Bidspirit auction | Eulogy on the Passing of

Eulogy on the Passing of the Chasam Sofer – Pressburg, 1840 * A pamphlet titled Imrei Shefer, containing a very moving and lengthy eulogy on the passing of “the great and renowned Gaon, a prince of G-d, cherished by Klal Yisrael, the glory of his time and the paragon of the generation” — Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, the Chasam Sofer. The eulogy was delivered by Rabbi Naftali Benet, Av Beis Din of Šafov in Moravia, son of Rabbi Mordechai Benet, Av Beis Din of Nikolsburg. At the beginning of the eulogy, Rabbi Naftali testifies to the close relationship between his father, Rabbi Mordechai Benet, and the Chasam Sofer: “They were almost like brothers during their lifetimes.” Rabbi Naftali himself also received semichah from the Chasam Sofer. The eulogy was printed in the city of the Chasam Sofer — Pressburg — just a few months after his passing. In his words, he writes that the Chasam Sofer “was proficient in the entire Torah, and in the sefarim of Shas and all the poskim, from the earliest of the Rishonim to the latest of the Achronim… he disseminated Torah to the masses for sixty years and taught many talmidim, in the hundreds and thousands…” (leaf 8a). A rare pamphlet. Pressburg, 1840. Page Count: 19, [3] leaves. Size: 22 cm. Condition: Good–fair; the sefer has undergone restoration with repair of holes. Stains. New binding. - - - - - - - - The Assistance of the Chasam Sofer in the Dramatic Affair of Maharam Benet’s Burial The story of the burial of Rabbi Mordechai Benet was an event that caused a great public stir. In his old age, Maharam Benet traveled to Karlsbad, where he passed away. In his will, he had requested to be buried in his city, Nikolsburg, or at the very least in Prague. However, the local authorities prevented the transfer of his body due to a law forbidding the transport of the deceased without embalming. With no alternative, Maharam Benet was buried in the nearby city of Lichtenstadt, as a temporary burial only. From that point on, the members of the community — led by his son, Rabbi Naftali Benet, the author of this eulogy — began efforts to fulfill his will. However, at this stage, beyond the legal obstacle, a complex halachic question arose: whether it is permitted to exhume a deceased person in order to fulfill his wishes. Due to the sensitivity of the matter and the honor of the deceased, many poskim refrained from issuing a ruling. In the present eulogy, Rabbi Naftali reveals an important detail: The Chasam Sofer was the one who stood up and issued a halachic ruling that it is permissible to remove Maharam Benet from his grave in order to fulfill his will. He also worked to obtain the agreement of the Gedolei Hador to this position, among them his father-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Eiger (see leaf 9a). After the halachic ruling was given and the necessary permits were obtained from the authorities, Maharam Benet was exhumed. According to the testimony of a dayan from Nikolsburg, his body was found intact, without signs of decay. From there, he was transferred to Nikolsburg, where a large and respectable levayah was held, and he was buried close to the resting place of Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg. Several fascinating documents have been preserved from this episode. The earliest known printed documentation appears in the book Toldos Maharam Benet, written by his son (Ofen 1832), where this story is mentioned briefly (pp. 50–51).