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Quietly sold by Jewish library, letter by famed 18th-century rabbi surfaces at auction, fetching $400,000

JL;DR SUMMARY Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, widely known as Ramchal, was an influential 18th-century Jewish thinker whose handwritten letters have become highly coveted artifacts. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HeritageJewish Theological SeminaryCultural PreservationRamchalAmerican Jewish InstitutionsAuctionsMoshe Chaim LuzzattoRare ManuscriptsOrthodox MarketMystical Texts

Places mentioned

New Jersey, United States
"interview. Sclar, a librarian at a Modern Orthodox high school in New Jersey, said in an interview."
New York, United States
"Jewish Theological Seminary turned to its assets, selling real estate as well as rare books from its world-renowned library."

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Cairo Item ID 75696
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2026-02-19 05:31:08 UTC
Curated 2026-02-19 08:31:16 UTC