Letter from Rabbi Yehuda Lobeitzky of Paris, author of "Ein Tenai B’Nisuin"
A letter from the esteemed Rabbi Yehuda Lobeitzky of Paris, author of "Ein Tenai B’Nisuin, " dated the 4th of the Ten Days of Repentance. In the letter, he writes, "To my dear friend, the famous Rabbi Yitzchak Beharil, the Rav of Bastan… I was very weak due to the intense heat that prevailed in our country at that time, to the point that I nearly collapsed…" He continues by stating that he cannot assist in matters related to acquiring properties, but assures him he will try to help in other areas of community affairs and concludes with warm blessings.
Rabbi Yehuda Lobeitzky (1840–1910) served as the rabbi of the Jewish community in Paris, fighting vigorously against the innovations of the time, especially in relation to the practice of conditional marriage – a painful issue where certain ‘new’ rabbis attempted to alter the traditional understanding. They sought to introduce a system where a woman could divorce her husband in the government courts without his consent, and the marriage would be retroactively annulled. Rabbi Yehuda fought fiercely against this dangerous innovation, which originated in Paris through the ‘reformist’ Rabbi M. Weil. He published a book in 1908 titled "Ein Tenai B’Nisuin, " which included letters from great Torah authorities like Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spector and Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, condemning this serious breach. His book, initially stored as a manuscript in the library of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, was later printed with a special introduction by him in Vilna in 1933. Rabbi Yehuda also corresponded with Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan regarding the "Heter Mechira" issue (letters in volume 9 of his responsa).
