Lot 312
Tena’im Contract Signed by Rabbi Leib Emmerich, Leader of the Group of Disciples of Rabbi Natan Adler in Frankfurt am Main - 1799-1802
Detailed tena’im contract upon the engagement of the groom R. Leib son of R. Hertz Zunz with the bride Gittele daughter of R. Leib Emmerich. Signed by the mechutanim and by the guarantors. Frankfurt am Main, Tammuz 1799.
Signatures of both mechutanim: "Hertz son of the dayan R. Anshel Zunz" and "Yehuda Leib son of R. Gumpel Emmerich". Also signed by two guarantors: "Tevele son of R. Hertz Zunz - guarantor on behalf of the groom" and "Meir son of Shimon Hanau - guarantor on behalf of the bride".
Further in the document a new agreement was added, with revisions of the monetary arrangements and the guarantees of the first tena’im contract, signed by the two aforementioned mechutanim, R. Hertz Zunz and R. Leib Emmerich. Frankfurt am Main, Tammuz 1802.
R. Leib Emmerich (d. 6th Kislev 1817) was a holy Torah scholar, a leader of the group of disciples of R. Natan Adler of Frankfurt am Main - the teacher of the Chatam Sofer. The words spoken to him by R. Natan Adler on his deathbed are well-known (see enclosed material). Son-in-law of R. Meir Hanau (who also signed this tena’im contract). A close companion of the Chatam Sofer (who cites his Torah novellae in his books, referring to R. Leib as "my friend R. Leib Emmerich of Frankfurt am Main", Sefer HaZikaron, p. 93). He was an experienced mohel and entered 782 circumcisions in his milah ledger. Written on his tombstone: "The famous pious and G-d fearing… R. Leib son of… Gumpel Emmerich… perfect in his deeds… great among his brethren in piety, asceticism, mitzvah adherence, self-denial and immersions. He would fast from Shabbat to Shabbat. Most of his life, he toiled in Torah study and loving-kindness…". He is similarly described in the Memorbuch of the Frankfurt community.
R. Natan Adler had established a private minyan (prayer quorum) in his home, in which he instituted prayer following the Sephardi rite. After his passing, his disciple R. Leib Emmerich upheld this minyan, and in 1817, it was transferred to the home of the son-in-law of his son-in-law, R. Binyamin Niederhofheim. It became known as the "Niederhofheim’sche Shul" in Frankfurt am Main, continuing the distinctive customs of R. Natan Adler until the Holocaust.
[1] leaf (written on both sides). Approx. 33 cm. Good condition. Wear to margins. Folding marks.
