Letter of greetings from the emissary of Tiberias R. Chaim Shlomo Abulafia, to the community leaders of Alessandria, Italy, while he was residing in the home of R. Moshe Zacuto HaLevi of Casale. Casale (Casale Monferrato), 25th day of the Omer 1819. The letter is written in large calligraphic square script and is addressed to the leaders of the Alessandria community and its rabbi – R. Matitya HaLevi son of R. Moshe Zacuto HaLevi of Casale. The letter consists of his greetings and a request to support the community of Tiberias with their generous donations. He recounts that he is currently staying in the home of the great luminary R. Moshe [Zacuto HaLevi of Casale]. At the foot of the letter, he inserted an additional line in Sephardic script with a calligraphic signature: "So are the words of the messenger of G-d… who signs here in Casale, the young Chaim Shlomo Abulafia". R. Chaim Shlomo Abulafia was one of the scholars of Tiberias and a grandson of R. Chaim Abulafia, author of Etz Chaim. In 1817, he left for Italy as representative of the Tiberias community. During this expedition, he published R. Yaakov Beirav's book Zimrat HaAretz in Livorno. In 1829, he travelled again to Italy and to Tunis, and earned the epithet "the miracle worker". During his first stay in Italy, he first boarded in the home of R. Moshe Zacuto in Casale, and from there continued on to Alessandria and other communities. Areshet (Vol. 6, Avraham Yitzchak Katz, "R. Chaim Shlomo Abulafia's Mission in Italy", pp. 137-153) contains 12 letters from this period, mostly from 1819, including several letters addressed to R. Moshe Zacuto and his son R. Matitya HaLevi who hosted him in Casale and Alessandria respectively. This letter is also printed there (section 4), as well as the recommendation R. Moshe Zacuto wrote for him when he was staying in his house: "This pious one came to my guesthouse and did not budge from my study hall, he is occupied with Torah and mitzvot all day, blessed is G-d who merited me to enjoy the splendor of his honor and his Torah. From here he travelled to Alessandria, my birthplace… where my son R. Matitya is currently the rabbi and head of the community…". R. Moshe Zacuto HaLevi was the son of R. Eliyahu HaLevi Rabbi of Alessandria. After his father's passing in 1792, he succeeded him as rabbi of Alessandria, a position he held for over 20 years, until he was elected in 1818 as rabbi of Casale Monferrato by the Jewish consistory established by Napoleon. When he moved to Casale, he bequeathed the rabbinate of Alessandria to his son – R. Matitya HaLevi, who served in the rabbinate until 1835, when he was tragically killed together with his wife and dozens more people, in a building which collapsed during a wedding. [1] folded leaf. 25 cm. Good condition. Folding marks.

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