Lot 117
Rabbis - Group of Six French Letters, 1879-1900. Six Autograph Letters Signed, five of them by Chief Rabbis. Lazare Isidor, who wrote one letter dated 1879, and Zado Kahn, who wrote three letters dated 1888, 1893, and 1900 were Chief Rabbis of the Central Consistory of French Israelites in Paris. A. Lévy, who wrote one letter dated 1889, was the Chief Rabbi of Lyon. The sixth letter (to the French publisher Hachette) was written in 1896 by Isidore Cahen, who was an author, journalist and director of the French Jewish review, Archives Israélites. In one letter, Zado Kahn thanks the Dean of the Faculty of Protestant Theology for a copy of "the brilliant lesson on 'the moral ideal' which I had the good fortune of hearing." Another, to the Director of Public Assistance discusses a meeting of the Committee of Israelite Charity and mentions that Baron Edmond de Rothschild is the chairman of the committee. Interesting content, in French and untranslated. Some toning and soiling; first page of one letter is torn, missing some text. Consistories were created by Napoleon I in 1808 to administer Jewish religious matters and facilitate the acculturation of French Jews. Each French "département" (French administrative district) had a consistory which was usually composed of two rabbis and three lay people.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
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