Elijah ben Solomon

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Elijah ben Solomon

Elijah ben Solomon 1720-97, Jewish scholar, called the Gaon of Vilna, b. Lithuania. A leading Jewish scholar of his time, he opposed the spread of Hasidism in Lithuania and Poland because he feared that the creation of these new groups would weaken the Jewish community. His many influential works include commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, the Mishna and Talmud, Midrash, and the kabbalah. He upheld the primacy of Torah study and the halakah, which he held as being of supreme importance for Jewish life.

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Elijah ben Solomon Zalman

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (1720–97). The Vilna Gaon, known as Ha-Gra, a Lithuanian Jewish spiritual leader. He was famous for his great learning and produced more than seventy works and commentaries on the Bible, the Talmud, the midrashim, the Zohar, Shulḥān Arukh, on Hebrew grammar, and on scientific subjects. He was a brilliant halakhist, and was also devoted to the study of Kabbalah. Philosophy he regarded as ‘accursed’, and he opposed all changes in customs and liturgy. Ḥasidism was rejected because he believed its emphasis on the love of God undermined the value of the Torah.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Elijah ben Solomon Zalman." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Elijah ben Solomon Zalman." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (November 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-ElijahbenSolomonZalman.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Elijah ben Solomon Zalman." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved November 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-ElijahbenSolomonZalman.html

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	IN OUR HISTORY: Cheat sheet to rabbinic acronyms Newspaper article from: Cleveland Jewish News; 6/25/1997; 700+ words ; ...we have the Rashba, Rabbi Shlomo ben Adret, an important Spanish legal...the founder of Hasidism, Israel ben Eliezer, a.k.a. Baal Shem Tov...book titles and honorifics. Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon (1720-1797), popularly known...
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	In-Your-Face, Mussar Style Magazine article from: Tikkun; 3/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...within traditional Judaism was led at first by Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon of Vilna (often called the Vilna Gaon) and his student...first As far back as the twelfth century, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (often referred to as the Rambam or Maimonides...
	What's old is new again Magazine article from: Washington Jewish Week; 8/28/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...legal requirement for marriage, the tenaim had clout. In fact, the 18thcentury leader of Lithuanian Jewry, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (aka the Vilna Gaon) maintained that breaking the obligations of the agreement - backing down on one's...
	Resurrecting a tradition: tenaim are a new (old) wedding trend.(WEDDING/CELEBRATION GUIDE) Newspaper article from: The Jewish Advocate (Boston, MA); 6/26/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...place without tenaim), the contract had clout. In fact, the 18th-century leader of Lithuanian Jewry, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, maintained that breaking the obligations of the agreement or backing down on one's word was reprehensible...
	Letter From Israel's Chief Rabbi Seen As Meddling in Lithuania Newspaper article from: Forward; 2/27/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...roughly 4,000 living in the capital Vilnius, formerly Vilna. Vilna was the birthplace of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who was the leader of the mitnaged stream of Judaism which opposed chasidism. Shimon Alperovitch, chairman...
	Vanished city: Vilna now can only be found in echoes and glimpses. Newspaper article from: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service); 5/15/2002; 700+ words ; ...The Great Synagogue rose up in the city in the middle of the 16th century. In the 1700s, the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, emerged as an influential spiritual leader. By the end of the 19th century, Vilnius had established itself...
	Reading From Right to Left Newspaper article from: Jerusalem Post; 9/18/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...also examines the ideas and practices of the early Hassidim, their bitter conflicts with the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon (1720-1797), and the more conciliatory attitude of his follower, Rabbi Hayyim Volozhiner (1749- 1821...
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