Bidspirit auction | “I Am Most Eager to

“I Am Most Eager to See the Words of the Chasam Sofer” —  Letter from Rabbi Meir Arik, The Giant from Galicia * A remarkable handwritten and autographed letter by the illustrious gaon Rabbi Meir Arik, Av Beis Din of Tarnów and Buczacz, one of the most renowned Gedolei Hador of his generation.   The letter was written while Rabbi Meir was staying in the spa town of Krinitz and relates to the recipient’s comment that a certain chiddush he had published in his sefer Tal Torah is also mentioned by the Chasam Sofer.   Rabbi Meir writes: “Regarding what you wrote in Tal Torah on Pesachim 22, that the Chasam Sofer himself noted something similar, I am most eager to see the words of the Chasam Sofer , but I do not possess his Chiddushei Sugyos. Perhaps I will find it in Tarnów, with Hashem’s help, when I return home, and I shall examine it.”   He then signs: “Your friend, who seeks your welfare with all his heart and soul, HaKatan Meir Arik, Av Beis Din of Tarnów.”   The letter continues with a discussion of the recipient’s desire to purchase several of Rabbi Meir’s sefarim: Tal Torah, Minchas Pitim on Yoreh De’ah, Shorshei Taharah, and Minchas Kana’us. In his words, Rabbi Meir records several noteworthy details regarding the publication and distribution of his works. He notes that only one thousand copies of Tal Torah were printed; that Minchas Pitim on Yoreh De’ah had already sold out before the war; and that almost every day he was receiving letters requesting copies of Tal Torah. (The sefer had been published only a year earlier, in Vienna, 1921.)   To the best of Zaidy’s knowledge, this beautiful letter has never been published. Rabbi Meir Arik (1855–1926) succeeded the Maharam Shick’s disciple, the Maharsham, as the leading halachic authority of Galicia and was held in great esteem by all the gedolei hador of his time. He received semichah from the Maharsham and from his primary rebbi, the Kochav MiYaakov. Like the Maharsham, he was a Chortkover chassid and was also close to the Belz Chassidic courts. He passed away in his sukkah after reciting Kiddush on the first night of Sukkos, 1926. His major works include Shu”t Imrei Yosher, Tal Torah, Minchas Pitim, and others.   Krinitz, 1922. Double leaf, comprising two pages in Rabbi Meir’s handwriting and bearing his signature (the signature appears in the middle of the first page).  Official letterhead stationery. Size: 14.5 × 22.8 cm. Condition: Good. Filing holes with minor loss affecting two words.