Responsum Letter Handwritten and Signed by the Aruch LaNer

Letter (2 pages, approx. 40 lines) handwritten and signed by R. Yaakov Ettlinger, author of Aruch LaNer. [Altona, ca. 1868].
Responsum of Torah thoughts pertaining to the inspection of sacrifices and other topics, addressed to "my son-in-law the rabbi" (presumably his son-in-law R. Yisrael Meir Freimann, Rabbi of Filehne – see below), and signed at the end "so are the words of your father-in-law Yaakov".
The Aruch LaNer includes in his letter a copying from his novellae on Tractate Pesachim: "...so I wrote in my miscellany. And from here you see, my son-in-law, that my thoughts parallel yours, and you wrote well, particularly in the difficulty you raised… which indeed is an excellent question, and I heard it several years ago from a certain Torah scholar from Königsberg (whose name presently eludes me)…".
The letter is undated, but in his words the Aruch LaNer refers to new books printed in 1861-1868 (see Hebrew description).
R. Yaakov Ettlinger (1789-1872, Otzar HaRabbanim 9805), chief rabbi of Altona and the surroundings and rabbi of Altona, was a foremost leader of German Jewry and one of the strongest opponents of the Reform movement. In his youth, he served as lecturer in the yeshiva of his father, R. Aharon Ettlinger in Karlsruhe, and was one of the primary disciples of R. Asher Wallerstein, son of the Shaagat Aryeh and rabbi of the city. He also studied in the Würzburg yeshiva under R. Avraham Bing, and was a colleague of Chacham Yitzchak Bernays of Hamburg and R. Elazar Bergman of Jerusalem.
In ca. 1828, he was appointed dean of the yeshiva and rabbi of the Kloiz in Mannheim, and in 1836, went to serve as rabbi of the Three Communities (Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek), where he established a prominent yeshiva. R. Yaakov Ettlinger dedicated his life to disseminating Torah, and leading German rabbis were his disciples, the most renowned ones include: R. Samson Refael Hirsch; R. Azriel Hildesheimer, R. Tzvi Binyamin Auerbach Rabbi of Halberstadt and author of Nachal Eshkol, R. Getsch Schlesinger dayan in Hamburg, R. Eliyahu Munk dayan in Altona and his son R. Yehuda Munk Rabbi of Marburg, R. Zev Yitzchak HaLevi Dunner of Köln author of LiChevod Amudei HaTorah, R. Moshe Weisskopf Rabbi of Paris, and other renowned disciples who were the glory of German communities in that generation.
He authored the following books: Aruch LaNer on Talmudic tractates, Bikurei Yaakov, Responsa Binyan Tzion, Minchat Ani on the Torah and others. He was the founder and author of the Orthodox periodical Shomer Tzion HaNe'eman. His books are studied until this day in Torah study halls, and his teachings are quoted extensively in Halachic literature. Already in his generation, he was considered a leading Halachic authority, and Halachic questions were referred to him from Jerusalem and throughout the Jewish world. R. Yosef Shaul Natansohn wrote in several dispensations for Agunot, that he will issue a permission only if the "Gaon from Altona" will concur with him (Shoel UMeshiv, Telitaa, part II, 216; part III, 87). He was the supreme authority amongst German rabbis, and even the great Torah scholar from Würzburg, R. Yitzchak Dov Bamberger wrote regarding him: "and since then, I would bring any difficulty before leading Torah scholars of the generation, R. M. Kargau and my mechutan R. Yaakov Ettlinger… before them I posed any difficult matter" (Responsa Yad HaLevi, Jerusalem 1988, p. 60). After his passing and that of the Ktav Sofer the same year, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Deyzh termed them the righteous men of the generation (Maaglei Tzedek, I, Parashat Vaera).
The recipient of this letter was presumably his son-in-law R. Yisrael Meir Freimann (1830-1884), Rabbi of Filehne (Wieleń) and Ostrowo (Ostrów Wielkopolski, Posen Province), author of Anfei Yehuda on the VeHizhir book. He exchanged extensive correspondence with his father-in-law the Aruch LaNer on various topics, some of which was published in Responsa Binyan Tzion, mostly in part III of the new edition of Likutei Teshuvot – Binyan Tzion (Dvar Yerushalayim publication, Jerusalem 2002). This responsum was not published in the new edition of Binyan Tzion, yet it does contain a different responsum addressed to R. Shlomo Bamberger, in Elul 1868 (Responsa Binyan Tzion, part III – Likutei Teshuvot, section 121), criticizing and contesting the words of the Shoel UMeshiv in his approbation to the book of R. Bamberger, which was published that year. That responsum mentions that the Aruch LaNer previously corresponded with his son-in-law R. Yisrael Meir Freimann on the topic, and passages from this letter are cited in that responsum. It results therefore, that the recipient of this letter is his son-in-law R. Yisrael Meir Freimann, and that this letter was written prior to Elul 1868.
[1] leaf. 21 cm. 2 written pages, approx. 40 lines. Thin, blueish stationery, good condition. Creases and light stains.