1925 MISHNAT YAAVETZ Rabbi Jacob Mendelson RARE Judaica Americana Goldman 673 For Sale

Offered here is an uncommon copy of Mishnat Yaavetz (משנת יעב״ץ) by Rabbi Jacob Ben Zion HaCohen Mendelson (1875–1941), one of the colorful and important Orthodox rabbinic figures of early twentieth-century American Jewish life.

Published in 1925, the volume combines several of Rabbi Mendelson\'s works and is particularly significant for its material relating to a major rabbinic and kashrut controversy in Newark and New York during the 1920s.

The book is separately described as No. 673 in Yosef Goldman\'s authoritative bibliography, Hebrew Printing in America 1735–1926: A History and Annotated Bibliography.

Goldman records the collation as:[8], 64, 40, 88, [8] pp. 8voand notes copies in only a small number of institutional collections, including Harvard, Hebrew Union College, Leeds University Library and Yeshiva University.

The work is also held by the National Library of Israel.

Mishnat Yaavetz is actually a collection of several works under one title.

Part I — ברייתא דאנדרוגינוס

The first section is an extensive halachic treatment of the Talmudic material concerning the androgynous individual, with Rabbi Mendelson\'s commentary. According to Goldman, Mendelson completed this section in 1917.

Part II — חידושי הש״ס

The second section contains Talmudic novellae, material dating back to approximately 1903 and intended as a continuation of Mendelson\'s earlier Sha\'arei Zion.

Part III — שאלות ותשובות

The third section contains responsa written by Rabbi Mendelson in Britain and America, providing a fascinating window into the practical halachic questions confronting Orthodox rabbis during the period. His correspondents included important rabbis in Newark, New York and elsewhere in America.

Part IV — קונטרס דברי ריבות

Of particular historical interest is the appended Kuntres Divrei Rivot, documenting Rabbi Mendelson\'s bitter dispute with Rabbi Joseph Konvitz. Goldman specifically discusses this material in his bibliography.

Rabbi Konvitz (son-in-law ofRabbiYaakov Dovid Wilovskyaka Ridvaz; father of Constitutional scholar Milton Konvitz) had been appointed rabbi of a local congregation in 1924 and, according to Goldman\'s account, attempted to challenge Rabbi Mendelson\'s control over kashrut supervision in Newark.

Rabbi Mendelson was summoned before three New York rabbis to appear before a rabbinical court. He responded with a broadside defending his position and arguing that the New York rabbis had no authority to interfere in the internal affairs of Newark\'s Jewish community.

Rather than merely presenting his own side, Mendelson solicited opinions from numerous rabbis and promised to publish their statements whether they agreed with him or not.

The resulting Divrei Rivot preserves the original correspondence together with responses from a remarkable group of rabbis, including:

Rabbi Raphael Moses Barishansky of the Bronx
Rabbi Benjamin Baruch Guth of New York
Rabbi Jacob Ozer Dubrow
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Judah Leib Lokshin
Rabbi Israel Mowshowitz of Trenton
Rabbi Abraham Zev Pakshiwitz of Union Hill, New Jersey
Rabbi Yosef Rozin of Dvinsk - the \"Rogachover\"
Rabbi Jacob Smargon
Rabbi Abraham Aaron Yudelovitz of New York

Goldman notes that although some rabbis supported Mendelson\'s position, the Agudath Harabbonim issued a circular supporting the authority of the New York rabbis.

This transforms the volume from simply another early American responsa work into an unusually vivid primary source for the politics, personalities and institutional struggles of American Orthodox rabbinic life in the 1920s.

Rabbi Jacob Ben Zion HaCohen Mendelson (1875–1941) was born in Krustpils, Latvia, and studied in the yeshivot of Jekabpils, Daugavpils and Eišiškės. He received rabbinic ordination in 1898. He subsequently served rabbinic communities in Leeds, Gateshead and Glasgow before emigrating to the United States in 1915.

After briefly residing in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Mendelson settled in Newark, where he became an influential figure in the city\'s Orthodox community. Goldman records that Mendelson was invited to head Newark\'s Vaad Hakashruth and in 1921 was elected to a third term as rabbi of the Brisk D\'ito congregation. He also served as vice president of Knesset Harabbonim. He died in 1941.

Rabbi Mendelson\'s other works included Sha\'arei Zion, Ha-Tzayid and Midrash Yaavetz. The National Library of Israel catalogs the present Mishnat Yaavetz among his works, while modern bibliographical references likewise divide it into the three principal sections concerning the Baraita d\'Androginos, Talmudic novellae, and responsa with Divrei Rivot.

This particular copy retains a printed slip pasted into the volume, signed in print by:

יעקב בן ציון הכהן מענדעלסאן
Jacob Ben Zion HaCohen Mendelson

The notice relates to the author\'s work and its circulation among Jewish communities and is a particularly attractive survival in a copy of the book.

Also present are the numerous rabbinic approbations and endorsements characteristic of the work, including material by leading American rabbis of the period.

Yosef Goldman, Hebrew Printing in America 1735–1926, No. 673.

Goldman\'s entry records:

Mendelson, Jacob Ben Zion HaCohen. Mishnat Yaavetz. [1925]. [8], 64, 40, 88, [8] pp. 8vo.

Goldman identifies institutional copies at:

HAR; HUC; LUB; YGC

The National Library of Israel also records the work in its collection.

Fair to good overall, with significant binding wear; internally generally good.

Original black cloth-covered boards with blind-stamped decoration. The binding is worn and distressed, particularly along the spine and hinges. The boards have rubbing, scratches and edge wear. The internal hinges are cracked/open and the binding structure is exposed in places, as clearly shown in the photographs. There is separation/weakness between the boards and text block and the binding should be handled carefully.

The text itself is considerably better preserved, with generally clean and legible pages showing expected age toning, occasional spotting, minor staining and handling wear. Some leaves show edge wear and minor defects. The pasted printed notice is present.

No attempt has been made to restore the binding.

Please examine all photographs carefully. They form an integral part of the condition description and show both the strengths of the text and the defects to the binding.