Eulogies for Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl on the Anniversary of His Death – Exceptional Descriptions of His Personality and ...

Eulogies for Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl on the Anniversary of His Death – Exceptional Descriptions of His Personality and Activity and Reference to His Noticeable Absence – Handwritten by Rabbi Aharon Mendel Ha'Cohen, the Rabbi of Cairo
Two sermon-eulogies for the anniversary of Herzl's death, handwritten by Rabbi Aharon Mendel Ha'Cohen, the rabbi of Cairo, Egypt. The sermons were delivered by Rabbi Ha'Cohen to the members of his community on the anniversary of the death of the outstanding Zionist leader.
The first sermon is from 1908, four years after Herzl's death. In the sermon, Rabbi Ha'Cohen notes that Herzl was a learned man who stood before kings and sacrificed himself for the Jewish nation. His death was still noticeable in the Jewish world, especially by the Zionist Movement.
The second sermon is from 1918, ten years later, after World War I. Rabbi Ha'Cohen says: "If Herzl were alive, during these times of outrage – he would have acted in favor of the Jews … and now [again] his absence is significant as if he had just died". The Rabbi explains that especially now, although fourteen years have passed since his death, the feeling is "as if this is his first Yahrzeit, since now is the beginning of the realization of his ideas and activities" and his memory is recalled "as if he is standing before us".
This sermon (which is written in Sephardic script) was edited by the leaders of the Ashkenazic community and the leaders of the Zionist society of Cairo, as well as the Chacham Bashi and the rabbis of the Badatz. In the eulogy, Rabbi Ha'Cohen praises Herzl's whole-hearted devotion to his cause. He notes that Herzl's name implies his deeds – the name 'Herzl' contains the word 'Hertz' – heart (in German and Yiddish. "With all his heart he thought how to do good to his nation; therefore he attracted the hearts of the Jewish people and he saved many from the sin of assimilation among the gentiles", "With God's help, everything he did, was successful, since he did it whole-heartedly…" A fascinating, touching sermon!
6 pp. of the eulogies. Attached is another page handwritten by Rabbi Ha'Cohen with a eulogy for "the mother of [Mr.] Chakim" which was delivered during the Shiva.
Herzl's death caused great grief to the Jewish nation. All around the Jewish world (including the land of Israel), Rabbis delivered bitter sermons about the untimely death of the leader, the Prophet of the Hebrew State. Year after year, on his Yahrzeit, mass memorial services were conducted in honor of the outstanding Zionist leader. However, most of the sermons had not been documented. Here we have a special remnant of the eulogies for Herzl, indicating the great respect to Herzl felt by Jewish rabbis! Thus, this is an important historical item.
21 cm.
Condition: Good.