Date and Place: 27 Tishrei 5666 (1905), the holy city of Yafo

Recipient: Peace and blessing to the members of the distinguished council of Rechovot.

Body: I am requesting of your honors to finish the dispute with Mr. H.A. The way it seems to me, it is very correct to make a compromise with him. This is especially true concerning the matter of usury, about which it is very proper to be careful in the future that anytime there is a loan that involves one of our brethren from Bnei Yisrael, to attach to it a document of iska (a formulation that turns a would-be loan into a permitted type of investment). It should at least say that the matter was done based on a heter iska, which makes the matter work based on all the detailed rules of iska. This is what they do in banks here. It is proper for the council to have a stamp that says "based on heter iska" and to stamp that on the stationery that deals with such financial matters, so that the recipient will also know that it is built on iska. This should not be a trivial matter in the eyes of financial managers for our brethren in the Holy Land.

In any case, if you do not succeed in any way to reach a compromise on your own, write to me in short all of the details of the case, from the beginning of the business with H.A. until now. I will then respond according to Torah law.