Collection of Letters by Israeli Dayanim - Polemic Surrounding Helen Zeidman and the Polemic Surrounding Rabbi Goren

A collection of rulings, documents and letters by dayanim, from the time of the opposition to the "invalid conversions" and the struggle for halachic independence of the rabbinical courts in the State of Israel in the beginning of the 1970s.
· Ruling signed by the dayanim of the Great Rabbinical Court: R. Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, R. Betzalel Zolty, R. Eliezer Goldschmidt and R. Shaul Yisraeli, Jerusalem, Sivan 1970.
· "Urgent request for restraining order" - class action of R. Zvi Weinman according to a previous ruling of the Great Beit Din, "to issue an order prohibiting the respondents to register Ms. Zeidman as a Jewess, for as long as her conversion is not approved by the District Beit Din". Further in the document is a passage based on the ruling of R. Elyashiv: "The appellant has the right to appear before the beit din according to the responsa of the Rashbash, Siman 46". [Jerusalem, 1970].
· Ruling and halachic responsum [of R. Elyashiv] on the laws of Tosefet Ketubah. Signed by the dayanim of the Great Rabbinical Beit Din: R. Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, R. Betzalel Zolty and R. Eliezer Goldschmidt. Av 1971.
· Four forms of notices, with 27 signature of rabbis of various cities and of dayanim. Shevat 1973. Opposing the accusations of the media regarding the "callousness" of the "stringent" dayanim. The most crucial passage of the notice appears in the second section: "No power and no factor can change the halacha even a hairbreadth, and in the future just like in the past, Jewish dayanim will continue to rule without altering the halacha in any way. They will not be influenced by any pressure and fiercely opposed any involvement in the way they rule". Among the signatures: R. Mordechai Yaffe Schlesinger, R. Shalom Mizrachi, R. Yitzchak Kulitz, R. Chaim Gedalya Zimbalist, R. Amram Azulai, R. Shlomo Shimshon Karelitz, R. Zevulun Graz, R. Eliyahu Kushelevsky, R. Avraham Simcha Kaplan, R. Betzalel Zolty, etc.
At that time, dayanim in Israel fought for their independence to rule according to Jewish law in rabbinical courts. R. Elyashiv headed the struggle [and supported the activities of R. Weinman who submitted class actions against the Ministry of Interior and against the authorities, due to their acceptance of invalid conversions for registering the nationality in the Israeli identity cards and in the resident registrar - the question of "Who is a Jew?"]. One of the famous affairs was the question of the conversion of Helen Zeidman of Kibbutz Nachal Oz, who was "converted" by the IDF Chief Rabbi Goren 24 hours after she applied to the Beit Din, contrary to all halachic stipulations and rules for a proper conversion. Afterward, R. Goren was appointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and became known for his part in the affair of permitting mamzerim to wed, which took place in 1973 during his term as Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel.
This affair of wedding the mamazerim caused the dayanim in Israel to distrust the rulings of R. Goren and the Charedi communities called war on the liberty he took in his halachic rulings. Their opposition peaked with the assemblies and protests which took place in the autumn of 1972, during which the Badatz of the Eda HaCharedit in Jerusalem rent their garments as a sign of woe, and the great gathering at Hechal HaTarbut attended by thousands of yeshiva students. At that assembly, R. Shach announced that the rulings of R. Goren are not (valid halachic) rulings.
8 leaves. 27-32 cm. Condition varies, good to fair, wear and tears.