Handwritten leaf completing a responsum regarding an agunah, written by the famous gaon Rabbi Meir [Kristanapoler], Av Beit Din of Brod, sent to his friend and resident of the same city, Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margaliot of Brod, author of Beit Ephraim. In this responsum, the rabbi of Brod discusses the laws of whether a woman who committed adultery, claiming her husband was deceased, can be believed. It is part of a lengthy responsum on the laws of agunot [photocopy enclosed]. At its conclusion, he writes a touching line indicating his great sensitivity and gentle soul: “And I did not include this leaf in the first compilation so that daughters of Israel will not be embarassed.” Rabbi Meir [Kristanapoler] (1740-1815) was the ‘glory of the generation’ as he was called by his friend, author of Beit Ephraim (Shu”t Beit Ephraim Yoreh Deah siman 46), a ‘lofty tzaddik’ (Shoel U’Meshiv, in his approbation to Yad HaMeir), ‘Light of Israel … gaon, chassid and wonder of the generation among Israel – his name is great in Torah and Chassidut’ (author of Birkat Retze”h in his approbation there). He was one of the greatest rabbis of his generation; his responsa appear in books by the generation’s rabbis. Every difficult matter was brought before him. His known responsa include the one dealing with the get of Brod, which the Noda BiYehudah addressed, and regarding the matter of the Agunah of Stashov, which the Maggid of Kozhnitz handled (refer to his book Agunat Yisrael). He served as a rabbi in Bialikamin, Glona, Kristanapoli (which is close to Belz) and he was especially known as the rabbi of Brod and environs. He was friends with Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margaliot, the ‘Beit Ephraim,’ and even took part in several halachic rulings and halachic negotiations in a number of agunah cases together with him. After his passing, the ‘Beit Ephraim’ eulogized him, and he even printed his eulogy in a special booklet entitled Misped Rav (Lvov, 1815). Some of his writings were printed in Yad HaMeir (Warsaw, 1874). The Admori”m of Belz are related to him through Rabbi Meir being the father-in-law of Rabbi Moshe Ephraim Ashkenazi, Av Beit Din of Kalisch, father of Rabbi Shmuel Ashkenazi of Zinkov, father-in-law of the Mahar”i of Belz. And, the Sar Shalom of Belz considered himself his disciple. [1] paper leaf written on both sides. 20×24 cm. Small paper corrections in the margins, minimal stains and fold marks. Expert opinion enclosed confirming the identity of the handwriting as that of Rabbi Meir, Av Beit Din of Brod.