Bidspirit auction | “Shegagah hayotzeis mipi ha’shalit” —

“Shegagah hayotzeis mipi ha’shalit” — The Rabbanus Charter of the Yagel Yaakov in Miskolc, 1926 The official כתב הכתרה appointing the gaon and tzaddik R’ Chaim Mordechai Yaakov Gottlieb, Baal Yagel Yaakov, to the rabbanus of the Sephard (Chassidic) kehillah of Miskolc in 1926. The document bears the signatures and seal of the leaders of the kehillah. A remarkable maaseh with this very charter A well-known episode is told regarding this כתב רבנות, revealing R’ Yaakov’s foresight. The leaders of the community feared that after investing heavily to bring such a Rav, he might leave after only a few years. R’ Yaakov replied that, based on the teaching of the Chasam Sofer, a person may not “hire himself out” for more than three years, in light of Chazal’s derashah “Avadai heim v’lo avadim la’avadim.” Therefore, he could not guarantee how long he would remain. However, he added a clause into this very charter: if he were to leave within ten years, he would reimburse the kehillah proportionally for their expenses, according to the years he had actually served. And his words proved exact. He assumed the rabbanus on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 1926, and was niftar in the month of Tammuz 1936 — ten complete years, to the day, from his appointment. The Rav R’ Chaim Mordechai Yaakov Gottlieb (1877–1936) was a gaon, tzaddik, and rosh yeshivah. In his youth he learned by his uncle, the Baal Beis HaYotzer, and later became a talmid muvhak of the Imrei Yosef of Spinka, and afterward of his son the Chakal Yitzchok. He served as Rav in Vishova and Brezovlia, where he founded yeshivos and spread Torah. It is told that before his chasunah, the Rebbe of Shinova blessed him that he would establish yeshivos and teach talmidim — which indeed occurred wherever he served. In 1926 he was appointed Av Beis Din of Miskolc, where he functioned both as Rav and as Rebbe, conducting a tish on Shabbos Kodesh and receiving kvitlech. His Torah was later printed in Yagel Yaakov — teshuvos, derashos, and Torah on the parshah. His son, R’ Yehudah Gottlieb, continued in his path in rabbanus and authored Yagel Yehudah.