Four letters of pilpul and halachah sent to R. Chaim Berlin (during his tenure as Rabbi of Yelisavetgrad and during his Jerusalem period), by important Chabad rabbis in Russia during the time of the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Maharash and the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch. Kherson, Romanovka, Yekaterinoslav and Lubavitch, 1902-1912.
1. Letter handwritten and signed by R. Gershon Dov Ber Pinsker, Rabbi of Kherson, regarding permitting an agunah to remarry. Kherson, 18 Shevat, 1902. At the top of the letter is his stamp.
2. Letter handwritten and signed by R. Sheiman (Shlomo) Itkin, Rabbi of Romanovka. Romanovka, 1903. At the top of the leaf is his stamp: "Sheiman son of R. Itkin, posek of the Romanovka community". In the letter R. Itkin asks R. Berlin's opinion regarding a machine for drawing well water into a mikveh [in the beginning of the letter R. Itkin mentions a responsum he had received from R. Berlin a week earlier; see this responsum on mikveh matters in Nishmat Chaim – Yoreh Deah, Jerusalem 2008, section 122, pp. 219-220].
3. Letter (2 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Dov Ze'ev Kozhevnikov, posek in Yekaterinoslav (Dnipro), regarding succession to a position as community shochet. Yekaterinoslav (Dnipro), 11 Nisan, 1905. At the top of the leaf is his stamp.
4. Lengthy letter (10 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Chaim Naeh. Lubavitch, 27 Sivan, 1912. At the end of the letter are his stamps in Hebrew and Latin script: “Chaim Mendelov”, “Ch. Mendelow”. Lengthy responsum discussing various topics (Chazakah and Chezkat Mamon, Tzrorot and Koach Kocho, and more).
The letter was sent during R. Naeh's stay in Lubavitch with the Rebbe Rashab, at the end of his service as an emissary in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the way back to Eretz Israel. During this period R. Naeh wore the characteristic clothing of Bucharan Jews and adopted the surname Mendelov. Despite his young age when sending the present letter, only 22 years old, R. Naeh was famed for his greatness in Torah and corresponded with the great rabbis of Jerusalem. At the beginning of Chanoch LaNaar, a book he had printed during that period for the residents of Samarkand, R. Berlin's letter to him is printed, where he showers him with titles of admiration and affection. [It can be deduced from the beginning of the present letter that he had sent previous responsa.]
Four letters (14 handwritten pages). Approx. 21-22 cm. Good condition. Folds. Stains, creases and light wear.
To the best of our knowledge and research, the four present letters have never before been printed.
