Ethical Will

Elijah ben Solomon, Gaon of Vilna

ca. 1797

Grieve not at all on my departure for the Land of Israel (may it be built and established!). You gave me indeed a firm promise to that effect. And why should you be anxious? Many men travel years long, in search of money, leaving wives and children, themselves wanderers and strayers in want of all things. But I, thanks be to God, am on my way to…

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Elijah ben Solomon, Gaon of Vilna

1720–1797

Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (Eliyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman) was born, probably in Vilna, into a rabbinical family. He mastered Jewish scholarly texts at a young age, lived in Poland and Germany for a time, and returned to Vilna in 1748. Despite the fact that he held no formal position in Jewish communal affairs, his followers recognized him as ha-ga’on he-ḥasid, a genius, a sage, and an authority on Jewish legal matters; he was additionally called upon to offer opinions on scientific and educational issues. The Ga'on was a foe of the early Enlightenment, but he opposed Hasidism even more, wanting to excommunicate its adherents.

Related Guide

Rabbinic Scholarship, 1750–1880

Despite the challenges of the early modern period, rabbinic scholarship flourished in Central and Eastern Europe in the latter half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century. 

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