Elijah ben Solomon

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File:Vilna Gaon authentic portrait.JPG
Authentic portrait of the Vilna Gaon

Elijah (Eliyahu) ben Shlomo Zalman, better known as the Vilna Gaon (April 23, 1720 – October 9, 1797), was the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry in eighteenth century Europe. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha'Gaon ha'Chasid mi'Vilna, "the saintly genius from Vilna" or The Gra—from the Hebrew acronym "Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu"),

Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Gaon displayed extraordinary talent while still a child. By the time he was 20 years old, rabbis were reportedly submitting their most difficult halakhic problems to him for legal rulings. He was a voluminous author, writing glosses on the Babylonian Talmud and the Shulchan Aruch as well as a running commentary on the Mishnah.

Extremely disciplined in his approach to Talmudic study, when the fervent enthusiasm of Hasidic Judaism became influential in his native town, the Vilna Gaon became a leader of the rabbis who sought to curb Hasidic influence, known as theMitnagdim. Under his influence, one of the first mass excommunications against the Hasidim was launched in Vilna in 1777.

Among non-Hasidic Jews, however, the Vilna Goan became of the most influential rabbinic authorities since the Middle Ages. Many Ashkenazi Jewish authorities and yeshivas uphold the set of Jewish customs and rites, the "minhag ha-Gra," named for him. In addition to voluminous rabbinical works, he also wrote on mathematics, and encourage his pupil, Rabbi Baruch of Shklov, to translate the works of Euclid into Hebrew. After his death, his chief pupil, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, founded a yeshiva at Volozhin in 1803 which became a major influence on laterOrthodox Jewry.

Youth and education

Legend holds that young Elijah was a child prodigy who had committed the Hebrew Bible to memory by the age of three. He reportedly possessed a photographic memory, and at seven he was taught Talmud by Moses Margalit, rabbi of Kėdainiai. By eight, he was studying astronomy during his free time. From the age of ten he continued his studies without the aid of a teacher, and at 11 he had reportedly committed the entire Talmud to memory.

In his teens Elijah traveled in various parts of Europe, including Poland and Germany, as was the custom of the pious Jews of the time. By the time he was 20 where rabbis began submitting their most difficult halakhic problems to him. Scholars, both Jewish and non-Jewish, sought his insights into mathematics and astronomy. He returned to his native town in 1748, having by then acquired considerable renown.

Methodology and character

The Vilna Gaon applied formal philological methods to study the Talmud and rabbinic literature. A proponent of intellect over emotion, he nonetheless took a broader approach than his predecessors in the pilpul school of Talmudism, which went to considerable trouble to attempt to reconcile apparent contradictions presented Jewish legal texts. Instead, he made an attempt toward a critical examination of the text. He often willing to confront contradictions and even to overthrew the decisions made by his rabbinic predecessors.

The Vilna devoted much time to the study of the Hebrew Bible and Hebrew grammar. He was also knowledgeable in the secular sciences, enriching the latter by his original contributions. He required from his pupils a commitment to the same simple but strict methods of study that he followed.

Despite his later opposition to the mysticism of the [[Hasids|Hasidic Judaism the Gaon was also attracted to the study of Kabbalah. He was thus not opposed to mysticism per se, but emphasized the need to mysticism to be practiced only within the bounds of Jewish law and on the foundation of disciplined Talmudic study.

The Vilna Gaon was reportedly very modest and objective in his attitude, eschewing both passion and public controversy. Despite his high authority, he declined to accept the formal office of Vilnius' chief rabbi, although it was often offered to him on the most flattering terms. He is said to have led a retiring life, only lecturing from time to time to a few chosen pupils.

Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon

The Vilna Gaon led an ascetic life. He interpreted literally the words of the Jewish sages, that the Torah can be acquired only by abandoning all pleasures and by cheerfully accepting suffering. Although this put him squarely at odds with the joyous worship of the Hasidim, he was revered by many of his countrymen as a saint, being called by some of his contemporaries "the Hasid."

Antagonism to Hasidism

Vilna Gaon (Zalkind, Ber)

The exception to the rule of the Vilna Gaon's humility and reservation came with regard to spread of Hasidic Judaism. This movement had grown up in opposition to the dry intellectualism of the pilpul school, emphasizing instead a fervent personal relationship with God that made mystical experience more important that Talmudic study. When Hasidim became influential in his native Vilnius, the Vilna Gaon, joined the Mitnagdim—the rabbis and heads of the Polish communities opposed to Hasidism—and took direct steps to check the Hasidic influence.

Under his influence, in 1777 one of the first mass excommunications by the was launched in Vilna against the Hasidim. A letter was also addressed to all of the large communities, exhorting them to deal with the Hasidim following the example of Vilna, and to put them under surveillance until they had recanted. The letter was acted upon by several communities, resulting in the Hasidim being treated as pariahs with whom no orthodox Jew should associate.

The persecution temporarily drove the Hasidic movement underground, but in 1781, when the Hasidim renewed their proselytizing work under the leadership of their Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Vilna Gaon excommunicated them again, publicly declaring them to be heretics with whom no pious Jew might intermarry. According to Chabad tradition, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Horodoker were sent by the Hasidic leader the Maggid of Mezeritch to the Vilna Gaon to dialog with him, by the Gaon refused to meet with them.

After this, the Gaon went into retirement again, concentrating on his writing and his select pupils. Eventually, a rumor spread he had changed his mind and had even repented of having persecuted the Hasidim. In 1796, the Gaon reacted to this by sending two of his pupils with letters throughout the Jewish communities of Greater Poland, declaring that he had not changed his attitude in the matter. Neither the excommunications nor the Gaon's letters, however, could stop the tide of Hasidism, which remained a major trend throughout much of Eastern Europe.

Other work

Except for the conflict with the Hasidim, the Vilna Gaon almost never took part in public affairs and, so far as is known, did not preside over any school in Vilna. He was satisfied with lecturing in private to a few chosen pupils, whom he initiated into his methods. He taught them Hebrew grammar, Hebrew Bible, and Mishnah, subjects which were largely neglected by the Talmudists of that time. He was especially anxious to introduce them to the study of midrashic literature, and the Minor Treatises of the Talmud, which were very little known by the scholars of his time.

Unlike most scholars of his time, the Vilna Gaon laid special stress on the study of the Jerusalem Talmud, which had been almost entirely neglected for centuries. Being convinced that the study of the Torah is the very life of Judaism, and that this study must be conducted in a scientific and not in a merely scholastic manner, he encouraged his chief pupil, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, to found a yeshiva (college) in which rabbinic literature should be taught. Rabbi Chaim Volozhin opened the yeshiva in Volozhin after the death of the Vilna Goan in 1803.


Works

An older Vilna Gaon

The Vilna Gaon was a voluminous author; there is hardly an ancient Hebrew book of any importance to which he did not write a commentary, or at least provide marginal glosses and notes, which were mostly dictated to his pupils. However, nothing of his was published in his lifetime.

The "Gra" was very precise in the wording of his commentaries, because he maintained that only the Oral Law must not be written down unless certain circumstances permit. His glosses on the Babylonian Talmud and Shulchan Aruch are known as Biurei ha-Gra ("Elaboration by the Gra"). His running commentary on the Mishnah is titled Shenoth Eliyahu ("The Years of Elijah"). Various kabbalistic works also have commentaries in his name. His insights on the Pentateuch are titled Adereth Eliyahu ("The Splendor of Elijah"). Later in his life, he also wrote commentaries on the Proverbs and other books of the Tanakh.

The Vilna Gaon also wrote on mathematics, being well versed in the works of Euclid and encouraging his pupil Rabbi Baruch of Shklov to translate the great mathematician's works into Hebrew.

Legacy

File:GaonMonument.jpg
The Vilna Gaon monument

After his death in 1797, aged 77, the Vilna Gaon was buried in the Šnipiškės cemetery in Vilnius. The cemetery was closed by the tsarist Russian authorities in 1831 and partly built over. In the 1950s, Soviet authorities planned to build a stadium and concert hall on the site. They allowed the remains of the "Gra" to be removed and re-interred at the new cemetery. His son Abraham was also a scholar of note.

The Vilna Gaon was one of the most influential Rabbinic authorities since the Middle Ages. Many yeshivas today uphold the set of customs (minhag) that can be traced back to him, known as the minhag ha-Gra.

His main student Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, founded the first yeshiva in his home town of Volozhin, Belarus. The results of this move revolutionized Torah study and are still felt throughout much of Orthodox Judaism today.

In accordance with the Vilna Gaon's wishes, three groups of his disciples and their families, numbering over 500, immigrated to the Land of Israel between 1808 and 1812. This movement is considered by some to be the beginning of the modern Jewish settlement of Israel.

As a result of this settlement, the teachings of the Vilna Gaon have had a considerable influence on Jewish thought and religious practice among the Ashkenazi community in Israel.

There is a statue of the Vilna Gaon and a street named after him in the central city of Vilnius, the place of both his birth and his death.

See also

  • Hasidim and Mitnagdim
  • Lithuanian Jews
  • Mitnagdim

External links

Notes

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • "The Gaon of Vilna and the Haskalah movement," by Emanuel Etkes, reprinted in Dan, Joseph (ed.). Studies in Jewish thought (Praeger, NY, 1989) ISBN 0-275-93038-6
  • "The mystical experiences of the Gaon of Vilna," in Jacobs, Louis (ed.). Jewish mystical testimonies (Schocken Books, NY, 1977) ISBN 0-8052-3641-4
  • Ackerman, C.D. (trans.) Even Sheleimah: the Vilna Gaon looks at life (Targum Press, 1994) ISBN 0-944070-96-5
  • Etkes, Immanuel, et al. The Gaon of Vilna: the man and his image (University of California Press, 2002) ISBN 0-520-22394-2
  • Freedman, Chaim. Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon (Of Blessed and Saintly Memory) and His Family (Avotaynu, 1997) ISBN 1-886223-06-8
  • Landau, Betzalel and Rosenblum, Yonason. The Vilna Gaon: the life and teachings of Rabbi Eliyahu, the Gaon of Vilna (Mesorah Pub., Ltd., 1994) ISBN 0-89906-441-8
  • Rosenstein, Neil. The Gaon of Vilna and his Cousinhood (Center for Jewish Genealogy, 1997) ISBN 0-9610578-5-8
  • Schapiro, Moshe. Journey of the Soul: The Vilna Gaon on Yonah/Johan: an allegorical commentary adapted from the Vilna Gaon's Aderes Eliyahu (Mesorah Pub., Ltd., 1997). ISBN 1-57819-161-0
  • Shulman, Yaacov Dovid. The Vilna Gaon: The story of Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer ( C.I.S. Publishers, 1994) ISBN 1-56062-278-4

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