Long, Important Halachic Responsum Handwritten by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld about the Most Ancient Cemetery in ...

Long, Important Halachic Responsum Handwritten by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld about the Most Ancient Cemetery in Germany, in the City of Köln! - With the Original Question by Rabbi Menachem Emanuel Carlebach, the Rabbi of the City - 1922
Two leaves with a handwritten halachic question about the laws of removing bones from the Jewish cemetery of Köln, Germany - which had the most ancient Jewish community in Germany (some claim that there was a Jewish community in the city since the time of the Roman Empire!)
The question was sent to Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, the rabbi of Ha'Edah Ha'Charedit of Jerusalem. On the reverse side of one of these leaves, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld handwrote his response.
The question was written on the official stationery of the rabbi of the Adat Yeshurun community of Köln. The writer is most likely the rabbi of the city, Rabbi Emanuel Carlebach (1874-1927). It is most likely that the script is that of a scribe.
The content of the long question (which is divided into paragraphs): in the city of Köln there is a large plot of land, which in German was called "The Land of the Dead Jews". Now a railroad was planned to be built on this plot. When the digging started, bones were found in the depth of the ground. Rumor has it that "the area is an ancient Jewish cemetery". Indeed, after an examination it turned out that the rumor was true: "one thousand five hundred years ago, Jews buried their dead here in this place". The question was what were the halachic requirements of such a problematic situation and how can the maximal dignity of the dead be maintained.
At the end of his question, Rabbi Carlebach writes: "My question is whether only the members of our community should bear the expenses … since people from all around the country came here and the old community that used to be here hundreds of years ago was exiled to other countries … and most prominent rabbis used to live here, the Ba'alei Ha'Tosafot, the Rosh and his family, the Ra'avyah and the Ra'aven … and of course the duty of maintaining the dignity of the bones is the duty of all of Israel and not only our duty, the members of the community of Köln…"
Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld responds at length to all the paragraphs of the question and at the end writes: "Of course, if they cannot afford it, others should assist yet it is their duty and it is all Divine Providence and due to their gathering of the bones they will see the resurrection of the dead".
The response was printed in the book 'KOvetz Tiferet' (2005).
Condition: Good. Filing holes.