Handwritten emissary letter for R. Avraham Revach, a rabbinic emissary sent to Morocco on behalf of the Jerusalem community. Signed by leading Jerusalem rabbis, including R. Yakar, nephew of the Baal Shem Tov – son of his brother-in-law R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov. Jerusalem, 1771.
This emissary letter is addressed to the Jewish community in Fez, Morocco, and signed by the rabbis of the Sephardic community in Jerusalem, including famous Torah scholars. Among the signatories is "Yakar son of R. Avraham Gershon" – son of R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov, the renowned brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov who immigrated to Eretz Israel.
The document bears the following signatures (listed in the order that they appear): R. Refael Meyuchas son of R. Shmuel (1695-1771, Rishon LeZion and Rabbi of Jerusalem, author of Pri HaAdama, Mizbach Adama and other works; R. Yitzchak Zerachya Azulai and his son, the Chida, were members of his Beit Din in Jerusalem), R. Refael Moshe Bula (d. 1773, dean of Yeshivat Neve Shalom in Jerusalem, served as Rishon LeZion for half a year until his death, author of Get Mekushar and other works), R. Mantzur Marzuk (d. 1789, author of Korban Elitzur, Tzur Teuda and Ben Pedatzur), R. Chaim Nissim HaCohen, R. Eliyahu Tzvi, R. Yaakov Burla, R. Yakar son of R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov, R. Efraim son of R. Yehuda Navon, R. Shmuel Eliyahu Meyuchas, R. Moshe Yosef Meyuchas and R. Saadia Marzuk.
The back of the leaf bears the address of the recipients: "…To the distinguished men and community leaders who are headed by the rabbis… of the city of Fez…".
R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov (d. Adar 1761), a prominent Torah scholar and kabbalist, was among the members of the renowned Kloiz in Brody (together with his friend the Noda BiYehuda). He was the brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov, and one of the first Chassidim to immigrate to Eretz Israel. Some say that he was sent to Eretz Israel by the Baal Shem Tov, who hoped to disseminate Chassidut in the Orient. R. Avraham Gershon was the recipient of the well-known letter from the Baal Shem Tov in which he told of his conversation with the Messiah: "When are you coming, my master? When your wellsprings will spread outward". R. Gershon of Kitov first settled in Hebron, and in ca. 1754 he moved to Jerusalem, where he joined the kabbalistic Yeshivat Beit El and studied under the great kabbalist, the Rashash. R. Gershon immigrated together with his wife and two younger children, and was later joined by his two elder sons, R. Aharon Chaim and R. Yakar. Already during their father's lifetime, the two were esteemed by Jerusalem Torah scholars and were actively involved in the city's communal matters. R. Aharon Chaim joined the leadership of the Ashkenazi community of Jerusalem, while his brother R. Yakar was an active member of the Sephardic community. R. Yakar was the son-in-law of the kabbalist R. Moshe Osterer of Zamość, a Torah scholar of the renowned Kloiz in Brody (and author of Arugat HaBosem, a kabbalistic commentary on Shir HaShirim), who was also a close associate of the Baal Shem Tov. Historian R. Yechiel Goldhaber has recently discovered some important specifics regarding the central role that R. Yakar played in the Jerusalem Sephardic community. According to Goldhaber's research, R. Yakar held a prominent position in the Damesek Eliezer Yeshiva in Jerusalem and was a leading signatory among the founders of the yeshiva. In one document published by R. Goldhaber, R. Yakar's signature appears second, after the signature of the yeshiva dean, R. Yehuda Navon (author of Kiryat Melech Rav). On another document, he heads the list of signees, followed by leading Jerusalem rabbis: R. Yehuda son of R. Yaakov Culi, R. Refael Moshe Galiko, R. Yitzchak son of R. Yehuda Navon, R. Avraham Chayun and others. On a third document, his signature appears second after the signature of the Chida.
In 1766, R. Yakar was sent abroad as an emissary on behalf of Kollelot Jerusalem, returning in 1770. In 1775, he was in Italy on another mission, together with R. Yaakov Burla (in Livorno the two clashed with another pair of emissaries, R. Yaakov Chazan and the Maharit Algazi, as well as with the Chida, all of whom arrived in Livorno as emissaries, somewhat straining the relationship between the Chida and R. Yakar, as documented by the Chida in his journal. See: Maagal Tov HaShalem, p. 69). From Italy he travelled to France, then to Holland, and from there to other European communities. The approbations of R. Yakar and R. Burla, from the time they stayed in Carpentras (Southern France), are printed in the book Otzrot Yosef by R. Yosef Damelio-Muscat of Carpentras (printed in Livorno in 1783). R. Yakar signed his approbation: "Yakar Gershon ס"ט". The tombstones of R. Gershon of Kitov and of his son R. Yakar were discovered on the Mount of Olives several years ago by R. Yaakov Shalom Gefner, revealing the precise dates of their passing. On R. Yakar’s tombstone, his name appears as "R. Yakar Gershon Ashkenazi", and the date of his passing is recorded as Friday, 8th Kislev 1779.
[1] double leaf. 25.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, dampstains, tears and worming, slightly affecting several letters.