Todtenopfer für…des Herrn Landesgouverneur von Galizien…Franz Freiherrn v[on]Hauer [eulogy for the Governor of Galicia Franz Freiherrn von Hauer]

Solomon Judah Leib Rappaport [Shi"r] (1790-1867) was married at a tender age to the daughter of the preeminent Talmudist R. Aryeh Leib Heller, author of Ketzoth ha-Shulchan. A native of Lemberg, he went on to serve as rabbi of Tarnopol and later of Prague. His literary career spawned important works of a critical historical nature, some of these studies, especially those of the Gaonic period, were truly groundbreaking and won the acclaim of the leaders of the school of Wissenschaft des Judentums. This eulogy for the Governor of Galicia is one of Rappaport’s earliest productions. His Hebrew version was translated into German by Meir Halevi Letteris. This would appear to be Letteris’ own manuscript complete with title. Rappaport’s German was notoriously faulty, for which reason, his friend Leopold Zunz was unable to obtain for him a rabbinical position in Berlin. On the other hand, Letteris, a fellow Galician maskil - native of Zolkiew and disciple of Nachman Krochmal - was equally distinguished in both Hebrew and German, as attested to by his impressive bibliographies in both languages. See EJ, Vol. XIII, cols. 1555-6; Vol. XI, cols. 54-55.