Rabbi’s letter fetches $700,000 at auction

The letter was discovered within a remarkable volume containing hundreds of manuscripts and signatures from prominent 18th-century Moroccan Torah scholars.

By Assaf Golan, JNS

A historic handwritten letter by Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (c1696-1743), the revered author of the biblical commentary “Or HaChaim,” sold for $700,000 (2.5 million shekels) at auction in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

The sale, conducted by Kedem Auction House, includes an additional 25% commission fee.

The manuscript, which emerged from a comprehensive collection assembled by Israeli attorney Avigdor Klagsbald, features the distinctive signature of Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar and addresses the Jewish religious judges of Meknes regarding tax relief for a community member.

The letter was discovered within a remarkable volume containing hundreds of manuscripts and signatures from prominent 18th-century Moroccan Torah scholars, including Rabbi Yaakov ibn Tzur and Rabbi Yehudah ben Attar.

Chaim ibn Attar‘s legacy extends far beyond this single document. As a leading advocate for Jewish emigration to the Land of Israel, he led by example during a period of severe persecution and famine in Morocco.

These challenging circumstances not only influenced his decision to immigrate but also impacted the writing of his seminal work “Or HaChaim,” where he acknowledged variations in commentary length due to the period’s upheavals.

In a journey that would shape Jerusalem’s religious landscape, Chaim ibn Attar arrived first in Acre with 30 students, intending to establish a yeshivah.

After navigating through epidemics in the Galilee, he eventually settled in Jerusalem, where he purchased a historic courtyard—now known as the Old Yishuv Courtyard, it is traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, commonly known as the Ari, two centuries earlier—and established his study hall.

Chaim ibn Attar, a Sephardic rabbi, achieved unprecedented recognition among Chassidic communities throughout Europe, with his writings becoming cornerstone texts in Chassidic thought.

The study hall he founded demonstrated similar resilience, surviving the 1948 Jordanian destruction of Jewish institutions and later undergoing renovation on Or HaChaim Street in the Jewish Quarter following the Six-Day War.

Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar’s influence continues well beyond his brief life, which ended at age 47 in 1743.

His tomb on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives serves as a significant pilgrimage site, drawing thousands annually who seek blessings at the final resting place of this influential scholar.