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בס"ד

Vol. IV, No. 12
Adar 5607, March 1847
 

Hebra Terumot Hakodesh

Extract From The Constitution—Section 5.

“The money raised by this Society shall be remitted, at stated times, to some responsible Agent in Europe or Asia, to be distributed by him, fairly and equitably, amongst the different Congregations in the Holy Land; but in no instance whatever to be paid to any Messenger or Agent of any of the Congregations there who may be sent here to collect the same.”

The Hebrew Terumot Hakodesh has received recent intelligence that our Brethren in the Holy Land are suffering from the horrors of famine, the consequence of the continued drought for near two years. They appeal to the sympathies of their more prosperous co-religionists.

This Society has just received the acknowledgment of their last remittance made to Mr. Hirsch Lehren, and other gentlemen in Amsterdam, composing the Distribution Committee, and calling on us for all the additional aid in our power. With this view, the Hebra has appointed Messrs. Solomon I. Isaacs, I. B. Kursheedt, and Simeon Abrahams, to solicit aid from all well-disposed Yehudim, in this city and elsewhere: the amount collected to be sent in accordance with the above Extract from the Constitution, with the names of the donors, and the amount subscribed by each individual.

New York, 18 Kislef, 5607.

I. B. Kursheedt, President.
N. Phillips, Clerk.

Rev. Isaac Leeser,

Dear Sir,—Herewith enclosed you will find copies of correspondence, &c., in regard to our poor brethren in the Holy Land, which you will please insert in your Occident, now preparing. We addressed it letter to H. Lehren, Esq., per steamer of 1st January, and expect a reply per Carmbria, now due. So you will please reserve sufficient space in your periodical for such communication, a copy of which shall be immediately forwarded to you. There is an Israelite from Hebron, (on a visit to this country,) who is soliciting aid for the poor Jews of Hebron; and it is this same individual who has circulated the report now current here, that the funds hitherto sent have been appropriated to special Congregations, and not generally, which was the cause of our addressing Sir Moses Montefiore on the subject. I feel confident that you will make such an appeal to the charitable feelings of our nation here, as will best advance the holy cause of our suffering brethren in Jerusalem.

I. B. Kursheedt.

Copy Of Letter, Etc.

Sir Moses Montefiore, London.

Dear Sir,—We beg to hand you herewith, first of exchange of Phelps, Dodge & Co., on Phelps, James & Co., Liverpool, (60 days) for £64, being part of a collection now being made in behalf of the poor of our brethren in the Holy Land.

Our reason for troubling you on this occasion is owing to reports existing here, tending to create doubts as to the ultimate disposition of the funds forwarded in aid of this noble cause.

Hitherto remittances have been made to the highly respectable Committee of Messrs. Hirsch Lehren, and others, Amsterdam; but the impression prevails with some individuals that they have been appropriated in aid only of particular communities, whilst the wishes and intentions of the donors were for distribution amongst all the poor, without discrimination as to particular congregations or communities.

Under these circumstances, we are induced to solicit your benevolent services in effecting the transmission of the funds now forwarded and to be forwarded to you, so that the object of the contributors may be realized.

The present remittance is the result (at present rate of exchange) of the contributions of
 
Mrs. Harmon Hendricks, $100
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin S. Hart, 100
Miss Selina Hendricks, 50
Miss Hermoine Hendricks, 50

in all

 $300

Not wishing to lose the opportunity of transmitting by this steamer, we avail ourselves to remit to the extent of our collections, and remain, with sentiments of profound respect, your very

Obedient servants,

I. B. Kursheedt,

Solomon I. Isaacs, Committee.

S. Abrahams,

P. S. Please reply to this, and afford us the opportunity of refuting the report of any partial disposition of the funds by the Amsterdam Committee.

Copy of Sir M. Montefiore’s Letter.

London, January 19th, 1847.

Gentlemen,

I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your esteemed letter of the 31st December last, enclosing a bill of exchange for the sum of £64, to be forwarded to the poor of our brethren in the Holy Land. In compliance with your wish, immediately remitted the amount to the leaders of the various congregations, furnishing them with a copy of your directions with regard to the mode of distribution; and I requested them to forward to you an acknowledgment of its receipt, and to supply you at the same time with every information relating to its distribution. I should have had much pleasure in aiding you in the accomplishment of your desire for similar information with reference to the disposal of former remittances to the Distribution Committee in Amsterdam; but I do not see any means by which your object could be so satisfactorily attained as by an application direct from you to the worthy and highly respectable members of that Committee, which I would therefore beg to suggest. With fervent prayers to the Almighty, that you may reap in his blessings the fruits of your beneficence to our brethren in the Holy Land,

I am, gentlemen,
                        With sincere respect,
                                           Your obedient servant,
                                                            MOSES MONTEFIORE.

To I. B. Kursheedt and Solomon I. Isaacs, Esqrs., New York.

Note by the Editor.—In giving the above an insertion, we beg leave to state, that notwithstanding the statement of our venerable friend, Mr. Kursheedt, we deem the case of the Jews at Hebron one of peculiar hardship, as they have suffered so much in the civil wars which have raged in their unfortunate city; and we trust that the messenger, Rabbi Jechiel Cohen, may be listened to, without our giving any opinion on the administration of the Palestine fund, disputes concerning which we have long since noticed in the Orient, and other Jewish papers.