Discovery! – The Polemic on the Stumot in Rambam’s Opinion and Changes in Prayer Texts – Correspondence between the ‘Noda B’Yehuda’ and Rabbi Chaim Rakatzan –
A Historical Supplement to the Known Responsa of the ‘Noda B’Yehuda’!
A pamphlet of letters from the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Rakatzan (a rabbi who presumably lived in one of the towns near Prague and corresponded with the ‘Noda B’Yehuda’ and other great leaders of his time) to the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Landa, the ‘Noda B’Yehuda’ of Prague.
The first letter is addressed to the ‘Noda B’Yehuda’, Rabbi Yitzchak Landa, asking for guidance regarding his son:
In the letter, Rabbi Rakatzan asks for the well-being of his son, who is studying under the esteemed Rabbi of the royal court. He requests that the Noda B’Yehuda supervise his son, as he is still young, and to examine his Talmudic learning. He also seeks advice from the Noda B’Yehuda regarding a Torah scroll found in his town, which contains a doubt regarding the proper reading of closed and open letters (the “Stumot” and “P’tuchot” according to halachah). Rabbi Rakatzan discusses the opinion of Rambam on this matter, and also mentions that Rabbi Meir of Lunzano wrote in his book Shtei Yadot that he saw a manuscript of the Rambam, which has a different version than the printed one, and discusses the halachic implications of this.
The Noda B’Yehuda replied in his responsa, printed in Noda B’Yehuda (Tena’ana, Yoreh De’ah, Siman 346), in which he insists that one should not change the existing prayer texts based on the printed Rambam.
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A Sharp Letter to a Torah Scholar Named Rabbi Chaim, Regarding Changes in Prayer Texts:
In this letter, Rabbi Chaim Rakatzan reprimands the person (likely a printer) for claiming that Rabbi Rakatzan is in favor of changing the prayer text, and for changing the text of the prayer according to their own decision. He quotes the saying, "Better is an open rebuke than hidden love, " and strongly objects to this issue of altering prayer texts. He refers to the responsa of Rabbi Yitzchak Landa (Noda B’Yehuda) on the same subject and the letters that were exchanged with him on the matter (see Noda B’Yehuda Tena’ana, Orach Chaim, Siman 127).
This pamphlet provides historical supplements to the responsa of the Noda B’Yehuda, as the questions in the letters are long and complex. The letters give a clear understanding of the issues discussed in the responsa of the Noda B’Yehuda, and they deserve to be printed alongside them.
It seems that the pamphlet is either a draft or a copy written by Rabbi Chaim Rakatzan for his own records.
