Lengthy letter (two pages) to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar from R. Shlomo Zalman Brizel, head of the "Committee to Guard Jewish Sanctity"; with a handwritten letter of assent signed by the dayanim and rabbis of the Edah HaCharedit. Jerusalem, [1972].

Printed on official stationery of the Committee to Guard Jewish Sanctity, and signed by the chairman of the committee R. Zalman Brizel (one of the elder Chassidim of Pinsk-Karlin in Jerusalem).

In the margins of the second page is a handwritten letter of assent from the dayanim of the Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem, signed by the Rosh Av Beit Din R. Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, author of Minchat Yitzchak; the dayan R. Moshe Aryeh Freund; and the dayan R. Eliyahu Zlotnik; with the stamp: "Beit Din Tzedek for all Ashkenazi communities".

In his letter R. Zalman tells the Rebbe of the arrest of two religious boys for "setting fire to the despicable shop" in Tel Aviv, and the police officers' abuse of them ("they did not allow them to lay tefillin, and they were not permitted to bring in kosher food… they likewise suffered cruel beatings…"). R. Zalman goes on to describe at length the increasingly severe legislation regarding conscription of religious girls to the army ("which contradicts the Torah's view which forbids serving in the army, which one is obligated to die rather than transgress"), and he tells how religious girls are obliged to go into hiding for fear of conscription. At the end of the letter R. Zalman asks the Rebbe "to come up with a plan and rouse the rabbis and leaders of the Charedi community to do whatever is necessary to stop this filthy current doing mischief in Charedi Judaism which may, God forbid, get worse and worse…".

In the margins of R. Zalman's letter is added a letter of assent from the dayanim of the Edah HaCharedit in Jerusalem [in the handwriting of the court scribe R. Avraham Mordechai Breitstein], who write: "We the Beit Din Tzedek here in Jerusalem are faithful to the urgent request, and request you to do whatever is possible to annul the 'terrible decree' of 'conscription of girls' that they want to legislate now requiring them all to pass medical tests… which is to willfully cause transgression of Jewish religion and modesty of Jewish girls, and this is nearly tantamount to sexual immorality, and worlds must be shaken for this. We also ask to act for the release of the two prisoners because of the despicable shop, for them to go out from darkness to a great light… Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, Rosh Av Beit Din, Jerusalem, Moshe Ephraim Freund… Eliyahu Zlotnik".

[2] leaves, official stationery (printed on one side). Approx. 28 cm. Good condition. Folds.

Polemic on Rabbi Amram Blau's Marriage to Proselyte Ruth Ben-David:

1. Lengthy letter handwritten and signed by the Rosh Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit, R. Pinchas Epstein, to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Sharp letter relating the events of the controversy and the ban placed on Neturei Karta leader R. Amram Blau following his marriage with the proselyte Ruth Ben-David in contravention to the ruling of the Beit Din, his expulsion from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak, and the prohibition placed upon him to resettle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 19 Elul, 1965.

2. "Booklet – Part II – Halachic Responsum of R. Amram son of R. Sh[lomo] Y[itzchak] Blau to an Orthodox person in Brooklyn, America, regarding someone who erroneously wrote that the Beit Din of our time has the same authority as the Beit Din of Rabban Gamliel". Bnei Brak, 3 Nisan, 1966. Five (typewritten) pages, in which R. Amram Blau demonstrates from the Talmud and early authorities that the modern Beit Din does not have the authority to override a Torah-level negative prohibition. The booklet was not distributed publicly and was kept secret so as not to reinstigate the polemic.

R. Amram Blau (ca. 1900-1974), leader of the Neturei Karta faction and younger brother of R. Moshe Blau, leader of Agudat Yisrael in Jerusalem. He was the focus of an event that caused an upheaval in Jerusalem Charedi circles – the trenchant polemic surrounding his marriage to the proselyte Ruth Ben-David. R. Amram, at the time a widower about 70 years old, was to marry Ruth Ben-David, a French proselyte, his junior by more than 20 years. Ruth Ben-David (formerly Madeleine Lucette Ferraille) was born to Catholic parents and had an academic degree in history and geography. She participated in the anti-Nazi underground in France during World War II. At the age of 31, she converted to Judaism in Paris and later immigrated to Israel. Ben-David was involved in the concealment and smuggling of Yossele Schumacher out of Israel. During that time, she became acquainted with the population of the Old Yishuv and wished to join their closed circle and marry R. Amram Blau. The Neturei Karta community and the Edah HaCharedit vehemently opposed this union, and Rabbi Blau's disciples and children saw this marriage as a blow to his honored status. The rabbis of the Edah HaCharedit also opposed his marriage on the halachic grounds of wedding a young woman to an old man as well as for fear of a desecration of God's name. Charedi circles were in turmoil; notices and proclamations were posted in the streets of Jerusalem, and the city seethed. Finally, after more than half a year of ardent controversy, and after R. Amram was placed under a ban, the two married in Elul 1965. As a result, R. Amram was forced to leave his native city of Jerusalem and moved for some time to Bnei Brak. After many years, Ruth Ben-David Blau published her best-seller Shomrei HaIr (Jerusalem 1979) in which she relates this painful story.

2 items. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.

Collection of about 380 letters sent to Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Most of them sent from Jerusalem, 1950s-1970s. Most in Hebrew, the rest in Yiddish.

The letters were written by rabbis, rebbes, dayanim, followers and associates, and pious laymen in Jerusalem and Eretz Israel, and by associations, organizations, yeshivas and Torah and charitable institutions in Eretz Israel.

Letters signed and stamped by the rabbis and institutions, some of them on official stationery. Most are handwritten and some are typewritten. Many of them contain letters of recommendation from various rabbis in the margins. In the margins of some of the letters are inscriptions and stamps of the Rebbe's secretary, with a summary of the contents of the request.

Most of the letters deal with requests for assistance or financial support, or receipts and confirmations for charitable funds sent from the Satmar Rebbe. Many of the letters include Shanah Tovah and Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah wishes; blessings for Jewish festivals; names to be mentioned in prayer for blessing and sustenance, health and happiness from children; halachic questions and Torah discussions; advocacy and communal affairs; resolution of controversies and disputes; and more.

The collection includes letters from rabbis, including: • Dayan R. Yisrael Yitzchak HaLevi Reisman; • Dayan R. Eliyahu Zlotnik; • Rebbe Yisrael Taussig of Mattersdorf, the Beit Yisrael; • Rebbe Naftali Mordechai Schmerler (Premishlaner Rebbe), Acre; • Posek R. Shalom HaLevi Eisen; • Maggid R. Shabtai Yudelevitz; • Kabbalist R. Yehoshua Sharbani; • Kabbalist R. Moshe Yair Weinstock; • Jerusalem Maggid R. Ben Tzion Yadler; • R. Moshe Yehoshua Landau, dean of Shaagat Aryeh yeshiva; • R. Aharon Katzenellenbogen, dean of Torah VeYirah yeshiva; • R. Efraim Zalman Heilprin; • R. Shlomo Zalman Brisel; • R. Avraham Aharonovitz; • R. Yaakov Moshe Krämer; • R. Chaim Yaakov Klapholtz; • R. Yitzchak Arieli, author of Einayim LeMishpat; • Rebbe Shalom Safrin of Komarno; • R. Amram Blau, leader of Neturei Karta; • R. Berish Soltz of Safed; • R. Moshe Chaim Stroli of Bnei Brak (disciple of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet); • R. Simchah Buman David Sofer; • R. Yosef HaLevi Zimmerman; • R. Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Schwartz; and many more.

In addition, the collection contains letters from yeshivas, institutions and organizations: • the Union of Yeshivas in Eretz Israel; • LiFlagot Reuven yeshiva; • directors of the Sephardic Edah HaCharedit; • Yeshivat HaMatmidim; • the Project to Integrate Children of Immigrants; • the League to Save Jewish Children from Persecution; • Kiryat Sefer Talmud Torah, Yeshiva and Soup Kitchen; • Torah VeYirah yeshiva; and more.

About 380 leaves (some on official stationery or aerogram). Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.

Large and assorted collection of about 20 letters sent to Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum of Satmar. 1950s-1970s. Yiddish (one letter in English).

Handwritten letters, some on official stationery. Request to be mentioned to her husband Rebbe Yoel of Satmar, various blessings, advice and guidance, requests for support and financial assistance, and more.

The collection includes letters from: • R. Yechiel Yehudah Isaacson; on the reverse side of the leaf is a letter from his wife Mrs. Chanah Isaacson, daughter of Rebbe Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, the Atzei Chaim of Sighet [son of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet and brother of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar]. Haifa, Adar II 1954; • Letter of Rebbetzin Reizel Bengis, wife of R. Zelig Reuven Bengis, Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit. At the bottom is an additional letter from Rebbetzin Esther Dushinsky, wife of R. Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit. Jerusalem, Iyar 1960; • Letter of Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Lipschitz Halberstam of Stropkov. Ramla, Adar 1952; • Letter of Rebbetzin Malkah Pessel Mutzen, daughter of R. Yaakov Friedman of Sighet; • Letter of R. Tzvi Hirsch Kaufman of Satmar. Jerusalem, Shevat 1960; • Letter of R. Moshe Shaul Sirota, with letter of recommendation from the posek R. Shalom HaLevi Eisen. Tevet 1973; • Lengthy letter (five pages) from Rebbetzin Malkah Sachs, daughter of R. Yosef Steinberg. Shevat 1969; • Letter of Rebbetzin Brachah Lopovitch, wife of Rebbe Moshe Yitzchak Lopovitch of Chernivtsi-Bucharest; and more.

Enclosed: Invitation of the Girls' Educational Institutions of the Edah HaCharedit to a reception on the occasion of the visit of Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum in Jerusalem, 13 Sivan [no year indicated].

About 20 letters. Varying size and condition. Overall good condition.

Rebbetzin Alta Feiga Teitelbaum (1912-2001), second wife of Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar and his companion for 42 years. Daughter of Rebbe Avigdor Shapiro of Częstochowa, a descendant of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, author of Maor VaShemesh, and the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. On 13 Elul 1937, she married Rebbe Yoel of Satmar (who had lost his first wife a year and a half earlier). She was rescued in the Holocaust together with her husband the Rebbe in the Kastner train. After the Holocaust, she had a large influence on the Chassidic community and its institutions. She participated in establishing Chassidic institutions, and provided support and raised funds for them. She managed charitable funds, and over her whole life she would visit the sick and marry off brides. She was an intelligent and God-fearing woman, known for her great righteousness and wisdom. After the passing of her husband the Rebbe, the Bnei Yoel Beit Midrash and community was established in her house in Kiryas Joel, Monroe. The Rebbetzin moved to Brooklyn and served as a rebbe in her own right, having public receptions and reading Kvitels. She passed away over 20 years after her husband, and was buried at his side in the Kiryas Joel cemetery. Several Torah and charitable institutions in the United States and Israel are named for her.

Teshuot Chaim, on Rashi's commentary to the Torah, by R. Chaim Yeshayah Halbersberg, author of Misgeret HaShulchan. Lublin: Nechemyah Herschenhorn and Shlomo Shimon Streisberger, 1923.

Copy of R. Moshe Aryeh (Rama) Freund, from his tenure as dayan and posek in Satmar (after the Holocaust). His stamps (somewhat faded) at the beginning of the book: "Moshe Aryeh Freund, dayan and posek of Satmar". Stamp of R. Yitzchak Hershkovitz.

R. Moshe Aryeh Freund (1904-1996), son of R. Yisrael Freund, Av Beit Din of Bonyhád and grandson of Rebbe Avraham Yehoshua Freund of Năsăud. Served as dayan and posek in Satmar and Av Beit Din of Năsăud. After the Holocaust, he served for a short time as Av Beit Din of Satmar. He later immigrated to Jerusalem and served as dean of the Satmar Yitav Lev yeshiva and as a posek in the city. After the passing of his teacher, Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar in 1979, he took up his position as Rosh Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit, and after the passing of the Minchat Yitzchak in 1989, he was appointed to his position as Gaon Av Beit Din of the Edah HaCharedit.

[1], 2-52 leaves. 21.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and mold stains. Minor defects. Stamps. New leather binding.