1795
Joseph Lerner (Triesch, Moravia, 1761 – Pest, 1836) served for forty years as the rabbi of Lichtenstadt and its surrounding communities in Bohemia. Towards the end of his life, he moved to Pest, where he lived with his son, Ignác, a grain merchant. In the tradition of rabbinic literature, he published his father-in-law Rabbi Benjamin Wolf Reicheles’ commentary on the Torah, along with his own commentary. The resulting book, written in Hebrew and printed in Prague in 1795, stands as a legacy to Lerner’s intellectual heritage. Part one, by his father-in-law, is titled Divreh ha taanugim (The Words of Delight). Part two, by Lerner, is Oneg nefesh (Pleasure of the Soul). The volume was donated to Lerner’s great-great-grandson Bernát Munkácsi in 1904 by Vilmos Krausz, Rabbi of Debrecen.
The fate of Joseph Lerner’s library and his flirtatious daughter-in-law
As the elderly Rabbi Lerner moved in with his son in Budapest, his rich library was left also to his son after his passing, who kept the library in a closed-off room in the attic, complying with his father’s request. After losing their only son, the wife of Ignac Lerner ”got into bad ways”; she started to see other men. Once his suitor threatened to kill himself due to financial difficulties, hence the woman decided to pawn her jewellery. To be able to go on with her plan, she hid her jewellery in the library, and put the blame of theft on the maids. The maids were questioned and harassed by the police, and may even have been punished. As it later turned out, the jewellery could not be sold or pledged due to the police inquiry. The woman therefore decided to go to a bath and she slashed her wrists. The jewellery was later discovered in the library.
(Source: Bernát Munkácsi’s notes on family history. Sefer yihotenu II.; information provided by Mrs, Jónásné Pollák, née. Hadassah Munk – September 4, 1909)