Responsum Letter by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein - Regarding the Giving of a Ring from the Bride to the Groom

Lengthy letter (2 pages) handwritten and signed by R. Moshe Feinstein. New York, 7th Adar 1969. Addressed to his disciple R. Efraim Greenblatt. Halachic responsum concerning those who wish to innovate a new wedding custom, "that after the groom consecrates her with a ring, the bride should also give the groom a ring". R. Moshe Feinstein categorically prohibits this, and discusses in this letter whether this practice would constitute "a non-Jewish custom", which is absolutely forbidden by the Torah, or whether it is only "nonsense and foolishness" which is improper to do based on the teachings of our sages. This responsum was published in Responsa Igrot Moshe, Even HaEzer part III, section 18 (New York, 1973, p. 442). R. Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986), foremost Halachic authority in the United States, was the leader of Orthodox Jewry, chairman of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah and dean of the Tiferet Yerushalayim yeshiva in New York. He authored: Responsa Igrot Moshe, Dibrot Moshe - Talmudic novellae and Darash Moshe - novellae on the Torah. This letter was written on R. Moshe's 74th birthday, as he was born on the 7th Adar 1895, and was named after Moshe Rabbenu, who was born and passed away on the 7th Adar. R. Moshe would frequently say that "his birth on the 7th Adar influenced his path in life. He took it as a sign of his obligation to follow the ways of Moshe Rabbenu in Torah and character traits" (Igrot Moshe, part VIII, Biography of the Author, p. 7). [1] leaf, written on both sides. Official stationery. 28 cm. Good condition. Light wear and stains.