Bidspirit auction | A handwritten permit from the

A handwritten permit from the renowned Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Ohel (son of the ”Yitav Lev”). Stropkov, 1887 - A handwritten ”Permission of One Hundred Rabbis, ” famously issued by the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Ohel, and his rabbinical court. Stropkov, 1887. A copy written in the hand of a court scribe. The permission bears the signatures of the following distinguished rabbis: the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef Teitelbaum, rabbi of Stropkov; Rabbi Azriel Yechiel Rabin, dayan of Mihalovitz (author of Sedeh Ha'ir and Beit Ya'ar); and Rabbi Menashe Simcha Friedman of Bardejov (later Av Beit Din of Sabran, author of HaShemesh B'Gvuroto, and son-in-law of the Afsei Aretz of Nanash). The permission was granted with the consent of the Gaon Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga of Shinava, his brother-in-law Rabbi Mordechai of Hornosteipel, and the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Elazar Wax, author of Nefesh Chayah, as explicitly stated in the document: ”...The first is the exalted Gaon of Sieniawa; the second, his peer, the exalted Gaon Rabbi Chaim Elazar Wax, formerly Av Beit Din of Kalisz and now Av Beit Din of Piotrków; and the third, the exalted Gaon Rabbi Mordechai Mottele, Av Beit Din of Hornosteipel in Russia, the son-in-law of the exalted Gaon, the Av Beit Din of Sanz, of blessed memory.” The text of the permission notes that since the husband is burdened with children and cannot travel among the Jewish communities to collect the required one hundred rabbinical signatures, the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef Teitelbaum and his Beit Din assumed responsibility for collecting the signatures. The copy before us is one of the handwritten duplicates distributed by the court. This document has been reprinted from a different copy in the journal Beit Va'ad L’Chachamim (Satmar, Nissan 5770; see facsimile) and subsequently in the book Divrei Yechezkel. It includes the annotation: ”In the regions of Bardejov, in 1886, a halachic question arose concerning a forced divorce – a permission of one hundred rabbis. This issue was handled by the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Halberstam of Bardejov. Halachic responses to this matter were written by the Gaonim Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon Ettinger, Av Beit Din of Lviv, and Rabbi Chaim Zvi Manheimer, Av Beit Din of Ungvar. These responsa appear in Kerem Shlomo, Shevat 5745” (Divrei Yechezkel – New Edition, 1999; see facsimile). ### About Rabbi Moshe Yosef Teitelbaum: The Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Ohel and Stropkov (1845–1897), was the youngest son of the Gaon Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Teitelbaum, author of Yitav Lev. Rabbi Moshe Yosef is mentioned several times in his father’s responsa Avnei Tzedek. With the Divrei Chaim of Sanz: Upon reaching marriageable age, he became the son-in-law of the Gaon Rabbi David of Kashanov, son of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. He was a close confidant of his illustrious grandfather, the Divrei Chaim, who entrusted him with editing his works for publication. ”The Divrei Chaim held him in unparalleled affection, to an extent beyond words. It is well-known that he was one of the few grandchildren given unfettered access to him at all times” (Chavosh Al Roshecha Pe’ercha, p. 144). Rabbi Moshe Yosef served as a dean for young students in Sanz alongside two other grandsons of the Divrei Chaim: Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam of Bobov (the first) and Rabbi Moshe Halberstam of Bardejov. His Rabbinic Career: Between 1880 and 1891, he served as rabbi in Stropkov. In 1892, he succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, author of Yismach Moshe, as rabbi of Ohel. After his passing, his son, Rabbi Berachiah Teitelbaum, succeeded him as rabbi of Ohel, followed by his son-in-law, Rabbi David Dov Meisels, author of Binyan David. His Disciples: Among his prominent disciples were Rabbi Shaul Brach, Av Beit Din of Kashau, and Rabbi Yehoshua Buxbaum, Av Beit Din of Galanta. His Passing: A Chassidic tradition recounts that when he traveled to Tiszaújlak for Shabbat, his uncle, Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga of Shinava, sent a telegram warning him that delivering a sermon in the town posed a life-threatening danger. However, the telegram reached him only after he had delivered the sermon. He passed away suddenly on the following Monday. He was buried in Sziget next to his father. [1] Large page, 33 x 21 cm.  Condition: Good. Time stains. Fold marks. Tears along the edges without affecting the text.