Einstein, Albert, German physicist and Nobel laureate (1879-1955). Typed letter signed.

€ 16,000.00

Addressed to Mark Carter, Chairman of the ORT Organization, Los Angeles. The present letter was written in the course of Albert Einstein's second visit to the United States, while he was spending time at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, where he met with physicists and astronomers to discuss topics related to his theory of relativity. At that time, Einstein was invited by Mark Carter, Chairman of ORT, Los Angeles, to attend a benefit event featuring a performance by actors belonging to the Habima Theatre. Einstein was a great admirer of Habima. Einstein wrote: "The efforts of ORT for the rehabilitation of Eastern European Jewry are of the highest importance for the Jewish people as a whole. A disease is definitely being healed here, which has brought distress to our people for centuries. I personally attended an unforgettable performance of ‘The Dybbuk' at the Habima Theatre and I am convinced that the high level of this play will be enthusiastically received locally as well" (transl. from the German original).

The organization known as ORT ("Organization for Rehabilitation through Training") was established in Tsarist Russia in 1880 by Jewish philanthropists with the goal of providing professional training for members of struggling Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. The organization established a network of schools in the Pale of Settlement and in Russia, which, following the First World War, expanded to the West and opened branches throughout the world. In late October, 1930, the British branch of ORT held a luncheon attended by academics, philanthropists, and rabbis. In attendance were George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, and Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Joseph Herman (Zvi) Hertz. These figures were joined by Albert Einstein, who took the opportunity to express his great regard for the ORT organization in a speech he delivered at the event.

Typed on the official stationery of the California Institute of Technology. Stains. Fold lines. Minor creases. Remnants of glued paper on verso.