94 204 RAPHALL, MORRIS JACOB (1798-1868). Autograph Letter Signed written to Isaac Leeser, in English (two words in Hebrew). Rabbi Raphall asks Isaac Leeser to confirm if a certain Mr. Hyneman, the ex son-in-law of a Mr. Hyman, is in fact in Philadelphia, and if this is so, would Leeser see him to discuss matters pertaining to the divorce of Hyman’s daughter. He also requests the ex son-in-law’s address. Raphall extends Passover greetings in Hebrew. One page. 8vo. New York, , 12th April, 1860. $1000 - $1500 ❧ Morris Jacob Raphall was a Swedish-born scholar and rabbi, who served as personal secretary to London’s Chief Rabbi Solomon Hirschel, and translated a substantial part of the Mishnah and other rabbinic works into English before emigrating to America in 1849. He was given the honor of being the first non-Christian to offer a prayer before a session of Congress in 1860. Although a Unionist, Raphall became notorious in 1861 when he defended the institution of slavery in the United States as having a biblical basis. Although he chastised Southern slave owners for treating slaves as objects rather than as human beings, and deviating from the biblical manner of slaveholding, he also took a stance against the Abolitionists. While today Raphall is mostly remembered for little but these views, this letter to Leeser represents the nuts-and-bolts of rabbinic functioning in America, clarifying personal and family matters for American Jews. 205 REHINE, ZALMA (1757-1843). Autograph Letter Signed written to Isaac Leeser, in English. Autograph address panel on verso. One page, with integral blank. 4to. Baltimore, 7th April, 1836. $1000 - $1500 ❧ This letter from Leeser’s maternal uncle, Zalma Rehine, consists of complaints of ill health: “I have been very sick with a cold and pains in my side all yom tov…” Rehine also tells Leeser that a guest over Passover, one Mr. Black, “had seen you and is much pleased with you.” It would seem that Isaac Leeser was a relatively frequent topic of conversation between Rehine and his friends and acquaintances, and when he heard something about the impression his nephew - a rising star in the firmament of American Jewish clergy - was making, he would tell him about it. On the reverse of the letter is a list consisting of seven lines, giving quantities of articles of clothing (e.g., “2 pairs of stockings”) in a separate hand that might be Leeser’s. Lot 204 Lot 205