The Ohel - Tomb of the Vilna Gaon

Rabbeinu Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797)

Yarzheit 19th Tishrei

Rabbeinu Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797). At the age of seven he gave his first public discourse and displayed a fully developed intellect. By the time he was ten he had advanced to the point where he no longer needed a teacher. At the age of 35 he was approached by one of the leading sages of that time, Rabbi Yehonosson Eibeschitz, to act as an intermediary in the conflict between him and another great sage, Rabbi Yakov Emden. The Gaon's son testified that for fifty years his father did not sleep for more than two hours in a twenty-four hour period. His breadth of knowledge was amazing. He was capable of stating from memory the number of times any sage was mentioned in any particular book of the Talmud. His knowledge of both the revealed and the hidden parts of the Torah was beyond compare. The Gaon considered secular knowledge to be a vital adjunct to Torah study. He was knowledgeable in almost all secular fields and authored books on grammar and mathematics. Above are photos of the holy tomb - Ohel - grave of the Vilna Gaon

Photos with thanks to Samuel Fleischman of Prague.