Lengthy letter in the beautiful script and with the signature of the mighty gaon Rabbi Simchah Ashkenazi-Halberstam, av beit din of Dessau, known as ‘Rabbi Simchah of Dessau, ‘ great-uncle of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. Sent to the mighty gaon Rabbi David Berlin, av beit din of Ah”u [Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek], author of Korban HaEdah . Dessau, c. 1770.
The letter deals with an unfortunate woman whose husband left her without giving her a get for divorce. Rabbi Simchah requests from Rabbi David that he wisely see to it to assist this woman, “whether to draw close [to bring the husband home] or to distance [to force him to give a get ] … and fight this Torah battle with this embattled man … until he carries out one of these options …”
A warm, heartfelt relationship was enjoyed by these two rabbis. Rabbi David previously served in the city of Dessau, and then moved to the Ah”u communities, and appointed Rabbi Simchah in his place.
Another letter from Rabbi Yechiel Michel Halberstam appears on the back of this letter, mentioning ‘Adm”o Ner”u’ several times. The rabbinical subject’s identity is unknown; it is probably one of his relatives. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Horowitz, in his [Hebrew] article “The City of Dessau and its Rabbis” (in Otzar HaChaim , sixth year, Deva, 1930) notes that only two sons of Rabbi Simchah’s are known – Rabbi Yisrael of Skahl and Rabbi Mordechai of Komarno.
His glosses on about fifteen tractates were printed in the famous Vilna Sha”s, by his grandson, the scholar Sh. Z. Ch. H. Rabbi Simchah, who had an especially sharp mind, covered many topics, and his glosses are used to this day as a foundation stone of understanding perplexing topics. Otzar Chochmah lists hundreds of sefarim with questions and various comments, followed by “as I saw in the Hagahot by Rabbi Simchah of Dessau, ” “and I again saw in the Hagahot …”
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Simchah [Ashkenazi-Halberstam] .
[1] leaf paper, written on both sides. Approximately 20×19.5 cm.
Moderate condition. Fold marks and small perforations with a small blemish in individual words. Tear with a large lack in the right margin (far from the text), completed with paper. Stains. The letter has been artistically restored.