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[Letter, 13 December 1769, Friedrichstadt (Schleswig-Holstein) to David Berlin].
[מכתב, י"ד כסלו תק"ל, פרידריכשטאט (שלזוויג-הולשטיין) אל דוד בערלין].
Library at the Katz Center - Rare Book Room CAJS Rar Ms 559i
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- Format:
- Manuscript
- Language:
- Hebrew
- Subjects (All):
- Jews.
- History.
- Rabbis.
- Court Jews.
- Excommunication (Jewish law).
- Germany--Hamburg.
- Germany--Friedrichstadt (Schleswig-Holstein).
- Shimshon ben Yaʻaḳov, (Friedrichstadt, Schleswig-Holstein), active 1770--Trials, litigation, etc.
- Excommunication (Jewish law)--18th century.
- Court Jews--18th century.
- Jews--Germany--Friedrichstadt (Schleswig-Holstein)--18th century--Correspondence.
- Rabbis--Germany--Hamburg--18th century--Correspondence.
- Jews--Germany--Friedrichstadt (Schleswig-Holstein)--18th century--History--Sources.
- Jews--Germany--Hamburg--18th century--History--Sources.
- Local Subjects:
- Shimshon ben Yaʻaḳov, (Friedrichstadt, Schleswig-Holstein), active 1770--Trials, litigation, etc.
- Genre:
- Sources.
- Correspondence.
- Manuscripts, European.
- Manuscripts, Hebrew -- 18th century.
- letters (correspondence)
- correspondence artifacts
- Personal correspondence.
- Penn Provenance:
- Sold by Winner's Auctions (Jerusalem), Auction 121 (May 5, 2020) lot 423 as part of the archive of David ben Loeb Berlin (-1771).
- Physical Description:
- 1 leaf : paper ; 242 x 190 (220 x 182) mm
- Contained In:
- Berlin, David ben Loeb, -1771. David ben Loeb Berlin correspondence.
- Place of Publication:
- [Friedrichstadt], 14 Kislev 5530 (December 13, 1769)
- פרידריכשטאט, י"ד כסלו תק"ל.
- Language Note:
- Hebrew.
- Summary:
- This is a letter written to David Berlin by the rabbi and dignitaries (parnassim) of Friedrichstadt appealing and complaining against an action of excommunication executed by Berlin against a member of the Friedrichstadt community; Berlin seems to have excommunicated an important (unnamed) Friedrichstadt Court Jew and businessman he had accused of falsifying testimony under a Beth Din oath while presiding over a suit for damages brought to Beth Din by Shimshon ben Yaʻaḳov, known as "S.L.". The text of the letter lists reasons suggesting that this action was unwise and foolhardy, as the defendant was "close to the king" (Christian VI, King of Denmark, 1699-1746) and would certainly appeal to have the excommunication overturned (and open up other problems between the Friedrichstadt community and the monarch, as well as embarrass the rabbinate); the letter accuses Berlin of unfairly siding with the defendant who was not excommunicated (despite having falsified testimony as well); the language of the letter is openly hostile ("כי כדי בזיון וקצף שיכתוב שם בקהלכם כדין חרם" (sixth line)). The postscript informs Berlin that Samuel, the excomunicatee, already informed the authorities of the excommunication and the community dignitaries wish to defend the action that the excommunication was only meant to apply in Altona (and Samuel can therefore attend synagogue in Friedrichstadt), and are asking permission to forward this defense to the authorities.
- Notes:
- Ms. document.
- Title supplied by cataloger.
- Layout: Written in twenty four lines (eighteen lines of letter text, two lines of greeting, four lines of postscript); three autographs in center below letter text; single line date above letter text.
- Script: Written in a Ashkenazic cursive script.
- Origin: Written in Friedrichstadt in Schleswig-Holstein, north Germany.
- Cited as:
- UPenn CAJS Rar Ms 559i.
- OCLC:
- 1327746228
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