Living Legacy: The Zera Shimshon

Yehuda Alter 

The 6th of Elul will mark the 243rd yohrtzeit of Rav Shimshon Chaim ben Nachman Michoel Nachmani, known by the title of his seforim, Zera Shimshon. 

He was born in the Italian city of Modena to his father, R’ Nachman Michoel. His mother was the daughter of Rabi Yehuda Matzliach, who was the rov of Modena. 

In his youth, he learned under a number of great gedolim in Italy, with a number of mekubalim among them. He settled in the Italian city of Pisa, in the Tuscany region, where he began to teach Torah to talmidim. Eventually, he returned to Mantova, where he served as the rov of the kehillah. 

He married in the year 1733, and the couple had a son. Tragically, their son passed away in childhood, and Rav Shimshon Chaim would be niftar childless. After the passing of the rov of Reggio Amelia, near Milan, in the northern part of Italy, he assumed the rabbonus of the city. 

Over his life, he was not only famed for his Torah, but also for his compositions. These are printed in his sefer Korban Shira, published after his passing.

On the sixth of Elul, he was niftar in Reggio Amelia, and interred there. 

Rav Shimshon Chaim is most famous today because of his seforim by the name of Zera Shimshon. 

Rabbi Nachman Seltzer is the author of the Artscroll books on Zera Shimshon, and he spoke with us about the incredible way in which the seforim have been received in recent years. 

“In all honesty, we never expected the seforim to take off to such an extent,” he said. 

“There was always the factor of the segula, and I added stories along with the Torah because I wanted to do whatever I could to expose any many people as possible to the beauty of the Zera Shimshon's Torah. 

“Then it came out and we were swept away with the incredible success as thousands of Yidden began learning from the seforim on a weekly, bi-weekly or daily basis. 

“The segula is definitely a factor. Many people have experienced yeshuos after learning from the sefer, which everyone holds of - from Rav Chaim Kanievsky z'l down. But the Torah itself is just incredible. It spans from Gemara to Chumash to Midrash and everything in between. The Zera Shimshon draws exquisite tapestries of Torah thoughts - real edifices of chidushim. It's the real thing, and Yidden respond to real Torah,” Rabbi Seltzer said. 

The Zera Shimshon gave incredible assurances to those who will learn his Torah. 

But, Rabbi Seltzer explains: “They come for the segula and they stay for the Torah.”