Nice letter written on a postcard about his Sefer Shetilei Zaytim & his desire to immigrate to the Holyland.
Ács 1942.
The Gaon Rabbi Rabbi Shimon Kraus H”yd, was born in Szerdahely, to his father, Rabbi Yaakov Koppel, 1863. In his childhood, he studied diligently day and night and grew up immersed in Torah study and serving God. Even in his dreams, he engaged in Torah matters. He wrote his first Sefer, an excellent work on the laws of Passover, at the age of 17. He married the daughter of R. Menashe Gelb from Vylkove-Phila in 1889.
From 1895 he served as Rabbi of Karlburg, from 1896, he was Rabbi in Nagy-Szent-Miklós, from 1914, he served as a rabbi in the Shas community of Szarvas, and from 1915 he filled his father’s position in the Ács community. His Sefer, "Shetilei Zaytim" , was published in 1938-1941. As a young rabbi, he continued to study Torah diligently for its own sake, with the aim of clarifying the truth of Torah and examining the different approaches. He responded to questioners with detailed oral answers, demonstrating great proficiency in the works of the Rishonim and Acharonim. He struggled to make a living as a rabbi in a small community.
Rabbi Yonatan Steif, the Av Beit Din of Budapest, consulted with him on weighty halakhic questions and delighted in engaging in Torah discussions with him. He made a point of personally going to buy poultry for Shabbat and personally served the poor who came to eat in his home. His mindset was engaged with all beings, and he received everyone with a pleasant countenance, while his thoughts were always occupied with Talmudic and halakhic issues.
During the Holocaust, almost all copies of his Sefer and most of his handwritten works were lost. His son, Rabbi Moshe Eliezer, managed to save some of his writings, edited them, and published them in the first volume of the second edition of "Shetilei Zaytim" (London, 1964). His brother, Rabbi Menashe, continued and published the entire book in one volume in 1974. The Sefer also includes notes by Rabbi Shimon and his father on the innovations in the laws of Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschütz and other Gaonim.
14.5 Cm.
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