Envoy to Petersburg Regarding the "Gezeiras HaMelamdim"
Autograph Letter from Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor; Kovno, 1893
Handwritten and signed letter from Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, ab”d of Kovno, addressed to his grandson, Rabbi Avraham Yosef.
In his letter, Rabbi Spektor describes the vote that was cast to determine which rabbis would travel to Petersburg. As this letter is dated 1893, it seems likely that this important envoy was traveling to Petersburg as part of an attempt to persuade the government to abolish a new law requiring all teachers to be accredited. Over the course of many years, Rabbi Spektor tirelessly worked to influence the powers at hand to abolish this decree. It was finally nullified by Caesar Alexander III in 1893.
Rabbi Spektor writes which rabbis were chosen: "…and everyone chose first the children of Rabbi Tzvi, and Rabbi Eliezer Simcha [Rabinowitz] after him… and the rabbi and philanthropist Rabbi Beinush [Katzenellenbogen] from Kiev…”
Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (1817-1896) was a prominent rabbi who lived in the last generation and made a lasting imprint on Lithuanian Jewry. Known for his sharp mind, many complicated halachic matters were directed to him. He served as rabbi of Kovno beginning in 1864, and from 1877 presided over the Perushim Kollel there as well. He authored Responsa Be’er Yitzchak, Responsa Ein Yitzchak and Nachal Yitzchak on Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat.
Dated Kovno, 1893.
13×21.5 cm | 4 sides | Good condition.
