Rare and Interesting Letter from Rabbi Ya'akov Rosenheim's Parents

Rare and Interesting Letter from Rabbi Ya'akov Rosenheim's Parents

Rare and interesting letter from R' Eliyahu Rosenheim (father of Moreinu Rabbi Ya'akov Rosenheim), supervisor of Baron Rothschild's charities. Frankfurt, 1892.

In his letter, sent "by order of the minister" [Baron Rothschild] to one of the rabbis in London, he requests clarification concerning the gaon Rabbi Naftali HaLevi of London, author of Nachalat Naftali, who sent his book (Nachalat Naftali, Pressburg, 1891) to Rothschild. R' Eliyahu asks in his letter whether the above Rabbi Naftali "Is G-d-fearing and worthy of support." R' Eliyahu concludes his letter "one who bows before his majesty." The letter is written in Hebrew in Mrs. Rosenheim's script and signed by her husband in a foreign language, on his personal stationery.

R' Eliyahu Rosenheim, father of Moreinu Rabbi Ya'akov Rosenheim, one of the founders of Agudat Yisrael, supervised the charities of Baron Shimon Wolf Rothschild of Frankfurt. However, the letters were in fact written by his scholarly wife, Charlotte Rosenheim. She was a great expert in biblical texts and knew how to write in clear linguistic form and expert rabbinic style. She corresponded with dozens of rabbis in the Baron's name.

R' Eliyahu and his wife Mrs. Charlotte Rosenheim were among the first in Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch's separate community. He officiated at their wedding, and she was the first woman in Frankfurt to cover her hair. In return for this, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch promised her a son who would light up the eyes of the Jewish people. In her youth, she studied under Rabbi S. R. Hirsch's son, Rabbi Mendel Hirsch, and her son R' Ya'akov Rosenheim wrote in his memoirs that she was fluent in all of Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch's commentary on the Torah.

[1] leaf paper, 14x21 cm. Official stationery, graph paper.

Fine condition: Fold marks. Tiny tears in the margins without damage to text.