Lengthy responsum, three pages long, handwritten and signed by “the mighty gaon, the prince of Torah, rabbi of the entire Diaspora, pious and modest, scion of distinguished generations” Rabbi Ya’akov Weidenfeld, av beit din of Rimalov [Hrymayliv], father of the author of Chazon Nachum and of the gaon of Tshebin. Sent to Rabbi Yehoshua Falk, av beit din of Połczyn. Rimalov, Cheshvan, 1881. The vast majority of letters by the Kochav MiYa’akov were lost and burnt, hence the extreme rarity of letters from him.
The letter consists of a lengthy in-depth scholarly study on the laws of weddings and ketubahs. At the end of the letter, Rabbi Ya’akov writes about a Jew who came to the addressee’s city and began to officiate at weddings at his own initiative. Rabbi Ya’akov writes sharply about this: “I admonish him with a rebuke of the power of the fire of religion! From this day forward he may not officiate at weddings without (Rabbi Yehoshua’s) permission, because there is a great concern about the validity of his weddings, as stated in the responsum … If he is not willing to obey us, he will certainly regret it, because we will not remain silent, and his prayer will be an abomination …”
The letter was printed in the author’s Shu”t Kochav MiYa’akov , printed a long time after his passing. The author’s sons write that most of his responsa, both in the author’s manuscripts and in transcripts by his disciples, were lost and burnt during the course of WWI. After the war, writings and transcripts were collected again, and lost again during WWII, and remain unknown to this day.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Ya’akov Weidenfeld .
[2] leaves of paper, three pages written across their entire surfaces. Approximately 21×17 cm.
Moderate condition. Fold marks with tears. Tears and worming perforations in the right margins, with damage to several words. Stains and wear.