Just for fun (seriously) I decided to "google" the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797). I was reading an article about something Jewish related and decided to check out the biography behind this man whose name I have heard a million times but know nothing about. For those who don't know:

Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, also known as Ha-Gra, was the foremost scholar-sage of Lithuanian Jewry in the eighteenth-century, and has become the spiritual forefather for much of the non-Chassidic yeshiva world. Known for his greatness in Talmudic and Kabbalistic study, he likewise mastered astronomy, mathematics and music. His system of Talmudic study focused on trying to find the true meaning intended by the sages in the text.

Known for fierce opposition to Chassidut, which was initiated in 1736 by the Baal Shem Tov, he and his followers in this anti-Chassidic Movement were known as "Mitnagdim," or opponents. Their opposition was based on the beliefs, vigorously denied by Chassidic leaders, that Chassidut took liberties with the Oral Law, that it substituted emotion for intellect in the Study of Torah, that its form of prayer departed too far from the traditional form of prayer, etc.

I guess this does go to show that you don't have to be a Chabadnik to be considered a Torah scholar.

His disciples created one of the first yeshivot in Volozhin, Lithuania which I believe may still be standing today, even if in a state of disrepair.



As a post-Holocaust Jew, I've always imagined that any trace of Jewish existence in Eastern Europe was wiped out during WWII. How amazing it must be to be able to reach out and touch even a little bit of that centuries-old history and tradition!

What I found most interesting of all is that you can buy a biography of the Vilna Gaon online from Wal-Mart!