Detailed responsum involving a married woman who had an affair with a doctor and the discussion of whether it is necessary to inform her husband. Written on the Tuesday, Lag BaOmer, [1811]. This responsum was not printed in Shu”t Meishiv K’Halachah .
The responsum was written per the request of “The captain of my youth … the great rabbi … Shmuel Zanvil … to ask the opinion of my weak mind … regarding the episode that occurred in his congregation.” A similar response was printed in the Beit Ephraim , Even HaEzer, siman 127.
The author, Rabbi Avraham Zeev Wolf Frenkel (1780-1849) was the son of Rabbi Binyamin Poshaver, about whom Rabbi Naftali of Ropsitz said that he doesn’t have nearly as many hairs on his head as the amount of mitzvahs that Rabbi Binyamin has. As a young child, Rabbi Zeev was already recognized as a genius and diligent Torah scholar. At first he studied at Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Linsk’s kloiz, and then he moved to Zamosc to learn with Rabbi Mordechai Rabin. He became the son-in-law of Rabbi Avraham Moshe of Przeworsk, and through his efforts his young son-in-law received the honorable position as rabbi and Av Beit Din in the city. He served in this position until the passing of his young wife. He then married the daughter of Rabbi David HaLevi Notenhausen, who was the rabbi of the tailors in Broyde, and he moved to be supported by his father-in-law in Broyde. He served as dayan there alongside Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margaliot, author of Beit Ephraim , and this responsum is addressed to him. He later moved to Reishe [Rzeszów], where he lived for close to 30 years. There he earned the surname “Reischer.” He refused to accept a rabbinical position in the city. In Reishe, he married his third wife, the daughter of Rabbi Yaakov Kuttelberg, son-in-law of Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg. He became very wealthy and was considered a great philanthropist. He was famed for the vast amounts of money he distributed to charitable causes. He made sure “that every child has food to eat and clothes to wear.” He received questions from people around the globe, including the Shoel U’Meishiv and the Divrei Chaim. When he was in Reisha, there was a controversy regarding the rabbinate in Ropshitz. They turned to Rabbi Zeev for a decision, and he wrote a responsum that made a powerful impression.
He spent much time in the courts of the chassidic leaders of his time. As a youth, he sought out the Chozeh of Lublin and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov. When he was older, he was close to the Sar Shalom of Belz, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Rimanov and Rabbi Asher Yeshayah of Ropshitz. His grandson wrote, “Whoever did not see his lowness and brokenheartedness after returning from these righteous people, has never seen a humble person in his life.”
[7] pages, ink on paper, 19.5×24.5 cm, about 160 lines in his holy hand and with his signature, clear, legible script. Fine condition. Aging stains, minimal professional marginal restorations. An expert confirmation of the identity of the writer is included with this lot.