Letter of Rabbinic Appointment to the City of Posen

When the leaders of the people were assembled, all the tribes of Israel together, on the evening of the twenty-first day of Adar 5572, to oversee the affairs of the general community and the needs of the Jews here in the holy community of Posen, each one a prince among men, the outstanding Rabbis, the Sages, the Torah scholars [ . . . ] the communal overseers and leaders, the merit of whose ancestors sustains them and whose righteousness is like the mountains of God; joining them were the rest of the sacred congregation, the elect of the assembly, men of renown throughout the Jewish Diaspora—then did they who feared the Almighty speak with one another, saying: “How long shall the assembly of the Lord be like sheep without a shepherd? Let us appoint a leader, a man over the community, a faithful shepherd to tend Jacob in accordance with the simplicity of his heart, to teach the people the statutes of God and His laws, that they may know what ought to be done in Israel! Let us now search and make enquiry to find a man who has the Divine spirit within him—the spirit of wisdom and understanding—a discerning heart attuned to justice—and within whom He has placed the ability to issue halakhic rulings, and who actually does so.” And one of the group responded and said: “Behold, there is a holy man, a perfectly righteous individual, who reveals hidden things, residing in the holy community of Friedland, whose name is the Illustrious Master and Teacher, Akiva Güns, unto whom truth, peace, and the law of the Torah have been transmitted, and from whom no mystery is concealed. He is well known in Judah, and his name is great in Israel on account of the fact that the divine spirit and the Torah that he possesses, in wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge, is equal to that of Akiva, son of Joseph in his generation; his fame goes forth throughout all the provinces, and they declare his praise in the isles. Let us now issue a call to the man of God to be a prince of God within our midst, to act as a rabbi and teacher, a lamp at the feet of the people and a light unto their path. Let him execute the righteousness of the Lord and His ordinances with Israel!” And the people answered with one voice and said: “The thing you have suggested is good, as we are acquainted with the man and his speech, that he seeks the welfare of his nation and that he is great among the Jews. He is the man who has been elevated on high, and upon him shall shine the crown of rabbinic leadership. However, we will consent to his appointment only on the following condition; namely, that he is agreeable to observing the points set forth in our Book of Memorial, as was discussed with the prior illustrious authorities—and these are the details thereof:

1. The rabbi—may his light shine brightly—is to accept responsibility for responding to questions involving ritually prohibited and permitted matters; he is to set aside one day each week for matters of controversy; should quarrels arise between individuals within the community and they submit themselves to judgment, then, in the event that they expressly desire to litigate in front of him, he is to suspend his other existing activities to designate a certain, definite date to judge between a man and his neighbor; and the rabbi is entitled to take for himself one-half of the remuneration due for the time he has lost by reason of enforced cancelation of his other activities, while the remaining half is to be taken by the other ecclesiastical judges by way of remuneration for their lost time.
2. As the counsel tendered by the Illustrious rabbi—may his light shine brightly—is as serious a matter as if a man were seeking counsel as to the word of God, and his counsel is faithfulness, accordingly, in the event that the chief overseers and leaders of the community need to take sweet, secret counsel together and to ask his advice, he is to suspend all his other existing activities, taking time to focus upon listening to what the chief overseers and leaders of the community have to say.
3. The weekly salary of the rabbi is to be 10 Reichsthalers, and double that amount at festival seasons.
4. The rabbi—may his light shine brightly—is to have six unmarried young men who will come from afar to listen to the learned discourses, to study with the illustrious rabbi—may his light shine brightly.
5. The financial entitlements due to the rabbi, the cantor, and the sexton given by bridegrooms on the day of their wedding and the gladness of their hearts shall be deemed to be satisfied as and when the rabbi is given 2 percent out of every hundred Reichsthalers that the bride’s family bring into the marriage by way of dowry. However, if she brings inherited estates for the dowry on a permanent basis, he is to be given merely 1 percent of their value. All of the above is to apply where the value of the dowry is below a thousand Reichsthalers, but where the value of the dowry is above a thousand Reichsthalers, the rabbi may only take 1/2 of 1 percent from such amount as is in excess of a thousand Reichsthalers; and from inherited estates, he may take 1/4 of 1 percent of such amount as is in excess of a thousand Reichsthalers.
6. The rabbi and all those associated with him shall refrain from business activities, except that he shall be permitted to use the shetar iskah device.¹
7. Regarding the matter of being called up to the reading of the Torah, he is to have an absolute entitlement—he must be called up every Sabbath; and on festivals, he has an absolute entitlement on the first day, while on the second day, should his honor acquiesce in going to the bet midrash of the chief members of the community—may it be built speedily in our days—to exercise his entitlement there, he may do so if he wishes.
8. Regarding the matter of acting as sandek [godfather] for newly born boys when they are circumcised in the flesh of their foreskins, the first two cases of this that occur in each week constitute the entitlement of the rabbi, and in regard to the remaining cases, the head of the family in question may give the honor to anyone he wishes.?

These words were spoken and stipulated as terms and conditions of the appointment on the day of the assembly, and the terms and conditions were written out, under separate subject-headings, for the benefit of the renowned illustrious rabbi. He undertook and affirmed that he would ratify and uphold them, and that he would serve as rabbi and halakhic guide in accordance with these terms and conditions, just as the former illustrious rabbis had done. The people rejoiced, and blew the shofar loudly, and exclaimed: “Long live our Master! May he come with joy to our community, and may our hearts rejoice and our souls be glad—and let us render thanks and praise unto our Creator for all the goodness that He has bestowed upon us, and for His abundant goodness unto the House of Israel; and we give thanks for the past and cry out in supplication in regard to the future. May it be the divine will that our master, our teacher and our rabbi come at a propitious hour, for our enduring welfare. To all this we make a firm covenant, and our Levites, our priests, and our princes, the outstanding rabbis and the leaders and the noblemen, the rulers, the lay and spiritual leaders, and the rest of the holy community set their seal upon it below.

Executed here, in Posen.

(One hundred and thirty-three signatures appear from the honorable members of the community.)