Eliyahu's Branches: Kremer – the Vilna Gaon had no Surname

Thursday, 24 February 2011

Kremer – the Vilna Gaon had no Surname

Despite a common misconception, the Gaon had no surname and "Kremer" or “Kramer” was a nickname applied to his ancestor Rabbi Moshe "Kremer" of Vilna because he had a stall in the market.

The term "Kremer" means a shopkeeper.
None of the primary sources or documents contemporaneous with the Gaon and the generation after him include a surname, although several biographies in modern times have erroneously used it.

There are many, many Kremers/Kramers who have nothing to do with the Gaon.
However the name was adopted by the descendants of one of the Gaon’s brothers Rabbi Moshe of Podzelva. They lived mainly in Dokshitz, Belarus, and in Israel.

Another family descended is from a female connection to the Gaon, a daughter of his grandson Rabbi Tuviah Yurbarsky and wife of Rabbi Yitskhak Kremer of Volkovisk (there are descendants in the USA).

Unless a family has a specific tradition of descent from the Gaon, the surname Kremer alone is probably not sufficient evidence of a relationship with the Gaon.

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Purpose of this Blog

I am in the process of updating my database of descendants of the Vilna Gaon and his siblings, published in my book

"Eliyahu's Branches - the Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family"
(Avotaynu 1997)

In the light of additional material received from many families and with resource to new archival records which were not available when my book was published, I am re-assessing the data

I Invite those, whose families appear in my book, to send updates of children born since the book’s publication twelve years ago, and any corrections. I would also like to hear from all families who hold a tradition of a relationship with the Gaon

Families currently under Review

The following familes are currently being researched in the light of material which became available since the publication of "Eliyahu's Branches" in 1997.

Bardin

Bayuk (see Pinchuk)

Behr

Bendet

Bloch

Chayen (see Pinchuk)

Chinitz

Chwat

Danzig

Dessauer

Donchin

Efron

Epstein

Eshed (see Landa)

Feinstein

Finkel (see Kamai)

Friedland

Friedlander

Gaffinowitz

Gaon's mother (including Mandelbaum)

Gaon's wife

Gaon's ancestry

Gaon's children

Garelik

Gorovitz

Grad

Grinblat (see Komisaruk)

Gringort

Gurewicz (see Helman)

Habas

Heilprin

Helman (includes Gurewicz, Kushelevsky, Olkenitsky)

Hershman

Jaffe

Jurbarsky

Kahana

Kamai ( includes Finkel)

Kantorowitz

Klatzki

Kletz

Komisaruk (includes Grinblat and Zmood)

Kossowsky

Krechmer

Kremer

Kruskal

Kushelevsky (see Helman)

Landa (includes Wasserman, Eshed)

Landy

Lipshitz

Luria

Margolis

Mayevsky

Medalie

Menkin

Mileikovsky (includes Netanyahu)

Minz

Neches

Neiman

Netanyahu (see Mileikovsky)

Okenitsky (see Helman)

Papierna

Pinchuk (includes Pomerantz, Bayuk, Chayen)

Pines

Pomerantz (see Pinchuk)

Rabbinowitz

Ragoler

Reezel

Reich

Rotenberg

Sachs

Szczeransky (insluding Szleser)

Segal

Shatz

Shach

Shlezinger

Shternbuch

Solomon

Sunstein

Tarshish

Warshavsky

Wasserman (see Landa)

Wilner

Wolpe/Volpa

Zelinkosher

Ziv (includin Sieff)

Zmood (see Komisaruk)

Sources for updates:

Rabbinical genealogies published in religious texts.

Newspaper obituaries

Internet genealogy sites (GENI, Family Tree of the Jewish People)

Jewishgen databases

Eastern European archives which became available after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Personal research submitted my families that appeared in "Eliyahu's Branches"

Digitalised cemetery records.

Improved Email correspondence.

"Google" searching.

Review by Arthur Kurzweil

“Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family”

Review by Arthur Kurzweil
Published in Avotaynu.

It is not since Neil Rosenstein's extraordinary ground-breaking work, The Unbroken Chain, that I have had such enjoyment reading a book in our field of Jewish genealogy. “Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family” by Chaim Freedman, which traces the family tree of Rabbi Elijah, the Gaon of Vilna, is as fascinating as a detective novel, intricate as a scientific thesis, and uplifting as the most beautiful poetry.

A great sage once said that the Jewish People, as a single entity, is not an animal but a plant. The implications of this metaphor are frightening, or at best paradoxical, for as every botanist knows, it is when a plant is cut back that it is stimulated to grow. I have heard a stirring presentation on this notion from a revered rabbi who aptly points out that when we look at Jewish history, the pattern becomes clear. A few examples will suffice: right after the incredibly traumatic expulsion from Spain, we see the most creative period in Jewish theological history, that of the mystics of Safed; after the massacres in the Ukraine, we see the great revival movement known as Hasidism; after the Holocaust, we see the birth and growth of the State of Israel.

This troubling metaphor passes through my mind as I reflect on Eliyahu's Branches. It does not take much imagination to actually feel that it is not a book, but a living, growing part of that glorious tree called the Jewish People. As I leaf through this inspiring book, I feel like I am looking at one of those scientific documentary films that use special photography to show us how flowers grow and bloom. The petals appear and unfold right before our eyes.

We, in Jewish genealogy, often quote a well-known passage found in the Talmud: If you save one life, you save a whole world; if you kill one life, you kill a whole world. Of course, every family tree, from the most modest to the most elaborate, illustrates this notion: How many of us have been struck by the realization that if a certain two people never met, married and had children, we-and dozens, if not hundreds of others would not be here? This is the striking message of this outstanding, deeply moving new book; every life is sacred; every life has the potential to create an entire world.

Chaim Freedman has been researching the descendants of the illustrious Gaon of Vilna for more than 30 years. And, while the careful critic will observe that Freedman makes some leaps of faith in this methodology, resulting in some doubtful branches and descendants, one must surely be in awe of his monumental efforts. The introductory material in this book, where the author explains some of his methods and some of the many difficulties involved in such a mammoth search, will delight any family historian. Freedman invites us to think about his search strategies and some of the stumbling blocks that he had to encounter. Of great importance is Freedman's discussion about the pitfalls and problems facing the genealogist who must depend upon sometimes dubious oral testimony. (In all of my travels, including public speaking about Jewish genealogy before more than 800 Jewish groups nationwide, the one individual who is claimed as an ancestor more than any other is the Vilna Gaon.)

The vast majority of this book is the genealogy itself. Freedman has painstakingly tracked down about 20,000 descendants of the Vilna Gaon, providing the reader with capsule biographies of many of them. These brief biographies alone communicate the exceptional creativity bursting forth from the lives of the descendants of this illustrious sage. But, this massive volume offers more: There is a wonderful essay on the importance of genealogy as reflected in Jewish thought through the ages; biographical material on the Vilna Gaon himself; a listing of every town mentioned in the book (along with the current name of the location); a useful glossary; a rich bibliography of sources; and, of course, a name index.

Every Jewish genealogist should have this book on his or her shelf. Even if the contents do not help you specifically with your research, the volume will serve as an inspiration, not only to show what can be done in our field if one has the will, but, also, as a monument to an eternal people, who despite the trials and tragedies of history, persevere.

My activities

Chaim (Keith) Freedman was born in 1947 in Melbourne, Australia to parents of eastern European origins. He was educated at Mount Scopus College in Melbourne. In 1977, he immigrated with his wife to Israel. Chaim is a noted genealogist having lectured at numerous genealogical and historical conferences including The International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Jerusalem 1984,1994 and 2004. He has published his research in Avotaynu, Sharsheret Hadorot, Search, RootsKey, the Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society and Yated Ne'eman. Freedman edited "Jewish Personal Names: Their Origin, Derivation and Diminutive Forms" by the late Rabbi Shmuel Gorr, published in 1992 by Avotaynu. Freedman wrote several books about his immediate family, "Our Fathers' Harvest", a history of the Komisaruk and other families involved in Jewish agricultural colonization in the Ukraine, and "The Pen and the Blade", a history of the Super family. Chaim Freedmans major work "Eliyahu's Branches, The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family" was published in 1997 by Avotaynu. The book is the culmination of thirty years of research of the Vilna Gaon, and includes 20,000 names with valuable biographical and historical details. Freedman's particular expertise in Rabbinical genealogy was published in 2001 in his book "Beit Rabbanan, Sources of Rabbinical Genealogy". Much of the content of this book appears on the RavSIG site http://www.jewishgen.org/Rabbinic/ Freedman's presentation of Rabbinical genealogical sources has been published in Avotaynu's "Guide to Jewish Genealogical Research" (2004). Freedman acted as a consultant to Beit Hatefutsot's exhibition on the Vilna Gaon in 1998. He provided material for Beit Hatefutsot's 1983 exhibition "The Jewish Agricultural Experience in the Diaspora". Freedman has lectured to the Israeli Genealogical Society in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and to the Jewish Family Research Association in Tel Aviv and Petah Tikvah. His lectures always draw a good and attentive audience who appreciate the opportunity to hear of his activities in genealogical research and learn from his wide experience in using a range of valuable sources. Many of his compositions appear on the Internet

Torah and Genealogy

Torah and Genealogy
By Chaim Freedman Reprinted from Eliyahu's Branches, the Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family (Avotaynu 1997)

Yikhus (lineage) has always been an integral part of Judaism. In the opening chapters of the Bible, in the weekly Torah portion, the concept of recording the history of mankind appears with the use of the term Sefer Toldot Adam (Book of the history of man), Bereishit (Genesis) 5:1. The Midrash (Midrash Rabba, Parasha 24) explains this term to indicate that Adam, the first man, was given a preview of all the generations that were destined to descend from him: God revealed to Adam each generation with its scholars, each generation and its wise men, each generation and its writers, each generation and its leaders. Adam was the only one who saw the yikhus which descended from him, until the end of all generations. (Yalkut Shimoni) The Midrash asserts that the Messiah will arrive only when all those generations that were predestined to live have in fact been born. The course of the Biblical narrative revolves around the sequence of the generations, from the early generations descended from Adam, through the division of the nations descended from Noakh, and down to the Jewish Patriarchs: Avraham, Yitskhak and Yaakov (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). Each major figure is introduced in the Bible first by a narration of his descent, connecting him with all the previous generations. Thus, the great Jewish teacher Moshe (Moses) is introduced through his father's descent from the tribe of Levi. From the time of the descent of the Children of Israel to Egypt and following their liberation from Egyptian bondage, their genealogy is noted at the very beginning of the book of Shmot (Exodus). Time and time again throughout the Bible, lengthy genealogical lists are recorded. The Torah includes 477 genealogical records. The Prophets and other books of the Bible include 2,756 genealogical records. Divrei Hayamim (Chronicles) is almost entirely concerned with genealogy. For the Jews returning from the Babylonian Exile, it was particularly important that they retained knowledge of their descent. This knowledge conferred upon them their status in society, which was often based on their relationships with prominent families, in particular, the ruling House of David. Those who had assimilated with their non-Jewish neighbours in Babylon found that their lineage was held in suspicion, particularly if they belonged to the priesthood. Such problems are portrayed in detail in the book of Ezra: They sought their genealogical records, but they were no longer available, and so they were banished from the priesthood. Those immigrants could not state which was their father's house or whether they were of the seed of Yisrael. (Ezra 2:62) The Talmud in the Tractate Kiddushin (Chapter 4) stresses the importance of yikhus: Ten lineages emigrated from Babylon. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, does not bestow his Divine Presence, other than on Israeli families of noble Yikhus. Yet the Rambam (Mishne Torah, Hilkhot Melakhim, Chapter 12, Halakha 3) gives hope in the future for those who have lost the records of their lineage: In the time of the king Mashiakh, when his kingdom is established and all Yisrael are gathered, their lineage will be revealed by the Holy Spirit which will rest upon him, and he will announce to everyone in Yisrael to which tribe he belongs. The Torah places importance on yikhus because man is influenced by the qualities and characteristics of his forefathers, both genetically and by the moral values that are passed from generation to generation. The book of Mishlei (Proverbs, 1:8) states: Heed, my son, the moral advice of your father, and do not abandon the teaching of your mother. The Gaon of Vilna comments on this sentence: Man has three partners: the Holy One Blessed Be He, his father and his mother. This theme is taken up in the Talmud (Avot 3:1): Know from whence you came, and where you are going, and to Whom you will have to give account in the future. Only if we know from where we originate in terms of our family heritage will we be in a position to decide what path in life we should take in the future. The late Rabbi Shmuel Gorr, who dedicated his entire life to genealogical research, believed: Just as we perform many Mitzvot as an act of zeikher le'maaseh bereishit (commemoration of the act of the creation), so the study of our family history can be considered as another aspect of this Mitzvah. When we see ourselves obligated to preserve the continuity of our people's existence in the world, so will we fulfill our task as it was prescribed by the Holy One Blessed Be He from the time of the creation of Man. The study of genealogy, therefore, can be considered as an act of zeikher le'maaseh bereishit, as we seek to link ourselves, through the generations of our ancestors, with the first living man, Adam. Yet, from the outset, the Biblical commentators explained that illustrious lineage alone was not worthy of note. Commenting on the verses of Bereishit 6:9B10: These are the generations of Noakh; Noakh begat three sons. Rashi explains: The essence of the history of righteous men is their deeds. One of the most comprehensive collections of genealogical quotations based on Jewish religious sources appears in Rabbi Yosef Zekhariah Stern's Zekher Leyehosef (1898). The following are some examples: It is worthy of all who seek righteousness to look to the rock from which they were hewn (Yeshayahu, Isaiah 52) and should be Asons of sons are a crown to the elderly, and the glory of sons are their fathers. (Mishlei, Proverbs 17) Like a crown without a kingdom and a gold ring in the nose of one who embraces garbage, so is the value of ancestral Yikhus without personal Yikhus to abandon evil ways. (Yalkut Shimoni; Rashi) If you see a Tsaddik who is the son of righteous fathers, he will not hastily sin (Midrash Mishlei 14) But what of the person who is not descended from ancestry worthy of note? Stern answers: It is important to the Almighty that man should abandon the ways of his ancestors (if they were not worthy) and follow the ways of God about whom it is said, "Peace to the distant, who is the seed of distant ones, but came close."Stern stresses the duty to perpetuate the memory of former generations: How can we not stretch out in our hearts to our ancestors who may be forgotten within two or three generations as if they never existed? In our generation, after our ancestors left the countries where their families lived for many generations and emigrated to other countries, we should perpetuate their history. In particular we have a duty to immortalise the memories of the communities and families that perished for the sanctification of the Holy Name during the Holocaust or during anti-Semitic acts throughout the course of Jewish history: To do justice with the deceased and give them a memory upon the face of the earth. The Midrash (Midrash Rabba, Parasha 37) explains the origin of man's naming system: The early generations that knew their lineage well, gave names to commemorate an event. But we, who do not know well our lineage, give names after our ancestors. The Gaon of Vilna comments on the term used in reference to a deceased person, "May the righteous be remembered for a blessing, and may the name of the wicked decay" (Mishlei, Proverbs 10:7): Remembrance is recalling that which happened in the past, that is, after the death of a righteous person, he is not just a memory, but he is a blessing. But as for the wicked, even his name is contemptible. Throughout Jewish prayer the concept of recalling our ancestors is a recurrent theme. The central prayer of the three daily services, the Shmonah Esreh, begins with: God of Avraham, God of Yitskhak, God of Yaakov...remember the good deeds of our fathers and bring the redeemer to their sons' sons. Amongst the most important statutes given to the People of Israel, the Ten Commandments, is the commandment: Honour your father and your mother.... In the High Holy Day liturgy the relationship between God and man is couched in familial terms: If you regard us as sons, have pity upon us like a father. Our Father, our King.... The tracing of family history is a most effective way to appreciate Jewish history on a personal level. As we recite in the Hagaddah of the Pesakh (Passover) festival: In each generation man must regard himself as if he himself came out of Egypt, as it is said and you should relate it to your son on that day, saying... People make history by their reaction to the demands and opportunities of their environment. An awareness of personal family history establishes a link in the chain of Jewish existence. Jews left Babylon and Eretz Yisrael and spread out through the Diaspora. Many of their genealogical records were lost. Yet certain families painstakingly preserved their traditions of descent. The scholarly family of the Kalonymides left Babylon about the eighth century, settled in Italy, and then moved to the Rhineland and France in the ninth and tenth centuries. From this family emanated the great Biblical and Talmudic commentator Rashi (1040-1105). Rashi's family and disciples established centers of learning in many towns in Western Europe and later, in the fourteenth century, in Eastern Europe. Thus a vast interrelated dynasty of rabbinic families spread across Europe, establishing a framework for future genealogical research. Sources: Many of the sources quoted above were collected by the late Rabbi Shmuel Gorr as part of an article he wrote titled "Torah and Genealogy."

BIOGRAPHY OF RABBI ELIYAHU, THE GAON OF VILNA

BIOGRAPHY OF RABBI ELIYAHU, THE GAON OF VILNA

Rabbi Eliyahu, the Gaon of Vilna, had a profound influence on the religious and communal life of Eastern European, both during his lifetime in the late eighteenth century, and until this day. An acquaintance with and understanding of the biography of the Gaon of Vilna essential for an appreciation of the way of life of those who comprise his descendants over the past two centuries.

A number of books have been written, both in Hebrew and in English which portray in detail the life of the Gaon. These sources are referred to in the following chapter. It is not the purpose of this book to repeat the material covered in those books, but rather to present the reader with the highlights of the life of the Gaon.

Rabbi Eliyahu was born in 1720 in the town of Seltz (Selets), near Brisk (Brest Litovsk), Byelorussia . He was the son of Rabbi Shlomo Zalmen and Treina. The Gaon's father came from a prominent family of scholars in Vilna.

Recognized as a child prodigy, the young Eliyahu was sent by his father to study with the greatest scholars of the time in Lithuania. He then wandered through Western Europe to seek further enlightenment. In his early years, Eliyahu isolated himself in study as he delved into the Talmud to seek the basis for his all-encompassing commentaries which were to become universally accepted.

Few details are recorded Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna's personal life. This was the result of his modesty and the desire to preserve his privacy in a life dedicated to constant study. At no time did the Gaon seek to spread a doctrine. For many years he resisted attempts of scholars to set up a study circle around him, but eventually he set up a private group, which functioned in a room belonging to the Gaon, known as the Kloiz of the Gaon. There a small number of privileged scholars were able to study with the Gaon and absorb his teachings.Through the teachings of these disciples and the Yeshivot (schools of religious study) that the disciples established, particularly that in Volozhin, the Gaon's influence molded the life of Lithuanian Jewry.

The personal piety of the Gaon pervaded his study circle, and his systematic approach to study epitomized the methods of the Yeshivot. Through the scholars who graduated from these Yeshivot and taught throughout the Lithuania and Eastern Europe, a link was forged between the Gaon and even the humblest villagers. He was a figure held in awe and yet beloved by the whole community. In many households in Lithuania and Russia the Gaon's portrait was hung in the living room. His rulings and amendments to the liturgy were practised in the home and in the synagogue. His moralistic teachings were on everyone's lips. It was no wonder that he was referred to as t‏he "Gaon",‏ the genius, for his equal had not been for many generations.

Yet, unlike his Khassidic opponents, the Gaon was not considered to hold mystical or divine powers. The Gaon's scholastic approach was simple. He stressed rationalism and a scientific approach to study. At a time when he felt that rabbinics had descended to a level of obscure casuistry

epitomized by the Pilpul method of exegis, the Gaon advocated interpretation according to the Peshat: the obvious, literal meaning of the text. In order to deduce the correct meaning, he felt it necessary to firstly establish the authenticity of texts. He spent many years researching early texts, particularly the Jerusalem Talmud, in order to reconcile inconsistencies in the Babylonian Talmud. This correction required great courage as the Gaon often placed himself in opposition to earlier recognized rabbinic authorities. It was the Gaon's personal scholastic integrity and vast knowledge which earned the acceptance of his interpretations by all scholars in his time and today.

Not only was the Gaon absorbed in Niglah (revealed sources), that is Torah, Talmud and commentaries, but he was an expert in Nistar (hidden sources), namely the mystic basis for learning and human existence as embodied in Kabbalah. The Gaon's two-faceted approach to scholastics is often ignored by modern historians who have stressed the rational side of the Gaon's study.

The Gaon was an insatiable scholar. He was not content to restrict his research to a narrow field of study, but sought to broaden his knowledge in all spheres of human endeavor. He studied mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and philosophy. His introduction of secular study into the world of rabbinics, albeit as a means to an end and not as a goal in itself, set the scene for those religious Jews who were drawn to the Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement but were not prepared to accept the assimilationist tendencies of the movement's Western European exponents. The Gaon's form of secular study bestowed respectability on Lithuanian Haskalah.

The dispute between the new Khassidic movement which arose during the Gaon's life time and its conservative opponents, the Misnagdim (‏opponents) had been simmering for some years, until it burst out into the open with the proclamation of the first Kherem (excommunication) against the Khassidim of Vilna in 1772. Over the ensuing twenty-five years efforts were made by the Misnagdim to suppress the growing influence of the Khassidim, not only in those centres in Volhynia and Podolia where the movement had been born, but also in Byelorussia and even Lithuania, the stronghold of the Misnagdim. The Khassidim had infiltrated even these areas, but initially found limited support to set up their separate Stieblakh (prayer rooms).

Eventually some areas of Byelorussia became Khassidic. Initial efforts by Khassidic leaders to appease the Gaon failed. Yet, despite his opposition to Khassidism, the Gaon was nevertheless held in high respect by the Khassidic scholars. The Gaon refused to meet with two of the Khassidic leaders, the Maggid of Mezritch and Shneour Zalmen of Liadi, who set out for Vilna to discuss their beliefs with him. He saw these scholars as renegades, since they had attached themselves to the Khassidic movement and become its leaders.

The Gaon saw in Khassidism a threat to the stability of the
authority of Halakhah (Jewish Law). Khassidism initially grew out of a need seen by the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples to strengthen the spiritual substance of Judaism which, they perceived, had been weakened by the trauma of the Cossack massacres of the mid-seventeenth century and disillusionment with the false messianic movements, such as the Sabbatians and the Frankists. The masses of Easten European Jewry were depressed. They had tired of the eternal yearning for the messianic era that was expected to liberate them from their suffering. The vast majority lived in abject poverty, as few sources of livelihood were open to them, due to the harsh restrictions in trade and habitation imposed upon them by the Tsarist authorities. The ordinary people had little time to devote to Talmudic study due to the constant struggle required to eke out a megre living to support their families. The age-old devotion to Jewish learning was severely undermined, and many people saw themselves doomed to oblivion, as their intimate relationship with the Almighty had been so eroded.

The way of life advocated by the Baal Shem Tov was attractive to the masses. Khassidism marked a shift away from the stress placed on the Jew's duty to immerse himself in study. The Khassidic leaders offered an alternative. They told the ordinary Jew that he could equally find favor with the Almighty by simple faith. Such faith was given expression in the Khassidic prayer house by ecstatic prayer accompanied by song and dance. Thereby the Jew was encouraged to reach a spiritual level that enabled him to feel in contact with the Almighty, a state that in former generations had been attained by dedication to study and daily absorption in the fulfillment of the minutiae of the commandments.

The Khassidim went a step further in providing the Rebbe or Admor as an intermediary between the simple Jew and the Almighty. These Khassidic leaders were ascribed supernatural powers that were supposed to enable them to intercede on behalf of their subjects in order to cure disease and relieve suffering. Such powers were claimed to pass from father to son, and dynasties of Khassidic masters arose, centered around semi-regal courts to whom allegiance was paid by the communities which embrassed Khassidism.

The Misnagdim saw the phenomenon of the intermediary as alien to Jewish belief. The Misnagdim felt that the Khassidim had legitimsed the lack of devotion to study by the masses, as widespread negligence of study pervaded the bulk of the Khassidic population. The Misnagdim (the Talmudists) urged the masses to return to study as the means of spiritual rehabilitation that would earn them the grace of God and the
relief of suffering. These Misnagdim saw the separatist tendencies of Khassidic prayer houses, their special approach to Shekhita (kosher slaughter of meat), and seemingly blind allegiance to their Rebbe as threats undermining the framework of communal authority which had held the Jews together for centuries. Rabbinic authority over the Kahal (Jewish community council), largely based on the recognition of Talmudic scholarship held by the rabbis, was the basis of the power structure by which the Kahal controlled the community.

Supported by the rabbinic authorities, the Kahal functionaries were usually appointed from among certain families that were either related or closely allied with the rabbis . This practice was certainly the case in Vilna , where the balance of power in the Kahal lay in the hands of certain wealthy and influential families. In particular the relatives of the Gaon held considerable power in communal affairs, influence that stemmed from their longstanding involvement in Kahal leadership, and strengthened by personal wealth which they derived from trading and property ownership. The family of Rabbi Eliyahu Pesseles (died 1770, a first cousin of the Gaon's father) was at the centre of Kahal power. This family's role in community leadership dated back to its ancestors Rabbi Moshe Rivkas (died 1671) and Rabbi Moshe Kramer (died 1688) who had held the rabbinic reins in the mid-seventeenth century. The fortune amassed by Moshe Rivkas was administered by his great-great-grandson Eliyahu Pesseles. His sons and in particular his grandson Reb Leib Reb Ber's (1759-1830), held sway over Kahal appointments, finance and decision making.

The common people suffered not only from a feeling of spiritual deficiency due to their scholastic shortcomings, but also were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the suppression of their representation on the Kahal. A complex episode in the community's history revolved around the appointment and functioning of Rabbi Shmuel ben Avigdor (died 1790), who became known as ‏the "Last Av Din" (Chief Rabbi)of Vilna.‏ A class struggle was simmering in addition to the doctrinal differences between the Khassidim and the Misnagdim. The Khassidim took advantage of the masses' feelings of repression and encouraged a revolt against the Kahal. This struggle was seen by the civil authorities as an opportunity to weaken the power of the Kahal and so they supported the claims of the masses against alleged corruption by Kahal leaders on the one hand, and libel by the Misnagdim against the Khassidim on the other.

Initially the Misnagdim succeeded in holding the revolt in check and the Khassidic leaders were accused of treason before the authorities. Several leaders were imprisoned, including Rabbi Shneour-Zalmen of Liadi whose followers were known as Lubavitcher Khassidim, or Khabad as the movement is known today. But counter-charges were brought by his supporters, and repeated litigation ensued. The Kahal was accused of fabricating election results and misappropriating funds. Kahal records were seized by the civil authorities, and elections were declared void. In the ensuing elections, pressure was brought by the masses such that pro-Khassidic factions infiltrated the Vilna Kahal and the power of the Misnagdim was neutralized.

The Misnagdim retaliated by promulgating the Kherem - excommunication. In many towns the messengers of the Gaon, who had taken up the leadership of Misnagdic opposition, spread the word concerning alleged degenerate practices of the Khassidim. All contact with Khassidim was forbidden. Committees 56 were set up to investigate
persons accused of sympathizing with the Khassidim, and, if found guilty, such persons were denied all community contact. The climax of the struggle came with the death of the Gaon in 1797 when the elated Khassidim were accused of dancing around his grave. Attempts were made by the Khassidim to explain this action by claiming that the dancing was nowhere near his grave, and was connected with the current festival of Simkhat Torah. The Kherem was revived, and attempts were made to involve the civil authorities.

The result of this tragic split in the community was the abolishment by the authorities of the Kahal in the early nineteenth century. Tired of communal strife, the government finally demolished the independent power base which had been granted as a privilege centuries before by the Polish kings.The dissolution of the Kahal followed the three successive partitions of Poland (of which Lithuania had been a
part), and the acquisition by the Russians of vast Polish territories. The Tzars saw the stripping of the last vestiges of the Polish system as essential to establishing centralized Russian control of the masses of newly acquired Jewish subjects. As a consequence, in the long term, both the Khassidim and the Misnagdim suffered, when the community as a whole was placed under direct government control.

The doctrinal disputes between the Khassidim and the Misnagdim continued into the middle of the nineteenth century when the more serious of them gradually waned, although certain elements of the dispute survive to this day. On one hand the later generations of Khassidic leaders returned to a large extent to Talmudic study, particularly the Lubavitcher Khassidim. On the other hand internal struggles for the succession to power among the various Khassidic dynasties replaced the external struggle with the Misnagdim. Lithuania remained a Misnagdic stronghold, whilst much of Poland and parts of Byelorussia, as well as large regions of Roumania and Hungary were largely under Khassidic influence.

The influence of the Gaon continues to hold its strength in the Lithuanian-style Yeshivot in Israel and the Diaspora. His rulings and interpretations still constitute the ultimate authority, and his methods contributed significantly to Jewish scholarship in general. Today the Gaon is regarded by scholars of both Misnagdic and Khassidic tradition as the highest rabbinic authority of the past several centuries, probably since the time of the Rambam.

This summary presents some aspects of the Gaon's biography. The reader is referred to various biographies of the Gaon, quoted as sources in the following chapter. An intimate appreciation of the Gaon by his descendants is best gained from a selection of comments made by the Gaon's sons Yehudah Leib and Avraham in their introductions to his writings :

"He who did not see his learning, his holiness, and his modesty never saw light throughout his life. Whenever he was unable to solve a difficult passage in his studies his face became darkened. He was even cruel to his sons and household, not recognizing them or his brothers. When, with the help of God, he solved the problem, his face lit up with internal light ,and he did not eat for several days due to his great joy. He barely tasted the pleasure of sleep for several days.

He researched, corrected texts and wrote compositions on Bible, Mishnah, Babylonian Gemarah, Yerushalmi Gemarah, Toseftah, Mekhilta, Safra, Sifri, Seder Olam, Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer, Zohar, Tikunei Zohar, Sefer Yetsirah, Shulkhan Arukh, Avot De Rabbi Natan. On Massoret and grammar he wrote more than one hundred principles. On algebra and trigonometry there are a number of manuscripts. His learning was engraved on his lips and in his heart, and he knew all the opinions of the rabbis and scholars.

He did not waste his time with idleness, as we saw that even when he talked with us, he was brief and to the point.

From the outset, at age nine, he set his heart to understand all parts of the Torah, both revealed and hidden. Who can estimate the depth of his heart and the might of his wisdom ? All of his writings are just a drop in the ocean of his knowledge, since he set down very little on paper. A drop revealed is as one thousandth of that yet unrevealed.

At the age of twelve he dedicated himself to study a commentary of the Rambam for six months. Great scholars have since used this study to solve their questions.

All sections of the Zohar he studied alone with no partner for six months. His commentaries on the Zohar shed new light on previously insoluble mysteries.

In two hours he was capable of learning fifty pages of the most difficult sections.

We must state that his explanations differed from his predecessors who, despite their fame and scholarship, did not take care to study diligently the exact composition of the written words. He studied every word and every letter and the relationship between them. He explained the occurrence of repetitive passages by analyzing the style and subtle nuances.

By the age of thirteen, his piety was recognized, and until the day of his death, he never looked outward to the world aside from his studies. Nobody reached even half way up to his ankle in scholarship.

He dedicated his soul, even at the expense of isolating himself from the fellowship of his family, his sons and daughters. Only in the pure awe of Heaven was he immersed. Throughout his days he never inquired about his sons' or daughters' livelihood. He never wrote them letters. If one of his sons came to visit him, although he was very happy to see them since he may not have seen them for a year or so, he asked nothing of their material welfare. If he rested, it was never for more than two hours at a time before he hastened to return to his studies.

Even though he was extremely fond of his eldest son Shlomo Zalmen and greatly valued his scholarship, when the son was ill for a long time during a period when the Gaon needed to study, he isolated himself in a hut in the woods in order to concentrate on his studies. He remained there for more than a month and forgot about his family. Only when he returned and was in the bathhouse, where holy thoughts were forbidden, did his mind suddenly return to material matters. Suddenly he remembered his dear son's illness and hastened home to inquire of his welfare.

Despite his love of the Holy Land and his efforts to encourage his students to settle there, he failed to accomplish his planned trip there. We asked him many times why he turned back and he usually refused to answer. Only in his old age did he hint as to the reason, by saying that he had been denied permission from Heaven.

When he was taken from us we realized how little we had utilized the opportunity of learning from him. Would that we had learned from him how unimportant physical gratification is, as he only tasted food when it was about to become unavailable and only slept when he had no alternative, even when his health was failing.

That which we have related about him is as nought to that which could be told. He who desires to know more should study his works".

Conclusion

A quotation which would be in the spirit of the Gaon appears in a book called Grandma , a biography of the late Rabbanit Devorah Sternbuch.

Whilst she was proud of her descent from the Gaon and constantly reminded her children and grandchildren of it, she saw it as an obligation rather than a priveledge. On the occasion of the marriage of a member of her family, the mechutanim (in-laws) were boasting of their own illustrious rabbinic descent. After listening for a while, Rabbanit Sternbuch suddenly declared:

"‏Yikhus alein iz nisht genug! Yikhus iz mekhayev!‏"

Pedigree by itself is not enough; pedigree obligates a person.

In the same spirit is a statement made in Russia about 1910 by the aunt of this author my grandparents, Dina Namakshtansky. When her daughter was refused permission to join the neighbouring youth of the village who were celebrating the harvest by dancing in the street, her mother, considering such behaviour unseemly and unbefitting a member of such a rabbinic family explained by saying in Yiddish:

"‏Du darft visen ver du binst‏ "

You need to know who you are.

Vilna Gaon

Thursday, 24 February 2011

Kremer – the Vilna Gaon had no Surname

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