Bidspirit auction | Rare Letter from Rabbi Mordechai

Rare Letter from Rabbi Mordechai Zev Ettinger, Av Beis Din of Lvov –  Regarding the Mikveh of the City of Premishlan – 1858 * A complete handwritten and autographed letter by one of the renowned Torah greats of Galicia — Rabbi Mordechai Zev Ettinger of Lvov, author of Meforshei HaYam and brother-in-law of the gadol hador the Shoel U’Meishiv. In this letter, Rabbi Ettinger offers halachic guidance on how to install pipes that will draw water from the river of the city of Premishlan into the mikveh’s cistern. Rabbi Mordechai Zev Ettinger (1804-1863) was a leading Galician Rav. A disciple of his uncle, the Yeshuos Yaakov, he studied Torah with his brother-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Shaul Nathanson, author of Shoel U'Meishiv, for many years. The two of them became widely known as the authors of Meforshei Hayam. His early works were also composed jointly with his brother-in-law, including Meforshei Hayam, Magen Gibborim, and others. His teshuvos were published in Shu”t Ma'amar Mordechai. He also founded Kollel Ostreich together with Rabbi Chaim of Kossov and was the father of Rabbi Yitzchak Aharon Ettinger, Av Beis Din of Lvov. This letter was printed in the journal Kol HaTorah (London 1990), vol. 28, pp. 34–35. The letter was sent to Rabbi Elchanan, Av Beis Din of Premishlan — possibly Rabbi Elchanan Heilprin, Av Beis Din of Premishlan, progenitor of a distinguished rabbinic lineage that includes Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Heilprin and Rabbi Menachem Manish Heilprin (see further below). Lvov, 1858. Entirely in the handwriting and with the signature of Rabbi Mordechai Zev Ettinger. Size : 17.5×22 cm. Condition : Moderate–good; marginal tears with slight loss (affecting one letter); creases and stains. Remnants of a red wax seal. ------------------- The Identity of the Recipient At the beginning of the letter, only the recipient’s first name is mentioned: “Moreinu HaRav Elchanan, may he live long, Av Beis Din of the holy community of Premishlan.” It is known that there was a Rabbi Elchanan Heilprin who served as Av Beis Din of Premishlan in the early 19th century. He was the grandfather of Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo Heilprin, who later succeeded him as Av Beis Din of Premishlan, and who was himself the grandfather of Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Heilprin, Av Beis Din of Denver. Another known descendant of Rabbi Elchanan is Rabbi Menachem Manish of Brody, author of Menachem Meishiv Nefesh, who printed his lineage at the beginning of his sefer. It is noteworthy that his grandson, Rabbi Yaakov Shlomo, had already begun serving in the rabbinate of the city as early as 1857, as mentioned in a teshuva of the Shoel U’Meishiv addressed to him (Shu”t Shoel U’Meishiv, first edition, vol. I, siman 105). The exact date of Rabbi Elchanan’s passing is not known, and it is possible that the grandson began serving alongside his grandfather during his lifetime.