Mizrah Plaque, 1870

[top right]

With the help of God, may He be blessed.

[top border]

Remember the Lord from afar, and let come into your mind [Jer. 51:50]. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her with righteousness [Isa. 1:27].

[left border]

Do good in Thy favour unto Zion; build Thou the . Then wilt Thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness [Ps. 51:20-21].

[bottom border]

Thou wilt arise, and have compassion upon Zion [Ps. 102:14], as You said. Bring redemption speedily and salvation soon, as You spoke. And return to Jerusalem with great mercy, as You promised.

[right border]

Look upon Zion, the city of our solemn gatherings; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a peaceful habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up [Isa. 33:20].

[middle]

East

[surrounding]

From this direction comes the spirit of life.

[below]

Our holy and splendorous Temple, in which our forefathers praised You, went up in flames, and all our delight was destroyed.

[on the right of the picture]

Holy Memorials

This depiction is a picture of the , with all that is on it, from the vantage point of someone standing on a tall roof in the Holy City of Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt and reestablished, facing eastward. His eyes would see the remnant of its ruins, and from there, his sense of vision would wander to the

of the city, opposite which is the beautiful Mount of Olives! And the Valley of Jehoshaphat, also known as the Kidron Brook, separates them. However, he would not be able to see the valley, because the wall would block it, but he would be able to see from halfway up the Mount of Olives and above. And in all of this, I have transcribed and marked all the holy sites that stand at the foot of the mountain.

[on the left of the picture]

1) The city known as Abu Tor, which stands on top of the Mount of Olives, and, according to some, is the site of the grave of the prophetess Huldah.

2) An image of a mountain.

3) The grave of the prophet Zechariah son of Jehoiada the Priest, at the foot of the mountain.

4) Called the House Set Apart, and according to that which is inscribed there in ancient writing, this is the site of the grave of the priests from the house of Hezir.

5) Absalom’s Monument.

6) The eastern gates, called the Gates of Mercy.

7) The cave of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, on the Mount of Olives.

8) The eastern wall of the Temple Mount and the city.

9) A building called Shelomoh.

10) The Temple Mount.

11) The site of the .

12) The site of the Temple and the floor of the Courtyard.

13) The .

14) Houses and courtyards built into the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.

15) The western gates of the Temple Mount.

[under the picture]

May God, who blesses all the righteous, bless you and give you good and sweet lives.

And may He who keeps the covenant and kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments protect you.

And may He save you from all troubles and distresses, from every accuser, from every evil occurrence, and from destructive forces.

May God bless you from Zion with the peace of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem mourns, since her children, sons and daughters, wail profusely with tears like rivers, streams from my eyes into yours. The mournful mother Jerusalem says, “Peace unto you, my children; peace unto you from the mournful Temple of God; peace unto you from the ruined resting place; peace unto you from the site of the holy Table, Menorah, and Ark of the Covenant; peace unto you from the site of the Altar of burnt offerings; peace from the site of the Altar upon which to burn incense; peace and blessing from the site of the Temple, Hall, Courtyard, and Holy of Holies; peace unto you from the holy graves of the prophet Zechariah, who rests at the foot of the Mount of Olives; peace unto you from the holy resting place of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who rest at the height of the mountain; peace from the countless Mishnaic and Talmudic , pious men, and miracle workers who rest on the Mount of Olives and who pray on your behalf; peace from Judah Hasid; peace from Rabbi Kalonymus the miracle worker; peace from the rabbi who wrote the Peri Hadash [Rabbi Hezekiah da Silva]; peace from the rabbi who wrote the Peri To’ar [Rabbi Hayyim ibn Attar]; peace from the pious Rabbi Shalom Sharabi and Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi and the pious Rabbi David Mager, and the entire neighborhood of Kehal Hasidim ... Peace from all the pious ones from Germany, Lithuania, and Poland who rest on the Mount of Olives, all of whom pray for you. And you will again see the building of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple and live through its comfort and peace, when sorrow and sighing shall flee away, and you will obtain gladness and joy, amen.

To you, rabbis and teachers, the princes and wonder workers, and all the benevolent of the nation who seek the peace of Jerusalem ... To you, with my voice, the voice of supplication, do I cry out, and unto each generous man – whose soul is called a spirit of kindness, as it is written, “The world is built upon kindness” [Ps. 89:3] and He formed it not a waste [Isa. 45:18] – from the lowliness of the ground do I speak. May I find favor in your eyes, and to the sound of my words may you show a spirit of favor, kindness, and strength, and gird yourselves in righteousness and strengthen me with help. I ask your indulgence over the fact that I write in the vernacular.

I am, through God’s grace, a student of our holy rabbi, the Light of the , the scholar Rabbi Moses Sofer, of blessed memory, whose Holy drove into my heart the obligation to go to Jerusalem, the Holy City; and in his merit, we, the entire settled community of the Holy Land, are sustained by God, may He be blessed, through the charity of our brothers, the Children of Israel in the Diaspora. And I am sustained through that which his son, our master and rabbi, the genius and prince who has filled his shoes [Rabbi Abraham Samuel Benjamin Wolf], sends to the Holy Land.

However, the dearth is great, and there is not enough to sustain us. And I am here – Our legs stood in your gates, Jerusalem [Ps. 122:1] – and God, may He be blessed, gave me the ability to endure and not leave. And I proclaim the compassion of God, may He be blessed, for us: He gives His righteous ones compassion in their hearts, so that they should have pity on us and we should be able to persist. And I pray to God, may He be blessed, that He should! And He will richly reward anyone who acts righteously with those who dwell in Jerusalem.

I keep the path of God, may He be blessed, as I learned from our teacher, the author of the Hatam Sofer [Rabbi Moses Sofer], and I am not on a wicked path, deviating from God. I have kept the ways of God and have already brought to the wedding canopy two destitute young Torah scholars, for which I had nothing; I was only able to do so through the charity of our brothers, the Children of Israel, may God protect and save them,

who bestow kindness upon the poor of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. And now, God, may He be blessed, gave me the opportunity to perform this good deed once again, and so I request this blessing: that you send me charity for the marriage of a young Torah scholar to a destitute bride, both of whom are naked and impoverished, the bride being an orphan in the life of her father.

And so I request that whoever sees this page should take it upon himself to send me something yearly. I live in great poverty – deficiency of bread, water, clothing – and also pay the salaries of teachers. May the Holy One, who is blessed, place in your hearts the will to act righteously with us, so that you send charity for us to my brother, the great scholar, the wonder of the generation, Rabbi Aaron David Deitsch, may his light shine, the head of the rabbinic court and of the academy in Yarmuth. And whoever writes his name to me – his name and the name of his mother – I will pray for him to Him who hears prayer.

May God, our Father, help you; may He who created everything through His great power bless you with the heavenly blessing, the blessing which ascends from under the earth. May the blessing rest upon your children born in the name of the Almighty. May He bless all of your loved ones. The blessing of father and mother accompanies you, from the source of the everlasting hill of great compassion ... May the surplus of nations come to you and may you not want anything at all. May He divert all sickness from you ...

I will, without binding myself, send each person a receipt, but I ask in advance your forbearance until it comes. We may not lose sight of worshipping God through continual Torah learning and prayer, mercy and supplication for each man. And the paperwork takes a long time.

I pray for you each day ... to God, who is blessed, by the Western Wall.

Signed by the humble Simeon Deitsch, son of my master, my father, our teacher ... son of the righteous genius, Rabbi Joseph, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing, grandson of the scholarly author of the Tzemah Tzedek [Rabbi Menahem Mendel Krochmal], may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing, and the genius Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing; here, in Jerusalem, the Holy City, may it be rebuilt and reestablished quickly, in our days, amen.

[underneath]

[rightmost picture]

The grave of the prophet Zechariah son of Jehoiada the Priest

[second from right]

The Cave of Machpelah

[third from right]

The pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day [Gen. 35:20]

[leftmost picture]

[on the left side of the circular border]

But unto you that fear My name (the first letters spell: Jerusalem) shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings [Mal. 3:20].

[at the bottom of the circular border]

(My soul hath observed Thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly [Ps. 119:167]. The first letters spell: Simeon.)

[on the right side of the circular border]

This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded: Gather ye of it every man according to his eating; an omer (the final letters spell: Jerusalem) a head, according to the number of your persons [Ex. 16:16].

[inside the circle, to the right of the tree]

Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come [Isa. 56:1].

[inside the circle, to the left of the tree]

And they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them [Amos 9:14].

[in the tree]

And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that bringeth forth its fruit [Ps. 1:3]. The last letters spell: Jerusalem.

[on top of and in the ground]

That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, upon the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth [Deut. 11:21].

[a ladder stands in the picture containing acronyms for the verses: “Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen” (Ps. 89:53). “Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwelleth at Jerusalem. Hallelujah” (Ps. 135:21). “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things; And blessed be His glorious name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen” (Ps. 72:18-19)]

[far bottom]

I also request of every man who is generous of heart that he not take money for me from the collection box designated for the group of married men engaged in study, may God protect and save them. [similar text appears in next to this line]