Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by the gaon Rabbi Dov Ber Meizlish, av beit din of Kraków and then Warsaw, sent to Rabbi Berush Yalles. Kraków, 1854.
This letter was written at the height of the dispute between Rabbi DovBerish and Rabbi Shaul Landau about the Kraków rabbinate, and in this framework, Rabbi Chaim Nathan supported Rabbi Shaul Landau – Rabbi DovBerish’s rival.
In the letter, the writer discusses Rabbi Chaim Nathan Dembitzer, and writes against him sharply, with harsh expressions and kvod Elo-kim haster davar .
The relationship between the two rabbis had its ups and downs over the years. Rabbi Chaim Nathan was rabbi Berush’s junior by 22 years, and received rabbinic ordination from him. In 1832, a big dispute broke out between Rabbi DovBerish Meizlish and Rabbi Shaul Landau about the Kraków rabbinate. The dispute reached its climax 1851-1855. Rabbi Chaim Nathan expressed his support for Rabbi Shaul, which caused all of Rabbi DovBerish’s supporters to disgrace him. The official dispute concluded, but in 1855, when Rabbi Shaul Landau passed away and Rabbi DovBerish moved to Warsaw, the poisonous reverberations were felt in the Kraków community for many years.
In 1870, there was a biography printed in Kraków, Ish Chayil , about Rabbi DovBerish, and astonishingly, the book received an enthusiastic approbation from Rabbi Chaim Nathan.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies of the gaon Rabbi Dov Berish Meizlish and the gaon Rabbi Chaim Nathan Dembnitzer .
[1] leaf paper, written on one side. 22.5×18.5 cm.
Fine condition. Small tears in the margins without lack in the text, with stickers on the back of the leaf. Aging stains.