'Son of martyrs'), as one of the patriarchs of his family was killed for Kiddush Hashem[11] At the age of 19, he opened a Hebrew printing house, which operated for 9 years.
[12] He left Europe in 1831 to avoid the Russian cantonist draft for his son Nissan, and brought a printing press with him when he immigrated to the Land of Israel.
[15] He is said to have also practiced medicine, although he did not study it in an orderly manner, so that when the Egyptian governor of the country, Ibrahim Pasha, fell ill, Bak helped him in his recovery.
The earthquake in Safed in 1837[18] and government change in the Land of Israel in 1840, following the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841), in which Ibrahim Pasha was removed, led to the end of the Jewish settlement in Jermak.
After the destruction of the agricultural farm in Jermak, and the printing house in Safed, Bak left the Galilee and moved to Jerusalem.