Bidspirit auction | Hidden Treasure of Hungarian Jewish

Hidden Treasure of Hungarian Jewish History Vast Collection of Over Seventy Autographed Letters Hungary / Slovakia / Czechia, 1843–1847 * An extraordinary and complete historical notebook of great value, once belonging to a ger tzedek — a righteous convert and G-d-fearing man — who wandered among the Jewish communities of Hungary and Czechia seeking to support his family. This unique volume preserves not only the personal and fascinating story of a ger tzedek who journeyed across the land to support his household, but also a rare and invaluable collection of dozens of autographs and letters of recommendation from the great Rabbanim of Hungary during and after the era of the Chasam Sofer. The notebook includes letters from over seventy Rabbanim and records of approximately 150 communities he visited — major cities, small towns, and remote villages — including Mattersdorf, Tzehelim, Pápa, Nitra, Galanta, Verboy, Alt-Ofen, Szerdahely, Kecel, Brod, Lackenbach, Nikolsburg, and many more. Complete list of Rabbanim appearing in the ledger List of the communities mentioned Full content of the ledger Avraham the Ger The convert was Rabbi Avraham Goldschmidt, originally from the city of Paks. From the image that emerges from the notebook, he was a remarkable figure and the Rabbanim who met him were deeply impressed by him. They praised him with heartfelt admiration, calling him ”a great and precious man”, ”a wholly righteous individual, upright and G-d-fearing”, and ”exceedingly elevated in name and renown” (in the words of Rabbi Yehuda Assad); ”one who recognized his Creator and served Him with heart and soul” (in the words of Rabbi Lipman Stein, Av Beis Din of Szerdahely). In 1843, his financial situation deteriorated and he could no longer support his family. His daughter reached marriageable age, and he lacked the means to provide for her hachnasas kallah. Thus, he began a journey throughout the communities of Hungary in an effort to restore his livelihood. His travels began in 1843 and continued for several years across dozens of communities. His story touched the hearts of Rabbanim and laypeople alike, who gave generously out of a sense of fulfilling the Torah’s commandment to love the ger. Some Rabbanim even note in their letters that they had never before merited to fulfill this mitzvah, and even those who had previously refrained from issuing letters of recommendation made an exception in light of this unusual mitzvah. In 1847, Reb Avraham passed away. Yet the members of the communities continued to support his widow and family for forty-six years, until the year 1893. Therefore, the notebook is divided into two periods: the first spans the years 1843–1847, the second 1848-1893.  __________ Among the many Rabbanim who penned letters of recommendation in the booklet to stand by the convert in his time of need, were the preeminent Geonim and leaders of Hungarian Jewry: · Rabbi Yehuda Assad, Av Beis Din of Szerdahely (1796–1866), author of Shu”t Mahari”a, and one of the foremost Rabbanim and tzaddikim of Hungary. (Two letters from his tenure in Szemnic (1844 and 1847), along with a list of contributors in his handwriting.) · Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Mannheimer, Av Beis Din of Ungvar (1814–1886), author of Ein HaBedolach, a talmid of the Chasam Sofer and one of the leading Rabbanim of Hungary. At the time of his signing in the notebook, he was living in his father-in-law’s home in the town of Gropa (Shem HaGedolim MeEretz HaGer, p. 34, Chasam Sofer V'Talmidav, p. 151). · Rabbi Yosef Greenwald, Av Beis Din of Tchechowitz (c. 1805 – 1870), grandfather and teacher of the Arugas HaBosem. He corresponded with the Chasam Sofer and his son the Ksav Sofer (Shem HaGedolim MeEretz HaGer, p. 82; Ishim b'Teshuvos Chasam Sofer, §243). · Rabbi Amram Greenwald of Tcharny (c. 1831 – April 1870), son of the aforementioned Rabbi Yosef, and father of the Arugas HaBosem and Keren LeDavid. A towering Torah scholar and saintly figure, he was a disciple of the Ksav Sofer and Maharam Ash (Shem HaGedolim MeEretz HaGer, vol. 2, p. 50; Chasam Sofer V'Talmidav, p. 532). · Rabbi Aharon Chaim Schick (1828–1863), eldest son of the Maharam Schick and renowned for his greatness in Torah and Yiras Shamayim. He passed away in his prime during his father’s lifetime and is mentioned several times in his father’s teshuvos (Darkei Moshe HaChadash, ed. 2012, p. 185). · Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Weinberger, Av Beis Din of Kleinwardein (1805–1885), author of Pnei Yitzchak on Shas and Melel Avraham on the Torah. A talmid and son-in-law of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Heller-Charif, he corresponded with the Chasam Sofer, who referred to him as his “step-son-in-law, ” because after the death of Rabbi Weinberger's father-in-law, the Chasam Sofer married his widow. (Shem HaGedolim MeEretz HaGer, vol. 1, p. 16; Ishim b'Teshuvos Chasam Sofer, §31). · Rabbi Mordechai Yehuda Leib Glick of Santov, Av Beis Din of Yahona (–1866),