Lengthy letter (3 pages), handwritten and signed by the kabbalist R. Shlomo Elyashov, author of Leshem Shevo VeAchlamah, known as the Leshem. Šiauliai (Lithuania), Elul 1910.

Addressed to his friend and relative in Jerusalem, R. Aharon Shlomo Maharil, author of Toameha Chaim Zachu. At the beginning and end of the letter, he offers Shanah Tovah blessings. At the beginning of the letter he writes: "Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah in soul and body from the holy blessings to my dear friend… R. A[haron] Sh[lomo]". He concludes the letter: "Your friend, blessing you with a good and happy year and with all holy blessing, from heart and soul of your dear friend Shlomo Elyashov".

The letter mainly discusses funds sent from various individuals in Šiauliai to Jerusalem, and payments for purchase of various books in Jerusalem. He also asks him to purchase siddurim printed in Jerusalem for him: "If it's easy for you to get two siddurim of R. Yitzchak Meltzan – one for me and one for my son-in-law R. Avraham, since I need a siddur to pray from every day, and it is printed beautifully and in Jerusalem, and I love praying in a siddur like this… And if you could get them, please also bind them together well in Jerusalem and send them to me…".

The letter goes on to inquire about progress in printing the Etz Chaim edition in Jerusalem (with his own glosses – signed with his initials, SheVaCh).

At the end of the letter and its signature, the Leshem adds another handwritten and signed leaf (the third page) regarding the distribution of his book Hakdamot UShearim (the first part of Leshem Shevo VeAchlamah, first printed 1909) in Eretz Israel and the Orient, asking him to contact R. Shimon the bookseller in Jerusalem – "since I heard he has many types of books to sell, and he sells in all the Arab and Persian cities". He recommends that this bookseller consult leading kabbalists in Eretz Israel: "…If he is in doubt as to the quality of this book, he can ask R. Shaul Dweck [Rav Sadeh, dean of the Rechovot HaNahar kabbalist yeshiva] or R. Menchin [R. Menchin Heilprin, dean of the Shaar HaShamayim yeshiva and printer of Etz Chaim], as well as R. Kook of Jaffa [R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, disciple of the Leshem in kabbalah]… And please give me your advice about this, since I still have a few hundred books and no one to sell them to… so perhaps it is proper to do as above. And peace, peace, in accordance with your desire and that of your dear friend Shlomo".

R. Shlomo Elyashov (Elyashiv; 1841-1926), a leading kabbalist in Lithuania – "the divine kabbalist, master of secrets, unique in his generation…" (as his disciple R. Aryeh Levin described him in the title page of the biography he authored), born in Žagarė (northern Lithuania), married the daughter of R. David Fein of Šiauliai and moved there. He studied in the yeshivas of Telshe, Kelm and the region, where he became close to the senior kabbalists of the tradition of the Vilna Gaon and R. Yitzchak Eizik Chaver, who deemed him fit to be instructed in kabbalistic secrets.

R. Shlomo became renowned at a young age for his proficiency in kabbalah, and he arranged for printing most of the kabbalistic writings of the Vilna Gaon. His glosses on Etz Chaim were printed in the Warsaw 1891 edition under the name "SheVaCh" (Shlomo ben Chaikel). His series of books on kabbalah, Leshem Shevo VeAchlamah, were published in 1909-1948, and are considered fundamental works on the study of kabbalah. His books and writings were composed amidst much holiness and purity (he reputedly also employed the "adjuration of the pen"). He entertained a close relationship with the Chafetz Chaim, who visited him in his home in Šiauliai and Gomel several times (the Chafetz Chaim once spent a Shabbat with him in Šiauliai, and on that occasion, the women of the family ate the meals in a different room; see letter of R. Tzvi Ferber, Yeshurun, V, p. 663, no. 6). The Chafetz Chaim urged his disciple R. Eliyahu Dushnitzer to go visit the Leshem, saying that in this world one may still merit to see him, while in the World to Come, his place will be in the highest spheres, and we will be far from him.

During World War I, the Leshem fled from Šiauliai to Gomel (Ukraine; present-day Belarus), along with his daughter and son-in-law R. Avraham Levinson-Elyashiv who served as rabbi and posek in Gomel (1878-1943; in his visa to Eretz Israel he changed his name to match that of his father-in-law), and their only son, Yosef Shalom (1910-2012, who later became famous as a leading posek of our times). In 1924 they immigrated to Jerusalem together. Upon their arrival, he was greeted by the leading Sephardi and Ashkenazi kabbalists, notably R. Shaul Dweck (dean of the Rechovot HaNahar yeshiva), who had corresponded with him over the years, the disciples of the Ben Ish Chai who had heard of R. Shlomo's greatness from their master, and Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook (who was his disciple in kabbalah while still in Šiauliai).

The recipient of the letter:
R. Aharon Shlomo Maharil (1849-1938), was a kabbalist, born in Žagarė, Lithuania, and a disciple and peer of the Leshem (also born in Žagarė). He immigrated to Jerusalem in 1909 and became renowned as a leading kabbalist and dean of the Shaar HaShamayim yeshiva. Author of Toameha Chaim Zacu in three parts (commentary on Etz Chaim by R. Chaim Vital) and many other books.

[2] leaves (3 written pages). Good condition. Stains and wear.