Letter from the Kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo Elyashov, the Leshem – Regarding Kabbalah Books Which Do Not Stem from the ...

Letter from the Kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo Elyashov, the Leshem – Regarding Kabbalah Books Which Do Not Stem from the Arizal and the Remak – Wishes for the New Year
Letter (26 lines), handwritten and signed by the Kabbalist R. Shlomo Elyashov, author of Leshem Shvo V'Achlama. Šiauliai (Lithuania), Tishrei 1901.
Interesting letter, opening with wishes for "gmar chatima tova, with much good in physical and spiritual realms" and concluding with "May G-d renew upon us a good year, a year of Redemption and salvation for the nation and the individual… His close friend, who blesses him with all the good in the world… Shlomo Eliashov". Sent to his close friend and relative in London, R. Shraga Meir Leizerovitz of Kelm. The letter discusses various matters: financial assistance for a family member from Šiauliai; experts in producing first-rate Tefillin in Lithuania; and publishing Kabbalistic writings from the period of the Rishonim extant in manuscript form in London.
"...And regarding the finding in his town of Kabbalistic writings from the Rishonim. If these manuscripts are from prominent Rishonim such as the Ramban and the Rashba, of which I heard manuscripts exist on Sefer Yetzira, and all the more so if they are from early Geonim such as R. Hai Gaon and R. Paltoi Gaon and their colleagues, specifically early Geonim, certainly it is very fitting to copy them, and may G-d grant that it should be possible to publish them. But apart from the aforementioned Geonim, I can't answer him anything, since from the moment the Gates of Light were revealed to us from the Arizal through R. Chaim Vital, as well as all the renowned holy books by the Remak, all other Kabbalistic books were sealed…".
The holy Torah scholar, R. Shlomo Elyashov (1851-1926), a leading Kabbalist in Lithuania – "the G-dly Kabbalist, Master of secrets, Unique in his generation…" (as his disciple R. Aryeh Levine described him in the title page of the biography he wrote about him), lived in Šiauliai (Lithuania). R. Shlomo became renowned at a young age for his proficiency in Kabbalah, and he arranged for printing most of the writings of the Gaon of Vilna on Kabbalah. His notes on Etz Chaim were printed in the Warsaw 1891 edition under the title Hagahot HaRav SheVaCh (Shlomo ben Chaikel). His series of books on Kabbalah named Leshem Shvo V'Achlama 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 used Hashbaat HaKulmus). He entertained a close relationship with the Chafetz Chaim, who visited him in his home in Šiauliai and Homel (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 the letter of R. Tzvi Hirsh Farber, Yeshurun, 5, p. 663, no. 6). The Chafetz Chaim urged his disciple R. Eliyahu Dushnitzer to go visit the Leshem, famously saying that in this world one may still merit to see him, while in the Next World, his place will be in the highest spheres, and we will be far from him.
The recipient of the letter: R. Shraga Meir Leizerovitz (1840-1929) was a native of Kelm. He was a pious person and a Kabbalist, close to R. Leib'ly Chassid of Kelm, the foremost Kabbalists of Lithuania (the Leshem, R. Aryeh Leib Lipkin of Kretinga, R. Aharon Shlomo Maharil, R. Yitzchak Meltzan and others) and the leading disciples of R. Yisrael of Salant.
He arrived in England in the early 1890s, where he served for many years a rabbi of Chevrat Shas. In his later years he immigrated to Jerusalem.
Postcard, 14 cm. Good condition. Stains (mainly on the side of the address and stamps). Postal stamping of Šiauliai and London.