Rare Emotional Letter Handwritten by Rabbi Nesanel HaCohen Fried, Author of Pnei Meivin
Rare letter handwritten by Rabbi Nesanel HaCohen Fried of Balmazújváros, author of Responsa Pnei Meivin, addressed to his uncle Rabbi Yehoshua Heshel HaCohen Fried, Av Beis Din of Kapisch.
Written in 1899 on the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Nesanel's father, Rabbi Yechiel Michel HaCohen Fried, the letter reveals some of his heartfelt emotions for the day.
"My heart is longing because today is the yahrtzeit of my holy father z"l… I am an orphan for two years already. You, Hashem my G-d, have brought me to this day… my eyes are raised only to You… Please guard and protect me so that I can serve You with love and a full heart without grief… and may I merit to raise my children for Your holy Torah and good deeds and marry them off happily…"
Further on in the letter he apologizes to his uncle for not visiting, "because my soul desires Torah and my time is numbered," among other topics. There is also Torah novellae on the side of the paper in honor of his father's yahrtzeit.
On the upper-left side there is a signed, handwritten comment from his nephew, Rabbi Naftali Fried, stating that this letter was printed in the Sha'arei Orah pamphlet which he edited. However, only part of the letter appears there and it is now being exposed in full for the first time.
Rabbi Nesanel HaCohen Fried (1857 – 1915) was the son of Rabbi Yechiel Michel, Av Beis Din of Kapisch, and a descendant of Rabbi Naftali Katz, author of Smichus Chachamim. Already in his youth he was known for his sharp mind and breadth of knowledge. He was one of the leading Torah giants of his time and great responsivists of Hungary. He upheld a yeshivah in Balmazújváros for upward of twenty years and authored Responsa Pnei Meivin and Pnei Meivin on the Torah. He would regularly fast during World War One which greatly weakened his body, and passed away at the young age of fifty-eight.
1 leaf | 14 x 23 cm | Double-sided | Personal stationary | Rare
