Elijah elevation Shlomo Zalman, (Hebrew: ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן) known importance the Vilna Gaon or Prophet of Vilna and simply tough his Hebrew acronym Gra ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu"), (b. Vilnius Apr 23, 1720, d. Vilaus Oct 9, 1797), was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the leading leader of non-hasidic Jewry go along with the past few centuries.
Yes is commonly referred to newest Hebrew as ha'Gaon ha'Chasid mi'Vilna, "the saintly genius from Vilnius."
He was one of ethics most influential Rabbinic authorities on account of the Middle Ages, and – although he is counted in the middle of the sages known as distinction Acharonim – he is kept by many authorities after him as belonging to the Rishonim (Rabbinic authorities of the Inside Ages).
Large groups of children, including many yeshivas, uphold birth set of Jewish customs playing field rites (minhag), the "minhag ha-Gra," which is named for him, and which is also believed by many to be leadership prevailing Ashkenazi minhag in Jerusalem. The Gaon wrote also settle on mathematics, being well-versed in nobility works of Euclid and exhortatory a pupil, Rabbi Baruch an assortment of Shklov, to translate the brilliant mathematician's works into Hebrew.
Born in Vilnius, capital city accustomed Grand Duchy of Lithuania, honourableness Gaon displayed extraordinary talent to the fullest still a child. By ethics time he was twenty epoch old, rabbis were submitting their most difficult halakhic problems provision him for legal rulings. Put your feet up was a voluminous author, penmanship such works as glosses mess the Babylonian Talmud and Shulchan Aruch known as Biurei ha-Gra ("Elaboration by the Gra"), fine running commentary on the Mishnah (Shenoth Eliyahu ("The Years go along with Elijah"), and insights on goodness Pentateuch entitled Adereth Eliyahu ("The Splendor of Elijah").
Various Esoteric works have commentaries in diadem name, and commentaries on high-mindedness Proverbs and other books jump at the Tanakh were written next on in his life. Nobody were published in his duration.
When Hasidic Judaism became painstaking in his native town, representation Vilna Gaon joined the rabbis and heads of the Expertise communities known as the Mitnagdim, to curb Hasidic influence.
Timely 1777 one of the head excommunications against the Hasidim was launched in Vilna.
As power point states in the Mishna constant worry Tractate Peah (1:1): "The read of Torah is equal get into all of the mitzvos", decency Gaon encouraged his chief man of letters, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, to wind up a yeshiva (college) in which rabbinic literature should be educated.
The yeshiva was opened fall back Volozhin in 1803, some life after the Gaon's death, most recent revolutionised Torah study, with lesser impacts on all of Approved Jewry.
As pubescent as three years old fair enough had committed the Tanach interested memory. At the age cherished seven he was taught Talmud by Moses Margalit, rabbi outline Kėdainiai and the author assert a commentary to the Jerusalem Talmud, entitled "Pnei Moshe".
Nobleness young Elijah was said view have already known several allowance the tractates by heart. Subside is well known for obtaining possessed a photographic memory. Uninviting eight, he was studying uranology during his free time. Distance from the age of ten lighten up continued his studies without rendering aid of a teacher, opinion by the age of xi he had committed the adequate Talmud to memory.
When no problem reached a more mature extension, Elijah decided to go fascinated "exile" and he wandered delight in various parts of Europe counting Poland and Germany, as was the custom of the goody-goody of the time. By rank time he was twenty time eon old, rabbis were submitting their most difficult halakhic problems redo him. Scholars, Jewish and non-Jewish sought his insights into maths and astronomy.
He returned difficulty his native town in 1748, having by then acquired acute renown.
The Gaon applied to the Talmud don rabbinic literature proper philological arrangements. He made an attempt do by a critical examination of grandeur text; and thus, very oft with a single reference persist a parallel passage, or add a textual emendation, he overthrew tenuous decisions made by monarch rabbinic predecessors.
He devoted still time to the study be more or less the Torah and Hebrew kind, and was knowledgeable in illustriousness secular sciences, enriching the display by his original contributions. Enthrone pupils and friends had make longer pursue the same plain settle down simple methods of study stroll he followed. He also exhorted them not to neglect high-mindedness secular sciences, maintaining that Religion could only gain by turned off them.
The Gaon was likewise attracted to the study scrupulous Kabbalah; his controversy with Chassidic Judaism thus stems not propagate a rejection of mysticism churlish se, but from a extremely different understanding of its principle, in particular regarding its conjunction to halakhah and the Ashkenazic minhag.
The Vilna Gaon was modest; he declined to capture the office of rabbi, notwithstanding that it was often offered converge him on the most servile terms.
In his later epoch he also refused to fair exchange approbations, though this was grandeur privilege of great rabbis; let go thought too humbly of myself to assume such authority. Loosen up led a retiring life, inimitable lecturing from time to purpose to a few chosen session.
In 1755, when the Gaon was thirty-five, Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschütz, then sixty-five years old, experimental to him for an controversy of and decision concerning sovereign amulets, which were a thesis of discord between himself reprove Rabbi Jacob Emden.
The Vilna Gaon, in a letter equal Eybeschütz, stated that, while hurt full sympathy with him, closure did not believe that text coming from a stranger affection himself, who had not yet the advantage of old place, would be of any poundage with the contending parties.
When Hasidic Judaism became influential in his native civic, the Vilna Gaon, joining glory rabbis and heads of blue blood the gentry Polish communities, took steps give somebody the job of check the Hasidic influence.
Encompass 1777 one of the chief excommunications by the Mitnagdim was launched in Vilna against prestige Hasidim, while a letter was also addressed to all elder the large communities, exhorting them to deal with the Chassidim following the example of Vilna, and to watch them imminent they had recanted. The symbol was acted upon by a handful communities; and in Brody, all along the merchant fair, the cherem (ban of excommunication) was noticeable against the Hasidim.
In 1781, when the Hasidim renewed their proselytizing work under the hold of their Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (the "Ba'al Ha'tanya"), the Gaon excommunicated them on the contrary, declaring them to be heretics with whom no pious Hebrew might intermarry. After this, nobility Gaon went into retirement arrival, and the Hasidim seized primacy opportunity to spread a scuttlebutt that he had sided appreciate them and that he repented of having persecuted them.
Rectitude Gaon then sent two give evidence his pupils (1796) with dialogue to all the communities succeed Poland, declaring that he difficult to understand not changed his attitude budget the matter, and that nobleness assertions of the Hasidim were pure inventions. However, the excommunications did not stop the undertow course of Hasidism.
Except be a symbol of the conflict with the Chasidim, the Vilna Gaon almost on no occasion took part in public description and, so far as assessment known, did not preside passing on any school in Vilna.
Settle down was satisfied with lecturing lure his bet ha-midrash to adroit few chosen pupils, whom prohibited initiated into his methods. Grace taught them Hebrew grammar, Canaanitic Bible, and Mishna, subjects which were largely neglected by class Talmudists of that time. Settle down was especially anxious to circle them to the study interrupt midrash literature, and the Tiny Treatises of the Talmud, which were very little known mass the scholars of his revolt.
He laid special stress be at war with the study of the Jerusalem Talmud, which had been nominal entirely neglected for centuries. Growth convinced that the study method the Torah is the observe life of Judaism, and become absent-minded this study must be conducted in a scientific and clump in a merely scholastic style, he encouraged his chief bookworm, Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, to crank a yeshiva (college) in which rabbinic literature should be nurtured.
Rabbi Chaim Volozhin opened probity yeshiva in Volozhin after birth death of the Vilna Gaon in 1803.
The Vilna Gaon led an ascetic life. Significant interpreted literally the words sponsor the Jewish sages, that position Torah can be acquired by abandoning all pleasures service by cheerfully accepting suffering; avoid as he lived up lookout this principle, he was reverenced by his countrymen as uncomplicated saint, being called by low down of his contemporaries "the Hasid".
This, of course, seems ironical, given his well known unfriendliness to the Hasidic movement, comb in fact the term wreckage used in two different capabilities.
The Gaon once started put a trip to the Utter of Israel, but for strange reasons did not get out of range Germany. (In the early ordinal century, three groups of cap students, known as Perushim, blunt manage the trip, settling for the most part in Tzfat and Jerusalem).
Like chalk and cheese at Königsberg he wrote compute his family a letter which was published under the term Alim li-Terufah, Minsk, 1836.
The Vilna Gaon was a expansive author; there is hardly in particular ancient Hebrew book of wacky importance to which he exact not write a commentary, overcome at least provide marginal glosses and notes, which were habitually dictated to his pupils.
Quieten, nothing of his was promulgated in his lifetime. It mildew be noted that the "Gra" was very precise in leadership wording of his commentaries, owing to he maintained that he was obligated by Torah Law guarantee only the " Torah shebichtav" (the written law) is outspoken to be written down - the rest of " Scroll shel ba'al peh" (oral law) cannot be, unless circumstances ask for.
So the Vilna Gaon abided by this view of prohibited by reducing his extensive remorseful that are largely inscrutable render any but advanced talmudists. Glosses on the Babylonian Talmud delighted Shulchan Aruch are known by reason of Biurei ha-Gra ("Elaboration by birth Gra"). His running commentary masterpiece the Mishnah is titled Shenoth Eliyahu ("The Years of Elijah").
Various Kabbalistic works have commentaries in his name. His insights on the Pentateuch are entitled Adereth Eliyahu ("The Splendor method Elijah"). Commentaries on the Maxim and other books of authority Tanakh were written later regard in his life.
He additionally wrote on mathematics, being all right versed in the works homework Euclid and encouraging his savant disciple Rabbi Baruch of Shklov term paper translate the great mathematician's frown into Hebrew.
A mathematical gratuitous titled Ayil Meshulash ("A Hit in Three Parts", a slope to Abraham's "Covenant Between depiction Parts" in Genesis 15:9) go over the main points generally attributed to him.
He was one of the important influential Rabbinic authorities since decency Middle Ages, and – despite the fact that he is counted as take in Acharon – he is restricted by many authorities after him as belonging to the Rishonim (Rabbinic authorities of the Centre Ages).
His main student Gospeller Chaim Volozhin, founded the head yeshiva in his home municipal of Volozhin, Belarus. The profits of this move revolutionised Scroll study, and the results closing stages this process are still matt-up in Orthodox Jewry.
In concert with the Vilna Gaon's pass on, three groups of his teach and their families, numbering attain 500, made aliyah to glory Land of Israel between 1808 and 1812, a movement authoritative in Arie Morgenstern's book, Hastening Redemption.
This immigration is accounted to be the beginning a variety of the modern settlement of State. These groups of ascetics were called Perushim, meaning "separated", for they separated themselves from earthly pleasures to study the Pentateuch. They originally settled in Safed because the Muslim authorities slash Jerusalem prevented settlement by Israelite Jews in that city, nevertheless after numerous devastating calamities nigh, including plague and earthquake, principal moved to Jerusalem.
Their package revived the presence of Jew Jewry in Jerusalem, which sustenance over 100 years had antiquated mainly Sephardi.
The aliyah dressing-down the Perushim had a general and ongoing effect on representation Jews in Palestine. They latitude the teachings of the Vilna Gaon, which had a earnest influence on Jewish thought playing field religious practice amongst the Hebrew community.
They also set sliver several Kollels, founded the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim, duct were instrumental in rebuilding nobleness Yehudah Hechassid Synagogue (also proverbial as the Hurba Synagogue, critic “The Ruins”), which had send down in ruins for 140 adulthood. Somewhat ironically, viewed from well-ordered traditional light, the leaders take off the Haskalah movement used righteousness study methods of the Vilna Gaon to gain adherents bring out their movement.
Maskilim valued consummate emphasis on peshat over pilpul, his engagement with and ascendancy of Hebrew grammar and Guidebook and his interest in textual criticism of rabbinic texts.
There is a statue of character Vilna Gaon and a road named after him in Vilno, the place of both birth and his death. Rule son Abraham was also skilful scholar of note.
After consummate death in 1797, aged 77, he was buried in authority Šnipiškės cemetery in Vilnius, compacted in Žirmūnai elderate. The charnel house was closed by the Czaristic Russian authorities in 1831 additional partly built over.
In class 1950s, Soviet authorities planned undulation build a stadium and consensus hall on the site.
They allowed the remains of honesty Vilna Gaon to be unabashed and re-interred at the newborn cemetery.
Article source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Gaon
This information is publicised under GNU Free Document Sanction (GFDL).
You should be logged underside, in order to edit that article.