Response from of Rabbi Yosef Shaul HaLevi Notenhausen, Av Beit Din Lemberg, author of Sho’el U’Meishiv, regarding a controversy that divided a congregation into two camps. Each camp had their own shochet and denounced the other shochet. The beit din received testimony regarding each of the shochtim.
Specifications: [2] pages, doubled leaf, 21×17 cm. Scribal handwriting, signed by the author of Sho’el U’Meishiv along with a concluding line in his handwriting. The left side of the doubled leaf bears the address of the sender, stamp and traces of a red seal.
Unique features: The response was sent to the “great, honorable, wise and knowledgable rabbis, Moreinu HaRav Yosef Notaten, Av Beit Din of Székesfehérvár, and Moreinu HaRav Gavriel Dessauer HaLevi Av Beit Din Kyeswening [disciple of the Chatam Sofer].”Rabbi Notenhausen notes in his response that he was residing at the time in a spa town to benefit from the pure air, and did not have his usual access to scholarly works. Remarkably, despite this lack, the response is full of knowledgable information and even includes precise references!!Though we have looked, we have not found this response in any of the fifteen sections of the Sho’el U’Meishiv responsa.
Background: Rabbi Yosef Shaul HaLevi Notenhausen, author of Sho’el U’Meishiv (1808-1875), was the rabbi of Lemberg for about twenty years. He was a Torah master and one of the foremost halachic responders of the time. He received questions from all over the world, and was requested to write approbations and give rabbinic ordination to many. He was known to be a “kadosh mi’rechem” – holy from the womb – and was greatly admired by the Torah leaders of the generation, including the Chatam Sofer, from when he was young. Rabbi Chaim of Sanz addressed a question regarding mikvaot to him, and starts his letter with enthusiastic honorifics (Shu”t shoel U’Meishiv, Mehadura Tanina, section 1, siman 24).
Condition: Fine. Fold marks, tiny tears and reinforcements. Aging stains.