Donation Lists at Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim

Last update 11/27/2011 by Alex Feller

Archive: Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, Israel

Image Acquisition: Ruthy Erez, Micha Fuhrman, Alexander Feller

Indexing: Alexander Feller

Link to document image folder for Donation Lists

Further information: See below.

Donation List Headings:

The archives at Kollel 'Chibas Yerushalayim' contain donation lists for the city of Rohatyn for the years 1925 to 1939.  Ruthy was able to obtain copies of the lists for the year 1933.  Each page of the donation list is titled the same in Hebrew. 

 "List of volunteers for the fund of Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha'Nes (May His Virtues Protect Us, Amen) 

for Chibas Yerushalayim Kollel of the Galizien community in the holy land (May It Be Rebuilt)."  

Each page has two stamps on it.  One stamp was issued in Jerusalem and states "Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim" in Hebrew.  

The other stamp was issued in Rohatyn and states "Rabbi Eliezer Langner, Rohatyn" in both English and Hebrew.

Each page has blank spaces to write in the following information:

From the city:   Rohatyn

From the months:  Half year

Year: 1933 (Tsade-Gimel)

Collected by the trustees:  The Righteous Rabbi Eliezer Langner and collector Rabbi Chaim Jupiter

Each page has two side by side tables for listing donors with space for 25 names in each table.

Each table has following headings: row number, names of donors, and donation amount in zloty (ZL) and groszy (gr) (100 groszy = 1 zloty).

Page number is denoted by a Roman numeral in the donor name heading.

Table number is denoted by a Roman numeral in the first row in the number column.

Ruthy's visit to the archives and comments about the donation lists:

This place collects donations from all over the world since 1830(!!) and distributes them to the needy.

Apparently when our fathers and grandfathers lived in Rohatyn (and around it), each house had 2 boxes for charity: the green one for Keren Kayemet and the Blue one for this Kolel.  The Gabay (the one who collects the money) would send the money to Israel usually 4 times a year, with a list of contributors (name and amount of Zloties).  There were times when this money literally kept the poor Jewish settlement in Jerusalem alive.  The Kolel kept all those lists sent by the Gabays between 1925 and 1939 in neatly organized folders (Rohatyn has a full fat one and the little Shtetls around it naturally have less than that).  All the documents are scanned and indexed according to town and date. It was amazing how fast and easy it was to locate my ancestors in those lists (especially in the smaller Shtetls) and it looks like a very high percentage of the Jews were “into it”.  When a woman’s name appears in the list – it means she was a widow.

Background information on Kollel  'Chibas Yerushalayim'. 

The charity fund of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes established in 1830.

The following text is found on the Kollel 'Chibas Yerushalayim' website at http://hjerusalem.com/en/about_en.html

180 years ago the ‘Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess Fund’ of Kollel Chibas Yerushalayim was established for the pioneering Jews of Galicia who had merited to settle in Eretz Yisrael. When the leaders of the generation were honoured with presidency of the organisation, they encouraged their followers to take their rightful share of the mitzva of ‘Yishuv ha’aretz, a commandment they were physically unable to fulfil. These Gedolei haDor themselves were ecstatic to somewhat satisfy their deep yearning for Eretz Yisrael by actively participating in the lives of those who had settled there, and they supported the Fund wholeheartedly. Collections were made throughout the world, and the money given was termed ‘Shekel Kodesh’. An unbreakable bond was formed between the diverse communities of the Jewish world, and each contributor tangibly felt that his support of the Jews of Eretz Yisrael was not merely technical, but spiritual and holy. It expressed his longing for Eretz Yisrael and his joy at the rebuilding of the land.

Each contribution was recorded for posterity with the name of the benefactor, his hometown and the amount of the donation. Over the years, the Admorim and Rabbanim began to discern miraculous incidents that seemed to transpire to those who contributed to the Kollel, and they made this fact public knowledge. ‘Kuppat Rabbi Meir Baal haNess’ became the thread of loving-kindness that stretched between all Jewish communities: one end woven in the hands of previous generations, and the other end spun by the leaders of today. The activities of the Kollel, which encompasses long periods in Jewish history, is intertwined with eternal values that has guarded our nation throughout the generations and in whose merit we were saved from bondage and will in the future be redeemed once again: “that they did not change their names, language or mode of dress”.

As of today, the extensive activities of the Kollel provide the answer to many of the financial pitfalls afflicting the finest of our families. The Kollel has set up varied and specified funds for the benefit of those in need – such as professional dental services, which provide subsidised treatment to young families who would otherwise be staggering under the enormous expenses entailed; a thriving clothing enterprise which supplies families with respectable clothing at low prices, and so forth. The ‘Keren Kayemes’ fund expresses the intimate connection between Jews of all origins, ensuring that Mishnayos is studied and Kaddish recited on behalf of departed souls. From there it followed naturally that the ‘Chevra Kadisha of Chibas Yerushalayim’ would emerge, which continued the thread of ‘Chessed shel Emess’ (true kindness) with its patronage of the ‘Galician Plot’ on Har Hazeisim.

1933 Donation List Accounting and Request:

Usually after summing the donations, there would be a request for receipts, and sometimes for some small souvenirs from the Holy land and then very specific requests for prayers for sick people.

On page 4 after the final name and donation is listed, a total is calculated.

The subtotal amount of contributions for this period was 547.75 zloty. Then 2 zloty was deducted for expenses and then Rabbi Mordechai Lippa Teomim and Rabbi Eliezer Langner each added 3 more zloty.  The total then written is 553.75 zloty which is mathematically incorrect.  Not realizing their mistake, another 2 zloty is deducted for expenses so that the total collected is verified.

An accounting is written to verify the total amount sent equals the sum of collections gathered 5 times over 3 months.

This is followed by a request written in Hebrew by Rabbi Eliezer Langner:

Please send us 200 pocket calendars and 100 Kotel calendars and 12 Synagogue calendars and some maps or other gifts because the collectors are doing it out of belief not for a prize and also for some other volunteers we want to give something from the Holyland and hopefully something good will come out of it for the holy work thanks to the blessed G-d.

Since we did the best we could for the good of the Ramban (Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes) fund in those hard times (a very old fashioned expression in Hebrew Zuk Ha’Itim) and (in very high level Hebrew) we did not collect any less than last time (maybe just a little)

And I am signing with honor and respect.

R’ Eliezer Langner

Unknown Year Donation List A and R:

יקבלו הסך הנ"ל אשר אספתי מאת האנשים, אנשי עירנו הנקובים בשמותם כאן, מזה שלחתי עבור ??? זה ??? 25.11 סך 646 זלוטי ועתה אני שולח המותר סך 34.84 ??? ונא קבלות מאיתם בשם כל אחד ואחד עם הסך שנתן בדיוק ולא בטעות. גם אבקש מאיתם להעתור בעבור מאיר שמואל בן רבקה לרפואה שלימה על חולי כיס השתן ובית הרעי ועל רגליו בגרב ??? שפרינצא בת גינענציא ??? לה רפש בגרב על חולי ??? חצי הפנים השמאלי ולהזכיר אותנו על מקומות הקדושים

ונזכה לראות בקרוב בנחמת ציון וירושלים

מאיר שמואל הלוי

Please accept this money that I have collected from people, the people of our town, whose names are written here, out of which I already sent 646 zloty and now I am sending the rest , 38.84 and please send receipts for each and every name with the amount he donated exactly (and no mistake). I will also ask you to pray for Meir Shmuel son of Rivka to for complete cure for the sickness of his urinary bladder and anus and the Eczema in his legs, (and here come some more diseases including paralysis of the left side of the face of a woman named Shprinza daughter of Ginanzia).

And mention us in the Holy places and may we see the consolation of Zion and Jerusalem soon.