Important and interesting historic-rabbinic polemic letter from the affair of one of the most well-known controversies, with a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a struggle of gedolei Yisrael on a religious matter, written by Rabbi Ya’akov Lifschitz – personal secretary and confidant of the leader of the generation, the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, av beit din of Kovno, to the gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern, av beit din of Shavel. Kovno, 1875.
Background to the letter: In 1875, etrog merchants from Corfu raised the prices of etrogim, to the extent of creating a cartel amongst themselves not to reduce the prices. As the question of the kashrut of these etrogim was in any case a matter of dispute, the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan decided to forbid Kovno residents from purchasing these etrogim that year, and he requested that other city rabbis join him in this initiative.
That same year, the gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern was invited to Kovno, and he discussed the matter with Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan. In this letter, Rabbi Ya’akov Lifshitz turns to Rabbi Yosef Zechariah in astonishment as to why he had not yet issued a kol kore on the topic, hiding behind the curtains, so that Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan was left alone to this battle. Rabbi Lifschitz entreats the av beit din of Shavel to send a letter on the topic to the newspaper HaLevanon . Rabbi Lifschitz also wonders why the gaon of Busk [Rabbi Mordechai Elishberg] and his mechutan from Raseiniai [Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Jaffe, father-in-law of the gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern of Shavel] also did not issue letters on the topic.
Rabbi Lifschitz is protective of the honor of ‘the Admo”r’ Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan, and he expresses himself with uncommon harshness in this letter “Can it be that a hungry person must ask another to pick up a spoon or a fork to raise them to his mouth, as the gaon has asked now?!”
About a year later, Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan’s son, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch, printed the kuntress entitled Tochachat Meguleh as requested by his father, opposing Vilna rabbis who permitted Corfu etrogim. For more about the Corfu etrog controversy of 1875 and background for understanding this letter, refer to what its writer wrote in his sefer , Zichron Ya’akov Part II, pp. 174-175 (photocopy included).
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the rabbi, the complete sage, Rabbi Ya’akov Lifschitz .
[1] leaf paper, 21 cm. The letter continues slightly onto the second page.
Fine-very fine condition. Minimal creases.