Issue: April 1997 Artist: Mario Sermoneta Size: 25.7 mm x 40 mm Plate Number: 300 Printers: E. Lewin-Epstein Ltd Printing Method: offset

Rabbi Elijah was born into a renowned rabbinical and scholarly family on the first day of Passover, 1720, in the village of Seletz in the Grodno province. He died in Vilna on the third day of Succot, 1797. When he was six and a half years old, he gave a homily in the synagogue of Vilna answering questions posed by his rabbi. Apart from the three months he spent studying with Rabbi Moses Margaliot of Keidany (author of Pnei Moshe) at the age of seven, he studied mostly on his own.

Ha-Gra was erudite in Torah, Kabbalah, astronomy, geometry, algebra, geography and Hebrew grammar. He wrote commentaries on the Bible, the Talmud, Tannaitic Midrashism, the Zohar, Shulhan Aruch, and studies on Hebrew grammar and in the general sciences. All of his writings were published posthumously, some of them by his sons and students. Later, dozens of books were written elaborating on his writings.

Beyond his extensive learning, his spiritual legacy is valid to this day. Even after his marriage, he chose to live in seclusion in a small house outside town, learning day and night. (His sons claimed that he slept only two hours a night.) During one period, he spent much of his time wandering the countryside.

At the age of forty he began teaching Torah in a small hut near his house. His disciples wrote down his commentaries and clarifications on the texts. During this same period he became involved in public life. He publicly defended Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschuetz, accused of following Shabbetai Zvi, because he felt that the charges were ungrounded.

Ha-Gra adhered strictly to the Halakha and was therefore strongly opposed to philosophical thought and very critical about allegorical commentaries. He also opposed both the Haskalah Movement that emerged during his lifetime and the Hassidic movement, which he believed conflicted with traditional Judaism.

Prior to 1783 he had planned to emigrate to the Eretz-Israel; his farewell letter to his family was a kind of spiritual testament. But for unknown reasons, he never reached his destination.

The cemetery in Vilna where Ha-Gra was buried has been cleared. His grave, together with seven others nearby, has been moved twice. It now lies in the present cemetery of Vilna.