Auction 1 - Rare Hebrew Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinic Letters
Lot 42:
Description
Autograph responsum, entirely in the hand of R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin (1888–1978), addressed to R. Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen Kook (1865–1935), Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel. The letter opens with the respectful salutation: “לכבוד מרא דאתרא דישראל הגאון הגדול וכו׳ כש״ת מרן הגראי״ה שליט״א.”
The responsum addresses a complex question of Yevamot at the intersection of classical halakhah and contemporary medical opinion: whether a yevamah may marry a kohen where physicians had determined that she had been incapable of bearing children even prior to her marriage to her deceased husband.
Written during R. Zevin’s early rabbinic career, the responsum illustrates the analytical style that would later establish him as one of the twentieth century’s foremost halakhic writers and editors. Equally significant is its destination: submitted to R. Kook, then serving as the preeminent halakhic authority of the Yishuv, the letter documents the scholarly exchange between two of the era’s most influential rabbinic figures at a formative period in the development of modern rabbinic leadership in Eretz Israel.
One postcard, written on both sides. Signed by R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin.
Condition: Very Good condition
Opening price: $400
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