Beschreibung:

Responsum regarding laws of Mikvaot (ritual bath), 17 lines handwritten and signed by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar (Satu Mare), written at the foot of a letter containing a query handwritten and signed by Rebbe Yoel Moscowicz of Shotz (Suceava). Montreal, Canada [-Williamsburg, New York], Sivan, 1954. The question and answer are recorded on the official stationery of Rebbe Yoel Moscowicz of Shotz. The question of the Rebbe of Shotz covers approximately one and a half pages, and the answer by the Satmar Rav occupies the second half of the page, 17 lines in his handwriting and with his signature. Rebbe Yoel Moscowicz of Shotz describes a situation in which the Mikveh of the community, due to some mishap in the building process, came out different to planned, which caused certain individuals to raise a cry that the Mikveh is unfit for ritual use, slandering him and R. Pinchas Hirschprung. The Rebbe of Shotz requests that the Satmar Rav reply swiftly, recording his opinion on the matter on the same leaf. The letter is signed "Yoel son of R. Meir of Shotz". The next part of the letter contains the response of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar: "I am responding briefly at the foot of your letter as per your request… in our place, we try to build the Mikveh with dimensions conforming with the most stringent opinions… if it is possible to adjust the Mikveh to conform with all the views, it would be preferable to make these changes…". The Satmar Rav subsequently offers two options to repair the pools of the Mikveh to measure up to all opinions. The letter containing the question and answer was first published in Moriah, 53, pp. 25-27, and the responsum was again published in Responsa Divrei Yoel, I, Yoreh De'ah, section 66. Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum (1887-1979) was a grandson of the Yitav Lev and son of the Kedushat Yom Tov who both served as rabbis of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației). He was renowned from a young age for his perspicacity and intellectual capacities, as well as for his holiness and outstanding purity. After his marriage with the daughter of Rebbe Avraham Chaim Horowitz of Polaniec, he settled in Satmar and taught Torah and Chassidut to an elite group of disciples and followers. He served as rabbi of Irshava, Carei (from 1925) and Satmar (from 1934). In all the places he served as rabbi, he also maintained a large yeshiva and court. He stood at the helm of faithful Ultra-Orthodox Jewry in the Maramureș region. During the Holocaust, he was rescued through the famous Kastner Train, and after a journey through Bergen-Belsen and Eretz Israel, reached the United States, where he established the largest Chassidic group in the world – Satmar Chassidut, until today the dominant faction in American Orthodox Jewry. He was a leading opponent of Zionism and the founding of the State of Israel. He responded to many halachic queries, and his writings resulted in the publishing of dozens of books: VaYoel Moshe, Responsa Divrei Yoel, Divrei Yoel on the Torah and more. Rebbe Yoel Moscowicz of Shotz (1907-1980), a son of Rebbe Meir of Shotz and son-in-law of his cousin/brother-in-law the renowned Rebbe Shalom Moshkovitz of Shotz-London, was a descendant of Rebbe Meir of Premishlan (Peremyshliany). He was rabbinically ordained by leading Galician rabbis and established his study hall in the Stamford Hill neighborhood of London. In 1949, he emigrated to Montreal, setting up his study hall there, and was active in the Kashrut and Taharah agencies. In 1968, he immigrated to Eretz Israel, where he refused to serve as rebbe. He spent his final years emending and editing the writings of his grandfather R. Avraham David of Botchatch (Buchach). [1] leaf, 2 written pages. 27.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Small dark ink stain. Folding marks.