish literary critic and writer. 1 handwritten page. On printed stationary of: "Di Yidishe Shtime," Riga. Shows some deterioration. Russian.
Folder 5.1: Asch, Shalom No date: Letter from the Yiddish writer Shalom Asch, visiting Wiesbaden, Germany, to Mr. Kamenmacher. Asch suggests that he retain for himself the printing plates of the 12 volume set of his works he is sending Mr. Kamenmacher, and requests that 300 copies be sent to him [Asch] upon their publication. 1 page written in blue ink. Some ink smudging. Yiddish.

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Folder 6.1: Borochov, Chaya Rachel 1914: Letter from Chaya Rachel Borochov, New York, to her son, Ber Borochov. The letter begins with "Dear Children" and the envelope is addressed to her son, Ber Borochov (written as "Boris Borochow"), Vienna, Austria. 2 pages written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp and acquisition number 1675. Envelope has stamp and number 1676. Yiddish.
Folder 6.2: Borochov, Moshe Aaron 4/20/1913: Letter from Moshe Aaron Borochov, Bronx, N.Y. Envelope addressed to L. Borochow, Vienna, Austria. 6 pages written in ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp and acquisition number 1672. Russian.
Folder 6.3: Borochov, Moshe Aaron 1914: Letter from Moshe Aaron Borochov, Bronx, N.Y., to his children. 8 numbered pages written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war acquisition ink stamp and number 1667. Yiddish.
Folder 7.1: Borenstein, Jacob 6/ 14/1859: Letter from Jacob Borenstein, Lublin, to his parents. 2 pages. Small sheet of paper. Written in brown ink. Yiddish.
Folder 7a.1: Birnbaum, Nathan 1908: Letter from Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, New York, NY, to J. Adler, Brooklyn, NY. He thanks him for his letter and the book, and looks forward to seeing him and discussing Adler’s poetry with him. 1 page written in ink, on Bevedere House printed stationery. Yiddish.
Folder 7a.2: Birnbaum, Nathan 3/18/1908: Postcard from Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, U.S.A., to J. Adler, In the early part of his career, Nathan BIrnbaum was an advocate of Yiddish as a national Jewish language. Birnbaum was the organizer of the Czernowitz Conference on the Yiddish Language, which took place that same year, in 1908. 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 7a.3: Birnbaum, Nathan 12/1/1908: Postcard from Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, Czernowitz, to J. Adler, Brooklyn, NY. Birnbaum announces his forthcoming monthly journal “Dos Leben.” 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 7a.4: Birnbaum, Nathan 1913: Letter from Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, Berlin, to Boris Kletzkin, editor of the “Yidishe Velt,” in Vilna.The letter congratulates him on the revival of the periodical, and discusses BIrnbaum's participation in it. Birnbaum requests an honorarium for an article he submitted. 2 pages, written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 624. Yiddish.
Folder 7a.5: Birnbaum, Nathan 1913: Postcard from Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, Berlin, to Boris Kletzkin, editor of the “Yidishe Velt,” in Vilna. 2 pages written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 625. Yiddish.
Folder 7a.6: Birnbaum, Nathan 1913: Letter from Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, Berlin, to Boris Kletzkin, editor of the “Yidishe Velt,” in Vilna. Yiddish. 2 pages, written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 626. Yiddish.
Folder 8.1: Benjacob, Jacob 1879: Letter from Jacob Benjacob (1858-1926), Vilna, to his wife Rachel. Benjacob was a well known scholar and bibliographer. 4 pages. Written in black ink. German.
Folder 8.2: Benjacob, Jacob No date: Letter from the bibliographer Jacob Benjacob (1858-1926), to his wife Rachel. 3 large pages. Written in black ink. German.
Folder 8.3: Benjacob, Jacob 6/1882: Letter from the bibliographer Jacob Benjacob (1858-1926), Vilna, to his father-in-law Mordechai Maretzky about the new government policy concerning Russian Jews. 3 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 8.4: Benjacob, Jacob 11/10/1905: Postcard to the bibliographer Jacob Benjacob, Königsberg, from the scholar F. Schorr, Hotel de France, Vienna. 2 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 9.1: Ben-Ami, Mordecai 4/18/1910: Postcard from Mordecai Ben-Ami (Rabinowicz), author and journalist. 2 pages, written in Geneva to the editorial board of "Evreiskii Mir" (The Jewish World), St. Petersburg. He requests that they forward the six rubles of royalties owed to him for his writings, to the Jewish Historical and Ethnographical Society (EIEO), founded in 1908. 2 pages, written in black ink. Name stamped on card: M. [?] Rabbinovitz (Ben-Ami). Russian.
Folder 9.2: Ben-Ami, Mordecai 6/23/1910: Postcard from Mordecai Ben-Ami (Rabinowicz), author and journalist, Geneva, to the editorial board of "Evreiskii Mir" (The Jewish World), St. Petersburg. 2 pages, written in black ink. Mordecai Ben-Ami was the pen name of Mark [Mordechai] Iakovlevich Rabinowicz. Russian.
Folder 10.1: Bernstein, Ignaz 10/1888: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein (1836–1909), bibliographer, Yiddish folklorist, compiler of the largest collection of Yiddish proverbs, and author of “Jüdische Sprichwörter und Redensarten,” Warsaw, 1908), Wiesbaden. 8 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 10.2: Bernstein, Ignaz 1/3/1889: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Rome. 2 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 10.3: Bernstein, Ignaz 1/10/1889: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Rome, to an unidentified individual addressed as "Herr Doctor." 1 page, written in black ink. Shows considerable deterioration. German.
Folder 10.4: Bernstein, Ignaz 1901 or 1907: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Warsaw. 3 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 10.5: Bernstein, Ignaz 5/28/1902: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Warsaw. 3 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 10.6: Bernstein, Ignaz 1906: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Wiesbaden, 3 pages, written in black ink. Some deterioration. German.
Folder 10.7: Bernstein, Ignaz 9/9/1906: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Wiesbaden. 2 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 10.8: Bernstein, Ignaz 2/26/1907: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Brussels. 3 pages, written in black ink. Shows major deterioration. German.
Folder 10.9: Bernstein, Ignaz 6/15/1907: Letter from Ignaz Bernstein, Brussels, thanking the recipient for his corrections. 3 pages, written in black ink. German.
Folder 11.1: Bruker [?], Israel Date not legible: Letter from R. Israel Bruker [?], Bucharest, to Rabbi Chaim Bloch (1881-1973). 2 pages, written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 210. Hebrew.
Folder 11.2: Brainin, Reuben No date: Letter from the writer Reuben Brainin (1862-1939), Berlin. 2 pages, written in black ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.

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Folder 12.1: Gordon, Judah Leib No date: Letter from Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892), the most important Hebrew poet of the nineteenth century, known as "Yalag," to Mr. Shapira. It deals with the arrangements for the publication of his poems, and the possibility of having Mr. Shapira serve as the distributor for Dr. Alexander Kohut's recently published edition of the "Arukh Ha-Shalem," in Russia. 1 page. With stamp of the Society of Proofreaders of the Romm Press. Also with ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 15.1: Guttmacher, Eliyahu 1871: Letter, to Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher (1796-1874), Rabbi of Grätz, talmudic scholar, mystic, and communal leader, from R. Yekel ben Abraham Halperin, of the village of Scherdeve [?]. Includes a Talmudic discussion. Rabbi Guttmacher's archive was received by YIVO in Vilna during the 1930s. 3 pages. Written in ink. Some deterioration. Hebrew.
Folder 15.2: Guttmacher, Eliyahu 1871: Letter from Rabbi Shimon Berman, Jerusalem, to Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher, who was an advocate of early settlement in Palestine. Discussion of the needs of the Yishuv [Jewish settlement in Palestine]. Mentions that Rabbi Berman had written a letter to Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher (1795 -1874) the week before. Kalischer favored early settlement in Palestine, for religious reasons, and his views predated the modern Zionist movement. 4 pages. Written in black ink, on blue paper. Shows some deterioration. Hebrew and Yiddish.
Folder 16.1: Goldberg, B.A. 10/22/1912: Letter written to B.A. Goldberg, Vilna, from Haderah, Palestine. B.A. Goldberg was active in the Zionist movement in the early 20th century. The letter was written in response to Goldberg’s request for detailed financial data concerning the agricultural work done in Haderah, and the sale of a parcel of land there. 7 pages, written in black ink. Stationery printed in Hebrew, French, and Turkish. The letterhead reads: "Societe Ottomane de Commerce, Agriculture et Industrie, Constantinople, Succursale de Jaffa." Letter is in Hebrew.
Folder 16.2: Gurshtein, A. 4/4/1926: Letter from A. Gurshtein (1895–1941), Moscow, to Max Weinreich, about the enclosed newspaper clipping from "Der Emes," Number 77, 1926. Gurshtein was a Soviet Russian and Yiddish literary critic and scholar. The clipping (entitled: "Bibliografia") includes Gurshtein's review of Weinreich's book on the complete works of Shloime Ettinger published in Vilna in 1925. 2 pages, handwritten in ink. Yiddish and Russian.
Folder 16.3: Guedemann, Moritz 1901: Letter from Dr. Moritz Guedemann (1835–1918), historian, scholar and Chief Rabbi of Vienna. The letter is signed in Hebrew as "S.H. Guedemann." 1 page, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 16.4: Ginzburg, Saul 11/28/1902: Letter from Saul Ginsburg (1866-1940), St. Petersburg, editor of "Der Fraynd," to Mordkhe Spektor, inviting him to write for his newspaper. Saul Ginsberg founded "Der Fraynd," the first Yiddish daily in Russia, in c.1903. He was a Russian and Yiddish writer who contributed to many periodicals and also collaborated with Pesach Marek on an early book of Yiddish folksongs. 2 pages written in black ink. Stationery is printed in Russian. Yiddish.
Folder 16.5: Ginsburg, Saul 6/14/1904: Letter from Saul Ginsburg (editor of "Der Fraynd"), St. Petersburg, to Mordkhe Spektor. See previous folder for more information about Ginsburg. 1 page written in black ink. Stationery is printed in Yiddish. Yiddish.
Folder 17.1: Goetz, Faywel 9/29/1898: Letter from Faywel Goetz (1850-1931) in Vilna. Goetz was a rabbi, scholar, Hebrew teacher, and writer. 4 pages, written in black ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. German.
Folder 17.2: Goetz, Faywel 4/20/1900: Letter from Faywel Goetz to Saul Ginsburg. See previous folder for more information about Faywel Goetz. 4 pages, written in black ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Russian.
Folder 18.1: Grodzienski, Chaim Oyzer 1919: Letter to Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodzienski (1863–1940), spiritual leader of the Jewish community of Vilna, head of the Tsedaka Gedolah and Av Bet Din, from Rabbi Abraham Duber Cahana Shapiro, the Rabbi of Kovno. He requests information, and solicits his opinion on a variety of public issues. 2 pages, written in black ink. Stationery printed in German. Hebrew.
Folder 18.2: Grodzienski, Chaim Oyzer 1922: Letter to Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodzienski from a group of rabbis, including R. Zvi Bensky and R. Israel Birzansky. They request support for the "Tiferet Bachurim" yeshiva in Tskoplerne. 1 page written in ink. With postscript signed by R. Moshe Karelitz, indicating that he is personally acquainted with, and approves of the yeshiva. Hebrew.
Folder 18.3: Grodzienski, Chaim Oyzer No date: Letter from Rabbi Moshe Arye-Leyb Grodzienski to his brother Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodzienski. Consists of a detailed Talmudic discourse. Pages 6 and 7 only. Written in black ink, on a long sheet of paper. Hebrew.
Folder 18.4: Grodzienski, Chaim Oyzer 1922: Letter from R. Israel Zissel Dvorets, Rabbi of Kamai, written in Frankfurt, to Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodzienski, Vilna. He urges Rabbi Grodzienski to write a public letter encouraging the founding of a new organization, "Chovevei Torah," to perpetuate the traditional Heder elementary schools in Lithuania. 4 pages, written in black ink. The letter is incomplete. Hebrew.
Folder 18.5: Grodzienski, Chaim Oyzer 1930: Letter to Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodzienski, from Rabbi Moshe Eliyahu Rogosnitzky, Leipzig. Halachic discussion concerning a responsum of Rabbi Grodzienski dealing with levirate marriage. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Small amount of text missing, due to deterioration. Pages had been severely damaged during World War II. Hebrew.
Folder 18.6: Grodzienski, Chaim Oyzer 1930: Letter to Rabbi Chaim Oyzer Grodzienski, from Rabbi Mordechai Schulman, Slobodka. It includes a cover letter indicating that Rabbi Schulman is sending him comments on one of his works; verso has one page of comments (not the first page); the rest are missing. 2 large pages, written in blue ink. Faded and damaged, with some text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 19.1: Gruzenberg, S.A. 7/25/1899: Letter from Dr. S.A. Gruzenberg. 4 pages, written in black ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Slight water staining. Russian.
Folder 19.2: Grunbaum, Yitzhak 1/15/28 1914: Letter from Y. Grunbaum, editor of the new periodical "Das Jüdische Volk," Warsaw. This appears to be the Yitzhak Grunbaum who bacame a major leader of the Zionist movement in Poland, and was the first Interior Minister of Israel. Grunbaum writes to invite a writer to contribute to the new paper. The periodical was to be modelled on the early Zionist periodical by the same name and edited by Luria. 1 page, written in black ink. Stationery printed in Russian, Yiddish, and German. Yiddish.

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Folder 20.1: Dubnow, Simon 7/7/1922: Letter from Simon Dubnow (1860–1941) in Danzig, to Nahum Shtif, Berlin. Dubnow was an important Russian Jewish historian who was also involved in the founding of YIVO. Shtif was a scholar of Yiddish who wrote one of the earliest proposals for the founding of YIVO in 1925. Dubnow discusses some financial details of publishing his works. 2 pages. Damaged condition. Yiddish.
Folder 20.2: Dubnow, Simon 7/13/1922: Letter from Simon Dubnow to Nahum Shtif. Dubnow discusses some financial details of publishing his works in Yiddish and Hebrew (with mention of Hayyim Nahman Bialik’s publishing house “Moriah”), and his problems with publishers and translators. 4 pages, written in black ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 1716. Yiddish.
Folder 20.3: Dubnow, Simon 3/3/1923: Letter from Simon Dubnow, Berlin, to Nahum Shtif. Dubnow discusses his difficulties with his publisher, and with the Russian-Yiddish translations of his works. 3 pages; written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 20.4: Dubnow, Simon 12/9/1923: Letter from Simon Dubnow, Lichtenrade, to Nahum Shtif. Lichtentrade was incorporated into Berlin as of 1920. 2 pages, written in black ink. Heavily damaged. Only part of the letter has survived. Yiddish.
Folder 20.5: Dubnow, Simon 3/7/1924: Postcard from Simon Dubnow to Nahum Shtif, both in Charlottenburg. Dubnow suggests meeting to discuss reprinting Volume I of the Yiddish translation of his “History” [of the Jews], and republishing Volume II with a different publisher. 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 21.1: Dizengoff, Meir 10/11/1905: Letter from Meir Dizengoff, Jaffa, Palestine, sent to Isaac Leib Goldberg (philanthropist, communal worker, Zionist leader), Vilna, at Goldberg's request. Dizengoff (1861–1936) was the first mayor of Tel Aviv. A separate list of donors is enclosed. The letter is in Hebrew (1 handwritten page). The list of donors is in Russian (4 handwritten pages). Both show deterioration. Hebrew and Russian.
Folder 22.1: Dinesohn, Jacob 7/8/1909: Letter from Jacob Dinesohn, also spelled "Dinesen" (1856?–1919), Yiddish author, editor, and literary activist, in Warsaw, to Dr. Gershon Lewin (1868-1939), physician and publicist. Written in a warm feuilleton-like style; includes a story about "Fishel the Melamed." 10 numbered pages, handwritten in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 589. Yiddish.
Folder 22.2: Dinesohn, Jacob 4/16/1912: Letter from Morris Winchevsky (1856-1932), Jewish labor leader, New York, to Jacob Dinesohn. 1 page, handwritten in black ink on graph paper. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 808. Yiddish.
Folder 22.3: Dinesohn, Jacob 1/15/1913: Envelope only. Addressed by Jacob Dinesohn, Warsaw. Russian.
Folder 22.4: Dinesohn, Jacob 10/14/27/1913: Letter from Jacob Dinesohn, to the Yiddish writer Mendele Moykher Sforim. Contains Dinesohn's emotional outpouring against excesses against the Jews, brought on by the blood-libel trial of Menahem Mendel Beilis. Letter dated October 1913. 4 numbered pages. Handwritten, black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 620. Yiddish.
Folder 22.5: Dinesohn, Jacob 11/22/1913: Letter to Jacob Dinesohn, from E. Ch. Schelbaum. 2 pages handwritten in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 22.6: Dinesohn, Jacob 10/7/1915: Letter to Jacob Dinesohn from B.A. Kletzkin of the "Vilner Ferlag" publishing house, Warsaw. 2 pages. Typescript. Russian.
Folder 22.7: Dinesohn, Jacob 1918: Letter from Jacob Dinesohn, Warsaw, to Zelig Kalmanovitch. Kalmanovitch (1885–1944) was a philologist, translator, historian, and Yiddish scholar. He was one of the directors of YIVO in the prewar period. 4 numbered pages, written in black ink. Fragile condition. Withpre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 772. Yiddish.
Folder 22.8: Dinesohn, Jacob No date: Calling card of Jacob Dinesohn, Warsaw. On the verso is a note from him to Y. Asman in Hebrew, about a literary manuscript supposedly sent to Dinesohn, about which he denies any knowledge. Printing on one side, writing in black ink on the other. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stam, and acquisition number 580. Hebrew.
Folder 22.9: Dinesohn, Jacob No date: Letter to Jacob Dinesohn, from the Yiddish writer David Ignatoff (1885-1954), Bronx, New York. Literary matters, and the cost of publishing a book, are discussed. [Isaac Leib] Peretz and Baal Makhshoves are mentioned. 2 numbered pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 857. Yiddish.

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Folder 24.1: Horowitz, Ch. D. 4/5/1912: Letter from Ch. D. Horowitz, editor of "Di Yidishe Velt," St. Petersburg, to Jacob Dinesohn, soliciting material for his new monthly journal. 1 page, written in black ink. Stationery is printed in Russian and Yiddish. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 828. Yiddish.
Folder 24.2: Horowitz, Ch. D. 1912: Letter from Ch. D. Horowitz, editor of "Di Yidishe Velt," St. Petersburg, to Mordkhe Spektor. 1 page, written in black ink. Stationery is printed in Russian and Yiddish. Yiddish.
Folder 25.1: Heilpern, Rivkele Va-Yakhel 1, 1862: Letter to Rivkele Heilpern, a bride, from her groom in Lublin. 1 page. Written in ink on blue lined paper. Yiddish.

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Folder 26.1: Wiener, Samuel 11/19/1913: Postcard from Samuel Wiener, bibliographer, in St. Petersburg, to Jacob Benjacob (1858-1926), son of the famous bibliographer Isaac Benjacob. Wiener discusses his [Wiener's] son’s graduation from the University of Kazan, his [Wiener's] progress in publishing his catalog "Kohelet Moshe," and the possibility of Benjacob and Wiener exchanging duplicate volumes. 2 pages written in black ink. Hebrew and Russian.

ז

Folder 27.1: Zalmanowitz, M. Mendel Erev Rosh Chodesh Av,1907: Letter from Rabbi M. Mendel Zalmanowitz of Vilna, author of "Zichron Hillel," which is a biography of Rabbi Hillel Salanter, whose real name was Rabbi Hillel Milkovski. Zalmanowitz is appealing for support to publish the works of R. Joshua Halevi Mezach (Segal) (1834-1917). 3 pages handwritten in black ink. Hebrew.

ח

Folder 27a.1: Letter from Supporters of the Yiddish Language Circa 1913: Letter to the leadership committee of the Hevrah Mefitsei Haskalah Society (Vilna), during the German occupation of Vilna during World War I. They are demanding that Yiddish be permitted to be used in personal letters, Jewish schools, and for all public purposes. 2 large pages. Handwritten, black ink. Some damage to text. Signed by twenty Yiddish activists, among them Zalman Reisen. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Yiddish.
Folder 27a.2: Hevrah Mefitsei Haskalah Society 1914: Letter from Hevrah Mefitsei Haskalah Society (Vilna). 2 large pages. With Pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1536. Russian.

ט

Folder 28.1: Temkin, Wladimir 12/20/1905: Letter from early Zionist activist Wladimir Temkin in Elisabethgrad, to Isaac Leib Goldberg, Vilna, leader of the Zionist movement in Vilna. Letterhead bears symbols of the Zionist movement including the phrase "If I forget thee O Jerusalem may my right hand be cut off." Temkin (also known as Tiomkin) was an active member of the Zionist movement. In the 19th century he was a member of the "Hovevei Zion" movement. In 1926 he was the vice chair of the Zionist Revisionist Conference in Paris; Ze'ev Jabotinsky was the chair of that conference. The letterhead also includes the logo of the Zionist Congress. 2 pages, handwritten in ink. Russian.
Folder 28.2: Temkin, Wladimir 12/21/1905 [?]: Letter from Wladimir Temkin, Elisabethgrad. For more information about Temkin, see previous folder. Includes financial figures. 2 pages. Stationery displays Zionist slogans in Hebrew, and indicates that Temkin is a member of the Zionist Congress’ "Vaad Ha-Poel." Russian.
Folder 28.3: Trubetskoi, Sergei 8/30/1927: Letter from Kniaz (Prince) Sergei Trubetskoi, (Russian religious philosopher) to Jewish scholar Faywel Goetz, thanking Goetz for an article he had written. Goetz authored a number of books and artticles, including one about the philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, who was a friend of Prince Trubetskoi. The letter may have been written at the turn of the 20th century, and was sent to YIVO in Vilna by Goetz in 1927.1 page, handwritten in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stam, and acquisition number 193. Russian.
Folder 28.4: Tschitscherin, Boris 9/12/1883: Letter from Boris Tschitscherin (1828-1903), Hegelian philosopher, historian, and legal scholar, in favor of Jewish emancipation; mayor of Moscow in 1883. Also spelled "Chicherin." 3 pages written in black ink. German.
Folder 28.5: Tschitscherin, Boris 10/11/1883: Letter from Boris Tschitscherin. For more information about Tschitscherin, see previous folder. 3 pages; written in black ink. German.
Folder 28.6: Chekhov, Michael 1907: Letter from Michael Chekhov to B. Gorin, historian of the Yiddish theater. There is some evidence, although not conclusive, that Michael Chekhov may have been the nephew of Anton Chekhov, the Russian playwright. 2 pages written in black ink, on lined paper. Russian.

י

Folder 29.1: Yehoash 8/2/1910: Letter from Yehoash to Morris [Rosenfeld?]. Yehoash was the pen name of Solomon Blumgarten(1872-1927). Yehoash is known as a poet, and for his translation of the Bible into Yiddish. 2 pages written in ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 705. Yiddish.
Folder 29.2: Yehoash 6/5/1910: Letter from Yehoash to Morris [Rosenfeld?]. 2 pages written in ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 706. Yiddish.
Folder 29.3: Yehoash No date: Letter from Yehoash. 1 page handwritten in ink, numbered # 3. Pages 1 and 2 are missing. Yiddish.
Folder 29.4: Yahuda, A.S.E. 7/13/1923: Letter from Professor Abraham Shalom Yahuda (1877-1951), scholar of Arabic and Judeo-Arabic. Mentions Bialik, and Paul Kokowzoff (Russian orientalist). 2 pages written in black ink. Shows deterioration. German.
Folder 30.1: Jacob [family name not identified] 3/1879: Letter to a man named Jacob (family name not identified). 4 pages handwritten in ink. German.

ל

Folder 31.1: Landau, Alfred No date: Notes by Alfred Landau (1850-1935) containing quotations, with bibliographical and literary references. Landau was a philologist and a founder of modern Yiddish philology. The 29 notes are written in ink and pencil on small pieces of paper, and are in an envelope. Various languages.
Folder 31.2: Landau, Israel 8/15/1891: Postcard from Israel Landau, St. Petersburg, to Mr. Shapira, Warsaw. Landau, an apostate, served as a censor of Jewish books. 2 pages written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 31.3: Landau, Israel 8/24/1891: Letter from Israel Landau, St. Petersburg, to Mr. Shapira. 1 page written in ink. Paper damaged, but little text lost. Hebrew.
Folder 31.4: Landau, Israel 1/6/1891: Letter from Israel Landau, St. Petersburg, to Ch. B. Friedberg, the well known bibliographer. Landau thanks Friedberg for sending him "Sefer Hapardes" which Prof. Daniel Chwolson had requested, but no longer needed, since he obtained a copy from Leib Friedland, the book collector. 1 page written in black ink. Some damage. Hebrew.
Folder 33.1: Liessen, Abraham c. 1931: Letter from Abraham Liessen, Bronx, NY, to Max Weinreich, wishing him well, after Weinreich was wounded during a period of anti-Jewish unrest in Vilna. Liessin (1872–1938), was a Yiddish poet and editor. 1 page, written in black ink, now faded. With a poignant typewritten note by Max Weinreich of 8/31/49 stapled to the original, about the provenance of the letter. Yiddish.
Folder 33.2: Lewin, Louis No date: Letter from the Jewish historian, Rabbi Dr. Louis Lewin, to Dr. Jacob Shatzky, historian and one of the founders of YIVO's American branch called the "Amopteyl." Lewin indicates his expectation of receiving Dr. Shatzky's publication, after having sent him his own materials. Signed: H. Levin. 1 page, written in black ink. Brittle paper. Yiddish mixed with Hebrew.
Folder 34.1: Levin, Shmaryahu No date: Letter from Dr. Shmaryahu Levin (1867-1935), Russian Zionist leader, elected to the first Duma in 1906. The letter includes observations about the poetry of Hayyim Nahman Bialik, the Hebrew poet. Written in an elegant style. 3 pages, written in black ink. Pages 3 to 6 of the letter have survived. Yiddish.
Folder 34a.1: Levinsohn, Isaac Baer 1836 [?]: Letter from Isaac Baer Levinsohn, Kremenitz, to Rabbi Matisyahu Strashun. The letter includes mention of the meaning of the biblical phrase "Aish Dat" [Deuteronomy 33:2] as well as a number of other points in Hebrew philology. There are also comments made to individuals named in the letter as “Meivin” and “Ben Shemesh” [the identities of these individuals are not known], continuing the discussion on "Aish Dat," with a final note by Strashun himself. 2 pages, written in brown ink. Has some red sealing wax on it. Hebrew.
Folder 34a.2: Levinsohn, Isaac Baer [?] No date: Letter to Isaac Baer Levinsohn [?] (1788-1860), the well-known Russian Hebrew scholar. The letter deals with scholarly issues, including the meaning of the biblical phrase "Aish Dat." 2 small pages, written in brown ink. Hebrew.
Folder 34a.3: Levinsohn, Isaac Baer No date: Letter to Isaac Baer Levinsohn from a scholarly wine merchant, about somone who plagiarized Levinsohn's book "Bet Yehudah." 1 page written in brown ink. Hebrew.
Folder 34b.1: Löwenthal, Samuel Zanvil 1865: Letter from Samuel Zanvil ben Isaac Helevi Löwenthal, living in America, to his brother, about personal issues. Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher of Graetz is mentioned. 2 large pages, written in ink on blue paper. Slight damage and fading. German-Yiddish dialect.

מ

Folder 35.1: Mohilover, Esther No date: Fragment of a letter from Esther Mohilover, wife of Rabbi Samuel Mohilever, founder of religious Zionism. 4 pages, written in black ink. Reconstructed from 3 half-page fragments.Yiddish.
Folder 35.2: Man, Dov Mechl No date: Letter from Dov Mechl Man, to his brother. 2 pages written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 491. Yiddish.
Folder 36.1: Montefiore, Moses 1885: Letter from Sir Moses Montefiore, Ramsgate, England, to Isaiah Gramer, Vilna. Montefiore (1784–1885), was a British financier, banker, and philanthropist. 1 large page, written in black ink. Damaged; left side missing. The letter has Montefiore’s signature, and embossed red seal. With the ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. German.
Folder 36.2: Malka’s Father [anonymous letter] No date: Letter written to: "My dear beloved children." The writer’s daughter Malka is mentioned. The writer and addressee are unidentified. 1 page, written in black ink. Damaged. Yiddish.
Folder 37.1: Mapu, Abraham 1933 [?]: Inventory of the letters of Abraham Mapu. The list of 148 letters was compiled after the Mapu collection was received by the YIVO Archives in Vilna in 1933. 2 typescript pages. Yiddish.
Folder 37.2: Mapu, Abraham No date: List of items from the above inventory, which were missing from the YIVO archives after World War II. 1 page. Written in pencil on yellowing paper. Yiddish.
Folder 37.3: Mapu, Abraham No date: List of Abraham Mapu’s letters according to dates (compiled in the early 1950’s?), totaling approximately 100 letters. 4 typescript pages. At the end of page 4, written in ink: “Done for B. Dinur, at his request.” Yiddish.
Folder 37a.1: Mapu, Abraham No date: Photocopies of Mapu letters presently located in another collection in the YIVO Archives, "Collection of Yiddish Literature and Language, RG 3, Folder 61." The folder includes typescripts of the original pre-war YIVO Archive numbered items: 1772, 1773, 1774, 1775, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1823, 1834, 1837, and of two unidentified fragments.
Folder 38.1: Mapu, Abraham 5/9/1857: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, St. Petersburg. YIVO Archives pre-war acquisition number 1723. 4 pages written in ink. Hebrew and Russian.
Folder 38.2: Mapu, Abraham 7/28/1858: Letter to Matisyahu Mapu, with regards to his brother Abraham, from Senior Sachs, Bagnères-de-Luchon, France. YIVO Archives pre-war acquisition number 1724. 3 pages written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 38.3: Mapu, Abraham 1/15/11/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1725. 5 pages written in black ink. Blue paper. Includes 5 Photostats (with some fading and deterioration), made on postcards, with envelope of Friends of YIVO, Vilna (printed in Yiddish and Polish). Hebrew.
Folder 38.4: Mapu, Abraham 9/30/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1726. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Some text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 38.5: Mapu, Abraham 3/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Schaulen (Russian: Shavli), Lithuania, to his brother. YIVO Archives prewar Vilna Acquisition Number 1727. 2 large pages written in ink. Very small amount of text missing. Hebrew and French.
Folder 38.6: Mapu, Abraham 8/8/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother and son. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1729. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew and French.
Folder 38.7: Mapu, Abraham 3/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1730. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 38.8: Mapu, Abraham 7/16/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1731. 2 pages, written in black ink. Reconstructed from 3 fragments. Hebrew.
Folder 38.9: Mapu, Abraham 7/7/1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Upper part of page damaged, with text missing, possibly obliterating the stamp, and acquisition number of the pre-war YIVO Archives in Vilna. Hebrew.
Folder 38.10: Mapu, Abraham 5/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1733. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.1: Mapu, Abraham 3 Ellul, 1858: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, uncle, and brother-in-law. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1734. 4 pages, written in black ink. Very small loss of text on bottom of pages. Hebrew, Yiddish, and French.
Folder 38a.2: Mapu, Abraham 3/25/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1735. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.3: Mapu, Abraham 3/5/11/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1736. 6 pages, written in black ink. Minor damage to paper. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.4: Mapu, Abraham 4/27/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1737. 2 page, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.5: Mapu, Abraham 4, Chol HaMoed, 1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1738. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.6: Mapu, Abraham 6/15/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1739. 2 small pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.7: Mapu, Abraham 6/13/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1740. 2 pages, written in black ink. Small ship is embossed on stationery. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.8: Mapu, Abraham 8/16/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother and uncle. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1741. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew and French.
Folder 38a.9: Mapu, Abraham 2/15/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1742. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 38a.10: Mapu, Abraham 3/20/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives prewar Vilna Acquisition Number 1743. 4 pages written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 39.1: Mapu, Abraham 2/7/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1744. 4 pages, with an insert of 2 smaller pages. Written in ink. Hebrew and French.
Folder 39.2: Mapu, Abraham 2/24/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1745. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 39.3: Mapu, Abraham 3/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1746. 4 pages, written in black ink. Deterioration, and text missing on one side of each page. Hebrew.
Folder 39.4: Mapu, Abraham 4/6/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna aquisition number 1747. 6 page, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 39.5: Mapu, Abraham 10/25/11/9/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1748. 1 page, written in black ink. Deterioration, and text missing on right side. Hebrew.
Folder 39.6: Mapu, Abraham 1/19/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother and brother-in-law. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1749. 4 pages written in ink. Deterioration, with text missing Hebrew and Yiddish.
Folder 39.7: Mapu, Abraham 2/2/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1750. 4 small pages, written in black ink. Some deterioration, with letters missing in bottom corner. Hebrew.
Folder 39.8: Mapu, Abraham 5/21/1859: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1751. 2 small pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 39.9: Mapu, Abraham 2/8/[1858]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1752. 3 small pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 39.10: Mapu, Abraham 7/27/1860: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and brother-in-law. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1755. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew, Yiddish, and French.
Folder 39.11: Mapu, Abraham 8/1860: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1756. 4 pages, written in black ink. Ink corrosion. Hebrew.
Folder 39a.1: Mapu, Abraham 9/8/1860: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother and brother-in-law. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1757. 2 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew and Yiddish.
Folder 39a.2: Mapu, Abraham 9/20/1860: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1758. 2 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 39a.3: Mapu, Abraham 10/16/1860: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his son. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1759. 3 large pages, written in black ink. Tears in middle of pages, with text missing on page 3. Embossed ship on paper. Yiddish.
Folder 39a.4: Mapu, Abraham 12/13/1861: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, his son, and his brother-in-law, Ze’ev. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1772. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Deterioration, with text missing from lower side of each page. Hebrew and Russian.
Folder 39a.5: Mapu, Abraham 12/14/1861: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to Fanny. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1773. 3 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew, Yiddish, and French.
Folder 39a.6: Mapu, Abraham 3/20/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1774. 1 page, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 39a.7: Mapu, Abraham 3/3/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1775. 3 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 39a.8: Mapu, Abraham 3/4/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1776. 4 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 39a.9: Mapu, Abraham 3/20/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1777. 3 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 39a.10: Mapu, Abraham 5/4/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. Includes letter to his brother from V. Mankovsky, Kovno, in Yiddish, and letter to his brother in French, from his daughter (“Tres cher oncle”). YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1778. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew, Yiddish, and French.
Folder 40.1: Mapu, Abraham 6/5/[1862]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1779. 1 page, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.2: Mapu, Abraham 6/10/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1780. 2 small pages, written in ink. Blue paper Hebrew.
Folder 40.3: Mapu, Abraham 6/23/[1862]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no. 1781. 2 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Small amount of text missing on bottom. Hebrew.
Folder 40.4: Mapu, Abraham 7/4/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1782. 1 page, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.5: Mapu, Abraham 7/20/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1783. 3 pages, written in black ink. Some ink bleeding. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.6: Mapu, Abraham 8/1/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1784. 1 page, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.7: Mapu, Abraham 8/5/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives pre-war Vilna acquisition number 1785. 3 small pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.8: Mapu, Abraham 10/15/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no. 1786. 1 page, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.9: Mapu, Abraham 10/21/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no. 1787. 3 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40.10: Mapu, Abraham 9/5/1862: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1788 2 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew
Folder 40.11: Mapu, Abraham 1/2/1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna aquisition no. 1789. 1 page, written in ink. Blue paper. Some ink bleeding. Hebrew
Folder 40a.1: Mapu, Abraham 1/8/1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no. 1790. 2 small pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.2: Mapu, Abraham 1/16/1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no. 1791. 3 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Slight deterioration. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.3: Mapu, Abraham 12/6/1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no. 1793. 1 page; written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.4: Mapu, Abraham Erev Sukkot, 1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no.1797. 1 page; written in black ink. Some ink bleeding. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.5: Mapu, Abraham 8/1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, St. Petersburg, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna acquisition no.1798. 4 large pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Some ink bleeding. French.
Folder 40a.6: Mapu, Abraham 9/18/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1799. 2 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.7: Mapu, Abraham 12/25/1863: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1800. 1 small page, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 40a.8: Mapu, Abraham 8 Iyyar, 1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. Includes a 2 page printed supplement to Ha-Karmel # 31, written by him, about "Hevrat Somech Noflim," a charitable society in Kovno, with a list of wealthy donors. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1801. 3 large pages; page 1: handwritten letter in ink; page 2-3: printed text. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.9: Mapu, Abraham 1/14/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1802. 3 pages, written in ink. Ink bleeding. Hebrew
Folder 40a.10: Mapu, Abraham 1/29/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acqisition no. 1803. 2 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 40a.11: Mapu, Abraham 1/29/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1804. 4 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 41.1: Mapu, Abraham 2/7/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no.1805. 2 pages; written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 41.2: Mapu, Abraham 2/13/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother.YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1806. 3 pages; written in ink. Embossed on stationary: “M Mapou.” Hebrew.
Folder 41.3: Mapu, Abraham 4/3/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1807. 4 large pages; written in black ink. Blue paper. Some tears. Hebrew and Russian.
Folder 41.4: Mapu, Abraham 6/11/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, and his children, Leon and Sophie, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna, acquisition no. 1808. 4 large pages. Blue paper. Embossed with a name (unclear). Hebrew and German.
Folder 41.5: Mapu, Abraham 8/18/[1863]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, announcing the death of his second wife. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna accession no. 1809. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Deterioration and missing text. Only the upper halves of the pages survive. Hebrew and French.
Folder 41.6: Mapu, Abraham 8/24/186[4]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1810. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew
Folder 41.7: Mapu, Abraham 9/5/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1812. 1 page, written in ink. Some small holes and tears; staining. Hebrew
Folder 41.8: Mapu, Abraham 9/30/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and sister Sophie. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1813. 3 pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 41.9: Mapu, Abraham 12/11/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and sister-in-law Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1814. 4 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Text missing at bottom of the pages. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 41.10: Mapu, Abraham 12/1864: Letter from Abraham Mapu to his brother, and sister-in-law Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1815. 1 page, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew and German.
Folder 41a.1: Mapu, Abraham 2/14/ 1865: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to his sister-in-law Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1817. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Some deterioration. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 41a.2: Mapu, Abraham 2/18/1865: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to his sister-in-law Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1818. 4 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew and German
Folder 41a.3: Mapu, Abraham 6/1/1865: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1819. I large page, written in ink. Blue paper. Upper half of page only. Hebrew
Folder 41a.4: Mapu, Abraham 1 Nissan,1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to his sister-in-law Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1822. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Some deterioration. Hebrew and German
Folder 41a.5: Mapu, Abraham 2 Tammuz, 1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1823. 3 pages, written in ink. Some deterioration. Hebrew
Folder 41a.6: Mapu, Abraham 7/8/1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1824. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 41a.7: Mapu, Abraham 8/9/1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to his little sister, Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1825. 3 pages, written in ink. Ink bleeding. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 41a.8: Mapu, Abraham 10/7/1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to his sister-in-law, Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1826. 4 pages, written in ink. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 41a.9: Mapu, Abraham 11/6/1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to his sister-in-law, Eva. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1827. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Hebrew and German
Folder 41a.10: Mapu, Abraham 12/2/1866: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1828. 3 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew
Folder 42.1: Mapu, Abraham 2/13/1867: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1829. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew
Folder 42.2: Mapu, Abraham 7/2/1867: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Königsb[erg], and 2 letters from others, to his brother. YIVO Archives in Vilna no. 1830. 3 pages, written in ink. Hebrew and German
Folder 42.3: Mapu, Abraham [circa 5/ 1867]: Letter from Abraham Mapu and others, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1831 2 pages , written in ink. Stationary embossed. Hebrew and German.
Folder 42.4: Mapu, Abraham [1862]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1832. 3 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Stationary embossed: A Mapou. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 42.5: Mapu, Abraham 5 Nissan[1865]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1833. 1 page. Some deterioration. Hebrew
Folder 42.6: Mapu, Abraham [1861]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1834. 1 small page, written in black ink. Blue-green paper. Hebrew
Folder 42.7: Mapu, Abraham [11/1859]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1835. 3 pages, written in black ink. Ink corrosion. Hebrew
Folder 42.8: Mapu, Abraham Fall[1864]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Vilna, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1836. 1 large page, written in black ink. Ink corrosion. Badly damaged; missing text. Hebrew
Folder 42.9: Mapu, Abraham [11/1859]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother, and to Fanny. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1837. 2 pages, written in black ink. Some deterioration and missing text. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 42.10: Mapu, Abraham 10/27/[1860]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1838. 3 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew and French
Folder 42.11: Mapu, Abraham [10/17/1858]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1839. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Severe deterioration and text missing on bottom of leaf. Hebrew
Folder 42a.1: Mapu, Abraham [1859]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1840. 2 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew
Folder 42a.2: Mapu, Abraham [1864]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, [Kovno?], to his brother. Includes brief message to Senior Sachs. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1841. 3 pages, written in ink. Separated upper and lower parts, joined with tape. Shows deterioration. Hebrew
Folder 42a.3: Mapu, Abraham [1866]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1842. 3 small pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 42a.4: Mapu, Abraham [9/1862]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Rasein, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1843. 3 pages, written in ink. Shows deterioration. Hebrew
Folder 42a.5: Mapu, Abraham [1863]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1844. 4 pages, written in black ink. Some deterioration, with ink corrosion, and text missing. Hebrew
Folder 42a.6: Mapu, Abraham 3/[1859]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother. Begins with Yiddish letter to his brother’s first wife, from her mother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1845. 2 large pages, now in 2 large and 2 small fragments. Written in black ink.Serious deterioration and ink corrosion; missing text. Yiddish and Hebrew
Folder 42a.7: Mapu, Abraham [9/1862]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Rasein, to his brother. YIVO Archives in post-war Vilna no. 1852. 1 large page, written in ink. Some fading. Hebrew
Folder 42a.8: Mapu, Abraham 10/31/[1861]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother, and to Leon. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1860. 2 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper. Hebrew and Russian.
Folder 42a.9: Mapu, Abraham 3/8/[1861]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. YIVO Archives in pre-war Vilna no. 1861. 4 pages, written in black ink. Blue paper.Some ink fading. Hebrew
Folder 42a.10: Mapu, Abraham 5/1869: Letter to Abraham Mapu, from Menahem Mendel Vitkind, Homel. 3 pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 42a.11: Mapu, Abraham Post-1866: Letter to Samuel Joseph Fuenn, about what was seen on a trip from Vilna to the seaside resort of Libau. 2 pages, written in ink. Ink has bled trough to the two blank pages. Letter is not complete Hebrew
Folder 42a.12: Mapu, Abraham 3/13/1859: Letter to Matisyahu Mapu from Rovno, expressing gratitude. 1 page, damaged on right margin but hardly any text missing. Written in black ink. Blue paper. Has pre-war YIVO archives stamp. Date is not visible. Hebrew
Folder 43.1: Mapu, Abraham 10/29/[1860]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, Kovno, to his brother. He was giving him hope for the future of his children, notwithstanding their errant mother, and reminding him that it was 3 years since he moved to Paris. 4 pages, written in black ink. Very badly damaged, with text missing. Hebrew
Folder 43.2: Mapu, Abraham [1/1861]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother, asking him to send more Vichy water for his health. 3 pages, written in black ink. Bottom of pages only; top is missing. Hebrew
Folder 43.3: Mapu, Abraham [7/1860]: Letter from Abraham Mapu, to his brother, mentioning some financial accounts, including that of his order of Vichy water, and a letter to his son. 3 pages, written in black ink. Very badly damaged with text missing. Blue paper. Hebrew and Yiddish
Folder 43.4: Mapu, Abraham [6/1864]: Letter from Abraham Mapu to his brother, about his daughter Sophie, and the literary tastes of the times. 2 pages, written in black ink. Fragment; most of upper part of a leaf. Blue paper. With large envelope dated 2/52. Written on it in Yiddish: “Some badly damaged letters.” Hebrew
Folder 43.5: Mapu, Abraham No date: List of the number of letters in Abraham Mapu’s archive according to each year from 1857 to 1867, with a total of 137 letters. Probably a preliminary list made before the more carefully done lists found later in this folder, and above in folder #37, which give a total of 148 items. 1 page, written in black ink. Written on a scrap of paper.
Folder 43.6: Mapu, Abraham No date: Table of contents of the letters in Abraham Mapu’s Archive. 3 pages (page 3 contains 3 lines, crossed out, which appear on the last page of this table); 1 page (marked: “III”); 1 page (marked: “4”). Written in black ink. Yiddish and Hebrew
Folder 43.7: Mapu, Abraham No date: Indices to Abraham Mapu’s Archive. Indices include: list of Mapu’s correspondents; list of correspondents and the languages used in writing to them; list of locations the letters were sent from (incomplete); references to events mentioned in the letters, made from Reuben Brainin’s 1928 biography of Mapu, and other publications. 5 index cards, written in black ink. 3 have on the verso book titles or authors names; 3 of the cards have the printed date (of manufacture?) 1929. Folder includes a “News of the YIVO” envelope dated 2/54. Written on it in Yiddish: “Materials connected with the letters of Abraham Mapu”. Yiddish and Hebrew
Folder 44.1: Margulies, H. L. 1887: Letter from H. L. Margulies, Zamosc. Hersh Leib Margulies, born 1844, in Zamosc, was one of the children of Szyia Margulies, Peretz's uncle. A former YIVO archivist suggested that Margulies might have been a relative of I.L. Peretz. 6 pages, written in ink. Russian.
Folder 44.2: Margulies, H. L. 1888: Letter from H. L. Margulies, Zamosc. Hersh Leib Margulies, born 1844, in Zamosc, was one of the children of Szyia Margulies, Peretz's uncle. A former YIVO archivist suggested that the H.L. Margulies who wrote this letter may have been Peretz's relative. 4 pages, written in black ink. Russian.
Folder 44.3: Maretzky, Marcus (Mordechai) 1877: Letter from Marcus (Mordechai) Maretzky, father-in-law of the bibliographer Jacob Benjacob,, to Maretzky's daughter Rahell. 4 large pages, with some deterioration. Blue ink. Contains remnants of red sealing wax on the address side (4th page). Yiddish.
Folder 44.4: Mezach (Segal), Joshua Halevi No date: Letter from of Rabbi Joshua Halevi Segal [called 'Mezach'] (1834-1917) to Michael Wolper (Wolpert). Rabbi Segal had submitted a story to Wolpert, who served as the government censor of Hebrew books in Vilna ca.1905. Rabbi Segal requested that Wolpert do his work quickly and approve the work and return it so that it could be published without delay. 1 page, written in ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 45.1: Mendele Moykher Sforim 1899, 1901: Letters from Mendele Moykher Sforim, pen name of Shalom Jacob Abramowitz (1836-1917), in Odessa, to his brother. These do not appear to be the actual original letters mailed by Mendele Moykher Sforim to his brother, but copies made by Mendele himself in his logbook of outgoing letters so as to maintain a record of the letters which he wrote and mailed out. Two of the copied letters have Mendele's own original signature. Dated 1899 and 1901. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 45.2: Mendele Moykher Sforim 1855-1897: Handwritten certifications from various Russian government officials relating to Mendele Moykher Sforim, 1855-1897. They contain biographical details such as his divorced and childless status as of his 27th year, educational background, professional accomplishments in the field of Jewish education, and his privileged legal status. 2 long pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 929. Russian.
Folder 45.3: Mendele Moykher Sforim 1893: Letter to Mendele Moykher Sforim from the inspector of schools of the Russian Ministry of Education in Odessa, stating that he is sending Mendele his personal file. 1 page, written in black ink. Written on government stationery. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 927. Russian.
Folder 45.4: Mendele Moykher Sforim 1884: Letter to Mendele Moykher Sforim, Odessa, from Piotr A. Bezsanov (1828-1898), a Slavist, folklorist, and ethnographer. Bezsanov writes that he enjoyed meeting Mendele, who was then working as the head of the educationally innovative Talmud Torah in Odessa, but regretted not being able to spend enough time with him to discuss literary matters of mutual interest. Bezsanov’s tone is warm and friendly, but he requests that Mendele not publish this letter. 3 large pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 926. 1884. Russian.

נ

Folder 47.1: Nomberg, Hersh David 1/20/1913: Postcard from Hersh David Nomberg (1876–1927) in Berlin, to Zelig Kalmanovitch, Vilna. Included is a photograph of Nomberg. Nomberg was a Hebrew and Yiddish essayist and short-story writer. 2 pages, written in black ink. Damaged and stained; some text missing. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 575. Yiddish.
Folder 47.2: Nomberg, Hersh David No date: Letter of apology from Hersh David Nomberg to Mordkhe Spektor. 1 small page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 47.3: Nomberg, Hersh David No date: Letter from Hersh David Nomberg. 1 small page, written in black ink. Last page only. Yiddish.
Folder 47.4: Nomberg, Hersh David 11/1927: Letter from Hersh David Nomberg, Otwock, to the Yiddish secular school organization in Poland. 1 page, written in black ink. With prewar YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 674. Yiddish.

ס

Folder 48.2: Fratii Saraga ( Saraga Brothers ) No date: Calling card of Fratii Saraga, a Jewish-owned publishing house, in Iasi, Romania. With a note written on it to Donnele Bals, asking that he try to influence the government official, Commisar Mihailescu, to be of aid to a troupe of Yiddish actors in Iasi. 2 small pages, written in black ink. Romanian.
Folder 50.1: Spektor, Mordkhe 7/11/1910: Letter to Mordkhe Spektor (1858–1925) in Warsaw, from the founding committee [Dr. A. Brinn et al.] of the new weekly "Der Nayer Dor," Berlin, seeking Spektor's help. Spektor was a Yiddish writer and editor. 2 large pages, written in blue ink. Yiddish.
Folder 50.2: Spektor, Mordkhe Date unknown: Letters to Mordkhe Spektor, from the editor of "Das Heilige Land" and from another person. 4 pages, written in ink. Russian and Yiddish.
Folder 50.3: Spektor, Mordkhe No date: Letters to Mordkhe Spektor from the editor of “Das Heilige Land” and from Israel Noroditzki. 4 pages, written in ink. Russian and Yiddish.
Folder 50.4: Spektor, Mordkhe Date unknown: Letters to Mordkhe Spektor, from the editor of "Das Heilige Land" and from Israel Noroditski. 2 pages, written in black ink. Russian.

ע

Folder 51.1: Edelstat, David 12/25/1891: Letter from David Edelstat (1866-1892), Denver, to Mr. Weinberg, Philadelphia. “Anarchists” are mentioned. David Edelstadt was an anarchist and Yiddish poet. He died at the age of 26 in the sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in Denver. 3 pages of lined paper, written in ink. Stationery has embossed image of: “Congress” (the US Capitol Building). With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 424. Yiddish.
Folder 51.2: Edelstat, David No date: Small fragment of a letter from David Edelstat. 1 page of lined paper, written in blue ink. Stationary has embossed image of: “Congress” (the US Capitol Building). Only the postscript to the letter remains. Yiddish.
Folder 51.3: Ehrenpreis, Marcus (Mordecai) 10 Iyyar, 1890: Letter from R. Marcus (Mordecai) Ehrenpreis (1869-1951) and Jacob Kerkish, Lwow, on behalf of the Va’ad Ha-Haburah Tsion. Ehrenpreis was an early Zionist who became the Chief Rabbi of Stockholm. 1 page of graph paper, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 205. Hebrew.
Folder 52.1: Eliasberg, Judah Bezalel Tammuz, 1847: Letter from Judah Bezalel Eliasberg (1800-1847), Minsk, to his brother Joseph Eliah Eliasberg, father-in-law of Matisyahu Strashun. Judah Eliasberg was co-author of "Marpe La'am," a book about health. The letter relates to the partnership arrangement Judah Eliasberg had with his brother’s son-in-law [Matisyahu Strashun?] with regard to ownership of a forest, which now requires the infusion of more capital, in order to bring the lumber to market. On the second page is a letter which appears to be written by Joseph Eliah Eliasberg to his son-in-law Matisyahu Strashun, referring to the fact that his brother Judah Eliasberg does not have the financial resources to invest. 3 pages, written in ink. Remnants of red sealing wax on address side, with 2 government ink stamps in Russian. Hebrew.

פ

Folder 54.1: Prylucki, Noah 11/25/1929: Letter from Noah Prylucki (1882–1941), Warsaw, to the Executive Office of YIVO, Vilna. Prylucki was a Yiddish scholar, journalist, political leader and member of YIVO's administration and its Philological Section. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives red ink stamp for incoming YIVO administrative correspondence. Yiddish.
Folder 54.2: Prylucki, Noah 1940: Letter to Noah Prylucki, Vilna, some time during the Soviet occupation of Vilna after the outbreak of World War II. In January 1941 Noach Prylucki became the head of YIVO. 1 page. Typescript. Lithuanian.
Folder 54.3: Prylucki, Noah 4/19/1921: Letter to Noah Prylucki, from the organizing committee of an exhibit of Jewish artists, Warsaw. 1 page. Typescript. Bears the stamp “Noah Prylucki Archive” in Yiddish. Yiddish.
Folder 54.4: Prylucki, Noah 1916: Letter from Yevgeny Goldfaden to Noah Prylucki. 4 pages. With “Noah Prylucki Archive” ink stamp in Yiddish. Russian.
Folder 54.5: Prylucki, Noah 4/5/1941: Postcard from Y. P. Alfabet, a teacher in a Soviet Jewish school in Biten, to Noah Prylucki. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish (using Soviet spelling for Hebrew words).
Folder 55.1: Peretz, Helena 1/10/1937: Letter from Helena Peretz, widow of the Yiddish writer I.L. Peretz (1852–1915) in Warsaw, to the editors of her husband’s letters. Peretz was one of the father's of modern Yiddish literature. He was a Yiddish and Hebrew poet, writer, essayist, dramatist. Helena Peretz indicates that she has no objections to the publication of letters written to her by I.L. Peretz. 1 page of graph paper, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 55.2: Peretz, Helena 2/15/1937: Letter from Helena Peretz, Warsaw, to the editors of her husband’s letters. She is replying to their request for background information on a number of points, including about the beginnings of her relationship with Peretz. 4 pages of graph paper, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 55.3: Peretz, Helena Mar-37: Letter from Helena Peretz, Warsaw, to the editors of her husband’s letters. She was replying to their request for background information on a number of points, including information on some of her relatives. 3 pages of graph paper, written in blue ink. With pre-war YIVO administration red ink stamp for incoming YIVO correspondence. Yiddish.
Folder 55.4: Peretz, Helena 4/11/1937: Letter from Helena Peretz, Warsaw, to the editors of her husband’s letters. She was discussing some details of her relationship and correspondence with Peretz, and the availability of photographs of herself from her younger days. 3 pages of graph paper, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO administration red ink stamp used for YIVO incoming correspondence. Yiddish.
Folder 56.1: Peretz, Joseph [?] 1886-1887: Letter to Joseph Peretz [?] 3 pages, written in ink. Russian and some Polish.
Folder 56.2: Peretz, Joseph [?] 1887[?]: Letter to Joseph Peretz [?] 4 pages, written in black ink. Polish.
Folder 57.1: Peretz, Isaac Leib 1886: Letter to Isaac Leib Peretz, from Paulina Hilberg, Plock. 3 pages written in ink. Some damage. Polish and Russian.
Folder 57.2: Peretz, Isaac Leib 1887, 1900: Letters to Isaac Leib Peretz from his brothers, Lucien and Joseph. Zamosc. 9 pages, written in black ink. Page order is uncertain. Russian and Hebrew.
Folder 57.3: Peretz, Isaac Leib No date: Letter from Isaac Leib Peretz, Warsaw, about an invitation to a reading in Konin. 1 page, written in ink on graph paper. With prewar YIVO Archives red ink stamp and Acquisition Number 613. Yiddish.
Folder 57.4: Peretz, Isaac Leib 1912: Letter from Isaac Leib Peretz, Warsaw, about an invitation to a reading in Konin. 1 page, written in ink on graph paper. Includes an envelope. With pre-war YIVO Archives red ink stamp and Acquisition Number 614. Yiddish.
Folder 57.5: Peretz, Isaac Leib no date: Letter from Isaac Leib Peretz, about an invitation to a reading in Konin. 1 page. With pre-war YIVO Archives red ink stamp and acquisition number 615. Paper is watermarked. Yiddish.
Folder 57.6: Peretz, Isaac Leib: Calling card of Isaac Leib Peretz (spelled: Perec). 1 printed page.
Folder 57.7: Peretz, Isaac Leib No date: Letter from Isaac Leib Peretz, about family photographs. With prewar YIVO Acquisition Number 769. 1 long narrow page, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 57.8: Peretz, Isaac Leib No date: Note from Isaac Leib Peretz. 2 small pages. On note stationery, with writing space surrounded by portraits of famous Rabbis and Jewish scholars. Russian.
Folder 58.1: Feinstein, Herman 1934: Letter of congratulations from Herman Feinstein, choirmaster of the Tlomackie Synagogue, Warsaw, to Menahem Kipnis. Feinstein recalls how sweet Kipnis's voice was when he was a young man. A member of the choir, Kipnis was also a Yiddish writer, a folklorist, and photographer. His photographs are held in the YIVO Archives. 2 pages, written in blue ink. Written on the verso of Herman Feinstein’s photographic calling card. Yiddish.
Folder 58.2: Fuenn, Samuel Joseph 19 Av,1862: Letter to Samuel Joseph Fuenn, politely demanding that he pay for the copies of the books he ordered, and suggesting improvements for his periodical 'Ha-Karmel.' Fuenn (1819-1890) was a prominent Russian Jewish scholar, writer and educator, one of the leaders of the Hibat Zion movement. 2 large pages, upper portion only. Brown ink. Hebrew.
Folder 58.3: Fuenn, Samuel Joseph ca. 1861: Letter to Samuel Joseph Fuenn, Vilna, concerning funds sent to him from Brighton, England 12/4/1861. 1 page, written in ink. Severely damaged, with text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 59.1: Pinsky, David 1895: Letter from David Pinsky (1872-1959), Warsaw, to Isaac Maretzky [?]. Pinsky was a writer, editor, playwright and advocate of Labor Zionism. Includes 1 page of a Yiddish drama (marked as page #5). 4 pages only, written in ink. Deterioration and staining, with slight loss of text at top of the Yiddish page. Russian and Yiddish.
Folder 59.2: Pinsky, David 9/14/1907: Letter from David Pinsky, New York, granting Mordkhe Spektor, in Warsaw, the exclusive right to sell his works. 1 page of lined paper, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 59.3: Pinsky, David 7/24/1908: Letter from David Pinsky, Rockville, Conn., to Mr. Adler. 2 lined pages, written in ink on watermarked paper. Yiddish.
Folder 60.1: Frohman, M. 4/21/ 1893: Letter from M. Frohman, editor of “The Jewish Press” (Yidisher Presse), Philadelphia, to S. Frenovitz, accepting his poem for publication. 2 pages, written in ink. With YIVO Archives pre-war ink stamp, and acquisition number 616. Yiddish.

צ

Folder 61.1: Zvi [surname unidentified] 1869: Letter from a man by the name of Zvi, to his father. Dated 19 Cheshvan, 1869. 1 page, written in ink. Blue paper. Yiddish.
Folder 61.2: Zukerman, Shemariah 1869: Letter to Shemariah Zukerman. Writer's name not deciphered. 1 page, written in ink on blue paper. Hebrew.
Folder 61.3: Zinberg, Israel 10/29/1911: Postcard from Israel Zinberg (1873-1939),St. Petersburg, to Mordkhe Spektor, Warsaw, thanking him for sending some publications. Zinberg was a historian of Yiddish literature. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 62.1: Zederbaum, Alexander 1892: Letter from Alexander Zederbaum (1816-1893), St. Petersburg, to A. S. Freidberg. Zederbaum was a Hebrew writer and journalist and the founder and editor of the Hebrew periodical "Ha-Melits" as well as of some Yiddish periodicals. Zederbaum mentions his difficulties with the censors, and sends regards to their mutual friend, Jacob Dinesohn. 1 page, written in ink, on printed "Hamelits" stationery. Hebrew.
Folder 62.2: Zederbaum, Alexander 10/1892: Letter from Alexander Zederbaum, St. Petersburg, to Jacob Rabinowitz, Hrubieszów. Zederbaum wishes him good luck on his trip to America, suggesting that he visit Zederbaum's son, the physician, in New York City. He mentions his grandson’s engagement. 1 page, written in ink on printed "Hamelits ," stationery. Bottom of the page contains mirror image of the top, due to ink blotting. Fragile. Yiddish.
Folder 62.3: Zederbaum, Alexander 2/18/1886: Letter from Alexander Zederbaum, St. Petersburg. He requests that the recipient of his letter send him a copy of his article “Hachnasat Orchim” which he promises to publish. 2 pages, written in ink. Deterioration on top and bottom of page. With prewar YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 203. On printed "Hamelits" stationery. Yiddish.

ק

Folder 64.1: Katzenelenbogen, Solomon 19th cent.: Letter from the scholar Solomon Katzenelenbogen, with postscript from an additional writer. Letter includes comments about Rabbi Estori Ha-Parhhi’s (1280-1355) “Kaftor Va-Ferah,” a work about the laws concerning the land of Israel; a copy of this volume could not be found in Vilna. Lower third only of 2 large pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 65.1: Klausner, Joseph 22 Tevet, 1915: Letter from Joseph Klausner (1874-1958), Odessa, to Samuel Leib Zitron (1860-1930). Klausner was a professor of Hebrew literature and editor of "Hashiloach." He discusses technical printing details, and the prospect of publishing articles about Perets Smolenskin. 1 page. Written in ink on “Hashiloach” stationery. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 628. Hebrew.

ר

Folder 66.1: Rabinowitz, Olga date not clear: Letter from Olga Rabinowitz, wife of the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, to Dr. Gershon Levine, Baranovich. 2 pages, written in ink on Sholem Aleichem's stationery. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 2003. Russian.
Folder 66.2: Rabinowitz, Olga Date not clear: Letter from Olga Rabinowitz to Dr. Gershon Levine. Baranovich. 1 page, written in ink on Sholem Aleichem's stationery. With prewar YIVO Archives ink stamp and Acquisition Number 2004. Russian.
Folder 66.3: Rabinovitch, Saul Pinchas No date: Letter from Saul Pinchas Rabinovitch (referred to as the “Shafar”). He mentions that he had made a recommendation to Dr. Hildesheimer, visiting Russia on a confidential 'Hovevei Zion' matter, that the recipient of the letter [not identified by name] be the agent for the "Jüdische Presse" in Lithuania. 'Hovevei Zion' was an early 19th century forerunner of the modern Zionist movement. The "Judische Presse" was an Orthodox Jewish newspaper published in Berlin in which both Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer and his son Hirsch Hildesheimer were involved. 2 small pages, written in ink. With Russian stamp of L. Apel, Vilna, on verso. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 67.1: Reuben ben Breindil [surname not identified] 10/8/1907: Request written by Reuben son of Breindil. He writes that he is sending 16 francs from his charity box (pushke), and requests that when the recipient of the charity visits the Kotel Ha-maaravi (the Western Wall) in Jerusalem, that he keep him [Reuben] in mind during his prayers. 2 very small pages, written in ink. On the verso: a postal coupon from Jaroslav, Galicia. Yiddish.
Folder 68.1: Rosenfeld, Jacob 1879: Letter from Jacob Rosenfeld [lawyer?], St. Petersburg to Gotz [?]. 3 pages, written in ink on printed stationery. Letter is in handwritten German. Letterhead in Russian.
Folder 68.2: Rappaport, Grigorii No date: Letter to Grigorii Rappaport, Buenos Aires, from Jewish colonists reporting an attack of locusts, with their signatures. Verso has another brief Hebrew letter. In reports of the Jewish Colonization Association, founded by Baron de Hirsch in 1891, 'Grigorii Rappaport' is referred to as 'agricultural expert.' recruited by the JCA to provide assistance for the newly formed agricultural colonies in Argentina. The letter is apparently from a colony founded or supported by the JCA. 2 pages. Hebrew.
Folder 69.1: Rappaport, Solomon Judah 19th cent.: Letter from R. Solomon Judah Rappaport (“Shir”) (1790-1867) to his student R. Abraham Judah of Drogobych, approving of his Hebrew translation of Alphonse de Lamartine’s poem about the subject of eternity. Rappaport was a rabbi and scholar and the Chief Rabbi of Prague. 2 large pages, written in brown ink. Poor, fragile condition, with some text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 69.2: Rappaport, Solomon Judah, (“Shir”) 4/29/1860: Letter from R. Solomon Judah Rappaport (“Shir”) [?], addressed to Israel and Abraham Adolf, Przemysl. He encourages their scholarly work, offering some brief comments, and mentions Davidsohn of Tarnow. While the handwriting and the poor condition of the letter make its contents difficult to decipher, early YIVO archivists identified this letter as having been written by Solomon Judah Rappaport (1790-1867), Rabbi and scholar in Galicia. 2 large pages. Brown ink. Severely damaged; primitively repaired. Was found all crunched up in a ball! Hebrew
Folder 71.1: Reisen, Abraham 12/28/1913: Postcard from Abraham Reisen (1876–1953), Hotel de Ville, Paris, Warsaw, to his brother Zalman Reisen, Warsaw. Reisen was a Yiddish poet, short-story writer, playwright, and editor. Postcard is printed with the name and address of “Der Nayer Journal”, Paris. 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 71.2: Reisen, Abraham 5/7/1914: Postcard from Abraham Reisen, Paris, to Zalman Reisen, Warsaw. Postcard is printed with the name and address of “Der Nayer Journal,” Paris. 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 71.3: Reisen, Abraham Date unclear: Postcard from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen, Warsaw. 2 pages, written in black ink. Top of address portion of postcard is missing.Yiddish.
Folder 71.4: Reisen, Abraham Date unclear: Postcard from Abraham Reisen, Hotel de Ville, Paris, to Zalman Reisen, Warsaw. 2 pages, written in black ink. Stained. Portion of address section of postcard is missing. Yiddish.
Folder 71.5: Reisen, Abraham July, 1927: Postcard from Abraham Reisen, Bronx, NY, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages, written in black ink. Upper right side of letter is missing. Yiddish.
Folder 71.6: Reisen, Abraham 7/29/1929: Postcard (with photograph of a steamer) from Abraham Reisen, Rhinebeck, NY, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 71.7: Reisen, Abraham 3/2/1929: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Kiev, to Zalman Reisen. 4 small graph paper pages, written in blue ink. Yiddish
Folder 71.8: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Bronx, NY, to Zalman Reisen. 4 pages, written in blue ink. Top of letter in the right margin, using different colored ink, in Hebrew letters, the initials: A.S [Abraham Sutskever?]. Yiddish.
Folder 72.1: Reisen, Abraham 11/11/1924: Letter from Abraham Reisen, New York, to Zalman Reisen. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 72.2: Reisen, Abraham 2/20/1927: Letter from Abraham Reisen, New York, to Zalman Reisen. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.3: Reisen, Abraham 11/9/1927: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Paris, to Zalman Reisen and his wife, Sóre Bashe. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.4: Reisen, Abraham 2/20/1932: Letter from Abraham Reisen, New York, to Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in ink. Some ink corrosion. Yiddish.
Folder 72.5: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, New York, to Zalman Reisen. 3 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.6: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 3 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.7: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 3 small pages, numbered 2, 3, 4, written in ink. Incomplete. The paper has "made in USA" watermark. Yiddish
Folder 72.8: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 3 pages, written in ink, numbered 6, 7, 8. Slight water staining on blank page (verso of page 6). Yiddish
Folder 72.9: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Bronx, NY, to Zalman Reisen. 3 pages, numbered 4, 5, 6, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.10: Reisen, Abraham No date: Fragment of a letter from Abraham Reisen to Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in ink, numbered page 6. Yiddish
Folder 72.11: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 1 page only. Written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.12: Reisen, Abraham No date: Fragment of a letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. Only the page with the postscript has remained. Yiddish
Folder 72.13: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. Fragment, 1 page only. Written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 72.14: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 73.1: Reisen, Abraham 21/12/1920: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Brooklyn, New York, to Zalman Reisen. I small page, written in ink. Incomplete. Yiddish
Folder 73.2: Reisen, Abraham 2/23/1921: Letter from Abraham Reisen, New York, to Zalman Reisen. 4 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 73.3: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 2 small pages, written in ink. Some text missing. Yiddish.
Folder 73.4: Reisen, Abraham April 29: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen, written on the 6th day of a trans-Atlantic voyage to Europe, on the S/S Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. 1 small page written in black ink; upper portion only. Yiddish
Folder 73.5: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 2 pages of lined paper, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 73.6: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Brooklyn, NY, to Zalman Reisen. 2 pages written in black ink, numbered 2 and 3. Yiddish
Folder 73.7: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, Brooklyn, NY, to Zalman Reisen. 4 pages written in ink. Pages 4-6 are numbered, proceeded by an unnumbered page (with corresponding stains); first page is missing. Yiddish
Folder 73.8: Reisen, Abraham No date: Letter from Abraham Reisen, to Zalman Reisen. 7 pages written in ink, numbered 3-7. Yiddish
Folder 74.1: Reisen, Zalman 5/7/no year: Letter from Zalman Reisen, Vilna, to his wife [?] Mirele. Mentions his sister, Rivke, and also the economic situation such as the high cost of living. 2 small pages, written in black ink. Some staining. Yiddish
Folder 74.2: Reisen, Zalman No date: Letter from Zalman Reisen, Bucharest, to his wife [?] Mirele. 2 small pages written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 74.3: Reisen, Zalman No date: Letter from Zalman Reisen to his sister, and nephew, Mishka. 1 small page written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 74.4: Reisen, Zalman No date: Letter from Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in ink. Torn, stained, and upper portion missing. Yiddish
Folder 74.5: Reisen, Zalman No date: Letter from Zalman Reisen. 2 pages written in black ink, numbered 3 and 5.
Folder 75.1: Reisen, Zalman 11/17/1925: Letter to Zalman Reisen on the stationery of 'Farlag B. Kletskin', Warsaw. 1 large page, written in black ink. Some text missing at the bottom of the page, on the right side. Yiddish
Folder 75.2: Reisen, Zalman July, 1926: Letter from M. Weinger to Zalman Reisen. With Weinger’s biographical article for Reisen’s "Leksikon". Letter: 4 pages in ink. Article: 3 pages in red ink. Illegible in a small, faded area. Yiddish.
Folder 75.3: Reisen, Zalman 12/27/1923: Postcard to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, Der Tog, from M. Weinger, Minsk. Postcard was written in St. Petersburg. 2 pages written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 75.4: Reisen, Zalman 10/11/1928: Postcard to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, from M. Wydrewicz about his literary activities. 2 pages written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.5: Reisen, Zalman 4/17/1931: Postcard to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, from Isaac Buxbaum, Lodz, Poland. 2 pages. Typescript. German
Folder 75.6: Reisen, Zalman 6/4/1931: Postcard to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, from Mr. Spitzer, Cracow. 2 pages, written in black ink. Polish.
Folder 75.7: Reisen, Zalman 5/19/22/1931: Postcard from B. Tuchinski, Chisinau (Kishinev) Romania, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 75.8: Reisen, Zalman 5/21/1931: Postcard from Gabriel Weisman, editor of “Literarisze Grupe”, Radom, to [Zalman Reisen?], address to the YIVO Institute in Vilna. 2 pages, written in black ink. Bears the YIVO Institute stamp of incoming administrative correspondence. Arrived 5/25/1931. Yiddish
Folder 75.9: Reisen, Zalman 2/25/1936: Letter to Zalman Reisen, from YIVO (Zelig Kalmanovitch ?), Vilna. I small page. Typescript. Yiddish.
Folder 75.10: Reisen, Zalman 3/6/1935: Letter from the YIVO Institute in Vilna to Zalman Reisen, who is spending some time in Warsaw on YIVO business. The writer asks Reisen, who will be speaking to members of the Warsaw branch, to go to Noach Prylucki and ask him for a copy of the Yiddish translation of the Mishna.This had already been requested of Prylucki but the mail has already arrived and all the Warsaw newspapers have come but the Mishna has still not been received.The Yiddish translation is needed for the [Philology Committee's] work on 'botanical terms' in Yiddish. Reisen is also requested to obtain 10 copies of the report on the 'Survey of Pinkasim' which was carried out by the Historical Commission in Warsaw. 1 page. Typescript. Yiddish
Folder 75.11: Reisen, Zalman 12/26/1927: Postcard from S. Gershuni to Zalman Reisen. The contents include information about their exchange of various publications and newspaper clippings. Mention is made of the yahrzeit of the Yiddish and Hebrew writer, Yaknehaz (pseud. of Isaiah Nissan Hakohen Goldberg, 1858-1927). 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.12: Reisen, Zalman 7/1/1928: Postcard from S. Gershuni, Minsk, to Zalman Reisen, about their exchange of publications. 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.13: Reisen, Zalman 2/14/1928: Postcard from S. Gershuni to Zalman Reisen. Yaknehaz mentioned again. 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.14: Reisen, Zalman 3/17/1928: Postcard from S. Gershuni, Minsk, to Zalman Reisen. Gershuni encourages him to publish something in honor of Yaknehaz's approaching yahrzeit. 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.15: Reisen, Zalman 4/23/1928: Postcard from S. Gershuni, Minsk, to Zalman Reisen. 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.16: Reisen, Zalman 10/21/1928: Postcard from S. Gershuni, now exiled to Biysk in Siberia, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, asking him to write, and to keep his promise to reprint "Yaknehaz's" works. 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish.
Folder 75.17: Reisen, Zalman 5/30/1922: Letter from Reuben Ludwig (1895-1926), Yiddish poet, Los Angeles, CA, to Zalman Reisen. Contains autobiographical information to be used for the "Leksikon". 3 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 75.18: Reisen, Zalman 7/12/1929: Postcard from I.D. Rizberg, Mikalski-Slabodke-Kiev, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, in which he clarifies a detail of his life. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.19: Reisen, Zalman 3/21/1930: Postcard from I.D. Rizberg, author of a Hebrew text-book, Mikalski-Slabodke-Kiev, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna, about the publication of his memoirs. 2 pages, written in ink.Yiddish.
Folder 75.20: Reisen, Zalman 5/4/1930: Postcard from I.D. Rizberg, Kiev-Mikalski-Slabodke, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.21: Reisen, Zalman 4/24/1931: Postcard from I.D. Rizberg, Mikalski-Slabodke, Kiev to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages, written in green ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.22: Reisen, Zalman 7/4/1935: Postcard from Reuven Fahn, Stanislawow to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. He offers to trade 12 copies of his sefer ha-karaim for Reisen’s Leksikon. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.23: Reisen, Zalman Shevat/3/1927: Postcard from Eliezer Gershon Freidensohn, Lodz, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. He was sending him the address of the Orthodox Hebrew and Yiddish writer, Judah Leib Gersht, Lodz. 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.24: Reisen, Zalman 5/26/1921: Letter from Joseph Opatoshu, (originally: Joseph Meir Opatowsky), Bronx, N.Y., to Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.25: Reisen, Zalman 12/23/1921: Letter from Joseph Opatoshu, (originally: Joseph Meir Opatowsky), Bronx, N.Y., to Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.26: Reisen, Zalman 5/12/1923: Letter from Joseph Opatoshu, to Zalman Reisen. Page 4 has a letter from Joseph Opatoshu to Madam Reisen. 4 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.27: Reisen, Zalman No date: Letter from Joseph Opatoshu, Bronx, N.Y., to Zalman Reisen. 1 page, written in black ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.28: Reisen, Zalman 1920: Postcard from Natan Michael Gelber, Vienna, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. Gelber requests from Reisen the third volume of his "Leksikon". 2 pages, written in violet ink. Yiddish.
Folder 75.29: Reisen, Zalman 7/27/1926: Postcard from Natan Michael Gelber, Vienna, to Zalman Reisen. Gelber complains that his name in Reizen's Leksikon was mistakenly given as "Nachum Mayer." 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish
Folder 75.30: Reisen, Zalman 2/18/1929: Postcard from Itzik Manger, Warsaw, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages. Printed on card: Literarishe Bleter… Yiddish
Folder 75.31: Reisen, Zalman 11/19/1929: Postcard from Itzik Manger, Warsaw, to Zalman Reisen, Vilna. 2 pages, written in black ink. Printed on card: Literarishe Bleter… Yiddish
Folder 75.32: Reisen, Zalman (?) 11/24/1927: Postcard from Kharkov, to YIVO, Vilna. Includes a list of journals. 2 pages, written in blue ink. Yiddish
Folder 75a.1: Reifmann, Jacob Iyyar/28/1893: Note by Jacob Reifmann (1818-1895), noted Galician Haskalah scholar, Szczebrzeszyn (Shebreshin), entitled: “A note on one aspect of the counting of the Omer”. 2 pages, written in brown ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 227. Hebrew.

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Folder 76.1: Schorr, Jacob Vayigash,1909: Letter from R. Jacob Schorr, rabbi of Kuty, to his relative, R. Abba Bloch [R. Avraham Abba Bloch of Delatyn, (1860-1920)?] on a legal matter. The legal terms in use, are in German. Jacob Schorr of Kuty is listed in the Geman language Bibliographical Lexicon of Rabbinical Writings by Chaijim Lippe, published in1899.1 page, written in ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 200. Hebrew.
Folder 77.1: Schorr, Joshua Heschel Tammuz/27/1838: Letter from Joshua Heschel Schorr (1814-1895), to Samuel David Luzatto (“Shadal”) (1800-1865), Italian Jewish scholar. He discusses a variety of scholarly issues, especially commenting on “Yashar’s” (I.S. Reggio’s) opinions. 4 large pages,written in ink. Serous fading and discoloration, with some text missing. Hebrew
Folder 78.1: Schorr, Joshua Heschel 12/1847: Letter from Joshua Heschel Schorr (1814-1895) to Isaac Benjacob, the well-known bibliographer. He discusses matters relating to Hebrew bibliography, and provides a list of desiderata for his library. He also provides a list of 100 rare items he owns. 4 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Severely soiled, faded, and fragile; some text missing. Hebrew
Folder 78.2: Schorr, Moshe No date: Note from Moshe Schorr (1872-1949), theater director, playwright, New York that he is donating a letter to the Theater Museum, mostly likely in reference to the Esther Rachel Kaminska Theater Museum founded by YIVO in 1927. He writes that the donated letter was written by his grandfather, R. Joshua Heschel Schorr, rabbi in Józefów and Dubinka, to R. Levi Yitzchak Schorr, also an ancestor of Moshe Schorr, after Zelig Schorr, Moshe's father, joined the Yiddish theater. The actual letter is not in the folder. 1 small page, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 79.1: Steinschneider, Moses 1/27/1904: Postcard from Moses Steinschneider (1816-1907), bibliographer and orientalist, in Berlin, to Jacob Benjacob of Vilna, while Benjacob was visiting San Remo, Italy. He writes about his progress in updating Benjacob’s father’s “Ozar Ha-Sepharim” (see page xiv of the 1880 edition). 2 pages, written in ink. Soiled. Hebrew.
Folder 79.2: Steinschneider, Moses No date: Letter from Moses Steinschneider (1816-1907), bibliographer and orientalist, to Jacob Benjacob, bibliographer in Vilna. Includes scholarly comments about Benjacob’s father’s books. 2 pages, written in ink. Stained and torn; bottom half of letter only. Hebrew.
Folder 80.1: Shtif, Nahum 6/17/1922: Postcard from Nahum Shtif, Berlin, to Toibtse Efroykin, Libau, Latvia, welcoming her to Berlin on her approaching visit. 2 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 80.2: Shtif, Nahum 12/24/1923: Letter from Nahum Shtif, Berlin, to Toibtse Efroykin. Shtif asks her to forgive him for not answering in time. He says: "When you sit with a pen in your hand all day it is not easy to write letters." He tells her that he will be happy to give a lecture when she arrives in Berlin. She needs to let him know whether it is a lecture about Yiddish literature or a lecture about education. "Warm greetings and kisses from Devoire (Shtif's wife) and the children." 1 long, narrow page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 80.3: Shtif, Nahum 8/6/1924: Letter from Nahum Shtif, Heringsdorf, Germany (a resort on the Baltic shore), to Zelig Kalmanovitch, about the project of creating an academic institute. [This institute became YIVO in 1925]. Many desired Yiddish scholarly projects are mentioned. 2 long pages, written with a black pencil. Lower right margin cut out, but no text is missing. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 767. Yiddish.
Folder 80.4: Shtif, Nahum 3/27/1925: Letter from Nahum Shtif, Berlin, to Zelig Kalmanovitch. He asks him to look over critically and comment on his proposal “Vegn Yiddishen akademishen institute,” about the proposed creation of an academic institute. This institute became YIVO]. 4 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 768. Yiddish.
Folder 81.1: Strashun, Matisyahu Tevet, 18, 1840: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, from R. Moshe of Klesov. He requests an explanation of the Biblical verse in 1 Kings 21.10, as quoted in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 29a. 2 small pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 81.2: Strashun, Matisyahu Circa 1840 (?): Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, from R. Zalman Baruch, [the magid of Vilna]. He recounts a comment he had made while learning tractate Zevachim 9[7]b, on the matter of a positive commandment taking precedence over a negative commandment. 2 large pages, written in ink. Fragile condition; torn, with some text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 81.3: Strashun, Matisyahu 1843: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, Vilna, from Gershon ben Moshe, Novogrudok. He thanks him for the pleasant time they spent together, and for giving him a copy of [Abraham Dob Bär] Lebensohn’s poems. 2 large pages, written in brown ink. Fragile and torn, with some text missing on lower left side of recto. Hebrew.
Folder 81.4: Strashun, Matisyahu Sivan, 1862: Letter to R. Matisyahu ben R. Samuel Strashun, Vilna, written during a roundtrip from from Vilna to Minsk and back. The writer had taken with him a copy of "Netivot Olam" authored by their mutual friend R. Zvi Hirsh Katzenellenbogen (ed. Vilna, 1822 and 1859), had written some notes in the pages of this work. He was enclosing with this letter one note (to page 34b of the second edition), about the rabbis of the Talmud who carried the same name as their illustrious grandfathers. 3 pages, written in ink. Blue paper. Includes 1 small slip of paper with a brief description, in Yiddish, written by scholar who viewed the contents of this folder. Hebrew
Folder 81.5: Strashun, Matisyahu Av/19/1873: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, Vilna, from Moshe Lipman Distillater, Mainz (originally from Vilna). He asks his relative for his aid in freeing his mother from her month-long prison sentence. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 81.6: Strashun, Matisyahu 1876: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, Vilna, from R. Moshe [?], Vilna. The writer pens a discussion in honor of the approaching festival of Sukkot. He discusses aspects of the Temple ritual during the festivals, which take precedence over the laws of Sabbath. 4 large pages, written in ink. Heavily stained, with small holes and tears, and a residue of dirt and feathers. Hebrew
Folder 81.7: Strashun, Matisyahu 1876: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun and R. Abraham Parnes, executors of the estate of Zelda, from her nephew, Yirmiah Zumsohn, Memel (now, Klaipeida, Lithuania). He was forced to commit himself to pay for his daughter’s dowry more than his means would allow, due to the dearth of available young men, [because of the Czar’s policy of forced conscription of young Jewish males], and asks that his portion of the bequest be given to him. 2 large pages written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 81.8: Strashun, Matisyahu 19th cent.: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, Vilna, from Joseph Bezalel Harkavy, Königsbe[rg], his brother-in-law. He discusses publishing items in periodicals [?]. Well-known figures: Y. Kaplan, Fuenn, and Tugendhold, are mentioned. The envelope is addressed to Matisyahu Samuel Strashun. 2 pages, written in ink. Some text missing on right margin and in first line. Hebrew
Folder 81.9: Strashun, Matisyahu No date: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun from R. Zalman Breish, excusing himself that he cannot attend to his work because of his illness. He nevertheless requests compensation for this period. The handwriting on the Inner 2 pages go across both pages, horizontally, as one single page of writing, The inner pages contain a scholarly exposition by Strashun on the correct spelling of the name of Hiram, King of Tyre. Address page has the name of Elias Eliasberg on top of Strashun’s name. 4 pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 81.11: Strashun, Matisyahu Shevat/22/1884: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun from Rabbiner Dr. Zvi Hirsch Plato, Cologne, Germany. Includes comments on R. Strashun’s article in 'Ha-Magid', Issue No. 5, and comments on the index to Strashun's forthcoming work. 4 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 81.12: Strashun, Matisyahu 7/5/1883: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, from Dr. Adolf Neubauer, Bodleian Library, Oxford, England. Neubauer writes that a few days ago he had sent a book to R. Strashun but he has not heard whether Strashun has received it. Neubauer also has some other book related requests for Strashun. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 81.13: Strashun, Matisyahu Date unclear.: Letter to R. Matisyahu Strashun, and members of his family. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 82.1: Strashun, Samuel 1842 [?]: Letter to R. Samuel Strashun, from R. Jekuthiel Rapaport .1 large page, written in ink. Fragile condition; torn along folding marks. Hebrew
Folder 82.2: Strashun, Samuel Iyyar/2/1857: Letter to R. Samuel Strashun, Vilna, from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk), requesting his aid in obtaining for R. Saul Halevi ben R. Meir, Moreh Tsedek [rabbi] in Yekaterinoslav, a similar position in Vilna, which had been filled by R. Saul’s late father. The sender’s name, according to the address written in Russian on the verso is Leon Muranovitch Kranzfeld. Included are thoughts and observations which occurred to him while learning the Talmudic Tractate Horayoth 13a. 2 large pages, Written in ink. Hebrew (letter) and Russian (address).
Folder 82.3: Strashun, Samuel Ellul/15/1890: Letter to Shmuel Strashun (1840-1895), the first director of the Strashun Library in Vilna, from R. Judah Behak (1820-1900), Kherson, replying to his inquiry about a number of obscure abbreviations used for book titles in the commentary to the Midrash by R. Matisyahu Shtrashun, which was currently under press. It was published in Vilna by the Romm Press in 1893 as “Matatyah” on Midrash Rabbah. See:http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=6310&st=&pgnum=1&hilite=. R. Judah Behak then requests Strashun, who was related to the Romm publishers, to aid him in expediting the publication of his own work which he had submitted to the Romm Press some time before. R. Judah Behak, originally from Vilna, was an influential Haskalah scholar, with many publications to his name. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 82.4: Strashun, Samuel Cheshvon/12/1892: Postcard to Shmuel Strashun (1840-1895), the first director of the Strashun Library in Vilna, from R. Judah Behak (1820-1900), Kherson, requesting that he try to hasten the publication at the Romm press of R. Matisyahu Strashun’s Commentary on the Midrash, mentioned in folder 82.3 above. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 82.5: Strashun, Samuel 19th cent.: Letter to R. Samuel Strashun, Vilna, from R. Moshe Shimon Hacohen. He suggests an answer to the question posed the previous day by R. Strashun on Talmud Yerushalmi Orlah (chapter 2), concerning a case of "bittul" (the neutralization of prohibitions on forbidden items when mixed with permitted substances). 3 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 83.1: Sholem Aleichem 1888: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Jacob Dinesohn. Sholem Aleichem says: "Don’t think that I have any complaints against you or David] Frischman. I’ve almost completed the literary section, so I need your contribution at least right after Rosh Hashanah, as it must go to press right after Yom Kippur." 1 large page, written in blue ink, on stationary of "Di Yidishe Folksbibliotek." With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1505. Yiddish.
Folder 83.2: Sholem Aleichem 1/19/1889: Letter from Sholem Aleichem to Jacob Dinesohn. He writes: "What does your [friend] Nachum Chernowitz want from me? I’m forwarding your letter to Mendele, and I’ll tell you what he answers." 1 page, written in ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1522. Yiddish
Folder 83.3: Sholem Aleichem 1/27/ 1889: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Jacob Dinesohn. He thanks Dinesohn for his ongoing friendship, and assumes he has received what was sent to him, but complains that none of his letters to him have been answered. He asks what his friends think of his “Bibliothek”, which is very popular in Kiev. 1 large page, written in violet ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1524. Yiddish
Folder 83.4: Sholem Aleichem 1889: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Jacob Dinesohn. He writes: "I enjoyed your latest letter. Among all my literary brothers and friends, I find you to be my only truly honest friend!" 1 large page, written in violet ink; lower third missing. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1523. Written on stationary of Di Yidishe Folksbibliotek. Yiddish
Folder 83.5: Sholem Aleichem 1900: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Jacob Dinesohn, Warsaw. He writes: "I don’t understand why you have distanced yourself from me lately. You say I met you but didn’t acknowledge you. Anything you felt was inadvertent. On the contrary, I am most fond of you." Some details of various publications are discussed. Sholem Aleichem thanks him for sending “Yossele” , which he has not yet received. 2 large pages, carefully written in small letters; black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1525. Yiddish
Folder 83.6: Sholem Aleichem 12/18/1901: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Jacob Dinesohn. Sholem Aleichem asks him about his newspaper activities, and gives him some advice. He says that his own business enterprises are not doing well at all. 1 large page, written in black ink. Stationary has author’s portrait printed on upper right side. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 526. Verso has A. Sutzkever’s signature. Yiddish
Folder 83.7: Sholem Aleichem 10/18/1908: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Nervi, Italy, to Jacob Dinesohn. "Your account of my jubilee was wonderful. It was a happy occasion, and had some touching moments." Sholem Aleichem discusses his financial affairs, his literary work, and his health. 5 large pages, written in pencil. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1415. Yiddish.
Folder 83.8: Sholem Aleichem 3/7/1909: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, to Jacob Dinesohn. Sholem Aleichem mentions his wife’s Olga’s situation in Warsaw, and how she is getting along with some of his acquaintances, and discusses some business matters, such as not yet receiving an honorarium he was promised 1 large page. Carbon copy of typescript. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 2002. Yiddish.
Folder 83.9: Sholem Aleichem 3/12/1909: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Nervi, Italy, Villa Briand, to Jacob Dinesohn. Sholem Aleichem writes: "In one of your letters you mentioned that Ch. Finkelstein feels I’ve insulted him, because I haven’t contributed anything to the “Haynt”. He is right! I have therefore written for the “Haynt” a humorous Passover story. Thank you for your participation in my jubilee!" Sholem Aleichem discusses his letter from Podlishevsky about financial aspects of publishing, and book sales. Lidsky and Spector are mentioned, as is his wife Olga’s upcoming trip to Warsaw. 2 large pages. Carbon copy of typescript. With signature of Y.D. Berkowitz. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 2000. Yiddish.
Folder 84.1: Sholem Aleichem Fall/1908: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Baranowicze, to Dr. Gershon Levine, complaining about his problems. Sholem Aleichem complains about his health problems, and says that he can give him regards from “yene velt” (the “next world”), not of course from his own patients, but rather from those of his colleagues’" Written during the "ten days of repentenace" between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. 1 large page, written in pencil. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1967. Yiddish.
Folder 84.2: Sholem Aleichem 10/21/1908: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Villa Briand, Nervi (a sea-side resort), Italy, to Dr. Gershon Levine, mentioning a manuscript he had just sent to him, and referring to their friend Jacob Dinesohn. 1 large page, written in pencil. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1416. Yiddish.
Folder 84.3: Sholem Aleichem 1/27/1909: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Villa Briand, Nervi, Italy, to Dr. Gershon Levine, discussing his health and some financial aspects of publishing his works. 2 pages. Blank side of letter has A. Sutzkever’s signature in pencil with date of 1946. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1434. Yiddish
Folder 84.4: Sholem Aleichem 7/4/1909: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Sanatorium St. Blasien (in the Black Forest), Germany, to Dr. Gershon Levine, of Warsaw, who was visiting Arosa, Switzerland. He was writing that he hopes to see him that winter in Warsaw, and that he recalls the doctor’s wife’s excellent dish of "milikhike" (dairy) fish. 2 pages, written in black ink. Postcard is printed on a stiff sheet of paper (5" x 6 1/2") with serrated edges, which is folded in half, with correspondence on one side, and address and etching of resort, on opposite ends of the other side. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1449. Yiddish.
Folder 84.5: Sholem Aleichem 12/8/1912: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Lausanne, Switzerland, to Dr. Gershon Levine, asking him to send him a copy of a censored item. 1 page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1468. Yiddish.
Folder 84.6: Sholem Aleichem 5/19/1913: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Lausanne, Switzerland, to Dr. Gershon Levine, Warsaw. 2 pages written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1471. Yiddish.
Folder 84.7: Sholem Aleichem 12/11/1913: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Pension Hélios, Lausanne, Switzerland, to Dr. Gershon Levine, discussing matters in Eastern Europe. 2 small pages, written in black ink on a small 3" x 4 3/4" card. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1473. Yiddish.
Folder 85.1: Sholem Aleichem 3/7/1909: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Nervi, Italy, to Abraham Podlishevsky (1862-1929). He was asking for his help in clearing up financial and contractual irregularities concerning his publications, which occurred to his detriment. 2 large pages; typescript. 2 sets of carbon copies. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 2001. Yiddish
Folder 85.2: Sholem Aleichem 6/8/1909: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Claran, Switzerland, to Abraham Podlishevsky, Warsaw. He was mentioning his ill-health in Switzerland, three weeks after arriving from Italy, and his doctors’ advice to go to a sanatorium in the Black Forest. 1 large page; typescript (carbon copy), with a handwritten in blue pencil postscript. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 1998. Hebrew.
Folder 86.1: Sholem Aleichem 7/12/1904: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Madame Herzl. 1 page; Photostat. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stam, and acquisition number 2011. German.
Folder 86.2: Sholem Aleichem 4/6/1906: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Lemberg, to Mr. Peretschep, Podwoloczyska (Pidvolochysk). Sholem Aleichem asks that Mr. Bekelman be treated with great consideration and kindness, and promises to send him "charoises" for Passover, which he explains, means some fresh feuillitones, and promises to try him out as his publisher. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 619. Yiddish.
Folder 86.3: Sholem Aleichem 11/28/1908: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Nervi, Italy, to Mr. Roset, Kiev. Sholem Aleichem discusses their past correspondence, and reminisces about past times. 2 pages; written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 86.4: Sholem Aleichem 1/24/1912: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Hotel Jaman, Les Avants, Switzerland, to Mr. Tikochinsky. Sholem Aleichem provides him with B. Patlagean’s address in Paris. 2 pages, written in ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 658. Yiddish
Folder 86.5: Sholem Aleichem 10/31/1912: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Lausanne, Switzerland, to J. Lidsky, Warsaw. Sholem Aleichem refers to the censorship of his work. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 667. Yiddish.
Folder 86.6: Sholem Aleichem 2/11/1913: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Bern, Switzerland, to Yekheskl Kotik (1847-1921), Warsaw. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 653. Yiddish.
Folder 86.7: Sholem Aleichem 3/1/1913: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Vienna, to J. Lidsky, Meran, South Tyrol, Italy, mentioning that he’s leaving tomorrow to Nervi, Italy. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 660. Yiddish.
Folder 86.8: Sholem Aleichem 3/1/1913: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Vienna, to Yekheskl Kotik, Warsaw, mentioning that he’s leaving tomorrow to Nervi, Italy. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 657. Yiddish.
Folder 86.9: Sholem Aleichem 3/2/1913: Calling-card of Sholem Aleichem, with Lausanne, Switzerland address. Verso has a brief letter from Sholem Aleichem, Vienna, to Yekheskl Kotik. Written in pencil. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 671. Yiddish.
Folder 86.10: Sholem Aleichem 3/3/1913: Illustrated postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Venice, to Yekheskl Kotik, Warsaw. With drawing of the Hotel Cental Vapore, Venice. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 656. Yiddish.
Folder 86.11: Sholem Aleichem 8/4/1913: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Wiesbaden, Germany, to Yekheskl Kotik.1 large page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 651. Yiddish.
Folder 86.12: Sholem Aleichem 4/12/1904: Postcard from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, to Mr. Tsitron, St. Petersburg, "in great anticipation." 2 pages. Red ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp and acquisition number 6213. Yiddish and Russian.
Folder 86.13: Sholem Aleichem 4/21/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem to J. Lidsky. 3 pages. Written on the stationary printed in Russian, of deputy lawyer I.D. Utsekhovskii of Vilna. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 669. Yiddish.
Folder 86.14: Sholem Aleichem 4/21/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem to J. Lidsky, mentioning his own poor health, and his doctor’s instructions not to deliver lectures. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stam, and acquisition number 672. Verso has A. Sutzkever’s signature. Yiddish.
Folder 86.15: Sholem Aleichem 8/26/1915: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, New York, to Miss Berman. He asks her what sort of honorarium she expects for her English translation of his [1911 (?)] novel "Der [blutiger] shpas (the bloody hoax)." 1 large page; typescript. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp" and acquisition number 1988. Yiddish.
Folder 87.1: Sholem Aleichem 12/23/1888: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev. Sholem Aleichem says that he has not yet received the manuscript sent to him by Dinesohn, and that publishing is causing him great difficulties. He mentions his illnesses, and states that he dislikes the poem [David] Frischmann sent him. 1 large page, written in ink, on printed stationary of "Di Yidishe Folksbibliotek." With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1513. Yiddish.
Folder 87.2: Sholem Aleichem 1908: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, to "Zeirei Zion" group, Lida. He was unsure of when he’d visit Dvinsk, and mentioned other points of his itinerary. 1 page. Photostat only of the original (2 copies). With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1972. Hebrew.
Folder 87.3: Sholem Aleichem 5/25/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Hotel St. Georges, Vilna, to the Grodno tobacco workers.1 page. Written in ink, on printed hotel stationary. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 617. Yiddish.
Folder 87.4: Sholem Aleichem 5/8/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Hotel Astoria, St. Petersburg, to Jacob Danilevitch. 2 large pages. Green ink. On hotel stationary. Water stained and faded. Russian.
Folder 87.5: Sholem Aleichem 5/9/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem to Jacob Danilevitch. 2 pages, written in black ink. Water stained. Russian
Folder 87.6: Sholem Aleichem 5/13/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Hotel Astoria, St. Petersburg, to Jacob Danilevitch. 2 large pages. Green ink. On hotel stationary.Water stained and faded. Russian
Folder 87.7: Sholem Aleichem 11/9/1912: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Lausanne, Switzerland, to Mr. Simon.1 page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stam, and acquisition number 662. Yiddish.
Folder 87.8: Sholem Aleichem 4/21/1914: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Vilna.1 narrow page of graph paper, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 678. Yiddish.
Folder 87.9: Sholem Aleichem 5/10/1913: Letter from Sholem Aleichem. Sholem Aleichem asks: "Why don’t you write to me? What is going on?" Then he says: "We’ll see each other soon." 1 page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 659. Yiddish.
Folder 87.10: Sholem Aleichem 6/25/1908: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Brest-Litovsk, mentioning his upcoming visits to Warsaw, and Geneva. I large page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1305. Tissue- thin blue paper. Yiddish.
Folder 87.11: Sholem Aleichem 7/2/1908: Letter from Sholem Aleichem.1 large page, written in black ink. Tissue-thin blue paper. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1306. Yiddish.
Folder 87.12: Sholem Aleichem 1/17/1889: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Kiev, about financial matters. Sholem Aleichem requests a reply to two inquiries about book orders, and promises to soon send him some books, to be forwarded to others. 2 pages, written in violet ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1521. Hebrew and Yiddish.
Folder 87.13: Sholem Aleichem 1913: Greeting card from Sholem Aleichem for the New Year.1 small rectangular printed card. Hebrew as well as Roman characters.
Folder 87.14: Sholem Aleichem No date: Calling card of Sholem Aleichem. in Hebrew and Latin letters I very small rectangular printed card. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 2012. Hebrew as well as Roman characters.
Folder 88.1: Sholem Aleichem Feb. 6: Letter from Sholem Aleichem, Galicia, to “his dear friend,” providing the four stanza Yiddish poem to be used as his epitaph, upon his death. Composed during a banquet held in his honor ”where people were drinking, having fun, and were singing songs.” 1 page. Elegant handwriting. Verso has signature of A. Sutzkever in pencil. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1401. Yiddish.
Folder 88.2: Sholem Aleichem 4/29/1909: Power-of attorney document drawn up between Sholem Aleichem and Noyakh Finkelstein, confirmed by the Russian consul-general in Genoa, Italy. 2 large pages, written in black ink, with green government stamp. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1999. Russian.
Folder 88.3: Sholem Aleichem No date: Letter to Sholem Aleichem from Warsaw, signed by Jacob Dinesohn, Dr. Gershon Levine, Abraham Podlishevsky, and Noach Prylucki. This letter, written on the occasion of his 25th literary anniversary, announces that the publication rights to Sholem Aleichem's works have been purchased from the various publishers, and now belong solely to Sholem Aleichem. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 2009. Yiddish.
Folder 88.4: Sholem Aleichem No date: Letter from Sholem Aleichem’s son-in-law, Yitzhak Dov Berkowitz, to Warsaw, discussing publication arrangements for the works of his father-in-law.1 large page; typescript (carbon copy), with handwritten additions and postscripts in two different hands. Second page of letter only. Hebrew.
Folder 88.5: Sholem Aleichem Feb., 1934: Presentation placard, with a greeting to the Sholem Aleichem celebration held in Vilna, from the "Help through Work" schools. With signatures of the directors of the organization and its management. Folio sized page, with decorative border, and Yiddish lettering. Written in black ink on very thick paper. Yiddish.
Folder 89.1: Shneur, Zalman 5/15/1917: Letter from Zalman Shneur, Berlin-Charlottenberg, to Jacob Dinesohn. 1 large page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 862. Yiddish.
Folder 89.2: Shneur, Zalman August 31: Letter from Zalman Shneur, Berlin, to “Chaver Kave”. 2 pages, written in ink. Faded. Yiddish
Folder 90.1: Saul Aaron 1862: Letter to Saul Aaron, Eishishok. 2 large pages, written in ink. Hebrew
Folder 90.2: Sassoon, David Solomon 9/19/1908: Postcard from the renowned collector of manuscripts David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942), London, to Menahem Lipschütz, Paris. He wishes him a good year, and asks him if he knows G. Guetta of Paris. 2 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.

Series 2: Manuscripts (Folders 95-153a)

Sub-Series 1: Works of known authors, arranged alphabetically

This series consists of manuscripts, most of them fragmentary, of known authors arranged in Yiddish alphabetical order. The series includes both Yiddish and Hebrew writings, including some by I.L. Peretz, Shlomo Ettinger, S. Ansky, Mendele Moykher Seforim, Theodor Herzl. For a fuller scope and content note of this Series please refer to the Scope and Content Note at the beginning of this finding aid.

א

Folder 95.1: Ibn-Zahav, Judah 1929: Article: "A Description of an Old Siddur (prayer-book)," by Judah Ibn-Zahav. The siddur was written in Dubno, and preserved in the synagogue of Monasterzysko. 7 long, narrow pages. Yiddish.
Folder 96.1: Ussishkin, Abraham Menachem Mendel 1902: Article about Zionism, entitled: "Geulat Ha-Aretz," [Redemption of the Land] by early Zionist leader Abraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin [1863-1941]. 10 large pages written in ink (pp. 3-11). With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Yiddish.
Folder 97.1: Ansky, S. No date: Excerpt entitled: “Broken Tablets and Lost Words,” from the book: “The Jewish Destruction in Poland and Galicia,” by S. Ansky. 5 large pages, written in black ink. With the author’s signature.Yiddish.
Folder 97a.1: Ansky, S. Ca. 1920: S. Ansky’s play: “The Dibbuk.” 8 pages of the original handwritten manuscript, written in the author's own hand. Ansky's corrections are in blue-black and red ink. Pages which survive are numbered: 7, 8, 31, 32, 41, with one 2 digit number torn in half (3?), and 2 missing, because the corners of the pages are gone. Five of the pages are stamped with the ink-stamp of the Ansky Ethnographic and Historical Society in Vilna. Yiddish.

ב

Folder 98.1: Bachur, Elia (also known as: Elias Levita) No date: Book on Hebrew grammar, entitled: "Sefer [Ha-] Bahur," by Elia Bachur, Ashkenazi. 52 pages. Black ink. Elegant handwriting. With cardboard binding. Hebrew.
Folder 99.1: Bovshover, Joseph 8/21/1898: Poem by Joseph Bovshover [1873-1915] in honor of the playwright Jacob Gordon. Written upon the opening of Gordon’s theatrical masterpiece: "The Jewish King Lear." 1 large page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1920. Yiddish.
Folder 100.1: Buber, Solomon No date: Introduction to "Kiryah Nisgavah," a history of the Jews of Zholkov, by Solomon Buber (1827–1906), a well known scholar and the grandfather of Martin Buber. At the bottom of the first page there is a note in Max Weinrich's hand that this is a manuscript of "Shlomo Buber" sent [to YIVO] by Avraham Zeinfeld on July 15, 1938. 6 large pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 100.2: Bystron, Jan Stanislaw 1916: Title page of: "Family Costumes of the Slavic Peoples," by Jan Stanyslaw Bystron (1892-1964), Polish ethnographer and sociologist. Only a fragment- the title, is preserved in this folder. 1 page, written in ink. Polish.
Folder 101.1: Birnbaum, Nathan No date: Essay, entitled: "The Problem of the Younger Generation," by Dr. Nathan Birnbaum. 8 pages, written in ink on thin yellow paper. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 166. Yiddish.
Folder 102.1: Goldschmidt, A. I. No date: Untitled manuscript page by A. I. Goldschmidt [?].1 narrow page,written in black ink. Yiddish.

ג

Folder 103.1: Glanz, Rudolf No date: Article, entitled: "Nomenclature of the Early Yiddish Language of Thieves, Derived from Folkloric Sources." by Dr. Rudolf Glanz, Vienna. Rudolf Glanz (1892-1978) founded the YIVO Circle of Western Jewish Scholars in Vienna and was a visiting lecturer in YIVO's training division in Vilna. He was a Research Associate of YIVO from 1938 to 1954. Author’s manuscript. 2 large pages, written in black ink. Yellowing, brittle paper. Incomplete. Yiddish.

ד

Folder 104.1: Dubnow, Simon No date: Greetings to the 10th year anniversary gathering of YIVO, by Simon Dubnow. Author’s manuscript. 3 large pages, written in ink. Yellowing, brittle paper. Yiddish.
Folder 105.1: Dick, Isaac Meir No date: Manuscript page (page # 24), of a work by Isaac Mayer Dik, printed by the Romm Press, Vilna. 2 pages, written in black ink. With the Romm press ink stamp. Yiddish.
Folder 105.2: Dick, Isaac Meir No date: Account of the martyrdom of Graf Valentin Potocki (Abraham ben Abraham; d. 1749). Copied from the edition of "Gerei Ha-Tsedek," by Isaac Meir Dik, [Johannesburg], 1862. 2 pages only, of the end of the account. Elegant handwriting. Brown ink. Some damage. Hebrew.

ה

Folder 106.1: Herzl, Theodor 1882-87.: Diary of the young Theodor Herzl, from 1882 to 1887. It consists mostly of comments on books he read, including Eugene Dühring’s anti-Semitic “Der Jüdenfrage,” but also contains much personal introspection. 87 small pages. In the author's minute handwriting. Black ink. Many pages damaged. German.
Folder 106.2: Herzl, Theodor 1886: Notes in German of miscellaneous nature. Includes a lament (dated 1/18/1886) in French on the verso of a Viennese skating rink ticket (Wiener Eislauf-Verein), on the failure of his beloved to show up at the appointed time. The note is page number 118. Includes specific references to the Bible, Talmud, Pirke Aboth, Maimonides, Lecky’s “Rise and fall of Rationalism in Europe,” and other scholarly works; a discussion about Reform Judaism (using the Hebrew phrase: "Atah Behartanu"); the Hebrew phrase: “Lo am Ha-arets Hasid,” and a draft of a letter to Dr. Mandelstam [?]. 18 small pages. German.
Folder 107.1: Herzl, Theodor 1882-87: Diary of the young Theodor Herzl, from 1882-87. 79 pages. Carbon copy of typescript. German.
Folder 107a.1: Hofmann, M. 1902: Pamphlet, entited: "Ha-tsionut ve-ha-kefirah." Composed in German by Dr M. Hofmann, and translated into Hebrew by Y. Kh., 1902. 25 pages, written in black ink. Unlined, unbound notebook held together with staples. Hebrew.

ז

Folder 108a.1: Zhitlowsky, Chaim No date: Article by Chaim Zhitlowsky, on the role of Jewish workers associations in America. 8 pages, numbered 2-9; first page is missing. Lined notebook, written in black ink. Yiddish.

י

Folder 108b.1: Jedidiah Solomon ben Aaron 1839: Manuscript of the book "Sefer Lehem Se'orim," by Jedidiah Solomon ben Aaron the Karaite of Troki. Written in 1769. The author’s name is not mentioned in the manuscript. The book is in the format of a dispute between a Karaite and a Rabbanite Jew. A number of other manuscripts of this work are known. 64 small pages, written in black ink. The bound book sections known as fascicles were once sewn together, but have mostly come apart. Damaged, with some loss of text. First page torn. The margins contain erudite comments by a rabbinic scholar. With the ink stamp of the library of the late R. Matityahu Shtrashun. Number 2369 in "Likutei Shoshanim," the published catalog of Strashun's library. Hebrew.
Folder 108c.1: Judah Leib ben R. Menahem Mendel 19th cent.: A manuscript containing a range of genres, entitled: "Zeman Ha-geulah," attributed to R. Judah Leib ben R. Menahem Mendel, Hebrew teacher in Amsterdam (12 pages). A note at the end of the folder indicates that Zelig Kalmanovitch, former director of YIVO, who died in the Vilna Ghetto, had told Avraham Sutzkever that the contents of the manuscript are copied from other sources and that this manuscript is from the literary estate of Eliakim Carmoly (1802-1875), a scholar and bibliophile. Various items, written in diverse handwritings. Bound with at least five other items. 33 pages, written in black ink. Water damaged. Bound with cardboard covers; leather spine. Hebrew.

כ

Folder 108d.1: Kohen, Moses 1731: Book entitled "Sefer Et Sofer," [The Pen of the Writer, a letter-writing manual] by R. Moses [ben Michael] Kohen. Edited with additional material by R. David Meldola of Bayonne, France (son of R. Raphael Meldola), and copied by him in Amsterdam, 1731. 206 handwritten pages. Brown ink, which has faded in some parts. Bound in leather. With the ink stamp of the library of the late R. Matityahu Shtrashun. Number 3630 in Likutei Shoshanim, the calalog of the Strashun library. Hebrew.

ל

Folder 109.1: Landau, Avraham Yitshak No date: Book, entitled: "Sefer Ha-kundes," a satire on the leaders of the Vilna Jewish community, by Avraham Yitshak Landau. Copied by pre-war YIVO staff member Moshe Lehrer, from the only surviving exemplar. Originally printed in Vilna, 1824. 29 pages, written in ink. Extensively foxed. Hebrew.
Folder 110.1: Lunski, Khaykl No date: Humorous vignettes and bon mots of Isaac Mayer Dick, Shayke Fefer, Yankel and Moishe Yog, and others, collected by Khaykl Lunski, librarian of the Strashun Library in Vilna before World War II. 9 pages written in ink, in a lined notebook. Yiddish.

מ

Folder 111.1: Manger, Itzik No date: Fragments of poems by Itzik Manger (1901–1969), Yiddish poet, playwright and essayist. 4 pages, written in ink. Russian/Yiddish. Born in Rumania, Manger spent ten years, from 1928 to 1938, in Poland. The Russian text appears to be Yiddish transliterated into Russian characters.
Folder 111.2: Eastern Galician Jewish National Council 12/19/1918: Points for a lecture on the joint political platform created by the Eastern Galician Jewish National Council, Stanislawów. 2 large pages. Typescript. Some deterioration and damage to text. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 251. German.
Folder 113.1: Mendes, David Franco 1712-13: Manuscript of a book entitled: "Haruzei Mashbitsot." An anthology of poems, letters, and literary pieces, etc., by David Franco Mendes (1713-1792), his son Jacob, and others, including medieval poets. Mendes was a Jewish Hebrew-language poet who lived in Amsterdam. The manuscript was originally from the estate of the collector and scholar Elyakim Carmoly. 99 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 114.1: Mendele Moykher Sforim No date: First paragraph of a story by Mendele Moykher Sforim entitled: "Bishvil Makom B'keren Mizrahit," [For the sake of a coveted place at the Eastern Wall of the synagogue]. The story is about the mythical little town of "Kabtziel." The name "Kabtziel" appears to be derived from the word 'kabtzonim," which means "paupers." The town of "Kabtziel" has gone through a cultural change. The inhabitants who were once self-effacing and humble have become demanding and aggressive. Written in the author's own hand. 1 large page, written in black ink; top third only. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition Number 923. Hebrew.
Folder 114.2: Mendele Moykher Sforim No date: Rhymed introduction to Mendele Moykher Seforim's allegorical poem "Yudel," written in the author's own handwriting. This poem was originally composed in 1875.The text was first published in the 1911 edition of "Ale Verk fun Mendele Moykher Seforim," published in Warsaw, but this manuscript varies from the published version. 14 large pages with lines, written in black ink, and numbered in pencil (page 2 is blank). Pages numbered 11-12 and 13-14 are attached. Some water staining and fading. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 903. Yiddish, and Hebrew, with some of the Hebrew words vocalized.
Folder 114.3: Mendele Moykher Sforim 1906: Memoir entitled “Shloime Rav Chaim's,” Mendele’s literary autobiography. Two excerpts only. The following titles appear; “Vinter Nekht…[Winter nights..], A Nakht fun Chanike” [A Chanukah Night], and “Yomim Noyro’im” [The High Holidays]. There is also the beginning of a letter in Russian on the verso, dated 12/9/1906. In the author's own hand (as per comments at bottom of page initialed in Yiddish). 2 small pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 913. Yiddish.

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Folder 115.1: Sutzkever, Abraham 12/11/1946: List of items for the New York exhibition, sent to YIVO by Abraham Sutskever. 1 blue paper page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 115a.1: Shertils, Moshe: Title page of: "Sefer Lekah Tov," by R. Moshe ben R. Issachar Halevi, known as R. Moshe Shertils, Prague, Photostat. The original work was in Yiddish, except for the Hebrew title page, and was published in 1604. 1 postcard displaying a reduced size image of the title page. Hebrew.

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Folder 116.2: Ettinger, Shloime No date: Max Weinreich’s introduction to his planned edition of: "An Anti-Maskilic Poem From the Mid 19th Century." Only the introduction and notes are in this folder. This manuscript was not published in Weinreich’s edition of Ettinger’s complete works, because Weinreich had believed that it was authored by Ettinger's daughter Disha. The Introduction provides information about the provenance of the Shlomo Ettinger Archive received by Weinreich, and which served as the basis of Weinreich's 1925 edition of Ettinger's collected writings. 4 pages; 3 long and thin; 1 smaller; numbered 1, 2, 3, 8; written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 116.3: Ettinger, Shloime 19th century: List of all of Shloime Ettinger's Yiddish works. 4 long thin pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 116.4: Ettinger, Shloime 19th century: Prose works of Shloime Ettinger. 5 pages on blue paper, written in black ink. German.
Folder 116.5: Ettinger, Shloime No date: Poem (18 strophes,) by Disha Ettinger-Shapira (Dr. Ettinger’s daughter) in honor of her father. With an archivist's note in Yiddish on a piece of paper, stating that the poem is in Disha's handwriting. 2 large pages, written in ink in 2 columns. Yiddish.
Folder 116.6: Ettinger, Shloime 1859: Formal betrothal contract, referred to in Hebrew as "Tena'i," between Moshe Meir ben Chaim Nathan Shapira of Warsaw, and Dishka, daughter of Golda and Shloime Ettinger. Financial stipulations are listed, e.g. the couple will be supported by the bride’s mother for one year. 1 large page, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 116.7: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: List of medicinal drugs and their quantities, on a scrap of paper. 2 pages, written in black ink. Physician’s Latin.
Folder 117.1: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem, entitled: "Rauchlied… ." 2 pages, written in ink. German.
Folder 117.2: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Coupon to purchase two of his forthcoming Yiddish works, as a pre-publication promotion. A prepared form, to be filled in by hand. With Ettinger’s signature. This document was published in Weinreich's 1925 Collected Writings of Ettinger, opposite page xxviii. Odessa. Yiddish.
Folder 117.3: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poems (2), one in Yiddish, one in Hebrew. On page 2 of the manuscript there is a list of kitchen utensils. The Yiddish manuscript in this folder is published in Weinreich's Collected Writings of Ettinger, p. 533. The Hebrew manuscript is published in the same work by Weinreich, pages 546-547. 2 pages, written in black ink on blue paper. Yiddish and Hebrew.
Folder 117.4: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: 2 poems [not clear whether these are 2 poems or 1 poem and 1 letter]. 2 pages of blue paper, with 2-3 columns of writing in black ink, and pencil on each page. Yiddish.
Folder 118.1: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Letter to his brother-in-law. Beginning fragment only. This manuscript fragment was published in Weinreich's Collected Writings of Ettinger, 1925, between pages 568 and 569. 2 pages, written in black ink, with 1/3 of the text missing. Yiddish.
Folder 118.2: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Play entitled "Di Freylekhe Yungelayt" (The Happy Young People). 12 pages written in brown ink. Second to fourth scenes only. Incomplete fragment. This manuscript published in Weinreich, Collected Writings of Ettinger, pages 507-513. Yiddish.
Folder 118.3: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem. Signed by the author in Poltawa. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 119.1: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem, with dedication: "To my friend Jacob Eichenbaum.” 3 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 119.2: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Drama, entitled "Der Feter fun Amerika" (The Uncle from America). This manuscript was published in Weinreich, Collected Writings of Ettinger, pages 460-503.16 pages, written in ink. First, scene, first entrance to second scene, first entrance. Incomplete fragment. Yiddish.
Folder 119.3: Ettinger, Shloime 6/16/1859: 4 poems. One of them entitled "The Demons" (fragment), the latter published in Weinreich's Collected Writings of Ettinger, page 256. 24 pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 119.4: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem, and letter to a friend. 2 very small pages, written in ink. Yiddish and German.
Folder 120.1: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem (fragment). 1 page, written in ink. German.
Folder 120.2: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem, strophes 6-15 only. 4 long thin pages, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 120.3: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem, entitled: "To Jacob - Up to this mound [of stones], and, behold, here is the monument!" Half of a small page of blue paper, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 120.4: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem beginning with: "All your Friends." Facsimile of this manuscript was published in Weinreich's Collected Writings of Ettinger, opposite p. 524. 2 pages, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 121.1: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poems, one entitled: "Dacapo-Strophen von Seelinger." 1 very large page, folded in quarters, written in black ink. German.
Folder 121.2: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem. 1 folio page, folded in four, written in ink. German.
Folder 121.3: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem (fragment). Four 2 column pages (numbered 3-6), written in ink. German.
Folder 121.4: Ettinger, Shloime Mid 19th cent.: Poem;14th strophe [?] only. 2 pages, written in ink. Computations on verso. Yiddish.
Folder 121.5: Ettinger, Shloime 18/1/26: Note written by Jacob Shatzky in 1926. He mentions an autograph manuscript in New York of proverbs by Shloime Ettinger. 1 small page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 121.6: Ettinger, Shloime 13/2/27: A note indicating that Yehudah Leib Gordon (1830-1892), the Hebrew poet, once wrote a letter to Ettinger concerning Ettinger's son. 1 small page, written in black ink. Yiddish.

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Folder 122.1: Perl, Joseph Early 19th cent.: Introduction to "Megale Temirin" (Revealer of Secrets), by Joseph Perl (1773-1839), a Jewish writer and educator, active in the Haskalah movement in Galicia.This is a Yiddish translation, by Joseph Perl himself, of the entire Hebrew introduction which appears as part of the original book. A full facsimile of this manuscript was published by Shmuel Werses in Khulyot, vol. 3 (Spring 1996), pp. 98-108. It is not to be confused with the Yiddish introduction to "Megale Temirin" published by Simkha Katz in "YIVO Bleter" XIII (1938), pp. 566-75, which was a newly composed work by Perl, written especially to accompany his Yiddish translation of the entire work, published by YIVO in Vilna in 1937. 11 pages, in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 123.1: Perl, Joseph Ca. 1812-16: Story by Joseph Perl entitled: "Once There Was a Very Great King," written as a satire of a similar tale by R. Nahman of Bratslav. The story is about a king who was bewitched by a sorcerer at the behest of his own brother, and was therefore childless. 72 pages, written in black ink. The paper used was described as blue paper in the 1969 publication mentioned at the end of this entry, but is now brown. Signatures are sewn together (9 signatures, indicated by Arabic numerals), but unbound. Numerous crossings out and corrections indicate that the manuscript is written in Joseph Perl's own hand, as does the comparison with a facsimile of a personal letter in Perl’s own handwriting printed on the page facing p. xvi of: “The Yiddish Writings of Joseph Perl,” Vilna, 1937 (Yiddish), and with the facsimiles of works in his hand, published by Shmuel Werses in Ha-Universitah, vol. 19 (March 1974), pp. 46-51. The manuscript in this folder has been utilized in Chone Shmeruk and Shmuel Werses’: “Joseph Perl. Ḥasidic Tales and Letters,” Jerusalem, 1969 (Hebrew). Facsimiles of pages 1, 66, and 72 of the manuscript in this folder are printed on pages 118, 212, and 221, respectively, of the aforementioned publication. This item was considered so important when it saved by members of the "paper brigade" in the Vilna Ghetto, that it was listed in a inventory of special items compiled on 3/26/42. This inventory is currently housed in the Sutzkever-Kaczerginski Collection: Vilna Ghetto Archive, folder 451. Yiddish.
Folder 124.1: Friedman, Benjamin ben Zvi No date: Essay, entitled: "Vilna's Neighborhood of Antikale," by Benjamin ben Zvi Friedman. This manuscript belonged to Elyakim Getzel Levitan, Maggid of Brisk, formerly of Dvinsk and Bialystok. 6 pages (first page not numbered). Hebrew
Folder 125.1: Prylucki, Noah No date: Essay, about various subjects including the early period of YIVO, by Noah Prylucki. 1 long page, written in ink. Fragment only, torn in several places. A second page at the end seems to be unrelated.Yiddish.

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Folder 127.1: Kukilstein, M. 1898: Book, entitled: "The Second Book of Anecdotes," by M. Kukilstein. Censor's copy of the book, with crossed out paragraphs. 105 pages, written in ink. 307 anecdotes. Unbound; sewn. Yiddish.

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Folder 128.1: Reisen, Abraham No date: Fragment of a poem by Abraham Reisen entitled “Fun der Lita" (From Lithuania). Poet's signature appears at the bottom, under the poem. Reisen moved to New York in 1911. Stamped with donor’s name (Meir Kastoff, New York) and date of donation (12/1927) to the YIVO Archives. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 1568. 1 page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 128.2: Reisen, Abraham No date: Poem, entitled "Haynt" [Today]. Subtitle reads: "For the Protest Demonstration Against the Polish Pogroms." 1 page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 622. Yiddish.
Folder 128.3: Reisen, Abraham No date: Poem. entitled: "Nyu Yorker Motiven" [New York Motifs]. 5 pages, written in ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 581. Yiddish.
Folder 129.1: Reisen, Zalmen No date: Notes on Yiddish grammar, by Zalmen Reisen [?]. 4 long, narrow pages. Pages 1-2 are torn in 3 places, with some text missing. Yiddish.

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Folder 131.1: Sholem Aleichem April, 1906: Foreword by Sholem Aleichem, to J. D. Berkowitz's story: "Maryashke." Signed, Geneva, April 1906. 6 pages written in blue pencil on orange paper, taped together. Pre-war YIVO accession stamp, and number # 1995. Yiddish.
Folder 132.1: Shas-Roman No date: Article, entitled: "Jews in Romanian Folk Superstition," by Shas-Roman [pen name of Sh. Solomon], Bucharest. 24 pages written in ink, with some staining of the paper. Yiddish.
Folder 132.2: Shomer 1893: Title-page of: "Di Chalitsa," by Shomer, pen name of Nahum Meir Shaikewitz (1849-1905], Vilna, 1893. Photograph only on a postcard size page. Bears the stamp of the YIVO Institute Library. 1 page. Yiddish.
Folder 132.3: Solomon ben Judah 1834-36: Book, entitled: "Sefer Minchat Erev Ve-Simchei Lev," by the youth Solomon ben Judah of Moiden, on subject of the prayer "Shema." The manuscript pertains to the order of reciting the “Shema” before retiring. This is followed by a Yiddish homily. 28 small pages, written in ink. Water stained. Name on cover: Shlomo Ha-Katan. Latest date mentioned in manuscript: 1836. Hebrew and Yiddish

Sub-Series 2: Works Arranged by Literary Genre

This series consists of various literary genres or formats, such as autobiographies, stories, satires, homilies, title-pages, manuscripts, memoranda, etc.

Folder 133.1: Autobiography, Kobrin, Poland 1937: Autobiography of a young man residing in Havana, Cuba. He was born in Brest-Litovsk, and then raised in Kobrin. His account covers the years 1918-37. He attended heder and yeshiva as a young man. He was a member of Betar in his youth. 57 pages of an unbound, lined notebook, written in black ink. First and last pages are missing. Yiddish and Hebrew.
Folder 134.1: Model Yiddish Letters No date: Manuscript of model letters for various occasions [referred to as a 'brivenshteler" in Yiddish]. 3 fragments. Letters have Hebrew and Yiddish headings. 3 pages, written in ink. Written on a large sheet of paper. Yiddish and Hebrew.
Folder 134.2: Model Yiddish Letters No date: Verso has a Hebrew poem, written on the occasion of the author’s student Azriel’s birthday, entitled: “Sos Tasis Nafshecha” (May Your Soul Rejoice). 2 small pages written in ink; blue paper. Yiddish.
Folder 135.1: Purim "Haggadah" No date: Manuscript of a "Purim Haggadah" written in jest, and in the spirit of the holiday of Purim, in a style which parodies the Passover Haggadah. Includes references to the "Four Questions" and other well known sections of the Passover Haggadah, but adapted to the facts of Purim. Titled "Hagadah le-Leil Shikurim le-Hagdil Simhat Purim." 15 small pages, written with brown ink. Paperbound, sewn pamphlet, with paper label glued on to the cover. Ink stamped: “Geschenkt von Hermann Sokhobensohn, Wilna, 1901”. Water damaged, faded, and stained, with some text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 137.1: Story about Jesus No date: Story about Jesus. Begins: "And it happened in the days of Helene the Queen [of Adiabene]." On outer cover written in pencil: “Sent by S. Kitai, Kopenhagen." 25 pages. Written in ink. Small, paper-covered lined notebook. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stam, and acquisition number 110. Hebrew.
Folder 138.1: Literary Miscellany No date: First item entitled: "Remember the Days of Yore." 21 pages. Written in pen and pencil (each in a different hand). Primarily German, with some Hebrew.
Folder 139.1: Discussion About the Names of Talmudic Sages 19th cent.: Haskalah-era exposition, dealing with the names of Talmudic sages such as Hanan Ha-Nehba, and R. Yohanan ben Torta. Quotes Shelomo Yehuda Rappaport (1790–1867), writer, and scholar of the Haskalah. One of the pages has the signature of “Chaim Leyb Salkin” (later on, a second time: “Salkind”) in Latin letters, placed in the middle of a discussion. 4 pages, written in ink; heavily faded and difficult to read. Hebrew.
Folder 141.1: Memorandum relating to decrees limiting liquor licenses Circa 1861: This memorandum was written after Tsarist decrees were passed restricting the right of Jews to hold licenses to sell liquor. 4 pages, written in ink. Elegant handwriting. Water damaged, and faded. Yiddish.
Folder 142.1: Story about Jesus No Date: Story, entitled: "A story which occurred during the days of Helene the Queen [of Adiabene].” At the end of the last page: “The story of Jesus of Nazereth has ended." 18 pages of graph paper, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 108. Has ink stamp of: S. Weissenberg. Hebrew.
Folder 142.2: Title-page of: "Mishlei Shelomo" 1814: Title-page of: "Mishlei Shelomo", 1814. Photograph only on postal card. On front page of the card: M.L. Petshenik, Zloczow, 1917, with Yiddish writing at the bottom of the card which reads: "To the YIVO Institute."
Folder 143.1: Title-page of: "Seder ha-tefilot" 1745: Title-page of: "Seder Ha-Tefilot." Amsterdam, 1745. Photograph only on postal card. Hebrew.
Folder 143.2: Pamphlet, entitled: "Selichah al ha-kedoshim" 1841: Pamphlet, entitled: "Selichah al Ha-Kedoshim," about the blood-libel in Rosenau in 1660. Copied from the Rosenau machzor in 1841. Elegaic poem and mourning prayers. 12 pages written in ink. Elegant square letters. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 144.1: Manuscript of Sippur Eldad Ha-Dani and Mishlei Sendebar No date: Manuscript containing two works.The first, entitled: "Sippur Eldad Ha-Dani," the second: "Mishlei Sendebar," [incomplete?] 34+12 pages, written in black ink. Bound in cardboard, with leather spine [half leather?]. Name on paper label on outer cover: S. Wuerzburger [?]. Hebrew.
Folder 145.1: Title-page of: “Sefer Elef Dor" No date: Title-page of: “Sefer Elef Dor: Hidushim, Tefilat Ta’anit, Derush, Hilukei Derabbanan, Halakhot.” 1 large page. Printed image of gateway designed by Michelangelo with the inscription: "NGC de Sermonet," serves as the front page for this manuscript, with the title written in the space of the doorway. The signature of the well-known scholar and bibliophile Eliakim Carmoly (1802-1875) is on the upper left corner; the ink stamp of the library of Matisyahu Shtrashun is under the title. Not listed in "Likutei Shoshanim," the calalog of Matisyahu Shtrashun’s library. Hebrew.
Folder 146.1: "Sefer Pirchei Ha-Rimonim, Me’asef le-Kol Ha-Mahanot" 1635: A collection of excerpts made from a number of works.The front page on the upper left margin has the signature of Eliakim Carmoly, the well-known 19th century scholar and book collector. 81 pages written in ink.
The miscellany includes: 1) Table of contents of the 6 divisions of the book, 2) Excerpt from “Sefer Shever Gaon” (the second part of “Meshiv nefesh,” by R. Menahem Le-Beit Meir (Ha-meiri, 3) A responsa (actually, a response to Nahmanides’ criticism of Maimonides, by R. Efraim ben Israel Alnakawa from “Sha’ar be-Khvod ha-Shem.” 4) Poem, entitled: “Ani Hokhmah le-Kol Hokhmah Ateret,” copied from “Perush Ralbag al ha-Torah,” ed. 1476. 5) Excerpt from “Sefer ha-Malkhut,” by R. David Tamakh. For a detailed description of the contents of this folder, a fuller version of the finding aid is available in the YIVO Archives reading room by appointment and by writing to archives@yivo.cjh.org.
Pages [4, 5, 8-14] contain illustrations. Written in varying periods in different hands, on different kinds of paper, which would indicate that, perhaps in the early 19th century, a number of unrelated pamphlets were bound together. Upper left margin of title page has Hebrew signature of Eliakim Carmoly. Hebrew.
Folder 147.1: Fragment of Story Entitled "Poyarim" No date: Story (fragment), entitled: "Poyarim" (serfs or peasants). 1 large, narrow page, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 148.1: Story about Joseph Panthera 19th century: Story about Joseph Panthera, the Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist. Composed in a 19th century literary style. 107 small pages, bound together, without a cover. Leaves 1-5; 6 is missing; 7-13; 14 is missing; and 15-55. The black ink has seeped through a number of pages, rendering them illegible. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp. Acquisition number is no longer visible. Signature Of A. Sutzkever in green pencil is on the blank last page. Hebrew.
Folder 149.1: Title-page of the periodical "Freie Yiddishe Folksbiene" 1897: Title-page of the periodical "Freie Yiddishe Folksbiene," edited by Joel Entin, (New York, [1897]). 1 page. Photostat (post card size) only; poor condition. Yiddish.
Folder 149a.1: Article, "Korot ha-Yehudim be-Ungarn" No date: Article, entitled: "Korot ha-Yehudim be-Ungarn," (History of the Jews in Hungary), from 1250-1790, with footnotes. 4 folio sized pages; written in ink. Author’s autograph copy, with corrections. Author's name is not identified. Incomplete. Hebrew.
Folder 150.1: Homily on a Zionist Theme No date: Homily, entitled: "Ra'ayonot Nisgavot Tsionah," (Lofty Ideas about Zion), first part only, with an introduction. Written in the traditional style of a “drashah” (sermon or homily), using rabbinic sources, on a Zionist theme. Pages [21-27] contain a “Zemer le-Hovivei Tsiyon ve-Yerushalayim,” a 20 stanza song with a brief introduction. Composed in Tzarist Russia. May have been used as a handbook by a traveling Zionist Maggid (preacher). 27 pages. Small lined notebook, with paper covers. Water damage, staining, and severe deterioration, with text missing. Title page (in extremely fragile condition) was found detached and crumpled up. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Ethnographic Society. Yiddish.
Folder 151.1: Siddur in Yiddish Translation No date: Siddur [prayerbook] in Yiddish translation. Follows order of the weekday prayer service from the Tahanun prayer after the Eighteen Benedictions [Shmone Esrei], until after the Torah is read (pp.112-124 in “Seder Avodat Yisrael”, ed. Dr. Seligman Baer, 1937). 14 pages, Beautifully written with black ink, in square, pointed letters. Pages show heavy wear. Upper left corner of page [1] is broken off. Yiddish, with portions of the Hebrew siddur (prayer book) text.
Folder 152.1: Postcard. Autobiographical or historical account No date: Postcard, with the text of an autobiographical or historical account. 2 sides. Photostat only. Yiddish.
Folder 152.2: Letter or story about a visit to a home No date: Rough draft of a letter or story. The writer mentions that the first thing he looks for when he enters someone’s home is a bookcase; if it is lacking, he feels strange and alone. 2 long pages, written in black ink, showing some deterioration at the top and bottom. Hebrew.
Folder 152.3: Forward to a book(?) No date: Forward to book (?). 3 pages. Green ink, with bleeding. Yiddish.
Folder 153.1: Poem No date: Poem of 9 stanzas.1 page, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 153.2: Discussion about Jewish family names 19th cent.: Discussion of Jewish familial connections and family name changes, with many Jewish family names and Eastern European towns listed. 4 small pages. Brittle at corners, with some text missing. Black ink. One side has writing in various directions. Yiddish.
Folder 153a.1: Toledot Yeshu 16th-17th cent.: Toledot Yeshu; a medieval Hebrew work purporting to be a history of the life of Jesus. End of chapter 8; beginning of chapter 9. 1 page. Italian cursive script of the 16th-17th century. Reduced–size photograph only of a manuscript, taken at the studio of K. Gersater, Vilna. Hebrew.

Series 3: Theatrical documents (Folders 154-161)

Folder 154.1: "Melokhe-Melukhe" by A. Broida and L. Herbst No date: One-act play, entitled: "Melokhe-Melukhe," by A. Broida and L. Herbst. 22 pages. Severely water damaged and faded, with some text missing or illegible. Very fragile. Yiddish.
Folder 155.1: Letter to Mrs. David Herman May 23: Letter from the Royal Actors of Oslo, Norway, to Mrs. David Herman, Warsaw. David Herman was the director of the Yiddish theater ensemble called the "Vilna Troupe." The letter congratulates Mrs. Herman upon her husband’s successful production of "The Dybbuk" in 1923, during the Ibsen Festival. Signed by the entire cast, with their names next to a list of the roles they played. With an envelope, and a note written in pencil by David Herman on the torn-off flap of another envelope. German.
Folder 155.2: Letter to Mr. Kutner, with note from A. Veiter No date: Letter to Mr. Kutner, about the activities of a Yiddish theatrical troupe in the Vilna area. Last page is a note from A.Veiter (Yiddish dramatist, political activitist and editor) in a different hand. 3 pages, written in black ink. Deterioration from water damage, with some missing text. Yiddish.
Folder 156.1: Story by Rudolph Zaslavsky, "How I found out that I was dead." No date: Story entitled: "How I found out that I was dead," by Rudolph Zaslavsky, actor and stage director. 8 pages, written in black ink, on thin sheets of lined paper. Vertical tear at the center of the bottom of most pages. Yiddish.
Folder 157.1: Memoirs of Hersh Amesia, an actor Circa 1894: Memoirs of an actor, Hersh Amesia. The memoirs cover the period of 1878-1894. According to details provided in the first notebook, the author was born in 1864 in Odessa to an orthodox family, and received a traditional cheder and yeshiva education until 1877. He joined a children’s choir which later became part of Goldfaden’s troupe. Two of Goldfadens productions, “Shulamith” and “Uriel Acosta,” are mentioned, with the participating actors and the roles they played listed. Page [17] of the first notebook has a drawing of a theater entrance. In two small, unbound, lined notebooks written in black ink; the first: 4 pages, the second: 43 pages. The initial pages are missing. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp. Yiddish.
The author's name does not appear in this memoir, but the details of his life presented therein, agree completely with the details provided under his entry in Zalmen Zylbercweig’s “Leksikon funem yidishn teater” (volume I, p. 69,New York,1931).
W
Folder 157a.1: Actor's Membership Card 7/10/1918: Actor's membership card in the "Yidisher Artistn Fareyn" (Jewish Actors Union), Warsaw, belonging to Abram Lewibrowski. 3 small cards, glued on to a piece of cloth.Yiddish and Polish.
Folder 158.1: 'The Wisdom of Solomon', a Theatrical Work 1906: Libretto [text] for a musical play, including chorus, entitled: "Chochmas Schloimo oder Die Weisheit von Salomon," by dramatist, folklorist and writer, Joseph Judah (Osip Mikhailovich) Lerner (1847-1907). Censor's copy. 20 pages; lined, unbound notebook. Water damaged and stained. Has official government “revenue paid” stamp for submitting items to the official censor. With pre-war YIVO/Theater Museum ink stamp with acquisition number 25/1805. This is a reference to the Esther Rachel Kaminska Theater Museum which was established at YIVO in 1927. German and Russian.
Folder 159.1: Libretto of an Operetta:"Schabos Kojdesch" 1908: Libretto [text only] of an operetta, entitled: "Schabos Kojdesch," [The Holy Sabbath] written by Sigmund Feinman, and adapted by Genfer. 60 manuscript pages, written in black ink. Bound, with cardboard covers. The operetta was approved for staging by the Russian censor, and has appropriate stamps with signed approval on the front page, and a red wax seal on the last page. German.
Folder 160.1: Play: "By the Closed Gate" No date: Play, entitled: "By the Closed Gate," by Jacob Preger (1887-1942). One of three acts. 32 pages, written in blue ink. Paperbound, small lined notebook. Yiddish.
Folder 161.1: Theater Contract 1909: Theatrical contract for A. I. Kaminski. Abraham Isaac Kaminski (1867-1918) was the husband of the famous Yiddish actress Esther-Rachel Kaminska. 1 large page; upper portion only. With Russian 60 kopek notarial stamp attached. Russian.

Series 4: Folklore, Ethnography, and Miscellaneous Items (Folders 162-170)

Folder 162.1: Discussion About Going to a Rebbe for Advice 1928: Record of a discussion between three women, on the subject of children dying at a young age, and the custom of visiting a "gutn yid" [a rabbi or holy man] for advice on how to deal with this problem. Written down by Meir Brand, Kolo, Poland, 1928. 2 pages, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp. Yiddish.
Folder 163.1: Customs of the Maharsha's Synagogue in Ostrow and the Jewish community there 1926: "Customs in and around the Maharsha's Synagogue in Ostrog." Submitted by M. Tolpin who was a resident of Ostrog. Tolpin writes that the YIVO Institute in Vilna should include the collecting of these types of customs as part of its institutional mission.The handwritten document includes references to Friday afternoon customs, before the Sabbath, and the tradition of the sexton of the synagogue, Reb Hershl, to take his gavel and walk through the town, knocking on every second door, and announcing that the Sabbath is coming, and that the townspeople should begin to buy food and wine for the Sabbath, and other Sabbath items. The document also includes a reference to old-time practices in the Maharsha's Synagogue of Ostrog, when the Torah is taken out of the ark for the reading, or the customs of Simchat Torah when the synagogue officials climb up on the roof and throw applies for the chidlren of the town to catch. 8 pages of long, narrow, strips of graph paper, written in violet ink. Yiddish.
Folder 164.1: Song about the Rebbe 1927 [?]: Song about a Hasidic Rebbe at his Sabbath table (communal meal), by Moishe Lerer, Chelmo. 1 long narrow page, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 165.1: Customs of "Nitl" [Christmas Eve] No date: "Nitl" [Christmas Eve] customs at various locations. 5 small pages, and 1 thin strip of paper, all written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 166.1: Children’s Song from the Town of Sanok 1929-1930: Children’s song concerning "parkhes" (those who suffer from scabies), sung in heder on Shabbat Hagadol [the Sabbath before Passover]. With a small cardboard printed ticket, for a free trip from "Sanok [Poland] to Egypt," referred to in the song. The ticket was mounted on a small piece of cardboard. Both items were collected by ethnographers in Sanok. This custom of children marching around on Shabbat Hagadol singing that all "parkhes" be sent to Egypt, and even providing them with tickets for the journey, is documented in Jewish folklore studies. See Itzik Gottesman, “Ale Parkhes Keyn Mitsrayim! A Shabes-Hagadol Custom in Eastern Europe,” (paper delivered at the American Jewish Studies Conference, Boston, Mass., December 19, 1989). 1 long thin page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 166.2: Segulah (Amulet) No date: Segulah [Amulet or Talisman] against the “evil eye,” from a private collection, donated to commemorate a visit to YIVO on 12/13/1938. 1 small page; reduced size. Photostat of the original handwritten item. Hebrew.
Folder 166.3: Segulah (Amulet) No date: Segulah (Amulet or Talisman). The text consists of 113 words of 5 Hebrew letters each, probably written in a code, surrounded by Biblical verses on all four sides. 1 small printed page, with seven vertical fold marks. Hebrew.
Folder 166.4: Book on Yiddish Folk Music 1936: Printed Yiddish book, entitled: "Folklor-Lider, Naye Materialn-Zamlung, Band II." Prepared for publication by Z. Skuditsky, under the editorship of M. Winer. 392 pages; Moscow, Farlag Emes, 1936. Published by the "Institut far Yidisher Proletarisher Kultur" (Institute for Jewish Proletarian Culture). Bottom of front page has signature of Moishe Lerer, head of YIVO during the Soviet period (see YIVO Bleter, New Series, Vol.III, pp. 14-19). The book includes studies and analyses of Yiddish folk music and folk songs, as well as examples of folk songs. Front inner cover lists 2 later Russian publications on the same topic. Recto of last page of the book (blank), lists further publications. Last 3 pages of book (blank) contain comments and references in Russian and Yiddish, the last page giving a list of Russian publications relating to "children's folklore." The book has a number of marginal notes in Yiddish, written in pencil. Found in the book were: 3 small slips of paper with Yiddish, Russian, and Polish handwriting; 5 pages of varying sizes containing Yiddish poems; 3 newspaper clippings, 1 in Russian(1940), 2 in Yiddish(1934 and 1937) on on the subject of foklore. Yiddish.
Folder 167.1: Article on Women's Folklore No date: Article on women's folklore: customs concerning childbirth and infants. 37 lined Pages, written in black ink. Extremely fragile; badly water-damaged and faded; some parts illegible. Page order is uncertain. Yiddish.
Folder 167.2: Folk Song No date: Text of part of a folk song, submitted by L. Rosenzweig, Wloclowek, Poland.
1 page, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 167.3: Folktale about Job and Elijah the Prophet No date: Folktale entitled: “Three Times,” about Job meeting Elijah the prophet, who suggests that he immerse himself in the “River of Fire” to be cured of his wounds. Ends with a prayer formula to the affect that, just as Job was healed, so too may so-and-so [who is reciting the prayer] be healed.The folktale was recorded by Aaron Simon Shpall, age 38, from Kremenitz, who heard it from a child in Bilzerko. On the subject of “River of Fire” in Jewish sources, see Daniel 7:10, and the sources indicated by Louis Ginzberg, “The Legends of the Jews,” Vol. V, pages 37 and 125. 1 page. Written in pencil on graph paper. Yiddish, and Hebrew.
Folder 167.5: Scholarly Note on Yiddish Philology No date: Scholarly note on Yiddish philology, dealing with words ending in: -or,-ntz, -ans, -in, and –ic. 1 small page, written in black ink. Yiddish.
Folder 167.6: Piyyutim (Religious Poems) for Yom Kippur. 19th cent.: Piyyutim (Religious Poems) for Yom Kippur. 2 pages of pointed text in cursive letters. Written in ink. Some fading from water. Prewar YIVO red ink inventory stamp # 1898. Hebrew.
Folder 168.1: Folktale About the Origin of the Gypsies 1933: Folktale, on the origin of the Gypsies, translated by Shimshon Kahan from the Romani or Gypsy language. Mermaids (or "mermen"), and Moldavians are mentioned. 1 page only, written in black ink, the last of 4 small pages. With pencil drawings on the verso. Stationary has printed date of 1936. Yiddish.
Folder 169.1: Mourning Customs and Expressions 12/15/1928: Lamentations on the deaths of close relatives, collected by Samuel Swartzberg in Lodz. 24 postcard sized slips of paper, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 169.2: Customs of Mourning No date: Customs of mourning including professional women mourners. Collected by various people in various locations, including: Koil (2 items), Laszczow (7 items), Sukodol (1 item), and Warsaw (2 items). 13 pages of various sizes, written in ink. Yiddish.
Folder 169.3: Customs of Mourning No date: Letter from Moishe Melman, with samples of expressions of mourning on the loss of relatives. 2 large pages, on lined paper, written in blue ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives acquisition stamp, and accession number 1418 of 6/21/28. Yiddish.
Folder 169.4: Customs of Mourning 6/12/1928: Letter to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Ethnographic Committee, Vilna, from Rokhl Eizenberg, Shidlovtse (Szydlowiec), on customs of professional women "mourners". Written in response to YIVO’s questionnaire of 3/23/28. 1 page, written in black ink. With pre-war YIVO Archives acquisition stamp, and accession number 1351. Yiddish.
Folder 169.5: Customs of Mourning 6/14/1928: Letter to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Ethnographic Committee, Vilna, from A. Sosnovik, Mior (Miyory), on the behavior of mourners. Written in response to YIVO’s questionnaire of 3/23/28. 2 large pages, written in black ink, on graph paper. Yiddish.
Folder 169.6: Customs of Shabbat Shira 7/18/1928: Letter to the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Ethnographic Committee, Vilna, from A. Sosnovik, Mior (Miyory), on the customs of Shabbat Shira (the Sabbath when the biblical “Song of the Sea,” celebrating the exodus from Egypt, is read from the Torah). The Yiddish writer Yehoas, and several scholarly publications in Yiddish are mentioned. 2 large page written in black ink on lined paper. Stamped with red ink pre-war YIVO Archives accession number 1494, entered on 6/22/28. Yiddish.
Folder 169.7: Woman’s Lamentation 1928: Woman’s lamentation over her husband’s death. Recorded in Grodno. 2 long narrow strips of paper, written in black ink. Written on the verso of a Yiddish and Polish printed form of the Jewish Religious Community (Kehilla) of Grodno. Yiddish.
Folder 169.8: Children’s Lamentation 1928: Children’s lamentation over their mother’s death, recorded in Grodno. 1 long narrow page, written in ink, (incomplete). Written on the verso of a Yiddish and Polish printed form of the Jewish Religious Community (Kehilla) of Grodno. Yiddish.
Folder 169.9: Customs of Mourning 1930: Prayer of a "zogerin" [female prayer leader] at the cemetery, recited on behalf of the family. 1 page of graph paper, written in black ink (verso in pencil). Yiddish.
Folder 169.10: Professional Women Mourners No date: Text recited by professional women mourners.1 narrow strip of graph paper, written in black ink. Yiddish
Folder 170.1: Limerick No date: Limerick about a father and his children. 1 small strip of paper, written in black ink. Polish.
Folder 170.2: Letter About Admission of Jewish Students to a University in Paris December, 1913: Letter from the Comité de Patronage des Étudiants Étrangers de la Faculté des Lettres de Paris. Written by a teacher (name unclear) in response to an inquiry by the father of a Russian-Jewish student in Paris. The teacher states that he knows nothing about restrictions being placed upon foreign students. His response indicates that he believes that such students are poorly prepared for these studies. Also, he feels that there are too many foreign students in the class, a situation which makes the French students feel uncomfortable. 3 pages, written in black ink. With ink-stamp of “Ansky Zamler Kreiz” for YIVO, Warsaw. French.

Series 5: Historical and Legal Documents (Folders 171-179)

Folder 171.1: Government Schools Admission Requirements 1912: Conditions of acceptance to government higher schools of law, literature, the sciences, mathematics, and medicine; the school of medicine (military section); the school of agronomy and veterinary medicine. 3 large pages, written in black ink. First page shows signs of deterioration. Each page has the Hebrew and Turkish ink-stamp of the Association of Hebrew-Ottoman Students in Constantinople. Hebrew.
Folder 173.1: Court Judgments, Vilna ca. 1811-1813: Judgments of the court of Vilna during the reign of Tzar Alexander I; police records; and anti-Jewish legislation (1811-1813). Includes an 1808 judgment in a dispute between two Jews over a Vilna land parcel, and an 1813 agreement about the lease of a tavern made between two soldiers and a Jew. 34 unbound mostly large pages, written in ink, with various government ink stamps and official red wax seals. Some wear on outer margins of the pages. With a recently written note in Yiddish and English containing a description of the items. Russian and Polish.
Folder 174.1: Sale of a Synagogue Seat, Vilna 1840: Document attesting to the sale of a seat in the Great Synagogue of Vilna, signed by community officials. With a notation that this transaction was recorded in the "pinkas" (communal record book). 1 page. Brown Ink. Hebrew.
Folder 175.1: Sale of a House, Vilna 1785: Document attesting to the sale of a house in the courtyard of R. Jechiel Halfan, by Mirel, daughter of R. Noah, and her husband R. Yissachar, to R. Eliezer, son of R. Moshe. R.Yechiel the son of the rabbi of Kraz had lived there previous to the couple. Note at bottom of page by R. Moshe Meir, the communal scribe and judge (safra ve-dayana), mentions that this agreement had been entered into the "pinkas" (communal record book). 2 large pages. Brown ink. With ink stamp of the Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society, Vilna branch. Hebrew.
Folder 176.1: Rental Contract, Vilna 1822: Rental contract for eight years by R. Shlomo Zalmen and his wife Liba Gitl, for the dwellings in Vilna belonging to R. Ben-Zion Eisenstadt. Attached with thread is a second Hebrew document on blue paper, written six days after the contract, in brown ink, and signed by R. Shlomo Zalmen, attesting to the above agreement. 2 large pages (contract is written on one narrow column). Stamped with official government stamp. Hebrew.
Folder 177.1: Agreement Between the Kahal and a Society, Vilna 1815: An agreement between the Kahal [community] and the officials of a local Khevra [society].The primary concern was about the usage of the small cellar under the little house near the kloyz [synagogue]. 1 page. Brown ink. Slight damage to paper in the right margin. With ink stamp of the Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society, Vilna branch (faint image). Hebrew.
Folder 178.1: Transfer of Title to Synagogue Seats, Vilna 1850: Document attesting to the agreement of Chaya Etke and her husband Shimon, to give up the title in consideration of a sum of money, to three seats in the synagogue which she had inherited from her deceased brother, Vilna. Owners of the surrounding seats are named. 1 large page. Brown ink. Hebrew
Folder 179.1: Financial Document, Vilna 1822: Financial document, Tsarist government, Vilna Gubernia. 2 pages, written in black ink. Polish.
Folder 179.2: Document, Vilna 1863: Document, Vilna. 3 pages, written in ink. With remnants of a red wax stamp. Russian.
Folder 179.3: Document, Vilna 1872 [?]: Document, Vilna. 8 large pages, written in ink; sewn together, with a wax stamp on page [7]. Russian.
Folder 179.4: Rental receipt confirmation, Vilna 2/11/ 1858: Receipt confirming rent paid for a fifth of a shop in the synagogue courtyard in Vilna. With a government ink -stamp. 1 page of blue paper, written in black ink. Russian.
Folder 179.5: Transfer of Title of a Cemetery Plot, Hebron [Palestine] 1822: Document transferring the ownership of a cemetery plot in Hebron, Palestine. 2 pages. Photostat copy only. Photostat of a printed text, postcard size, of a standard form, with names of the participating parties and witnesses to the transaction entered in manuscript. Verso has signature of Hirsch Aktzin, with a brief description of the item in Yiddish. With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 256. Hebrew.
Folder 179.6: Inheritance Rights to a Synagogue Seat, Vilna 1878: Document, signed by the "shames" [sexton] of the Vilna community. It confirms the inheritance rights of the sisters Rachel, wife of Jacob Zalman Hurvitz; Ettil, wife of Saul Lafin; and Leah, wife of David Moshe, to a seat in the Vilna Great Synagogue. According to the inheritance document, the 3 sisters are to own the seat jointly. 1 page, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179.7: Deed of Gift to a Synagogue Seat, Vilna 1859: A "shtar matanah" [deed of a gift]. It records the fact that R. Yechiel, the son of R. Abraham Danzig (author of Chayyei Adam) transferred the ownership of a seat in the women's section of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, to his wife Bashke, daughter of Zadok Rumshisky. Note on the bottom of the page: "Listed in the old 'pinkas' (communal ledger) on page 150, side 1… and as proof, signed by Moshe Shimon, "shamash de-mata," (local functionary). 1 long sheet of paper, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179.8: Sales Contract for a Synagogue Seat in the Women's Section, Vilna 1844: Legal document [sales contract], signed by two witnesses, recording the sale of a seat in the women’s section of the synagogue by the Rebbetzin Rachel, and her husband, R. Menashe Tarner, the rabbi of Sludova (Wlodawa), to David ben Chaim Lavitshker. 1 large page written in ink. With government stamp (double eagle with crown) in Russian and Polish: “7 1/2 Kopecks.” With pre-war YIVO Archives ink stamp, and acquisition number 260. Hebrew.
Folder 179.9: Decision of the Rabbinical Court of Pinczów 1786: Legal document attesting to the decision of the rabbinical court of Pinczów (Pintshev). The document was signed by Yitshak and by R. Abraham Pinchas Halevi Ish Horowitz, "sofer ve-ne’eman" (community scribe and trustee). Another brief legal notation follows the agreement. The case concerned an individual by the name of Baruch who lodged a complaint against his neighbor Yitshak ben Shloime Zalman, who had constructed a new window overlooking the courtyard they both shared. He was ordered to remove it, but argued that since Baruch was not presently using the courtyard, and wasn’t affected adversely by the window, it should therefore be allowed to remain since it had already been constructed. The authorities agreed to let it remain, on the condition that if, at some future time, Baruch would desire to expand his house into the courtyard, or construct any building there, Yitshak ben Shloime Zalman would be obligated to stop up the window without objection, acquiring no permanent right to have a window there.1 large page, written in ink. Hebrew.

Series 6: Responsa and other rabbinical writings (Folders 179a-179f)

This series includes correspondence to the leading halachic scholar Rabbi David Luria (1798-1855) and commentator of the work "Pirkei d'Rabi Eliezer," as well as rabbinic letters with halachic and homiletical content.

Folder 179a.1: Letter to Rabbi David Luria 1839[?]: Letter to R. David Luria, Old Bykhov, from R. Meshulam Feibush, Rabbi of a town referred to in Hebrew as "Ir Yefei Nahar", near Nikolayev, requesting Rabbi Luria's halachic opinion in the case of an 'agunah' whose late husband was originally from Old Bykhov. After his death, his sister claimed that he had a brother, previously unknown to anyone in his wife’s family. 2 pages. Written in ink on blue paper. Slight fading. Some remnants of red sealing wax. Address side has instruction to hand over the completed response to R. Shmuel Shapira, Rabbi of Nikolayev. Hebrew. A few words in Russian.
Folder 179a.2: Letter to R. David Luria 1844: Letter to R. David Luria, signed by three rabbis requesting his halachic ruling relating to a monetary dispute between business partners. 3 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179a.3: Letter to R. David Luria 1849 [?]: Letter from R. Abraham Simchah ben Nachman, rabbi of Mstislavl (nephew and prominent student of R. Chaim of Volozhin), to his relative, R. David Luria. Halachic discourse on the topic of simanin de-oraita oh de-rabanan (Tractate Bava Metzia 27b), on the nature of the evidence sufficient to establish that a women's husband has died to permit her to remarry and to prevent her from becoming an 'agunah'. The writer of the letter presents his own opinion and asks for R. Luria’s comments.3 pages, written in ink. Elegant handwriting Hebrew
Folder 179a.4: Letter to R. David Luria Early 19th cent.: Letter to R. David Luria, Old Bykhow, from R. Meir Bochtschek [?], the Rabbi of Shumiatz. He is submitting for R. Luria’s approval, his responsum on a problem which had been referred to him by the rabbi of Amstislav. The case involved an animal which had been slaughtered by a 'shochet' and whether it was kosher. Mention is also made of an agunah problem in Kastsyukovichy. 4 pages, written in ink. Some damage to the text. Hebrew.
Folder 179a.5: Letter to R. David Luria Early 19th cent.: Letter to R. David Luria, signed by two rabbis of the rabbinic court of Shklov. 3 pages, written in ink. With part of the original red wax seal. Some fire damage to the text. Hebrew
Folder 179a.6: Letter to R. David Luria Early 19th cent.: Letter from R. Levi ben Moshe, Rabbi of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk), to R. Baruch Mordechai, Rabbi of Bransk. He asks for his Halachic ruling on a difficult divorce issue. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179a.7: Letter to R. David Luria 19th cent.: Responsum sent to R. David Luria for his approval. Rabbi Yitzchok, the head of the Volozhin Yeshiva is mentioned. The writer mentions that his son Joseph who attends the Volozhin Yeshiva, expressed an interest in visiting R. David Luria in Old Bychov, to study with him for a while, and sent a letter to him to that effect, but had not yet received a reply. Now that the writer’s friend R. Yechezkel is traveling to Bychov, the writer will send his son along. He asks R. David Luria to study Talmud with him, but not using the methodology presently being used in yeshivot. In addition, he discusses a halachic dilemma which had come up recently, concerning the laws of vows, to see whether R.David Luria agrees with his line of reasoning. 4 pages, written in ink. Small amount of damage. Hebrew
Folder 179b.1: Letter to the Community Leaders of Ostrovna 1851: Letter to the community leaders of Ostrovna, who had inquired of a rabbinic authority in Vitebsk whether Zalman Katz [?] was qualified to serve as their rabbi. 1 page, written in ink. Very slight damage. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 179b.2: Letter from Rabbi Shneur Zalman Halevi of Ostrovna 1862?: Letter from R. Shneur Zalman Halevi, Moreh Tsedek (rabbi who made decisions about halachic matters) of Ostrovna, to his teacher, detailing his qualms about a divorce document brought before him. The verso has his teacher, R. Israel of Vitebsk's [?] recommendation not to utilize the document. 2 small pages, written in ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew
Folder 179b.3: Letter from R. Schneur Zalman of Ostrovna 19th cent.: Letter from R. Shneir Zalman of Ostrovna, to his rabbinic mentor, R. Yitschak Isaac, inquiring about a number of halachic issues. Among other things, R. Shneir Zalman of Ostrovna asks for his mentor’s halakhic opinion about the 'kashrut' of a goat with a broken leg, which eventually healed [based on the principle that if an animal was injured or unwell it cannot be kosher]. A number of related issues are briefly discussed. Includes halachic comments on other matters. 4 pages, written in ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew
Folder 179c.1: Responsum of Rabbi David Broda, Vilna Early 19th cent.: Responsum of R. David Broda, 'Safra Ve-Dayana' [scribe and judge] of the Vilna Kahal, (recorded after his death by his son). It deals with the question of which party takes the loss when a house burns down before all the financial details of the sales transaction are completed (see Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah #174). 3 pages, written in black ink. Some deterioration and fading. Hebrew
Folder 179c.2: Responsum About Divorce 1872: Responsum of R. … ben Judah Loeb concerning sending a get (document of divorce) through a third party. 2 large pages of blue paper, written in black in. Damaged and torn, with text missing. With ink-stamp of the Ansky Historical and Ethnographic Society in Vilna [partially visible]. Hebrew
Folder 179c.3: Responsum About a Monetary Dispute No date: Responsum dealing with a monetary dispute. Extensive rabbinic references are provided. 1 page, written in ink. Only the last page is extant. Hebrew
Folder 179c.4: Responsum to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Shor 1870: Responsum sent to R. Levi Yitzchak Shor, Rabbi of Rava-Ruska, by his nephew, for his approval. During the financial negotiations prior to the wedding of their children, a certain sum was promised by one of the parents to the other. May one parent substitute land or other items in place of the promised amount of money, or would that be grounds for dissolving the entire marriage agreement of their children? Rabbi Levi YItzhak Shor, author of "Ateret Tiferet," published by his grandson in 1912, was the Rabbi of Rava-Ruska in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. He died in 1877. 2 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179d.1: Letter to Rabbi David About the Laws of Mourning 19th cent.: Letter to R. David from R. Gabriel Malachi, Homel, requesting Rabbi David's halachic opinion about a question concerning the laws of mourning. The letter mentions the local scholar R. Yitzchak Eizik Epstein (1770-1857), who served as the rabbi of Homel for 58 years, and was a leading figure in the Chabad Hasidic movement. 4 pages, written in ink. Staining and some text missing. Hebrew
Folder 179d.2: Letter to Rabbi Jacob Casper, Strasbourg 1868: Letter to R. Jacob Casper, rabbi of Strasbourg, from the members of the synagogue in Lautenburg (German name of Lidzbark, Poland), concerning the removal of a ritual slaughterer [shochet] from his post. Includes a list of names of other prominent rabbinic authorities who received copies of this letter. 2 large pages of blue paper, written in ink. Fragile, damaged condition. Hebrew
Folder 179d.3: Letter About a Yiddish 'Last Will and Testament' 19th cent.: Letter about a disagreement concerning a Yiddish will, left by the correspondent’s father. The letter contains detailed rabbinic sources. There is a comment in the letter which connects the Yiddish word "meine" and the word “relatives” as synonyms. 1 page written in ink. The letter is torn and only the lower half of the original remains. Three numbered paragraphs. Hebrew
Folder 179d.4: Letter from Rabbi Jonathan Abelman 1880: Letter from R. Jonathan Abelman, Khvarashitz, to R. Eliyahu Eleazar Neuschloss, requesting Rabbi Neuschloss to ask R. Eliyahu Levinsohn for help Rabbi Abelman obtain a rabbinic position in Libau. Halachic discussion with rabbinic sources provided. 4 pages. Black ink. Elegant handwriting on blue paper (8 ½” x 11”). Hebrew.
Folder 179d.5: Letter from Rabbi Abraham Halevi Ashkenazi 1863: Letter from R. Abraham Halevi Ashkenazi to R. Zalman Landau. Halakhic discussion. 4 pages, written in ink. Elegant handwriting. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 179d.6: Letter from Rabbi Isser Kahana 19th cent.: Letter from R. Isser Kahana, sent to a rabbinical authority for his comments. Contains a halachic discourse on the status of "chametz" (for example, bread) on the morning before Passover when the deadline for keeping "chametz" in one's possession has already passed. The key element in Rabbi Kahana's argument is a comment by R. Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev in his work “Kedushat Levi”. 4 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew
Folder 179d.7: Letter from Rabbi Jacob Bachrach 1829[?]: Letter from R. Jacob Bachrach to R. Mechel Meir, including a halachic discussion. 2 pages, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179d.8: Letters about an 'Agunah' 19th cent.: Two letters discussing the difficult situation of an "agunah" 1) Letter to R. Menachem Mendel, rabbi of Komarno 2) Letter to R. Jechiel, rabbi of Volkovisk. The originals of both letters were copied onto one manuscript page. 1 page, written in black ink. Some damage and fading. Hebrew.
Folder 179d.9: Letter from Rabbi Saul Hayyim Halevi Horowitz 1865: Letter from R. Saul Hayyim ben Abraham Halevi Horowitz (1828-1915), Minsk, to R. Mordecai Gimpel Fahn, rabbi of Radinov. Rabbi Saul Hayyim Horowitz requested Rabbi Fahn’s help in obtaining a rabbinical post in Dereczyn. Rabbi Horowitz became the Rabbi of Dubrovno in 1865, and of Meah Shearim, Jerusalem, in 1883. Includes a brief halachic discussion. Fragment of 1 large page, with part of a second page on the right side of the sheet, written in ink at a right angle. In poor condition. Hebrew.
Folder 179d.10: Letter from Rabbi Isaac Meir, Rabbi of Slobodka 1890: Letter of recommendation from R. Isaac Meir, rabbi of Slobodka, to the Rabbi of Podzelve [also known as Zelva] concerning R. Judah Leib of Vilkomir. 1 page, written in black ink. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 179e.1: Halakhic Discussion about Fruits and Plants 19th century: Halakhic discussion of the legal status of fruits and plants which are less than 3 years old [and which cannot be eaten based on a biblical prohibition] and fruits and plants of different varieties which have been planted together in the same field [also forbidden for consumption]. 1 and 1/2 paper sheets (two-sided). Written in ink. Some stained and faded areas. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 179e.2: Talmudic Discussion No date: Brief talmudic note, with sources provided, dealing with the issue of titlhes [bringing one tenth of a farmer's produce to the Temple in Jerusalem] . 2 very small pages. Written in ink, with considerable bleeding. Hebrew
Folder 179e.3: Halakhic Discussion on the Laws of 'Agunah' 19th cent.: Halakhic discussion on the laws of 'agunah'. 1 page, written in black ink. Hebrew.
Folder 179f.1: Commentary on the Mishnah 19th cent.: Commentary on the Mishnaic tractate "Ohalot," chapters 3- 8. 4 pages, written in black ink. Stained, and faded, with some text missing. With ink-stamp of the Vilna Anski Historical and Ethnographic Society. Hebrew.
Folder 179f.2: Commentary on the Midrash on the Song of Songs 19th cent.: Commentary on Midrash Shir Ha-Shirim Rabbah [Midrash on the Song of Songs] by R. Matisyahu Strashun (the beginning only). Published in his “Matatyah” on Midrash Rabbah, Vilna, 1893, beginning with page 64, side 2. See:http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=6310& st=&pgnum=209. Not identical to the printed version, which was edited from his notes after his death. 7 small pages, written in black ink, and sewn together. Author’s autograph, with crossings-out and insertions, indicating a work in progress. Hebrew.
Folder 179f.3: Halakhic work entitled "Delatot ha-Petach: Likutim Tovim" 19th cent.: Halachic work, entitled: "Delatot Ha-Petach, Likutim Tovim", by Rabbi Dob Baer Karasik, of Krolevetz, (lived in the 19th cent.) This work is a commentary on the portion of the "Code of Jewish Law" by Rabbi Joseph Caro which is titled "Yoreh De'ah", chapters 55 - 364. 23 pages.Written in black ink in a paper-bound note-book.Hebrew.
Folder 179f.4: Manual of Customs No date: Manual of customs to be followed in case of sickness or death. The work contains selections from the book "Siftei Tsedek" and other works. 46 pages. Handwritten in black ink. Some pages are missing from the beginning.Some water damage, deterioration, and text loss. Hebrew.
Folder 179f.5: Title Page of a Work on the Talmud 18th cent.: Title-page [only] of a manuscript containing: novellae on tractate Berakhot by R. Yonatan Eybeschutz, a prayer for a fast day by R. Yissakher Baer Karmoly, rabbi of Salz. Also listed: a wedding homily by R. Gavriel Bloch of Salz (1777); Hilukei de-rabanan by R. David Heitzfeld (1773), and the laws of the holidays by R. Yonatan Eybeschutz. The list of contents is included on the title page. 1 large Hebrew page. 2 pages, written in ink, written in black ink. With the ink stamp of the library of Matisyahu Shtrashun. Hebrew.
Folder 179f.6: Letter from R. Jacob Sapir 1853: Letter from R. Jacob Sapir (1822–1886) to R. Saul Zelig Hacohen. Contains comments on biblical and Talmudic manuscripts, including notes on the Aleppo Biblical Codex. The letter contained in this folder was published by A.R. Malachi in "Aresheth," volume 4, Jerusalem, 1972, pages 372-377. Rabbi Sapir is also known for his travel diary titled "Even Sapir," which includes a description of Jewish life in Yemen. 4 pages, written in ink. Hebrew.

Series 7: Pinkasim and Jewish communal records (Folders 180-184)

This series has a range of Jewish communal records including a number of pinkasim (communal registers), among them the pinkasim of the Jewish communities of Narovlya, Pruzhan, Skoudas, Śniadowo, Vilna, and the pinkas of the Vilna Gaon’s kloyz.

One of the documents which throws light on the history of the Jewish communityy of Vilna is the Pinkas of the Vilna Gaon's Synagogue or kloyz. The synagogue or 'kloyz' of the Vilna Gaon was the place where the renowned sage and scholar, Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797) prayed and studied. Founded during his lifetime in 1758, the synagogue, or "Vilna Gaon's kloyz" as it was known, continued to function after the Gaon's passing in 1797, as a prayer house and center of Torah study and remained active until the eve of World War II. After the death of the Vilna Gaon an inscription placed on the wall of the synagogue read: "Here in this holy place sat, prayed and learned the Gaon". No one sat in the Vilna Gaon's place. The Vina Gaon's synagogue was rebuilt in 1868. It was destroyed during World War II. The handwritten Hebrew language Pinkas of the Vilna Gaon's Synagogue records the legal and financial transactions of the 'kloyz', includes references to the children of the Vilna Gaon and his students, and is an important original source on the history of the Jewish community of Vilna. The register remained in the building of the 'kloyz' until the occupation of Vilna by the Nazis. The Yiddish poets Avraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski rescued the original volume and hid it in the Vilna Ghetto. After the war, in July 1944, Sutzkever retrieved it from its underground hiding place and in 1947, while in Paris, Sutzkever sent the Pinkas of the "Vilna Gaon's kloyz" to the YIVO Institute in New York where it has been preserved for close to 7 decades.

Folder 180.1: Letter about a Theft in the Town of Iwye 1927: In 1927 a theft took place in the town of Iwye. The rabbi threatened to issue an excommunication against the thieves. This letter is from one of the thieves asking the rabbi not to issue an excommunication. A description of the circumstances is noted on the original letter with a remark that the thief returned $100 of the stolen money as a result of the rabbi's warning. The letter was sent to YIVO in 1927. 2 pages. Photograph only of original letter. Yiddish.
Folder 181.1: Speech of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, Lubavitcher Rebbe, in Riga c. 1928-1929: Clipping of a newspaper article containing a transcript of a speech delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, at the Trans-Latvian Rabbinic Conference. The title of the newspaper is not identified but it was printed in Riga. 1 folio size page, with 3 printed columns. Yellowed paper. Yiddish
Folder 182.1: List of expenses 1772-1780: List of expenses. Name of town not identified. A brief Hebrew postscript, written in Kracow, indicates that the above document was translated from Polish in 1780, and was seen by the “consistencia” (a juridical or governmental body). 4 large pages, written in ink. Upper corner of page 2 is missing. Yiddish.
Folder 183.1: Society for Comforting Mourners 1920s: Printed form of the Nihum Aveilim Society in Vilna. The society helped poor families who were observing the seven days of 'shiva' upon the loss of a loved oone, provided assistance to widows and orphans. The society depending for its existence on donations by wealthier mourners who made monthly contributions.The headquarters of the society was at the Eliasberg Synagogue, Zawalna Street, Vilna. 1 rectangular printed page, with the society’s ink stamp. The form was printed in the 1920s. Hebrew and Yiddish.
Folder 184.1: Pinkas of the Burial Society of Narovlya 1830-1875: Pinkas [register] of the Khevra Kadisha [Burial Society] of Narovlya. Includes names of previous members copied from the old Pinkas, minutes of meetings, entries of new appointments to society positions, joining of new members, pledges and donations, and society resolutions. Page 74 of the Pinkas records an agreement made between Sarah daughter of Joel and the members of the society, allowing her to pay for her burial expenses during her lifetime. Page 79 mentions that the yearly society banquet took place on Chanukah. Page 99 records the resolution that during the holiday of Simhat Torah, all members are obligated to attend the holiday banquet sponsored by the society, participate in their procession to the synagogue accompanying their officials, and circle the 'bimah' (reader’s platform) only once. Entries from 1830-1875. 114 large pages. Bound volume, with cardboard covers and leather spine, written in ink on blue paper. Cover is worn, with boards mostly detached. A few pages torn with some text missing; pages show heavy use. At least 28 pages missing from the center of the book. Written with a variety of inks, some which have faded considerably. Hebrew.
Folder 184.2: Pinkas of the Talmud Torah of Narovlya 1889-1896: Pinkas [register] of the religious elementary school, called the Talmud Torah, of Narovlya, for the year 1889. Includes the records of the Talmud Torah Yeshiva Society, founded by the rabbi of the community in 1889. Includes various lists of donations, expenses, salaries paid to teachers, and other accounts, 1889-1896. 63 pages written in ink, bound together with cardboard covers (leather spine). No title page. Cover in poor condition; pages show heavy use. Some ink bleeding. Hebrew.
Folder 184.3: Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Pruzhan No date: Copy of 2 pages of the Pinkas [communal register] of the Jewish community of Pruzhan, Poland. Postcard-size photostats. Yiddish.
Folder 184.4: Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Skuodas 1680-1920: Pinkas [communal register] of Skuodas (Yiddish: Shkud), Lithuania, containing a continuous record of events, and information of communal significance, from 1680 to 1820. 653 pages.
Much of the Pinkas consists of lists of communal officials and appointees periodically selected by lottery, and their donations to the community chest for being so honored. Lists of taxes levied against community members by the community’s assessors also account for a substantial number of entries. Interspersed among copies of documents, contracts, declarations, decisions of community leaders, communal debts, resolutions of disputes, and public and private agreements deemed to be of permanent interest to the community, are some of the following entries: seating arrangements for the community synagogue members and their wives; community ordinances for those returning from business fairs with merchandise to sell; special observances at the cemetery on holidays; membership of the Burial Society; sum of money borrowed by communal leaders from local priest to construct a new synagogue, and their arrangements for repaying the loan; a community ordinance limiting the number of people who may be invited to wedding and circumcision celebration meals.
The Pinkas measures 28 x 18.5 x 8 cm. and is written mostly in an iron gall ink, with later annotations and markings made with red, blue, and graphite pencils. Water damage, heavy staining, fading, deterioration with some text loss, surface dirt, and perhaps candle wax spots, are found throughout the volume. In 1988 the Pinkas was restored by conservator Jan Paris. All watermarks were identified, the original sewn bound volume was unbound and the stitches removed. The volume was rebound in marbled paper boards and dark brown goatskin, and placed in a tan buckram-covered protective box. Hebrew, some Polish.
Folder 184.5: Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Skuodas No date: One page of the Pinkas [communal register] of Skuodas (Yiddish: Shkud), Lithuania. While this may possibly be a page from the same Pinkas as the one held in Folder 184.4 of this collection, this fact was not known in the late 1980s when the full volume of the Pinkas of Shkud was restored. See Folder 184.4 for details of the restoration project. 1 large page written in ink; lower left side torn off. Front page only, with the name of the scribe: Meir ben Judah of Shkud. Hebrew.
Folder 184.6: Letter from the Chairman of the Skuodas Jewish Community 11/13/1922: Letter from Mendel Khatskelovits, chairman of the Skuodas (Shkud) Community Council, to the Jewish National Council, Historical-Ethnographic Section, Kovno. The letter states that the Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Skuodas is being sent to the society on loan, and is expected back after copies are made. Also noted is that the Pinkas had once been sent on loan to Dr. Nahum Sokolow, editor of He-Asif, who published excerpts in the 1889 edition of the periodical. 1 large page, with lines, written in ink. With illustrated round ink stamp of “Va’ad ha-Kehillah Shkud”, in Hebrew and Lithuanian. Yiddish Not filmed.
Folder 184.7: Letter from the Jewish Ethnographic Society in Kovno 11/28/1922: Letter from the Jewish Historical-Ethnographic Association, Kovno, [chairman: I. Brutzkus, secretary: M. Z. Lipman], to the Jewish Community Council of Skuodas (Shkud), acknowledging the receipt of their Pinkas and thanking them for sending it. Negative photostat of the original only. Yiddish Not filmed.
Folder 184.8: Minutes of the Jewish Historical Ethnograpic Society 5/28/1933: Minutes of a meeting of the Jewish Historical-Ethnographic Association, 5/28/1933, at the Adat Yisrael (“protocol num. 14”). The members highlight their accomplishments, including their attempts at gathering 'pinkasim', and mention that they will be in contact with YIVO. 2 large pages; Negative photostats of the originals only. Yiddish. Not filmed.
Folder 184.9: Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Sniadowo 1895: Pinkas [communal register] of the Jewish community of Sniadowo, Poland. Contains detailed rules for synagogue and community governance. Copied by Moishe Lerer on January 1933 from a 1895 copy of the original. The original was written in 1786. [2]+17 pages, written in ink, Water damaged with staining and deterioration; slight amount of text missing. Hebrew.
Folder 184.10: Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Vilna 1770-1794: Fragment of the original Pinkas ([communal register] of the Vilna Kehilla [Jewish Community Council of Vilna]. 12 large pages, written in ink. Unbound. Page order is unclear. Hebrew.
Folder 184.11: Pinkas [register] of the Vilna Gaon's Kloyz: Pinkas (register) of the Vilna Gaon’s kloiz, or beit midrash. The synagogue or 'kloyz' of the Vilna Gaon was the place where the renowned sage and scholar, Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797) prayed and studied. Founded during his lifetime in 1758, the synagogue, or "Vilna Gaon's kloyz" as it was known, continued to function after the Gaon's passing in 1797, as a prayer house and center of Torah study and remained active until the eve of World War II. The handwritten Hebrew language Pinkas of the Vilna Gaon's Synagogue records the legal and financial transactions of the 'kloyz', includes references to the children of the Vilna Gaon and his students, and is an important original source on the history of the Jewish community of Vilna. After the Gaon’s death in 1797, his followers created a perpetual endowment for purchasing the 'kloyz' as well as the adjacent land. They paid for the upkeep of the 'kloyz' and supported a group of scholars to study Torah on a regular basis, thus following in the footsteps of the Gaon who was known for his dedication to the study of Torah. The activities of this foundation and its trustees are reflected in the Pinkas which also includes legal documents pertaining to the ownership of the 'kloyz' and to the ongoing formation of endowment funds needed for its upkeep. 134 folio pages written in ink, with 24 folio pages of important early documents, appended to the outside of a previous binding. Pages [16] and [17] of this appendix are glued together, making their contents inaccessible to the reader. Marbled end papers; covers and spine no longer exist. Some foxing. Mostly written in the elegant hand of professional scribes. Heavy paper of the highest quality, with the initial eight pages, blue paper. Many pages are blank, especially at the end. Some documents have official government ink stamps dated from 1798-1801. The first 2 signatures, pages [1]-[26], contain documents which before inclusion in the bound volume, had been folded, with a brief Hebrew note on the outer fold identifying the contents. With a typed slip of paper in English, briefly describing the volume. Hebrew, some Polish, Russian stamps.
Folder 184.12: Jewish Community Tax Records [?] ca. 1752: Communal tax account lists (?). Unidentified location. Yiddish and Hebrew. ca. 1752.

Series 8: Sheimos. Damaged pages found in the ruins of the YIVO Ghetto

Folder 185.1: Vilna Sheimos: Sheimos. Scorched pages of books found in the ruins of the YIVO in Vilna. Visible through the window is a printed portrait of R. Israel Ba’al Shem-Tov, the founder of Hasidism. Laquered wooden frame box (7⅓″ x 9½″) with a glass window, encasing fragments of destroyed religious and secular works in Hebrew and Yiddish, with the above label in Yiddish and English. With a typed index card describing the item in Yiddish.
Folder 185.2: Vilna Sheimos: Sheimos. Scorched pages of books found in the ruins of the YIVO building in Vilna. Visible through the window is the title page of volume II of the second edition of a Yiddish translation of Solomon Maimon’s autobiography, translated from German by A.Y. Goldshmidt and published in Vilna, 1938, by the Farlag Tomor. Maimon was a key Haskalah figure. Laquered wooden frame box (7⅓″ x 9½″) with a glass window, encasing fragments of destroyed religious and secular works in Hebrew and Yiddish, with the above label in Yiddish and English.
Folder 186.1: Vilna Sheimos: Sheimos. Scorched pages of books found in the ruins of the YIVO building in Vilna. Visible through the window is the title page, broken into three parts, of volume II of L. Borovski’s Yiddish translation of Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin’s “The history of the great Fre[nch] revolution”, published in Vilna, 1929, by Joseph Kamermakher’s Farlag Tomor . Laquered wooden frame box (7⅓″ x 9½″) with a glass window, encasing fragments of destroyed religious and secular works in Hebrew and Yiddish, with the above label in Yiddish and English. The box has a small white label glued under the window with the printed number 418.
Folder 186.2: Vilna Sheimos: Sheimos. Scorched pages of books found in the ruins of the YIVO building in Vilna. Laquered wooden frame box (7⅓″ x 9½″) with a glass window. The upper right corner of the window has a small white label with the printed number 418.