“I heard that the sacred Rebbe of Ropshitz had this sefer in the case with his tallit and tefillin” (approbation by the Rebbe of Stropkov to his sefer, Matok MiDevash )
Rare and important historic letter entirely handwritten and signed by the gaon and Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Farhi, author of the well-known mussar works Shevet Mishor and Matok MiDvash . The letter was sent to Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Lehrin, head of the Clerks and Administrators in Amsterdam. [Izmir?] 1850 (chronogram: “את ציץ הזהב”). Letters from him are very rare.
Chacham and Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Farhi was one of the leading rabbis and kedoshim of Jerusalem. He was a disciple of the giants of the generation, the Rishon LeTziyon and Kabbalist Mahari”t Algazi, the Rishon LeTziyon Ag”u (Rabbi Farhi served as a member of his beit din ), Kabbalist Rabbi Avraham Shalom Mizrahi Dedia Sharabi [a grandson of the Rasha”sh] and many others. Rabbi Farhi was among the signatories on the city regulations along with other leading rabbis, and many municipal issues were decided according to his counsel. This letter reveals an as-yet-unknown detail that does not appear in any of the dozens of books discussing his life, about the terrible persecution he suffered in Jerusalem, forcing him to flee to Turkey.
The letter relates: “From the day the great Rabbi Gagin [many honorifics] passed, our city is in ruins, our Temple is desolate, honor has been removed from our home, our heartbreak is wide as the sea, and as such, I have taken upon myself, bli neder , not to be involved with any municipal matters at all. I know that the present shepherds and leaders hate me because I was close to him and most beloved … and due to the many wars and mix-ups I couldn’t do anything … and I was forced to flee to Turkey …” [This may be in reference to the dispute at the time between the Ma’aravim and the Sephardic communities in Jerusalem.]
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon and Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Farhi .
[1] leaf paper, 15×20 cm. Addressee’s and sender’s details appear on the back of the letter. Remnants of a wax stamp.
Fine-very fine condition. Fold marks. Light aging stains. Tear marks from opening the wax seal in the white margins.