Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, (Hebrew: ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman), also known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון Der Vilner Goen; Polish: Gaon z Wilna, Gaon Wileński; or Elijah of Vilna; Sialiec, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, April 23, 1720 – Vilnius, Russian Empire, October 9, 1797), was a Lithuanian Jewish talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries.
He is commonly referred to or by his Hebrew acronym גר״א Gr״a Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu "Our teacher Elijah the Genius", or in Modern Hebrew as ha-Gaon mi-Vilna "the genius from Vilnius".
Through his annotations and emendations of Talmudic and other texts, he became one of the most familiar and influential figures in rabbinic study since the Middle Ages. Although he is chronologically one of the Acharonim, some have considered him one of the Rishonim.
Large groups of people, including many yeshivas, uphold the minhag (set customs and rites) named after him, and which is also considered by many to be the prevailing minhag among Ashkenazi Jews in Jerusalem today.
Born in Sielec in the Brest Litovsk Voivodeship (now Syalyets, Belarus), the Gaon displayed extraordinary talent while still a child. By the time he was twenty years old, rabbis were submitting their most difficult halakhic problems to him for legal rulings. He was a prolific author, writing such works as glosses on the Babylonian Talmud and Shulchan Aruch known as Bi'urei ha-Gra "Elaborations by the Gra", a running commentary on the Mishnah, Shenoth Eliyahu "The Years of Elijah", and insights on the Torah entitled Adereth Eliyahu ("The Cloak of Elijah"), published by his son. Various Kabbalistic commentaries bear his name, and he wrote commentaries on the Book of Proverbs and other books of the Hebrew Bible later in life. None of his manuscripts was published in his lifetime.
When Hasidic Judaism became influential in his native town, the Vilna Gaon joined the Misnagdim, the rabbis and heads of Polish communities trying to curb Hasidic influence.
While he advocated studying branches of secular education such as mathematics to better understand rabbinic texts, he harshly condemned the study of philosophy and metaphysics.
Biography
Elijah was born to Treina and Shlomo Zalman, a rabbi, in the village of Slać near Brisk, now Brest, Belarus, then in Lithuania, part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, on 15 Nisan 5480 AM (April 23, 1720 CE).
His grandfather was Yissachar Dov, the son of Rabbi Eliyahu Chassid, after whom he was named. Eliyahu was the son of Moshe Kramer, rabbi of Vilne (now Vilnius), and his wife was the granddaughter of Moshe Rivkes, also a rabbi.
Until the age of six, he studied under a rabbi. At that age, he delivered a derasha in the Great Synagogue of Vilna that his father had taught him. At the request of Heschel, the Av Beit Din of Vilne, he added his own scholarly discourse to demonstrate his ability to innovate independently. His book Shnot Eliyahu contains an insight he expressed at age 7. At this age, he lived for about three months in Kaidan with the town's rabbi, David Katzenellenbogen, studying under him and Moses Margolies, author of Pnei Moshe on the Jerusalem Talmud and who later served as rabbi of Kaidan. At age nine, he began studying Kabbalah, devoting several hours daily to studying the Zohar and the writings of the Isaac Luria. By age ten, he studied independently and no longer required teachers. During this period, he befriended Aryeh Leib, who later served as the Av Beit Din of Tsechanovitz. From the age of eight, he engaged in astronomy.
As a young man, he married Chana, daughter of Yehuda Leib of Kaidan (1724–1782). His wife took responsibility for managing the household so he could devote himself entirely to study. After she died in 5543 AM (1783 CE), he requested that the following be inscribed on her tombstone: "Chana passed away in 5543, 5 Kislev. She left no equal or comparison / There is no path or way to recount her praise." Later, he married Gitl, daughter of Meir Luntz from Chełm, who was also a widow.
At around age 20, he traveled to Poland and Germany, passing through Leszno and Berlin, and possibly also Amsterdam. He returned to Vilna in 1745. Over the years, he lived in Vilna but consistently refused to hold an official rabbinic position that would interfere with his studies. Nevertheless, the Vilna community, considering it an honor to have him in their city, granted him a small monthly stipend for his livelihood.
The Vilna Gaon became famous for his extraordinary diligence. His sons recount that throughout his life, he slept only two hours a day, divided into four half-hour segments, ensuring he never slept more than "Sixty Breaths". He dedicated all his time exclusively to Torah study. His student, Chaim of Volozhin, described how, when he was preoccupied with a Talmudic difficulty, he would refrain from eating for days until he found a resolution, appearing emaciated and afflicted.
Status
The Vilna Gaon attained an extraordinary and undisputed status during his lifetime. Among the general non-Hasidic public, his standing was considered exceptional. He was perceived as belonging to the ranks of the Tannaim and Amoraim, the sages of the Talmud, or as akin to the Geonim of Lower Mesopotamia.
Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz wrote:
We regard the Gaon of Vilna as belonging to the ranks of Moses, Ezra, Rabbeinu HaKadosh, Rav Ashi, and the Rambam. The Gaon, through whom Torah was revealed as a sanctified figure destined to illuminate that which had remained in darkness until his time, is considered one of the Rishonim. His level of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration), his toil, and his profound analytical knowledge of the entirety of Torah as we possess it today—these are beyond comprehension.
Due to this reverence, he was referred to by Litvaks simply as "the Gaon."
The Vilna Gaon advocated for a study approach focused on the peshat (literal meaning) and was himself widely knowledgeable and erudite. His in-law, the author of Chayei Adam, wrote, "The entire Torah was laid out before him like a set table, so that if he was asked about any matter, he would answer instantaneously."
He opposed pilpul (sharp dialectical analysis) in learning like Maimonides, Judah Loew ben Bezalel, Abraham Isaac Kook, and other sages. In his small study hall, students learned Talmud with the commentaries of Rashi, Asher ben Jehiel, and Isaac Alfasi, in a straightforward manner aimed at reaching halachic conclusions.
The Vilna Gaon was highly original in his halachic rulings. He often ruled according to his own understanding of the Talmud, even against the Rishonim and the Shulchan Aruch, or in opposition to established minhag.
His learning was grounded in a deep pursuit of the literal meaning of the sources, as well as in textual emendations, particularly in less commonly studied works such as the Jerusalem Talmud, the Tosefta, and the Zohar. Despite his historical significance to the Misnagdim, the method of study practiced in contemporary litvak yeshivas differs significantly from his approach. Most of his textual emendations were not based on manuscript evidence available to him but rather on his exceptional mastery of rabbinic and Talmudic literature. In retrospect, many of his emendations have been found to align with accurate textual witnesses.
On the evening following Yom Kippur, the Vilna Gaon would continue fasting for several more hours while studying Torah, citing this passage:
What is the meaning of the verse: 'And it was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day' (Genesis 1:31)? Why is the extra 'the' needed? This teaches that God made a condition with the works of creation, saying: If Israel accepts the Torah, you will continue to exist; but if not, I will return you to chaos and void.
In other words, the world's existence depends on uninterrupted Torah study. Since, on the night after Yom Kippur, everyone went home to eat, the Vilna Gaon would continue learning until people finished their meals and returned to study. This idea also served as the foundation of Volozhin Yeshiva, established by his disciple, Chaim of Volozhin.
Kabbalah in his teachings
By the age of nine, the Vilna Gaon knew all of Tanach and Shas with commentaries, and had already begun studying Kabbalah.
The Gaon wrote commentaries on the Sifra de-Tzeniuta, which he regarded as the foundational work of Kabbalah, as well as on Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkunei Zohar Chadash, and other sections of the Zohar and the Sefer Yetzirah.
However, unlike other Kabbalists, the Gaon opposed the reception of maggidic revelations, preferring to engage in Torah study and receive divine wisdom directly from God rather than through intermediaries. He also sent his disciple, Chaim of Volozhin, to warn his brother, Shlomo Zalman of Volozhin, not to accept a maggid that was destined to appear to him, explaining that the maggidim of that generation, particularly outside the Land of Israel, "could not possibly be entirely sacred and free of any impurity."
The teachings of the Vilna Gaon in Kabbalah are considered a distinct stream (although they are sometimes integrated with the teachings of Ramchal). Many Kabbalists have studied and interpreted them, such as his disciples Chaim of Volozhin in his book Nefesh HaChaim, Moshe of Tolchin, Menachem Mendel of Shklov, and the disciples of his disciples, Yitzhak Isaac Chever, David Luria, Avraham Simcha of Amchislav, Elijah of Kalish, as well as Shlomo Elyashiv in the Leshem Shevo VeAchlamah, Naftali Herz Halevy of Jaffa, and others.
The writings of the Vilna Gaon have been studied in the present day by Yitzhak Shlomo Zilberman, Sraya Dublitzky, Israel Eliyahu Winterob, Yaakov Edes (Divrei Yaakov), and Yosef Avivi, who also wrote a book explaining the uniqueness of the Vilna Gaon's Kabbalah and the differences between it and the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria.
During the struggle between the Hasidim and the Misnagdim, the Hasidim spread a rumor that the Vilna Gaon did not believe in the teachings of Kabbalah and did not read the Zohar or the writings of Isaac Luria. By doing so, they sought to undermined the Gaon's opposition to Hasidism. The Vilna Gaon's disciple, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, in his introduction to the Vilna Gaon's commentary on Sifra D’Tzeniuta, sharply criticizes those who spread the rumor, with the following words: And whenever I speak of the greatness and wonders of the holiness of the teachings of our great Rabbi, may his soul rest in peace, I remember and recall with great anguish that my soul is stirred and burned with a fire within me. For I heard many false reports from empty fools in distant provinces, who had never seen the light of his teachings or his holiness. Those without burden in speech and tongue speak of great things to defame the sanctities of Heaven. Like flies of death who seek to spoil and defile the holy oil of our great Rabbi, may his soul rest in peace. They say that the holy Rabbi did not consider the spirit of holiness in the teachings of the Arizal to be of any worth, God forbid. And even further, some speak maliciously, claiming that the holy Zohar was not worthy in his eyes, Heaven forbid, to be the subject of his study. May the lips of falsehood be stilled, and the liars be silenced. Such things shall not be among the people of Israel.
The teachings of redemption in his doctrine
According to the book Kol HaTor, which some attribute to Hillel Rivlin of Shklov, in 1740 CE (5500 AM), the Gaon began his public engagement with Kabbalah. According to his views on the Redemption, the year 5500 AM marks the beginning of the "sixth day" of the world, in which preparations should be made for Shabbat, when the complete redemption will come. This calculation is based on the Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b, which states that the world will exist for six thousand years. The Gaon considered each millennium as a day, based on the verse "For a thousand years in Your eyes are but as yesterday when it passes" in Psalm 90, 4, meaning that 5500 AM is the morning of the sixth day. Just as the halakhah requires early rising on Friday to prepare for the Shabbat, so, according to the Gaon, one should prepare for the Shabbat of the world starting from the "morning of the sixth day." The authenticity of Kol Hator is disputed by some historians, notably Immanuel Etkes who argues that the text is a fabrication intended to promote a messianic-Zionist ideology.
A new Shulchan Aruch
According to what was written by the Gaon's son, the Gaon intended to compose a new version of the Shulchan Aruch:
These two things I heard from his holy and pure mouth that he did not agree with his creator's opinion, and he did not do them. In his old age, I asked him many times why he did not travel to the Holy Land, and he did not answer me. And he promised me that he would write halakhic rulings from the Arba'ah Turim with a decisive opinion, writing only the one opinion that seemed correct to his wisdom, with strong and unanswerable proofs.
His attitude towards secular studies and philosophy
The Gaon supported secular studies, including natural science, and even wrote a book on mathematics, astronomy, and geometry titled Ayil Meshulash. In the introduction to the translation of Euclid's Elements (translated into Hebrew by Baruch Shklov in The Hague in 1780), it is quoted in his name:
Just as a person will lack knowledge of other wisdoms, so too will they be missing a hundredfold in the wisdom of Torah… And he commanded me (= the Gaon) to translate from what we can of these wisdoms into our holy tongue to remove the poison from their mouths, and many will be enlightened, and knowledge will increase among the people of Israel.
The words of Baruch Shik are supported by a translation written by the Vilna Gaon's son, Avraham Vilner, of parts of the Natural History by the radical French scientist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.
According to the testimony of his disciples and the books written in his name, the Gaon was knowledgeable in mathematics, engineering, biology, astronomy, geography, linguistics, and music, but he refrained from engaging in pharmacy based on his father's instructions.
He also studied human philosophy but opposed the study of the humanities in general because he did not see them as having intrinsic value for Jewish life. The Gaon distinguished between the humanities and the natural sciences, which he regarded as "pharmacology and medicine" that assist in understanding the Torah.
Yisrael Shklov recounts the Gaon's teachings:
Thus he said, all wisdoms are necessary for our Torah ... and are included in it, and all must be known to their purpose, and he mentioned them: the wisdom of algebra, triangles, and engineering and the wisdom of music. ... And he explained the nature of all the wisdoms and said that he had attained them for their purpose, except for the wisdom of medicine, he knew the science of surgery and its connection to it, but he was forbidden by his father to study the practice of medicines and their work, so as not to be distracted from his Torah study when he would be required to go and save lives, once he knew it fully. Likewise, the wisdom of witchcraft ... and he knew it, but he was lacking in the practice of herbs and all their workings, because they were in the hands of the Gentiles who are heretics, and thus he could not learn their full practice due to his strong commitment.
In contrast to his view on natural sciences, he strongly opposed philosophy and its practitioners, as stated in the Even Shlomo, a compilation of his writings, in chapter 11, section 4. "Blessed are those who distance themselves from those who engage in the study of divine, logical, and natural philosophy. They will merit, in the future, to the light of God (Isaiah 2:6)."
A footnote said:
See in Yoreh De'ah, section 319, small section 13, where he also condemned false philosophy, and see in the book Aliyot Eliyahu 17:2. And contrary to those who say that what he wrote in Yoreh De'ah in the aforementioned section is not from the Gaon. I heard from a trusted person that it is indeed found in his handwriting exactly as demonstrated here. And see Yoreh De'ah, section 456, small section 18.
In his commentary on the Book of Isaiah, chapter 2, verse 6, the Vilna Gaon offers a mystical interpretation of the verse. He reads the text as a hidden praise of those who separate themselves from corrupt influences in pursuit of divine truth:
"For you have forsaken your people" – meaning, for the merit of having forsaken your people, as it is written: "Forget your people and the house of your father, and the king will desire your beauty." (Tanakh, Psalms 45:11–12). That is, by spiritually distancing oneself from a society immersed in error, one becomes worthy of closeness to God.
"For they are full of old" – meaning, because your people are full of "old", that is why you forsook them and merited the light of God. The Gaon interprets "old" not negatively, but as a reference to the Divine, as in: "The habitation of the God of old." (Tanakh, Deuteronomy 33:27). Thus, the people are full of ancient, perhaps divine, knowledge—yet they have misused or distorted it.
"And clouds" – refers to those who claim to interpret the heavens and determine times, i.e., astrologers, as in: "The astrologers of the heavens." (Tanakh, Isaiah 47:13). The society is obsessed with occult knowledge and trying to control fate through the stars.
"And children of strangers" – refers to foreign ideologies, specifically natural philosophy, which the Gaon views as alien to the divine path.
In this commentary, the Gaon suggests that separating from a society fixated on astrology, foreign wisdoms, and misapplied spiritual traditions can elevate a person spiritually. Rather than interpreting the verse as divine abandonment, he reads it as a description of the righteous individual’s inner journey away from external confusion and toward divine truth.
The Vilna Gaon's commentary on Yoreh De'ah, section 319, subsection 6, small subsection 13:
The Rambam ... followed philosophy, and therefore he wrote that witchcraft, names, incantations, demons, and amulets are all false. But they have struck him on his head, for we find many stories in the Talmud regarding names and witchcraft. ... And philosophy misled him, for in the majority, it took him to interpret the Talmud in a derisive way and to uproot them from their simple meaning. God forbid, I do not believe in them, nor in their sources, nor in their power. Rather, all these things are as their simple meaning, but there is a deeper meaning not of the philosophers, which is superficial, but of the people of truth.
Some saw his favorable attitude towards secular studies as the reason for the spread of the Haskala in Lithuania more than in Hasidic Poland. This claim was refuted in later research.
Attempt to make Aliyah to the Land of Israel
In his old age, I (his son) asked him (Gaon of Vilna) many times why he did not visit the Holy Land and he did not answer me. Once, after I entreated him at length, he replied, ‘I did not receive permission from heaven.’