RELIGIOUS FIGURE

Vilna Gaon

1720 - 1797

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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, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 1720 – Vilnius 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 in 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. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Vilna Gaon is the 1,006th most popular religious figure (down from 947th in 2019), the 33rd most popular biography from Belarus (up from 38th in 2019) and the most popular Belarusian Religious Figure.

Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon, was a famous Talmudic scholar and the leader of the Mitnagdic Jewish community in the 18th century. He is most famous for his work on the Talmud, which he would study for hours each day.

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Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES

Among religious figures, Vilna Gaon ranks 1,006 out of 3,187. Before him are Sophronius of Jerusalem, Frumentius, Basil Fool for Christ, Peter Mogila, Leopold Mandić, and John of Matha. After him are Isidore of Kiev, John the Merciful, Andrea Amati, Teobaldo Boccapecci, Sebastian Castellio, and Mariano Rampolla.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1720, Vilna Gaon ranks 12. Before him are Philip, Duke of Parma, Emperor Sakuramachi, Anna Maria Mozart, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, and Charles Bonnet. After him are James Hargreaves, Heraclius II of Georgia, William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Balaji Baji Rao, Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and Johann Schobert. Among people deceased in 1797, Vilna Gaon ranks 12. Before him are François-Noël Babeuf, James Hutton, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, Lazare Hoche, and Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. After him are Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, Joseph Wright of Derby, Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec, Pasquale Anfossi, Wang Zhenyi, and Asaf-ud-Daula.

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In Belarus

Among people born in Belarus, Vilna Gaon ranks 33 out of 368. Before him are Yakub Kolas (1882), Raphael Lemkin (1900), Mstislav I of Kiev (1076), Sophia of Minsk (1140), Bronislav Kaminski (1899), and Maria Kaczyńska (1942). After him are Marek Edelman (1922), Nikolay Krestinsky (1883), Rogneda of Polotsk (966), Elena Glinskaya (1510), Bronislava Nijinska (1891), and Ivan Yakubovsky (1912).

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Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES In Belarus

Among religious figures born in Belarus, Vilna Gaon ranks 1. After him are Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789), Michael Rohoza (1540), Kirill of Turov (1130), Chaim Kanievsky (1928), Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838), Tadevuš Kandrusievič (1946), and Jakub Szynkiewicz (1884).

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