ALS Rabbi Ephraim Eliezer Yolles — Samborer Rebbe & Chief Rabbi of Philadelphia — Kashrut Recommendation Letter
A Rabbinical Endorsement From One of America's Most Distinguished Orthodox Leaders
This is a handwritten autograph letter signed (ALS) by Rabbi Ephraim Eliezer HaKohen Yolles — written on his official letterhead as Head of the Orthodox Rabbinate of Philadelphia — recommending a rabbi as an expert in kashrut supervision.
The Man Behind the Letter
Rabbi Ephraim Eliezer ben Shalom HaKohen Yolles (1891–1989) was a scion of a prestigious dynasty of rabbis and Admorim — the Samborer Rebbe and Chief Rabbi of the city of Philadelphia. (eBay)
Born in Sambor, Galicia, Rabbi Yolles immigrated to the United States in 1921. He was asked by Philadelphia's Chief Rabbi Bernard Levinthal to lead Kerem Israel shul, and was subsequently chosen as chief rabbi of the Orthodox synagogues organization, presiding over the Philadelphia Beis Din and kashrus agency. (Aerophilately)
Rabbi Yolles was famously close to the Lubavitcher Rebbe — known for the legendary story in which he urged the Rebbe to sleep more during a Farbrengen marking the 19th of Kislev. (eBay)
The Letter Itself
Written on his official printed letterhead:
Rabbi Ephraim E. Yolles
Head of Orthodox Rabbinate
1913 N. 33rd Street, Philadelphia 21, Pa.
Phone: FRemont 7-4275
Hebrew title: אב"ד דפה"ק פילאדעלפיא
Content: A formal rabbinical recommendation letter endorsing a rabbi as a qualified expert in kashrut — written in classical rabbinical Hebrew with full signature
Signed: אפרים אליעזר הכהן יאלעס
Why This Letter Is Significant
Rabbi Yolles lived to nearly 100 years old — spanning the entire 20th century of American Jewish history
As Head of the Philadelphia Orthodox Rabbinate and Beis Din his kashrut endorsements carried enormous legal and communal weight
A Samborer Rebbe letter connects Chassidic dynasty to American Orthodox institutional authority
His sefer Divrei Ephraim Eliezer is studied to this day
Philadelphia Jewish community letters of this caliber are increasingly scarce
Physical Description
Format: Single page handwritten letter
Language: Classical rabbinical Hebrew
Letterhead: Printed English and Hebrew official stationery
Signature: Full rabbinical signature with title
Condition: Very good — age appropriate
Keywords — English
Rabbi Ephraim Yolles | Samborer Rebbe | Philadelphia Orthodox Rabbinate | ALS autograph letter | kashrut recommendation | rabbinical endorsement | American Jewish history | Orthodox Judaism | Beis Din Philadelphia | Agudas Harabonim | chassidic dynasty | Galicia rabbinics | Jewish ephemera | rabbinical letter signed | kosher supervision | Torah scholar
מילות מפתח — עברית
רבי אפרים אליעזר יאלעס | האדמו"ר מסמבור | רב ראשי פילדלפיה | מכתב בכתב יד | המלצה לכשרות | אב"ד פילדלפיה | יודאיקה | מכתב רבני | כשרות | גליציה | שושלת חסידית | אגודת הרבנים
A kashrut endorsement from the man who presided over Philadelphia Orthodox Jewry for half a century