Polemics Regarding Chalitzah by Messenger – Letter of Protest by Gedolei Hador
5 Letters of Objection by Gedolei Hador
1. Lengthy handwritten, autographed letter by Hagaon
Harav Yosef Razin, the Rogotchover:
In his characteristic style, the Rogotchover writes: “I stand shaken that, also now, it would occur to people to dismiss… and permit chalitzah by a messenger dispatched by the woman… Heaven forbid that any Jew should state this… He must rescind his statement…” 7 Nissan, 1928. Page size: 22×18 cm.
2. Letter by Hagaon Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski of Vilna:
“All his writings are irrelevant, and it is as permitting a yevamah to anyone… Simultaneously, several great Rabbanim convened for an assembly on general matters, among them Hagaon Harav Moreinu Yisrael Meir Hakohein [Chafetz Chaim], and everyone was appalled by this ruling …”
2 typewritten sides with autograph, several handwritten corrections and attractive stamp. Dated 14 Nissan, 1918.
3. Letter by Hagaon Harav Yosef Leib Bloch, Av Beis Din of Telshe:
“I was greatly dismayed how a rabbi could conceive such a thing that our early sages did not envision…”
4. Telegram in English by Hagaon Harav Isser Zalman Meltzer, Av Beis Din of Slutsk & Rosh Yeshivas Eitz Chaim in Yerushalayim affirming that he concurs with the dissenting Rabbanim.
5. Telegram in English by Hagaon Harav Moshe Mordechai Epstein, Rosh Yeshivah in Slabodka, affirming that he concurs with the dissenting Rabbanim.
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In 1926, a weighty halachic issue arose regarding a woman who emigrated from Europe to America and whose husband passed away without descendants. The relative obligated to perform chalitzah lived in Russia, and it was unfeasible for either the relative or widow to travel abroad to perform the mitzvah.
Following lengthy discussions, Rabbi Avraham Aharon Yudelevitz, Rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis in New York, delivered a lenient ruling allowing the chalitzah to be performed via a messenger dispatched by the woman. This ruling was published in his sefer Av B’Chochmah (New York, 1927).
This innovative ruling stirred great controversy among American rabbis who appealed to their contemporaries in Europe to issue a fierce protest and objection against it.
Numerous European Rabbanim responded by vocally opposing this ruling, among them the Chafetz Chaim, Rogotchover, Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski and others.
[Reliable sources suggest that Rabbi Yudelevitz ultimately rescinded this ruling. ]
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