Rav Yisrael of Shklov’s Wonderful Letter Regarding the Lost Tribes – Amsterdam 5591 [1831]
This printed booklet is the exceptional letter written by Rav Yisrael of Shklov, a leading pupil of the Vilna Gaon and one of the leaders of the Perushim communities in Tzefas and Yerushalayim,
to the ten lost tribes.
He gave the letter to an emissary of the Perushim in Tzefas, who traveled to Syria, Persia, Kurdistan and the Persian Gulf to collect funds on behalf of the yishuv in Tzefas, and was assigned to find the Ten Tribes during his travels.
in his letter, which includes many interesting facts of the situation of the Jews in Eretz Yisrael at the time, Rav Yisrael writes that semichah must be renewed in order to ensure the final Geulah “and we have heard that they have Sanhedrin of semuchim.”
But the story came to a tragic end, when the emissary was killed by the Imam of Yemen, who suspected him of espionage.
Amsterdam 5591 [1831]. 4 leaves. Size: 19 cm. Good condition. Soft antique binding. Pencil drawings on the inside of the front cover.
