Letter handwritten and Signed by Judah Leon Magnes – Heidelberg, 1902

Letter handwritten and Signed by Judah Leon Magnes – Heidelberg, 1902
A letter handwritten and signed by Judah Leon (Leib) Magnes. Hedelberg, September 14, 1902. German.
The letter was sent during Magnes' doctoral studies in Heidelberg (from August to December 1902). The addressee's name is not mentioned throughout the letter; its content, however, indicates that he was a member of the Zionist circles of Berlin and, presumably, an editor or journalist.
At the beginning of his letter, Magnes inquires about a leaflet that was published by his correspondent, titled "The Zionist Congress. He continues by telling his correspondent about his future plans: "Unfortunately, I must inform you that the New York Times is unhappy with my travelling east [i.e. to Eastern Europe]… instead of a journey to the East I might go on a short journey in Romania" (Hebrew). At the end, Magnes notes that he has enclosed with the letter 3.75 Mark, which he requests to give on his behalf to Rundschau (presumably, the Israelitische Rundschau periodical in Berlin, which two months earlier published a long article by Magnes about the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies in Berlin) and also asks his friend to give his regards to "Mr. Auerbach".
Judah Leon (Leib) Magnes (1877-1948), one of the prominent rabbis of Reform Judaism in the USA, a Zionist leader, chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1925) and its first president (1935-1948). He was close to the Brit Shalom movement and its members – Gershom Scholem, Martin Buber and others. Magnes was born in Oakland, California, to a family that was affiliated with the Jewish Reform community. From his mother, who was of German origin, he acquired his fluent German. After he graduated from the University of Cincinnati and was ordained as a rabbi by the Hebrew Union College, he pursued his doctoral studies at the Berlin University (which he completed at the Department of Language Studies in the Heidelberg University) and at the same time also studied at the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies. In Berlin, he became familiar with the Zionist idea and in 1901 founded the "Agudah Leumit", a Zionist student union whose members included Max Schlesinger, Arthur Biram, Gotthold Weil and others.
[1] f., 22 cm. Good condition. Satins. Fold lines. Filing holes. Creases and small tears to edges.