Responsum Concerning the Kashrut of Chicory by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar - With the Addition of an ...

Responsum Concerning the Kashrut of Chicory by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar - With the Addition of an Unpublished Polemic Passage
Draft of a halachic responsum regarding the kashrut of chicory, handwritten (3 pages, approx. 66 lines) and signed by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar. Irshava, [presumably written between 1922-1925].
Draft of a lengthy halachic responsum handwritten by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar, with his (abridged) signature. The responsum discusses the kashrut of chicory. Chicory was used in those days as a cheap alternative to coffee, and was produced from ground chicory root. During the production, the factories would mix in two percent of lard. The concern regarding the kashrut of chicory aroused a great polemic (see articles by R. Yechiel Goldhaber in Yeshurun, vol. 19-20). In his responsum, the Rebbe reviews the development of the polemic, the opinions of those who allow it and those who prohibit it, notes the concerns and raises many reservations on the leniency of those who permit it. The Rebbe further writes: "And in truth, even in a case when there is a suitable kashrut certification… who can venture to be lenient in a case where the Rebbe of Shinova [Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam] and other leading Torah scholars were stringent and absolutely forbade it, with the stringent opinions being many…". The Rebbe concludes his responsum with a blessing: "And fortunate is the one who eschews forbidden foods… may G-d protect him in all his ways, and may he merit much blessing from G-d".
This responsum was published in Responsa Divrei Yoel (part I, Yoreh De'ah, section 54), with the omission of four polemic lines at the end of the responsum, which in this draft were crossed-out by the Rebbe. These lines contain criticism of some of those who were lenient: "And I am surprised that there are many G-d fearing Jews, who used to frequent the courts of the Rebbe of Shinova, or those of his sons and disciples, and accept his directives. How could they rule for themselves, to permit something he, together with other great and holy men, categorically forbade". Another difference between this manuscript and the printed version is the position of the final three lines after the signature, which in the printed book were inserted in the first section.
This draft contains the Rebbe's deletions and emendations (which were incorporated in the final printed version).
Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar (1887-1979), a leader of his generation, president of the Eida HaChareidit and leader of American Orthodox Jewry, one of the founding pillars of Chassidic Jewry after the Holocaust. Born in Sighet, he was the son of Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the Kedushat Yom Tov, and grandson of Rebbe Yekutiel Yehuda, the Yitav Lev, who both served as rabbis of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației) and were leaders of Chassidic Jewry in the Maramureș region. He was renowned from his youth as a leading Torah scholar of his generation, for his perspicacity and intellectual capacities, as well as for his holiness and outstanding purity. After his marriage to the daughter of Rebbe Avraham Chaim Horowitz of Polaniec, he settled in Satmar and taught Torah and Chassidut to an elite group of disciples and followers. He served as rabbi of Irshava, Karaly (Carei; from 1925), and Satmar (Satu Mare; from 1934), managing in each of these places a large yeshiva and Chassidic court. He stood at the helm of faithful, uncompromising Orthodox Jewry in the Maramureș region. During the Holocaust, he was rescued through the famous Kastner Train, and after a journey through Bergen-Belsen, Switzerland and Eretz Israel, he reached the United States, where he established the largest Chassidic group in the world - Satmar Chassidut, until today the dominant faction in American Orthodox Jewry. He served as president of the Eida HaChareidit in Jerusalem. A leading opponent of Zionism and of the founding of the State of Israel, he zealously led crucial battles for the preservation of the unique character of the Jewish people and its holiness, fearful for the honor of the Torah and the future of faithful Jewry. He was renowned as an exceptionally charitable person; his door was open to the poor and his ear attentive to the needy from every stream of the Jewish people. An outstanding Torah scholar, he responded to many halachic queries, and his writings were published in dozens of books: VaYoel Moshe, Responsa Divrei Yoel, Divrei Yoel on the Torah and more.
[2] leaves (3 written pages). Approx. 23 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding marks.