Manuscript by Rabbi Yosef Zvi Ha'Levi Rosh Av Beit Din of Tel Aviv-Jaffa - Matters of Burying the Dead

The manuscript of a halachic resposnum iby Rabbi Yosef Zvi HaLevi, on the law of "It is forbidden to transport a dead body from a city with a cemetery to another city out of respect for the dead buried in that city, as he disgraces them by not resting with them…".
At the end of the letter the Rabbi answers the question of whether is permitted to move a dead body from his city in order to bury him in Jerusalem: "And regarding Jerusalem, it seems to me that now, when we have become far away from the ancient Jerusalem due to our sins and we cannot go to the Mount of Olives, it is forbidden to transfer from a city to modern-day Jerusalem unless commended to do so by the deceased…".
The letter is not dated, but from what he writes about Jerusalem it can be understood that it was written during the period of the War of Independence.

Rabbi Yosef Zvi HaLevi (1874-1960), Av Beit Din of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, a student of the Slabodka Yeshiva until he immigrated to Israel in 1891. In 1902 he succeeded his father-in-law as Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, until he was replaced by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook. Due to his dozens of years in the position of Av Beit Din he was an expert on many halachic topics, and answered many responsa regarding the commandments which apply only in the Land of Israel.
20x20 cm.
Condition: Good.