JUDAICA RABBI ISSER YEHUDA UNTERMAN 2 AUTOGRAPHS

ON 2 TELEGRAMS ISRAEL 1960s

SIZE: 14 x 22 cm.

CONDITION – SEE PHOTOS

Isser Yehuda Unterman (1886–1976)

was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1964 until 1972.

Born in Brest-Litovsk in modern Belarus, Unterman was

educated at the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Maltsch. There,

he became a pupil of its Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shimon

Shkop. Returning to Lithuania to complete his studies, Unterman was ordained as a rabbi by Rabbi Refael

Shapiro and opened his own yeshiva in the town of Vishnyeva around 1910.

Unterman served a variety of roles in the Lithuanian Jewish community until

1924, when he was selected to become the head rabbi of Liverpool. Unterman served in Liverpool for 22 years, becoming

an important figure in the English Zionist movement and

working to relieve the suffering of refugees in England during the Second

World War.[1]

In 1946, Unterman became the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, a position he

held for twenty years before being appointed Chief Rabbi of Israel. As Chief Rabbi,

Unterman worked to reform the rabbinic court system and reach

out to secular Israelis. He also wrote opinions on a variety of

religious issues relevant to the young Jewish state, such as religious

conversion and marriage law.[1]

Unterman died on January 26, 1976 in Jerusalem.