"…Here under my hand is a manuscript from our holy Rabbi the Gaon, zt"l…" – A letter from the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai Hirshenzon, Rosh Yeshivas ‘Shenos Eliyahu’ – Safed, 5611
A letter from the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai Hirshenzon, Rosh Yeshivas Shenos Eliyahu in Safed, dated 5611, in which Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai asks the recipient of the letter, Rabbi Avraham, to inquire in Jerusalem whether there exists a work on the Tikkunei Zohar by the Gaon of Vilna, in the estate of the Gaon Rabbi Yisrael Meshkalov (who lived in Jerusalem in his later years). Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai writes, “…I have here under my hand a manuscript of our holy Rabbi the Gaon, zt”l, which is a commentary on the Tikkunei Zohar, a sufficient and clear explanation—truly, nothing compares to it.”
He mentions in the letter that he finds it difficult to undertake the printing of the book, but "…one who is pious and fearful of the word of Hashem has come to me…" and has asked to take on the burden of printing it, including securing advance payments. Therefore, because he fears that a copy of this book might exist with the heirs of Rabbi Yisrael Meshkalov in Jerusalem, he wanted to clarify the matter before the pious individual begins the printing process.
It seems that Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai was referring to the Gaon of Vilna’s commentary on the Tikkunei Zohar. This work was printed in Vilna in 5627 (Ateret Sefer #724), although it does not seem that the printing effort mentioned in this correspondence is directly related to that which was actually printed in Vilna. It likely refers to a discovery of an unknown manuscript of the Gaon of Vilna on the Tikkunei Zohar.
Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai also mentions other matters related to his hometown of Pinsk, Torah insights, and apologizes for the delay in writing, noting, “…because I was sitting these days in Meron, in the study hall of our great Master the Rashbi…” (The letter is dated the 10th of Sivan, and it seems he was there during Shavuos).
Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai ben Rabbi Tzvi Hirshenzon (1791–1889) was born in Pinsk and received his Torah education in the yeshivos of Lithuania. In 1848, he emigrated to the Holy Land and settled in Safed, where he established a large yeshiva, and many of the great rabbis of Safed were among its students. In 1859, he moved to Jerusalem, where he purchased part of the Muslim Quarter and established a yeshiva there under the leadership of the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu Gutmacher, who took on the financial burden. Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai appointed gabbais to oversee the yeshiva in communities throughout Ashkenaz, and he also wrote the ‘Iggeres HaKodesh’ to raise support for the yeshiva. He founded the renowned Yeshivas Shenos Eliyahu (which was initially called Sukas Shalom), which became a significant Torah center in Jerusalem. The neighborhood surrounding the yeshiva became known as Chatzar Hirshenzon, and to this day, it bears his name. Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai also established Dafus Hirshenzon in Jerusalem (the successor of the Baal Koreh press) and authored many works on halacha and contemporary issues.
