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Rav Dovid Cohen Beis Hamedrash G’vul Yaavetz Brooklyn, New York To all interested: There is a well-known story that Rav Chaim of Volozhin, zt”l, once sent a letter to his sister, and, after giving it to the messenger who would bring it to her, Rav Chaim stopped him in order to correct the spelling of his sister’s name, for the halachah is that the correct spelling of a name on a get may be derived from a letter written by a talmid chacham. This being so, the importance of the actual letters written by Gedolei Yisrael certainly cannot be underestimated for many reasons: for the divrei Torah they contain (particularly in regard to halachah, as in the author’s collection), the outlook and direction in regards to guiding the community that we learn from them, as well as the history of our people which they relate, which is also a source of fundamental Torah knowledge. In all this, I rely on the endorsement of the publisher, and in par- ticular, of the Gaon Rav Berel Wein, shlita, who we know and trust well. I give my berachah to the author and all who worked with him on this important project, that they be blessed from the Heavens and merit much goodness. I sign in the name of those who learn Torah and spread its teachings, Dovid Cohen 9 Teves, 5779 Dayan Ehrentreu is currently the Av Beis Din of the European Beis Din. He was previously the Av of the London Beis Din on which Rabbis Reinowitz and Sussman-Cohen served, over a century earlier. Table of Contents Foreword . XV Preface. XVII Acknowledgments . .XIX Introduction . 1 PART I Historical, Social, and Personal History Chapter 1: The Two Judges: Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz and Rabbi Chaim Sussman-Cohen . .11 Chapter 2: Anglo-Jewry in Late Victorian England . .25 Chapter 3: Letters from the Great Rabbis . .30 Chapter 4: Suffering in Eastern Europe. 54 Chapter 5: Letters from the Holy Land . .70 Chapter 6: Controversies and Crises . .86 Chapter 7: Sermons and Ethics. 113 Chapter 8: Contemporary Sketches . .135 PART II Major Halachic Questions Chapter 9: Marriage and Divorce . .147 Chapter 10: Zemanim: Holy Days and Seasons. 173 Chapter 11: Kashrus and Kedushah . .188 Chapter 12: Life Cycles: Bris, Kevurah, and Aveilus. 209 Chapter 13: Prayer and Synagogue . .223 Chapter 14: Civil Disputes . .234 XIII XIV The Rabbis’ Suitcase Afterword . .238 Appendix 1: Rabbis Corresponding with Rabbis Reinowitz and Sussman-Cohen . .240 Appendix 2: Writings: Notebooks and Kuntresim . 249 Appendix 3: Writings: Hespedim. 254 Appendix 4: Writings: Derashos . .258 Appendix 5: Sample Letters of the Great Rabbis to Rabbis Reinowitz and Sussman-Cohen . .263 Index. 272 Chapter 1 The Two Judges: Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz and Rabbi Chaim Sussman-Cohen The Dayanim, Rabbis Yaakov Reinowitz and Chaim Sussman-Cohen Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz and his son-in-law, Rabbi Chaim Sussman- Cohen, were both traditional Lithuanian Talmudic scholars who left Eastern Europe to take up modest rabbinical posts in England in the mid-1870s. They later became dayanim in the beis din of the Chief Rabbi. The foregoing biographies of the two rabbis are in part based on those given by my father-in-law, Rabbi Dr. Eugene Newman, in his paper to the Jewish Historical Society of England, as previ- ously cited.1 Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz (1818–1893) Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz was born in 1818 in Wilkowisk, Russia. He descended from a long line of rabbis and scholars. He had a phenomenal memory, an analytical mind, and a wide and deep knowledge of the Talmud, the Codes, and the commentaries. Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz At the age of twenty-six, he was appointed 1 Doc 35.7. 11 12 The Rabbis’ Suitcase moreh horaah, dayan, and maggid of his hometown Wilkowisk, which was a tribute to his Talmudic and halachic knowledge, as well as to his qualities of sincerity, humility, and compassion. He occupied this posi- tion for thirty years. He married Esther Liba Binion,2 who bore him three daughters: Bertha, Leah, and Rebecca. Bertha married Rabbi Chaim Sussman- Cohen who became rabbi in Manchester in 1875 and succeeded his father- in-law as dayan of the London Beis Din in 1893. Rabbi Reinowitz’s first appointment in London was as the rabbi of the Chevra Shas Synagogue, to which he was appointed in 1876 while on a visit from Russia to his daughter Bertha in Manchester. The original Appointment Document is in the collection.3 The trans- lation is given below: All of us, originally from Poland and Russia, gathered here to consider our position regarding Heavenly matters, see that we form a large congregation. We know that every small congrega- tion has at its head a spiritual leader, and why should we be like sheep without a shepherd? Therefore, we said to one another, “Let us arise and strengthen each other, and the Lord will be with us. Let us appoint a spiritual head who will teach us his ways, the way of the Torah, and we will walk in his ways.” As this great and honorable man happens to pass through, this distinguished rabbi, the great light crowned with Torah manners, who has acted as a Moreh Hora’ah in Israel for many years, our teacher Rabbi Yaakov, the son of Rabbi David, may his light shine, we decided unanimously that he is the man we wish to honor. He will be our spiritual guide. He will instruct us in the laws which are forbidden and which are permitted and he will teach Gemara, Rashi, and Tosafos every day in the Chevra Shas which we founded, with G-d’s help. We the undersigned, 2 She was a sister of Professor S.A. Binion, the Egyptologist. The name Binion is a corruption of Nunez. The family came from Holland — originally from Spain — and the original name was Nunez. 3 Doc 2.1. Original Appointment Agreement of Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz to lead the Chevra Shas in 1876 moreh horaah, dayan, and maggid of his hometown Wilkowisk, which was a tribute to his Talmudic and halachic knowledge, as well as to his qualities of sincerity, humility, and compassion. He occupied this posi- tion for thirty years. He married Esther Liba Binion,2 who bore him three daughters: Bertha, Leah, and Rebecca. Bertha married Rabbi Chaim Sussman- Cohen who became rabbi in Manchester in 1875 and succeeded his father- in-law as dayan of the London Beis Din in 1893. Rabbi Reinowitz’s first appointment in London was as the rabbi of the Chevra Shas Synagogue, to which he was appointed in 1876 while on a visit from Russia to his daughter Bertha in Manchester. The original Appointment Document is in the collection.3 The trans- lation is given below: All of us, originally from Poland and Russia, gathered here to consider our position regarding Heavenly matters, see that we form a large congregation. We know that every small congrega- tion has at its head a spiritual leader, and why should we be like sheep without a shepherd? Therefore, we said to one another, “Let us arise and strengthen each other, and the Lord will be with us. Let us appoint a spiritual head who will teach us his ways, the way of the Torah, and we will walk in his ways.” As this great and honorable man happens to pass through, this distinguished rabbi, the great light crowned with Torah manners, who has acted as a Moreh Hora’ah in Israel for many years, our teacher Rabbi Yaakov, the son of Rabbi David, may his light shine, we decided unanimously that he is the man we wish to honor. He will be our spiritual guide. He will instruct us in the laws which are forbidden and which are permitted and he will teach Gemara, Rashi, and Tosafos every day in the Chevra Shas which we founded, with G-d’s help. We the undersigned, 2 She was a sister of Professor S.A. Binion, the Egyptologist. The name Binion is a corruption of Nunez. The family came from Holland — originally from Spain — and the original name was Nunez. 3 Doc 2.1. Original Appointment Agreement of Rabbi Yaakov Reinowitz to lead the Chevra Shas in 1876 14 The Rabbis’ Suitcase undertake to pay him a salary of three pounds per week. This agreement shall have the force of any other agreement made by Jewish law. As proof, we have signed it on Sunday, first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul 5636/1876, here in London. The Agreement had thirteen signatures appended. The Chevra Shas had been founded a year earlier, in 1875. Its primary aim, apart from congregational prayer, was to study the Talmud daily, in order to raise the very low standards of learning in England. Its mem- bers were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe, many having been trained in the yeshivos of Poland and Russia. Rabbi Reinowitz’s Yiddish lectures made a great impression on the members, who believed that a Charming Rosh Hashanah card, circa 1890, depicting Israel’s great rabbis: (L–R) Rabbi Yaakov “messenger from above” had been sent to them. The original commit- Reinowitz, Chief Rabbi Naftali Adler, and Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor ment to pay him a salary of three pounds per week (a good salary at the time) was never fulfilled. Rabbi Reinowitz settled in the East End of London, his humble dwelling being constantly full of activity. Rabbis, scholars, students, shluchim of the great Eastern European yeshivos, and the many new immigrants who needed help and advice on social, economic, and religious problems, would all make their way to his home.

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