A CHEWRA SAAR HATORA ASHKENAZI MEGHIVÓJA ÉS ZÁRSZÁMADÁSA. 1927. JANUÁR 1-TÖL – 1927. DECEMBER 31-IG TERJEDÖ IDÖRE.
Satu-Mare [Szatmar/Satmar, Romania]: No Publisher [The Chevra Sa’ar HaTorah Ashkenazi; printed by Tipográfia Kleinman si Heimlich], 1928. Item #43241
1st edition. Original orange printed paper wrappers, 8vo, 10 pages. Primarily in Hungarian, with 2-page statement & closing speech also in Yiddish.
WITH LAID IN: Two aliyah (to the Torah Ark) pledge cards, one for Ephraim Lavii and one for Levende Pinty
Title translates roughly as, “The Saar Hatora Ashkenazi Society Financial Statement and Closing Speech. For The Period From January 1, 1927 To December 31, 1927.”
From the strife-ridden year of 1928 in Satu Mare (see below), a budget report, including tables and lists, for the Chevra Sa’ar HaTorah Ashkenazi with heartfelt call to action by the President (?) Yosef Chaim Mayer, asking the community to support its efforts to raise funds to build a new Beit HaMidrash. The plea is also undersigned by Eli Mandelbaum and by the two gabbais, David Spiegel and Yona Weiss.
A total of 11 names of leaders of the society are named.
Society members are asked for their support in the upcoming election; presumably this is the controversial election of a new chief rabbi which famously split the community and resulted in the appointment of Hasidic Joel Teitelbaum and the creation of the Satmar Dynasty under him.
In 1715, when Sathmar became a royal town, the Jews were expelled, but they began to resettle in the 1820s."In 1841, several Jews obtained the permission to settle permanently in Sathmar; the first Jewish community was formally established in 1849, and in 1857, a synagogue was built. After a great number of traditional Ashkenazic Jews had settled in the town, the Jewish community split in 1898, when a supporter of the Hasidic movement was elected chief rabbi, into an Orthodox and a Status Quo community, led by a Zionist rabbi, which erected a synagogue in 1904.
In the 1920s, there were several Zionist organizations in Satu Mare, and the yeshiva, one of the largest in the region, was attended by 400 students. In 1930, the city had five large synagogues and about 20 shtiebels. In 1928, a conflict within the Orthodox community broke out over the election of a new chief rabbi, lasting six years and ending in 1934 with the appointment of the Hasidic rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, a traditionalist and anti-Zionist, who later re-founded the Satmar Hasidic dynasty in Williamsburg, New York. Another Hasidic rabbi, Aharon Roth, the founder of the Shomrei Emunim and Toldot Aharon communities in Jerusalem, was also active in Satu Mare” (Wikipedia).
We could not locate another copy of this publication anywhere, not in OCLC, not in KVK, not in the Hungarian National Library, not in the Romanian National Library, and not with a google search. Perhaps a unique surviving copy.
Adressee’s name and “Satu Mare” penned on rear cover for mailing, stamp clipped out of corner of blank rear wrapper (no text loss). Postal cancellation stamp (“Satu Mare 5. Feb [1]928”) on front cover, as well as some other ink notations. Paper remains bright and strong, about Very Good Condition. Exceedingly Rare with important connection to Satmar Hasidism. (B) (Holo2-163-11-'LG).
Price: $950.00