(Dayan and Maggid of Shklov). (Moreh Tzedek -Kehillath Ya'akov). She'eloth U’Teshuvoth

The Author was one of the renowned poskim of his generation. He served as a Dayan in Shklov for over twenty years and was previously Rabbi of Liadi. He is famed for his pioneering work, Moreh Tzedek, on Hilchoth Betzi'ath HaPath (Shklov, 1783). R. Yaakov's father R. Yehudah of Kletzk and Meitchet, was the brother of R. Asher, father of R. Aryeh Leib Ginzberg, celebrated author of the Sha'agath Aryeh. - R. Yehudah and R. Asher were the sons of the illustrious R. Leib, Ba'al HaTosaphoth of Minsk. Indeed, in the present manuscript, responsa no. 12, R. Yaakov cites his cousin, the Sha'agath Aryeh. Also included is a lengthy correspondence (dated 1736) between his father and his uncle R. Asher, the father of the Sha'agath Aryeh, concerning a Halachic question of divorce (see responsa no. 84-85). The author adds his own lengthy responsum on the matter, commenting on both his father's and uncle's opinions (ee responsum no. 86). The manuscript contains 119 responsa on many topics. The Author's approach is most erudite, in the style of the great Lithuanian scholars such as his cousin the Sha'agath Aryeh. Besides the importance of the Author's own responsa, the manuscript is significant due to the correspondence the Author maintained with many rabbis. Except for his Uncle Asher's responsa dated 1736, the Author's responsa contain no dates. As the Author refers to the Sha'agath Aryeh in our manuscript as living, we can infer that the passage was written before the year 1785, the date of Sha'agath Aryeh's death. The first leaf of the manuscript contains an index to the responsa, following which, the title appears (in another hand): "Venikra shemo Moreh Tzedek U'Kehilath Ya'akov." The last responsum no.119, ends in the middle with the verso blank, apparently, the scribe did not transcribe the rest. The concluding leaves of the manuscript records a list of a Rabbinical library, followed by notes of a monetary nature. One of the author's sons, Baruch Schick, was well-known in broader circles. A rabbi and physician, he published books on medicine, hygiene and astronomy, including a Hebrew translation of Euclid (1780), done at the behest of the Gaon of Vilna. (See EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 956-57; D.E. Fishman, Russia’s First Modern Jews: The Jews of Shklov (1995). Baruch Schick's grandsons, R. Jacob of Karlin and his younger brother R. Isaac of Karlin, achieved renown in yeshivah circles due to their celebrated works, Responsa Mishkenoth Ya'akov (by the older brother) and Keren Orah on the Talmud (by the younger brother) The previous owner of this manuscript, Oberrabbiner Markus Hirsch (1833-1907), was Chief Rabbi of Prague (1880-89) and later Hamburg, he was the father-in-law of R. Chanoch Ehrentreu of Munich. (See N.Z. Friedmann, Otzar Harabanim 14232).