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The Leshem: A Selection of Hashkofic Teachings From the Leshem Shevo v’Achlamah – By Rabbi Pinchas Winston
Many people have probably not heard of Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv, zt”l, or his namesake, Leshem Shevo v’Achlamah, even people who have been learning Torah all of their lives. They might recognize the name Elyashiv, because his grandson, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, was one of the leading rabbis of his generation until he died at the age of 102 in 2012. But the Leshem, as became respectfully known because his works of the same name, was from another generation, and another level of Torah learning altogether.
Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv was born in 1841 in Šiauliai, Lithuania, and later moved to Eretz Yisroel in 1922 with the help of his former student, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, who was Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem at the time. That is where the Leshem spent his final four years of life, dying at the age of 85 in 1926.
He was an illui—Torah genius—and tzaddik from a very young age, and only became more so with time. His greatest contribution to Torah are his seforim on Kabbalah, of which there are several, and which are being reset and republished today. This has given more people access to his writings.
Aside from the Leshem’s unfathomable breadth and depth of all of Torah, he possessed a remarkable ability to clearly explain the deepest and most profound aspects of Torah learning. His great sense of awe for the secrets of Torah come through to the reader by what he says, and how he says it.
The great Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, met with Reb Shlomo, and said, “In this world, it is still possible to stand next to him, but who knows if in the World of Truth it will be possible to stand in his realm.” The Chazon Ish, Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, called him the last mekubal. When the Ben Ish Chai received the works of the Leshem, he recited the blessing of Shehechiyanu, not a usual occurrence.
Today, many biographies of the Leshem have been written, and much of his material is being taught. What follows is very small selection of some his writings, translated and annotated. They were chosen because the information is important, not just for seasoned kabbalists, but for anyone wishing to enhance their relationship with God, and their understanding of history.
Every translation is an interpretation, which means that the meaning of the original material can be misconstrued and misrepresented. All such errors are mine, and I ask, in advance, forgiveness from the Leshem and his family, and anyone who learns this sefer.
I wish to express my extreme gratitude once again to Rav Michoel Boruch for his crucial assistance in editing this work. He is one in millions, possessing knowledge of Hebrew, English, and of course, Kabbalah. May he only know blessing for his share in this work.
I also wish to thank Rav Jonty Meyer, who showed up at my front door about 25 years ago holding a recently published copy of the Sha’arei Leshem Shevo v’Achlamah. He just said, “We need to learn this.” We did, I have barely missed a day of learning the Leshem since. There is no way to measure the chesed he did for me that day, because what I have learned since then from the Leshem greatly enhanced my life, and has been the basis of all that I have written and taught. God should repay his kindness manyfold.
But the basis of all of this is Hashgochah Pratis, Divine Providence. All that I have benefited from in my life is the result of what God has given to me at each step of my way. We can never adequately thank God for the kindnesses that He constantly does for us, those we know about and especially those we can’t see. We can only hope that somehow, He is pleased with how we have used them, hopefully to sanctify His great and holy Name.
