Treasury of letters and documents regarding halacha, hanhaga, communal affairs and personal matters from the Sofer rabbinical dynasty. Sent from Hungary 1890-1910.
Collection of letters written by Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer; Rabbi Yosef Leib Sofer av”d Pacs; Rabbi Naftali Sofer and Rabbi Moshe b”r Yaakov Shalom Sofer.
Rabbi Eliezer Zussman (1828-1903) was a prominent Hungarian Rabbi, the son of Rabbi Mordechai Efraim Fishel Sofer, and brother of Rabbi Chaim Sofer, Rabbi of Budapest, author of ‘Machane Chaim” (Otzar HaRabbanim 6091). He was a disciple of the Chatam Sofer during the latter’s last years. After the Chatam Sofer’s death, he continued studying by the Kitav Sofer and then the Maharam Schik. After his marriage, he moved to Paks to be near his father-in-law, Rabbi Yoel Unger av”d in the city. There he was appointed dayan and maggid mesiharim and even headed the yeshiva. In 1857, he was appointed Rabbi of Halas, where he became known as a prominent leader and spokesman of Orthodox Hungarian Jewry. In 1886, after the death of his father-in-law, he took over the position in Paks, but the cities near Halas remained loyal to him despite the distance between them. He served for many years as Rabbi of Paks, until his death in 1903. He authored a number of works, and is primarily noted for his “Yalkut Eliezer”, “HaMikneh”, and “Eit Sofer”. Refer to, HaChatam Sofer V’Talmidav, p. 63-65, Otzar HaRabbanim 2646.
Rabbi Naftali Sofer (1811-1899) was a prominent Hungarian Rabbi and preacher in טפולטשין, קדלבורג, ראזוביץ, and פשטיניידורף. He was son of Rabbi Mordechaim Efraim Fishel Sofer, a brother of Rabbi Eliezer Zussman and son-in-law of Rabbi Hillel Lichtenstin of Kolomia. He authored Beit Naftali, Mateh Naftali, Sha’ar Naftali. He studied by the Chatam Sofer who wrote a recommendation letter for him in 1837, and by the Kitav Sofer.Chatam Sofer V’Talmidav, p. 382; Otzar HaRabbanim 16132).
Rabbi Yosef Leib Sofer was a prominent Hungarian rabbi, the son of Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer and son-in-law of Rabbi Dovid Yehuda Pollack. He was the Rabbi of בדרעטשקא, and succeeded his father in 1903 in the Paks rabbinate. He passed away in 1918. He authored “Yalkut Sofer” and “Likutei Sofer” (Otzar HaRabbanim 8900).
Rabbi Moshe b”R Yaakov Shalom, son of Rabbi Mordechai Efraim Fishel Sofer (1875-1917) was Rabbi in ברזוביץ and טיסא-פירד. He authored “Mahara”m Sofer” (Otzar HaRabbabnim 14972).
This Rabbinical family was very esteemed in Hungary.
This collection includes tens of letters and documents sent by the Sofer rabbis and Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlezinger, author of the “Lev Hivri”, son-in-law of Rabbi Hillel and Brother-in-law of Rabbi Naftali sofer.
This collection is of first-degree historical importance. It conveys Hungarian communal life in the 19th century, through the eyes of the communal leaders. And expresses the delicate relationships between the leaders of Hungarian Jewry and Jerusalem rabbis of the time. Exceptionally important.
See Hebrew catalogue description for more information about the Sofer dynasty and for a listing of letters in the collection.