AI en Translation, Pages 101-125
Page 101
Salaries for the month of September 1937
2126
July 13, 1938
To
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, the Respected
After greetings,
Reference to your letter No. 724 dated July 13, 98
The Lay Council has not paid the salaries and allowances for the month of September to any
party whatsoever. The fact of the matter is that the Schools Committee has distributed to the schools their share
of the lottery that was previously held for the benefit of the Hospital and School Committees by permission
from the Secretariat of the Capital, on the condition that the proceeds of the aforementioned lottery be allocated to the hospitals
and schools without entering the community's treasury.
As for your statement that the Rabbis are requesting arrears for the current year in excess of the rest of the
institutions, we do not find it to be consistent with reality because our council has paid, up to now, to all
departments and institutions of the community without exception, full salaries and allowances for six months of this
year.
⟦signature⟧
Vice President of the Lay Council
Page 102
The Chief Rabbi of the Holy City
Baghdad, may God protect it
Chief Rabbi of Baghdad Benjamin Hakham Moshi
CHIEF RABBI
BENJAMIN H. MOSHI
BAGHDAD
Number: 752
Date: 12 / July / 49
Mu'tadal Nahum A. Ezra A. Nissim A. Saleh
Kosher A. Nahum
We are the donkeys, one by one with you, look in the caravans of knowledge of Abdao
One of them carries at the time of peace and the letter to us
Benjamin H. M.
⟦signature⟧
⟦faded blue text: To the Honorable Chairman of the Committee ... Respectfully ...⟧
Approval
29 / 7 / 5
For filing
7621 Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
4 / 7 / 51
8621 Division 21
Subject / Interest
Presidency of the Jewish Sharia Courts in Baghdad, Respected
Greetings and respect
83 Division 21 on November 27, 1950 and our letter No. 151
The Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad directs that a general notice be issued to
the Jews in Baghdad and its dependencies regarding the necessity of informing the Presidency of the Jewish Community
of all sales that take place in the Land Registry offices or before the Notary Public or
the confirmation of real estate transactions that take place outside official departments so that this community can
take the necessary legal measures regarding the funds belonging to it.
Accordingly, we kindly request you to instruct those concerned to circulate this notice to
all Jewish Sharia courts in Baghdad and its affiliated dependencies so that
this community can carry out the necessary legal measures to preserve its rights.
With appreciation
⟦signature⟧
President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Page 103
2172
9 January 939
His Excellency the President of the Jewish Community, Respected
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, Respected
After greetings and respect
Based on your request, the Lay Council agreed in its meeting held on 5 January
939 to compensate you by borrowing an amount of five hundred and seventy-four Dinars and six hundred and fifty-nine
Fils to be spent according to what is listed below, provided that the payment is due after three
months from its date, as the Council will be ready to pay it on the mentioned date
We hope that you will take the receipts and organize the salary disbursement lists to those entitled to them
in a manner that secures the rights of the Council
Dinar | Fils
119 | 771 | To the Spiritual Administration
46 | 313 | To the Yeshivot Administration
56 | 287 | To the retirees and the needy
15 | 750 | To the Tomchei Torah Society
238 | 121 | The Slaughterhouse
77 | 288 | Slaughterhouse students' dues until the end of September 938
" | 16 | On the expense account for this year 38/ 939
" | 100 | To the Shochatim only for the months of October and November 1938
" | 15 | Expense for building an arch in front of the slaughterhouse for the passage of employees and workers
208 | 288 |
128 | 250 | To the Community Administration on account
659 | 574 | Only five hundred and seventy-four Dinars and six hundred and fifty-nine Fils and no more
⟦illegible⟧
Vice President
Page 104
Baghdad ( 10/6/1928
His Excellency the Honorable Lay Council
After greetings,
We, the undersigned (the Talmud Torah teachers, numbering four), used to receive from
the Jewish Community Fund a monthly amount of twenty-two and a half rupees,
and for three and a half months it has been cut off from us. We come to seek mercy from
God and from your presence to notice our situation, knowing that for a period of seven
months we have received nothing from it. Our hope is that you restore it to its previous state. May you remain ⟦?⟧
⟦Yitzhak Hakham⟧ | ⟦Ovadia Ezra⟧ | Ishaq Zubaida | Talmud Torah Teachers
⟦...⟧ | ⟦...⟧ | ⟦...⟧ | Ezra Murad Levi
| | | ⟦...⟧
7172
11/10 / 28
For filing
Page 105
2171
8 January 939
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, Respected
After greetings
In view of the death of His Eminence the late Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Laniado, the Lay Council has decided
on 20 / 11 / 938 to cut his salary starting from the end of the month of August 938. May you remain [in peace].
⟦illegible⟧
Vice President
A copy of it to the Accountant for information
Page 106
2170/5
8 January 939
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, the Respected
Greetings
We request that you inform us of the location where the Sefarim, furnishings, and furniture belonging to
the synagogues that were expropriated due to their location on King Ghazi Street are kept, and may you remain [in peace]
Vice President
A copy of it to His Excellency the President of the Israelite Community, the Respected
Page 107
Copy of paragraph 7 of the decision of the Lay Council taken on 30 March 939
7) The Council confirms the election of His Eminence Rabbi Daoud Shaul as a member of the Spiritual Council to fill the membership
vacancy caused by the death of Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Laniado on 23 February 939. Accordingly, and since the aforementioned Rabbi
before his election to membership held the position of an additional member of the two courts with a monthly salary of one dinar
and eight hundred fils 1/800, and this salary is not present in the approved budget for the year 939/38, the Council decided
to add nine dinars to the allocations of the Spiritual Council for the five months starting on the first of October
1938 and ending at the end of February 1939 to be paid to Rabbi Daoud Shaul at the rate of one dinar
and eight hundred fils for each month. Furthermore, Rabbi Daoud Shaul shall receive the salary for membership in the Spiritual Council
starting from the first of March 939, and therefore his salary allocated in the budget in his capacity as clerk of the Court of Cassation
shall be cut starting from the first of March 939, noting that the aforementioned Rabbi will continue to perform his previous
clerical duties within the mentioned membership salary.
True copy
29 March 939
Page 108
21 May 939
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, respected
For your information, you will find enclosed a copy of the resolution issued by the Lay Council
in its meeting held on 30 March 939;
The President
A copy of it to His Eminence Rabbi Daoud Shaul for information
Page 109
On the occasion of the death of the late Nassim Hakham Youssef, the employee at the slaughterhouse, the contractor of the weighing station (Al-Qabbaniya) approached
this presidency in the presence of His Excellency the Vice President of the Lay Council, the members of the Israeli Religious Court,
and the head of the slaughterhouse, requesting the appointment of another employee in his place to facilitate the work in the slaughterhouse.
After deliberation, it was decided to make the following arrangements, to be acted upon
until they are approved by the Lay Council:
1) Appointing Hakham Youssef Hayyim Moallem Ezra as an employee in the slaughterhouse in place of the deceased Nassim Hakham
Youssef.
2) Since the salary of the deceased Nassim Hakham Youssef was 4.575 Dinars, one Dinar shall be taken from this amount
and added to the salary of the slaughterhouse employee Salim Hakham Eliyahu, which is 1 Dinar
and 687 Fils, making it 2 Dinars and 687 Fils, on the condition that the attendance of the aforementioned Salim
be regular like the rest of the slaughterers and without interruption, and that he remains every day at the slaughterhouse until the
⟦authorized representative⟧ of the contractor permits him to leave.
3) By adding the remainder of the salary of the deceased Nassim Hakham Youssef, which is 3.575 Dinars, to the salary of
Hakham Yaqub Shaul, which is 2.25 Dinars, the total becomes 5 Dinars and 925 Fils, to be divided
equally between the aforementioned Hakham Yaqub Shaul and Hakham Youssef Hayyim Moallem Ezra, so the salary of
each of them shall be 2 Dinars and 912 Fils (2.912).
4) Anyone who is absent from work at the slaughterhouse without a legitimate excuse shall be fined by deducting the daily portion
from his salary.
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Referred to the Presidency of the Honorable Lay Council
January 21, 1929
Session 29/2/9
Based on the committee's decision
Head of the Community
Note: Slaughterhouse
2/4
Page 110
2417
21 May 939
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, Respected
For your information, you will find attached a copy of the decision issued by the Lay Council
in its meeting held on 30 March 939
⟦illegible⟧
The President
A copy of it to His Eminence Rabbi Daoud Shaoul for information
Page 111
The Israeli Religious Court in Baghdad
Date: May 3, 1939
His Excellency, the Honorable President of the Lay Council
After greetings and respect,
It is not hidden from Your Excellency that my accumulated salaries from the Lay Council fund have reached
six months. Since I am compelled to find the necessary money for the marriage of my betrothed daughter, I request you
to consider disbursing these accumulated salaries of mine and paying them to me or to my son-in-law, Mr. Ibrahim Twena,
Assistant Director of the Rachel Shahmoon School. To Your Excellency, much thanks and respect in advance;
Sincerely,
⟦Yitzhak Dabbah⟧
⟦S.T.⟧
Member of the Religious Court
11 475
97 / 275
Disbursement approved
5/17
Page 112
Baghdad 24 / 4 / 49
Honorable Chairman of the Budget Committee
After greetings.
We, the undersigned, have had
salaries from the community fund for twenty years
since we have no profession other than spending
our days in the Torah of Bar Elyasi and we subsist on this
meager salary, therefore we hope from your
esteemed self to look upon us with the eye of mercy and compassion
by continuing our salary as before, and with much respect to you
May you remain
Daoud Sira
Daoud ⟦Hayyim⟧
⟦Ezra⟧ ⟦illegible⟧
750
750
⟦line⟧
1500
1
9/1
⟦line⟧
1500
Total
Page 113
The Chief Rabbi of the Holy City
Baghdad, may God protect it
Chief Rabbi of Baghdad Benjamin Hakham Moshi
CHIEF RABBI
BENJAMIN H. MOSHI
BAGHDAD
Number ⟦line⟧
Date October 29, 1939
His Excellency the President of the respected Lay Council
After greetings and respect
I request you to inform me of the date of the meeting of the esteemed Lay Council so that I may attend to meet
the Council, and I also request that you kindly invite His Excellency the President of the Community to this meeting
to be enlightened by his views on the subject I wish to present to the esteemed Council; and to your Excellency respect;
with the members
⟦Darwish⟧ ⟦...⟧
President of the Spiritual Council
The discussion took place and there is no longer a need for follow-up. To be filed
11/8
⟦...⟧
Page 115
228
October 6, 1940
His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council, the Respected
The Respected Hospital Committee informed us in its letter dated September 20, 1940, of the occurrence of an engagement
and marriage at the same time for a young man and woman from the people of Baghdad at the hands of a rabbi in Kirkuk who came to
Baghdad for this purpose by the arrangement of a person known to the Spiritual Council, and as we have also learned
that this marriage has ended in divorce.
There is no doubt that the esteemed Spiritual Council well appreciates the consequences of allowing such
matters from both religious and civil perspectives, and it must have taken interest in taking the necessary measures against
the perpetrators, and we hope to be informed of what has been done in this regard, especially since such incidents
occur in Kirkuk and in other places as it is thought.
⟦signature⟧
President of the Lay Council
A copy of it to His Excellency the President of the Israelite Community in Baghdad, the Respected
To His Eminence the President of the Israelite Religious Court, the Respected
Page 116
The Chief Rabbi of Baghdad
Baghdad, may God protect it
Chief Rabbi of Baghdad Benjamin Hakham Moshi
CHIEF RABBI
BENJAMIN H. MOSHI
BAGHDAD
Number: 952
Date: 11 / June / 951
We greet with peace His Honor Mr. Raphael Mr. Shohet
for Mr. Nahum
After inquiring of your well-being, we inform you that on 1940/10/1
both His Honor Mr. Rahamim, may God have mercy on the soul of the late Joseph Isaac Cohen, you came to our house
and you were guarantors for Mr. Nahum Mr. Shohet
for the sum of 250 Dinars and on this you signed, and today we want you to come to us
regarding this matter so that we can settle the matters between you and the late
Benjamin
Hakham Moshi
May he be preserved
15 / 6
5 / 7 / 53
30 Rabi' al-Thani 72
To the Honorable President of the Physical Body
In its session held on 30 Rabi' al-Thani 72, the Inspection and Investigation Committee decided to submit the following recommendation to your esteemed position:
Based on the request of Mr. ⟦...⟧ to increase his monthly salary, and since the aforementioned receives a monthly salary of ⟦...⟧
Therefore, the committee decided to recommend increasing his monthly salary by an amount of ⟦...⟧ Dinars starting from the date of January 1, 53
Please accept the highest respect and appreciation
The Inspection and Investigation Committee, in its session held today, has studied the request submitted by Mr. ⟦...⟧
After auditing the tasks assigned to him, the committee found that it is necessary to approve his request to increase his salary by ⟦...⟧
Dinars starting from this month, so that his monthly salary becomes ⟦...⟧ Dinars instead of his current salary of ⟦...⟧ Dinars
With highest respect and appreciation
Chairman of the Inspection and Investigation Committee
A copy of it to the Finance Committee to take the necessary action regarding the decided increase
A copy of it to the Accounting Committee to take the necessary action regarding the decided increase
Page 118
April 29, 702
Assistant Head of the Community Affairs Management Committee
Respected
Based on the request of the petitioner (Umm Zaki), widow of the late Shaul
On behalf of the Commission, we kindly ask for your approval to disburse the amount of ten dinars
as assistance for her and her minor children from the community budget.
Please accept (on behalf of the Commission) the highest respect and appreciation with thanks.
Lawyer, Head of the Commission
⟦illegible⟧
1970
Head of the Commission
To the Accountant
Please disburse the amount of ten dinars to the petitioner above
on the account of the community budget for the year 1970 with thanks
To be filed
Page 119
11 / 8 / 49
Honorable President of the Lay Council
Baghdad
Greetings and respect,
Previously, the gentlemen Salman Ezra Shahrabani and Yusuf Salman Nissan approached you regarding
the purchase of the plot numbered 27 / 143 located in the Hanoun Saghir neighborhood, adjacent to the remaining piece of land
from the Farha Torah. After this purchase was completed, the necessary measures were taken to buy it
and register it in the name of the Farha Abid Cohen Endowments. This has indeed been done, and the purchase price of
(400.000) Dinars was paid, along with all the expenses and fees required for that from the consumption allowance
of the Farha Torah, which is (378.500) Dinars, after its completion.
And now, since our community is in the direst need of a well (Mikveh) because all the wells have collapsed
due to the excessive rise of groundwater in recent years, and since the aforementioned plot
is located in the best place suitable for this project, and since there are some generous people from our community ready
to spend the necessary money on this project so that a well with a
basement can be built on the mentioned plot, while the land above them remains empty for performing prayers during the summer season, provided that the rest of the
revenues coming from this project, if any occur in the future, are spent on the poor, and that
through our association.
In view of what we have explained above, we hope for approval of this charitable project as soon as possible so that
we may carry out the necessary construction that suits the present time.
With our increased gratitude and highest respect;
Association of ⟦...⟧
⟦...⟧
1939
Baghdad
⟦signature⟧
Approved
Page 120
2251
14 November 941
Association of Helpers of the Poor
Baghdad
Greetings
Reference to your letter dated 14/11/941
Our council approved in its meeting held on 10/11/941 the project of building a well (source)
in the plot numbered 27 - 143 Hanoun Saghir purchased for the Torah of Farha according to what was stated in your letter
provided that its revenues, if any, are allocated to aid the poor through your association. Best regards;
⟦signature⟧
The President
Page 123
Wednesday 21 / 4 / 949
His Eminence Rabbi Sassoon Khadhuri, the respected President of our Israelite community
After greetings and respect
Our Master. The painful situation we have reached due to the delay of our salaries has become unbearable, especially in these
harsh days when the cost of living has become very expensive and the salary has dropped to a quarter or less, as your Eminence knows.
There is no doubt that your Eminence is known for your chivalry and fairness, and you appreciate the amount of hardship we suffer in these difficult days.
Your Eminence undoubtedly shares our opinion that it is necessary to take the required measures.
We have every hope in your Eminence to fulfill our request urgently. May you remain in respect.
⟦illegible signature⟧ | Saleh Kahli | Ezra Levi
⟦illegible signature⟧ | ⟦illegible signature⟧ | Yusuf Saleh
⟦illegible signature⟧ | ⟦illegible signature⟧ | Musa Belhin
Assistance allocation amount 6000
Amount 8000
⟦illegible⟧
Archive ⟦illegible⟧
Referred to the respected Accounting Manager to kindly provide assistance in this matter 25 / 4 / 949
On behalf of the President of the Community
⟦illegible signature⟧
Page 124
Baghdad, December 31, 1941
The Israeli Spiritual Council
Baghdad
His Excellency, the President of the Lay Council, Respected
After greetings and respect,
The painful situation we have reached due to the delay of our salaries has become unbearable, especially in
these days when the cost of living has become high and the salary has dropped to nearly a quarter.
We are all heads of families and have children whom we must support and care for their upbringing. There is no doubt that the
respected members of the Lay Council, who are known for their chivalry and fairness, appreciate the amount of distress we suffer
in these difficult days, and they undoubtedly share our opinion that it is necessary to take measures
to provide us relief so that we can live with our families. Therefore, we request the esteemed Council to grant us permission to collect
donations from the public—after obtaining the permission of the competent authorities—to aid the spiritual institutions.
This is the only way, in our view, to solve this problem, and we have every hope that the esteemed Council will grant
this request of ours. Respectfully yours.
⟦Khedouri⟧
⟦1/1/42⟧
President of the Spiritual Council
A copy of it to His Eminence Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri, the respected President of the Community
⟦For filing⟧
Page 125
The Spiritual Committee of the Jewish Community
Baghdad, may God protect it
The Israeli Spiritual Council
in Baghdad
Number: 1094
Date: 18 / 2 / 949
To the Honorable Committee of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Honorable Mr. President
After the appropriate greetings, we inform you that we have sent you a list of the Rabbis' salaries
from 1/1/949 until the end of February 949, and also a sum of 4 Dinars as an addition
for the month of January 949, and also a sum of 4 Dinars as an addition for the month of February 949
And we hope that your excellency will send us a payment order to your treasurer, and may there be peace
upon Israel Amen, and may the Lord bless you Amen
Referred to the accountant to take the necessary action ⟦18 / 2 / 949⟧
⟦signature⟧
On behalf of the President of the Council
Your Excellency the President:
In response to the letter of His Eminence the President of the Spiritual Council above, enclosed is a list showing the details of the spiritualists' account, including the figure that
represents the remainder of the accumulated allocations for the Spiritual Council at the end of the year 948. The mentioned month has already been reconciled
with the present and entered as explained in the list. My request is to refer this list to the Spiritual Council to reconcile it
with the figures they have and inform us of the discrepancy ⟦and may you remain⟧ 18 / 2 / 949
⟦signature⟧
Accountant