“I, Chaim Ben Moshe sell to Moshe Ben Yirsoel Halevi, the inheritance which I will receive after 120 years for 1200 Zlotys.”
This was the text of an agreement entered into by Chaim Greenblatt and Moshe Feierman of Falenice, a Warsaw suburb. Greenblatt, complaining to Feierman of his extreme poverty, the latter suggested the transaction whereby he would pay 400 Zlotys to Greenblatt immediately and the remainder of the 1200 Zlotys in installments over a period of two years, in return for which he would receive any inheritance coming to Greenblatt from his father.
On the eve of Rosh Hashanah Greenblatt was informed of his father’s death in America. As his share of his father’s estate he is to receive $6,000. The amount Greenblatt received from his agreement with Feierman was 1200 Zlotys or the equivalent of $120. The rabbi of Falenice must now decide whether the transaction was proper. In the meantime, the subject caused excited speculation among Falenice Jews as they gathered for the holiday services.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
