Rabbinische Gutachten über die Beschneidung [Rabbinical opinions on circumcision], compiled by Salomon Abraham Trier [R. Shlomo Zalman son of Avraham Trier]. Frankfurt am Main, 1844. German and Hebrew.
On the flyleaf, a handwritten inscription (in German and Hebrew) by "Dr. Wormser" [R. Shlomo Wormser (1814-1887), son of R. Shmuel Wormser Rabbi of Langen-Schwalbach and grandson of R. Shlomo Zalman Worms Rabbi of Fulda]. He relates that he received the book in 1845 from his teacher, R. Zalman Trier (compiler of the book; ordained Dr. Wormser for the rabbinate in 1834). He writes that R. Trier harshly criticized him for not writing an opinion letter to be published in this book.
In 1843, a Frankfurt-based newspaper published an article calling for the complete abolition of the mitzvah of circumcision, signed "Friends of the Reform". That same year, the Reform pedagogue Joseph Johlson (1777-1851) published a booklet in which he stated that every Jewish institution is entitled to replace circumcision with a different ritual. The group "Friends of the Reform" alleged that circumcision was the cause of crib deaths; due to the group's lobbying, the municipality of Frankfurt agreed to list uncircumcised children as Jews in the population registrars.
The rabbi of Frankfurt, R. Shlomo Zalman Trier (1758-1847), vigorously fought this decision and submitted several petitions to the municipality, stating that by Jewish law an uncircumcised boy cannot be called a Jew.
Simultaneously, R. Trier (together with R. Yissachar Ber Adler and R. Aharon Fuld) began to collect opinion letters from leading rabbis and Jewish intellectuals, on the importance of circumcision. 28 of these letters were printed in the present book. Among the writers: R. Yitzchak Dov HaLevi Bamberger of Würzburg; R. Samson Raphael Hirsch (then Rabbi of Emden); R. Yaakov Ettlinger of Altona, the Aruch LaNer; R. Yaakov Zvi Mecklenburg, author of HaKtav VehaKabbalah; Leopold Zunz of Berlin; Isaak Noah Mannheimer of Vienna and Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal) of Padua.
XXIV, 240 pages. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Original binding.
Noted on the title page: "Als manuskript gedruckt" [printed as a manuscript]. R. Binyamin Shlomo Hamburger (in his book HaYeshiva HaRama BeFiurda) explains that in order to avoid a public controversy, very few copies of the book were printed and they were never sold by booksellers. R. Hamburger writes that the book is scarce.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.