The Sanz-Ruzhin Controversy: Knesset HaGedolah. 1869. Only Edition. Rare Copy

The Sanz-Ruzhin Controversy: Knesset HaGedolah. 1869. Only Edition. Rare Copy

"The inciteful lampoons and booklets were burnt and destroyed over time, along with the mutually denouncing posters. All are presently hard-to-find, and there is probably not even a single remaining complete copy." (historian Dr. Yitzchak Raphael)

Knesset HaGedolah V'Divrei Chachamim ... all the gedolei hador came together to justify the words of the tzaddik and condemn the evildoers. [Lemberg], 1869. Rare only Edition. Incomplete copy.

Central work of the huge dispute among Sanz Chassidim opposing Rabbi Dov Ber (Berenyu) of Leova, son of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin. It sides with the opinion of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz and his supporters, and includes, on the one hand, letters from leading rabbis opposing Sadigura Chassidism, and on the other hand, letters from rabbis objecting to the insult to the Divrei Chaim's honor. The title page states the year of print using a chronogram [סורו טמא קראו]. For more about the author, refer to 3 Adar, Medinah V'Chachamehah, New York, 1934, p. 61, which opines that it is Naftali Hertz Goldstein.

The Sanz-Sadigura dispute was one of the most terrible intra-Chassidic disagreements. It included paskevillim and the most severe accusations - from both sides - about the most horrible sins. The affair is enshrouded in fog; more is hidden than is known. Official Chassidic literature hardly mentions it. It is only whispered about between scholars of Chassidism.

Many sefarim and paskevillim were published at the time by both sides of the dispute, but as historian Dr. Yitzchak Raphael, one of the last two deal with the topic, writes in his sefer on Chassidut and Chassidim, (Jerusalem, 1991): "The inciteful lampoons and booklets were burnt and destroyed over time, along with the mutually denouncing posters. All are presently hard-to-find,   and there is probably not even a single remaining complete copy." Here is a rare [almost complete] copy that survived the burnings and destruction!

The complete copy includes: 32, 25-80 pp. This copy: 16, 25-80 pp, so that what is lacking is the group of leaves in the middle, pp. 17-32 (in the first pagination). However, at the end of page 16, the leading letter matches page 25, which is the following leaf in this copy, and the type of paper also changes. There may also have been complete copies like this one here.

17 cm.

Fine condition. Uneven page cuts. Aging stains. Reinforcements to the margins of some of the leaves. Simple binding.