Letter from Rabbi Yehuda Aszód – Regarding Efforts to Rescind the Rabbinical Seminary Decree – Serdahely, 1864-1865

Letter from Rabbi Yehuda Aszód – Regarding Efforts to Rescind the Rabbinical Seminary Decree – Serdahely, 1864-1865
Letter addressed to Hungarian rabbis, regarding a petition against the Rabbinical Seminary decree, to be signed by rabbis and community leaders. With one line handwritten and signed by R. Yehuda Aszód. [Serdahely (Dunajská Streda), ca. 1864-1865].
The letter, addressed to the rabbi of a Hungarian city and to his community (the name of the rabbi and community are not indicated), contains a request that he send a petition to the royal court of the Austro-Hungarian emperor, signed by the community leaders, opposing the establishment of a Rabbinical Seminary, and instructs that it be transferred via R. Yehuda Aszód, rabbi of Serdahely.
At the foot of the letter, R. Yehuda Aszód added one line in his handwriting and with his signature: "To confirm and uphold all the above, I am signing in person, Yehuda Aszód".
The letter reports that a rabbinical conference convened to oppose the establishment of a rabbinical seminary by the Neologs in collaboration with the government. The letter also alludes to a rabbinical audience with the Emperor Franz Joseph on this topic, which met great success (in this audience, R. Yehuda Aszód served as the Oberland delegate). In the conference, the rabbis resolved to resume the activism, and to collect letters and signatures from rabbis and community leaders, demanding the abolishment of this initiative.
R. Yehuda Aszód (1796-1866), a foremost rabbi and yeshiva dean in Hungary. A disciple of R. Aharon Suditz and R. Mordechai Banet. He was appointed rabbi of Semnitz (Senica) and Serdahely, at the initiative of the Chatam Sofer. His books include: Responsa Mahari – Yehuda Yaaleh, Chiddushei Mahari on the Talmud, Divrei Mahari on the Torah.
R. Yehuda led the battles for faithful Judaism and the secession of the Orthodox community, together with the Ketav Sofer and foremost Austro-Hungarian rabbis. In 1864, when the Neologs attempted to establish a rabbinical seminary, he stood at the helm of the battle the rabbis waged against this initiative, for fear that the seminary would impinge upon the appointment of G-d fearing, Torah observant rabbis (when Emperor Franz Joseph reduced the fine imposed on the Jewish communities following the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and agreed to direct it to educational and social purposes within the Jewish communities, the Neologs seized the opportunity to request that the funding be allocated to a rabbinical seminary, which would compel the young generation of rabbis to undergo secular training in order to qualify for rabbinic positions). R. Yehuda Aszód convened a rabbinical conference on the matter in Nyíregyháza (see his letter to the Ketav Sofer, dated Cheshvan 1863, Igrot Sofrim, letter 27). Following the conference, a delegation of seven rabbis went to meet the young Emperor Franz Joseph in Vienna. The emperor was very moved by the dignified appearance of R. Yehuda Aszód, the elder rabbi, who blessed him with a lengthy sovereignty. Many years following this historic meeting, Franz Joseph attributed his longevity to the blessing he had received (Emperor Franz Joseph reigned for close to seventy years). This delegation comprised the Ketav Sofer, R. Yirmiyahu Löw of Ujhel, R. Menachem Eisenstädter of Ungvar and other rabbis. Three days of prayer were announced throughout Hungary for the success of the audience, and the members of the delegation undertook to fast (R. Menachem Eisenstädter later related that R. Yehuda Aszód, eldest delegate, sat in the corner of the carriage during the entire duration of the two-day trip to Vienna, praying with copious tears, to the extent that the carriage upholstery was completely moistened from his tears). Reputedly, during that historic audience, while walking throughout the palace entrance halls which were lined with large mirrors, R. Yehuda Aszód turned to his colleagues and remarked that their mission would surely be crowned with success, since a G-dly angel was accompanying them. R. Yehuda Aszód, who had never gazed in a mirror, did not realize that the angel he had seen was actually his own reflection (Divrei Mahari, Jerusalem 1970, Biography of the Author, pp. 21-22). Following that successful audience, efforts continued to lobby in the upper echelons of the government for the rescindment of the decree, which presented a great threat to the Orthodox communities and the rabbinical world. Drashot Maharam Schick (Klausenburg, 1937, pp. 13b-14a) mentions this audience with the emperor, in which R. Yehuda Aszód served as head speaker, and quotes a letter the latter wrote to Maharam Schick in Nissan 1864, in which he informs him of the success they met, and of the necessity for further lobbying, in the form of letters from community leaders to the Royal Court chancellor expressing their opposition to the proposed seminary.
[1] leaf. 22.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and folding marks. Tear through one line in middle of leaf, repaired with tape on verso (affecting several words). Ink corrosion to autograph and signature of R. Yehuda Aszód.