Auction 62

Letter by Rabbi Moshe Stern Av Beit Din of Polien-Riskeve and by His Son-in-Law Rabbi David Sperber Av Beit Din of Brasov, the Author of Afarkesta DeAnya - Implying Some Controversy - Havasmező, 1904

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Lengthy letter by Rabbi David Sperber Av Beit Din of Brasov and the Author of Afarkesta DeAnya with a letter by his in-law Rabbi Moshe Stern Av Beit Din of Polien-Riskeve (Havasmező), addressed to Rabbi Chaim Brody Av Beit Din of Prague – Havasmező, 1904. 

Rabbi David Sperber begins his letter with superlatives describing his friend Rabbi Chaim Brody (in those days Av Beit Din of Nachod): "לכבוד אדוני רב חביבי, הנצמד בקירות לבבי, הרב החכם החריף צנא דמליא ספרא". Then he refers to a letter Rabbi Brody had sent him in which he apparently alerted him to an unknown issue. His words imply some secret matter that we were unable to figure out:

"ואל נא יחשדני כי לא אבין את אשר לפני ואת אשר נטל עלי… כי ידעתי את נפשי ואת חובתי…ואני אל ה’ בטחתי, אשר יוצאיני למרחב מארץ ציה וחרבה ומבין אנשים מוצצי דם איש… אפס לעת כזאת ימי שמחה וחגים אשים מחסום לפי…" 

He ends his letter with greetings to his friend: "ד’ אשר צווהו לנגיד על עמו, ונשא כסאו ולעד ינון שמו, וינהל עדת מי מנה…. ואברך את אדוני בצאתי בשלום וברכה מאתי"

Appearing on verso of the leaf is a letter handwritten and signed by Rabbi Moshe Stern Av Beit Din of Havasmező and the in-law of the author of the Afarkesta DeAnya: "כמו חלב ודשן תשבע נפשי מברכתו הנאמרת עלי בשולי גליונו אל כבוד חתני הנחמד הרה"ח שליט"א – ותבאתה גם ברכתי ברכת הדיוט לראש הגבר הוקם עול עולה של תורה….".

23X29 cm. 

Fold lines. Good condition. 

The Gaon Rabbi Moshe Stern (1842-1923) one of the greatest rabbis of the Maramureș region. Was born in Poland and moved in his youth to Hungary. Received his Hora’ah Semicha from the author of the Yitav Lev, Av Beit Din of Siget. Since 1882, served as Rav in Dragomiresti and in 1890, moved to serve as Rav in Polien-Riskeve (Havasmező). 

Rabbi David Sperber (1877-1962) the Gaon of Brasov, one of the leading Poskin of Romania before the Holocaust, author of Shut Afarkesta DeAnya, Av Beit Din of Brasov and a member of Mo’etzet Gedolei HaTorah of Agudat Yisrael in the Land of Israel.