Letter from the Yalkut Sofer of Paks to his Teacher, the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet. Derecske, 1890

Letter from the Yalkut Sofer of Paks to his Teacher, the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet. Derecske, 1890

Important and lengthy halachic letter with respect to constructing a new mikveh in Derecske using a new method. Entirely handwritten and signed by the av beit din, the sacred gaon Rabbi Yosef Leib Sofer, av beit din of Paks and Derecske, a scion of the famous Sofer family, the most prominent dynasty in Hungary after that of the Chatam Sofer. Sent to his teacher, the Admo"r Rabbi Chanina Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum, av beit din of Sighet, author of Kedushat Yom Tov. Beside the Yalkut Sofer's signature are another approximately 12 signatures, apparently by rabbis and other city leaders.

In this letter, Rabbi Yosef Leib tells his rabbi about a fire that struck the city and burned the study hall together with the mikveh, and now the city residents want to build a new mikveh. While the old mikveh was built near a live spring (as was customary among most communities of the time), the city residents want to build a mikveh now based on water pumped in a permissible way (something that was very uncommon at the time in those areas). The reason was that to get to the previous mikveh, one had to descend many stairs to get to the place of immersion, which would not be the case for a mikveh using pumped water. But Rabbi Yosef Leib, as city rabbi, refused to hear this, "although it is certainly permissible" and in his letter he writes several proofs and concerns about a mikveh that uses pumped water, and asks his rabbi for his backing, and that he write to the city's residents to listen to their rabbi. At the end of the letter, he asks his rabbi to help him with a difficulty he had understanding the words of the Ra"sh of Shantz in the mishnah in Tractate Mikva'ot. [It is appropriate to point out here that after writing this letter, Rabbi Yosef received a letter of support from his father, the gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer on the topic. Refer to Mazkeret Paks, Vol. II, p. 119].

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Yosef Leib Sofer.

This important letter demonstrates the Yalkut Yosef's deep subservience to his rabbi and teacher, the author of Kedushat Yom Tov - with the lofty and rare titles he uses when addressing the Kedushat Yom Tov, whose validity is doubled by his extreme self-negation (it is known that the Yalkut Yosef refused a prominent rabbinic position in the city of Laposch only because he heard that the Kedushat Yom Tov wanted his nephew appointed to this position). His famous zeal and his uncompromising stance on religion is evident here; it was known that under his leadership, Paks was one of the most staunchly Orthodox communities in Hungary.

[2] large pages. 34 cm. Entirely handwritten by the Yalkut Sofer.

Moderate-fine condition. Restored tears along the folds, with slight blemish to the text. Affixed to paper for reinforcement.