Interesting letter, handwritten and signed by R. "Meir Katz of Hőgyész", to his teacher R. Bendit Goitein Rabbi of Hőgyész (author of Kesef Nivchar). Mohács (Baranya county, Hungary), 1827. On the verso, notes of Torah thoughts and Torah novellae (two columns, approx. 43 lines), handwritten by the recipient of the letter, R. Bendit Goitein.
R. Meir Katz, who had travelled to Mohács to study Torah, relates that before he left Hőgyész, R. Bendit's wealthy sister had pledged to support him and his brother R. Shmuel, and he now requests that she raise the stipend, due to inflation - "…since my only aspiration is to delve in G-d's Torah day and night, to fill myself with knowledge of the Talmud and halachic literature, to soar onwards and upwards, as I disclosed to the rabbi of Bonyhád, who granted me a recommendation…". R. Meir Katz apologizes for not coming to Hőgyész to discuss this matter with his teacher in person, out of concern for wasting time which could be spent studying Torah.
This letter documents the history of Torah learners in Hungary in the early 19th century, who would travel to various towns to study Torah, earning support with the help of letters of recommendation which they received from various rabbis.
R. Bendit Goitein (1770-1841), renowned Torah scholar, rabbi of Hőgyész and author of Kesef Nivchar, was a leading rabbi of his times in Hungary. He was born in Kojetín, Moravia, and was a close disciple of R. Moshe Münz, Rabbi of Alt-Ofen (Óbuda). After his marriage, he lived in Yarmit (Balassagyarmat), and received rabbinic ordination from the rabbi of the town, R. Ze'ev Wolf Boskowitz, author of Seder Mishna. After R. Ze'ev Wolf left the city, R. Meir Eisenstädter (Maharam Ash) succeeded him as rabbi, and R. Bendit was appointed dayan in his Beit Din. In ca. 1799-1800, R. Bendit went to serve as rabbi of Hőgyész, a position he held for 45 years, establishing there a prominent yeshiva. His book Kesef Nivchar, published in Prague in 1827, earned him world renown until this day. The book summarizes various Talmudic topics, bringing together all the sources on the topic, starting from the words of the Talmud and including the teachings of foremost Acharonim. This book became a fundamental and essential work in Hungarian yeshivot in subsequent generations (as the Chatam Sofer foresaw in his approbation to the book: "This book will become a guide to Torah students"). After toiling for some ten years on a revised edition of this work, R. Bendit passed away before he succeeded in publishing it, and the manuscripts of the second edition were lost during WWII. Parts of his writings which were preserved by the family were published in Zichron Avot (Bnei Brak, 1971), though this letter and the notes on its verso were not included.
The letter was sent by R. Meir Katz, a close acquaintance of the Kesef Nivchar (and also apparently his relative), mentioned several times in Zichron Avot.
[1] leaf (written on both sides). Approx. 21 cm. Thick, greenish paper. Good condition. Folding marks.