Collection of letters and other paper items, including 22 letters handwritten and signed by R. Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, author of Seridei Esh. Montreux, Switzerland and elsewhere, between 1949-1963.
The letters are addressed to his disciple Rabbi Dr. Erwin Elchanan Scheftelowitz, a graduate of the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin, and one of R. Weinberg's dearest students. Many letters discuss R. Scheftelowitz's candidacy for rabbinic positions in various cities in Europe, mainly discussing the question of his rabbinic service in Malmö (Sweden) where another rabbi was eventually chosen. Other letters discuss articles submitted by R. Weinberg for publication (including his article "Dr. Herzl and His Relation to Religion"), and appreciations by R. Scheftelowitz for R. Weinberg's Seridei Esh. Enclosed are various letters and newspaper clippings on R. Weinberg's books.
In a letter dated "Monday Behaalotcha, 1949", R. Weinberg discusses at length the Torah Im Derech Eretz approach transmitted by R. Shimshon Refael Hirsch, and mistaken interpretations imputed to it by a diverse range of rabbis. In another letter, dated 6th Tamuz 1950, R. Weinberg discusses among other things the issue of kosher shechitah, recounting his deference to the decision of R. Chaim Ozer not to publicize his ruling permitting certain methods of stunning animals: "Regarding the shechitah question, my opinion is that you should ask the Chief Rabbis. In matters such as these, no individual can issue a decision based on his own opinion. In the mentioned booklet I demonstrated permissive possibilities, but I was outnumbered by great rabbis, including R. Chaim Ozer, who did not decide to permit it, and therefore I deferred to them and also forbade it, in order not to divide Judaism into two…".
In a notable letter, R. Weinberg reveals that the birthday appearing on his passport is fabricated. This was written in response to R. Scheftelowitz's publication of a newspaper article in honor of the seventieth birthday of his teacher R. Weinberg. In this letter, dated Friday Vayigash 1954 (6th Tevet, 31 December): "…I received the issue with your article for my seventieth birthday, and I was surprised at this information which is wholly unlike my true age. I don't know what the source was for this false fact; my passport attesting to this age is unreliable, as it was made at the time for various reasons; enough said. I would be grateful if you would personally retract the false information that you were misled by" [notably, all biographies of R. Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg give his date of birth as ca. 1884-1885; the present letter indicates that the true date differs by several years, and we do not know whether it was earlier or later than 1884].
R. Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (ca. 1880s-1966), renowned Torah scholar and posek, a leading disciple of the Alter of Slabodka. Served as rabbi in Pilviškės (Lithuania) at a young age. After the passing of his friend R. Avraham Eliyahu Kaplan, he succeeded him as head of the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. During the Holocaust, he was deported to Poland, residing in the Warsaw Ghetto where he served as president of the Rabbinical Association. He was sent to a concentration camp, and he survived the Holocaust. After the war, he settled in Montreux, Switzerland, where he headed the yeshiva until his passing. His works include: Responsa Seridei Esh, Chidushei Baal Seridei Esh, Lifrakim and more.
The recipient of the letters, Rabbi Dr. Erwin Elchanan Scheftelowitz (1911-1998), a Tel Aviv rabbi of German origin, as well as a jurist. He authored books and articles, mainly on Jewish, Mandatory and Israeli law: The Jewish Law of Family and Inheritance and its Applications in Palestine (Tel Aviv, 1941; English translation 1947), with an approbation by R. Uziel; The Jewish Law of Family and its Jurisprudence for the Jews of Israel (Tel Aviv, 1965; Hebrew); and many other books and articles in Hebrew and German.
27 letters and drafts, including 22 original letters from R. Weinberg (14 on postcards). Varying size and condition. + 5 original envelopes + 4 newspaper clippings in German and Hebrew.
