Arie Morgenstern
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305784
- eISBN:
- 9780199784820
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305787.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Offering a novel understanding of the origins of renewed Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel in modern times, this book situates that settlement in the context of Jewish messianism and traces it ...
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Offering a novel understanding of the origins of renewed Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel in modern times, this book situates that settlement in the context of Jewish messianism and traces it to a wave of messianic fervor that swept the Jewish world during the first half of the 19th century. Believing that the Messiah would appear in the year 5600 AM (1840 CE), thousands of Jews immigrated to the Land of Israel from throughout the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. This book focuses primarily on the immigration (“aliyah”) of the disciples of the Ga’on of Vilna, the Eastern European opponents of Hasidism (known in the Land of Israel as the Perushim) who, notwithstanding their vaunted rationalism, were characterized by a strong mystical and messianic bent. In recounting their story, the book describes their complex and changing relationships with the ruling Ottoman and Egyptian authorities, with the Anglican missionaries then active in Jerusalem (principally the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews), and with the Organization of Peqidim and Amarkalim (Clerk’s organization) in Amsterdam and its head, Zevi Hirsch Lehren. The book makes extensive use of the newly discovered archives of the Peqidim and Amarkalim, of the diaries and journals of the Anglican missionaries, of kabbalistic texts from throughout North Africa and the Near East, and of previously unavailable manuscripts by the disciples of the Vilna Ga’on. Finally, the book recounts the varied responses to the Messiah’s failure to appear in 1840, and the continued growth in the Jewish community, a precursor to the emergence of modern political Zionism in the late 19th century.Less
Offering a novel understanding of the origins of renewed Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel in modern times, this book situates that settlement in the context of Jewish messianism and traces it to a wave of messianic fervor that swept the Jewish world during the first half of the 19th century. Believing that the Messiah would appear in the year 5600 AM (1840 CE), thousands of Jews immigrated to the Land of Israel from throughout the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. This book focuses primarily on the immigration (“aliyah”) of the disciples of the Ga’on of Vilna, the Eastern European opponents of Hasidism (known in the Land of Israel as the Perushim) who, notwithstanding their vaunted rationalism, were characterized by a strong mystical and messianic bent. In recounting their story, the book describes their complex and changing relationships with the ruling Ottoman and Egyptian authorities, with the Anglican missionaries then active in Jerusalem (principally the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews), and with the Organization of Peqidim and Amarkalim (Clerk’s organization) in Amsterdam and its head, Zevi Hirsch Lehren. The book makes extensive use of the newly discovered archives of the Peqidim and Amarkalim, of the diaries and journals of the Anglican missionaries, of kabbalistic texts from throughout North Africa and the Near East, and of previously unavailable manuscripts by the disciples of the Vilna Ga’on. Finally, the book recounts the varied responses to the Messiah’s failure to appear in 1840, and the continued growth in the Jewish community, a precursor to the emergence of modern political Zionism in the late 19th century.
Arie Morgenstern
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305784
- eISBN:
- 9780199784820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305787.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Vilna Ga’on, an extraordinary Talmudic scholar, inspired in his disciples a sense that he was a supernatural phenomenon, with a messianic mission to redeem the Jewish nation by disseminating the ...
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The Vilna Ga’on, an extraordinary Talmudic scholar, inspired in his disciples a sense that he was a supernatural phenomenon, with a messianic mission to redeem the Jewish nation by disseminating the true knowledge of Torah and by settling the Land of Israel. Although he himself never succeeded in immigrating to the Land, many of his disciples did so. They had a profound sense that the End of Days was approaching, and they developed the doctrine that redemption was not contingent on repentance but would come at its appointed time no matter what; repentance bore only on how it was to come about and on whether it might be accelerated. They likewise regarded as no longer applicable the prohibition in the “Three Oaths” against efforts on Israel’s part to hasten the End (“ascending the wall”). Rejecting the traditional emphasis on passivity, they held that the awakening above (i.e., God’s redemptive actions) could be triggered by the awakening from below (human actions directed toward hastening redemption), such as settling the Land of Israel and rebuilding it in order to “raise the Shekhinah from its ashes”.Less
The Vilna Ga’on, an extraordinary Talmudic scholar, inspired in his disciples a sense that he was a supernatural phenomenon, with a messianic mission to redeem the Jewish nation by disseminating the true knowledge of Torah and by settling the Land of Israel. Although he himself never succeeded in immigrating to the Land, many of his disciples did so. They had a profound sense that the End of Days was approaching, and they developed the doctrine that redemption was not contingent on repentance but would come at its appointed time no matter what; repentance bore only on how it was to come about and on whether it might be accelerated. They likewise regarded as no longer applicable the prohibition in the “Three Oaths” against efforts on Israel’s part to hasten the End (“ascending the wall”). Rejecting the traditional emphasis on passivity, they held that the awakening above (i.e., God’s redemptive actions) could be triggered by the awakening from below (human actions directed toward hastening redemption), such as settling the Land of Israel and rebuilding it in order to “raise the Shekhinah from its ashes”.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
A legendary figure in his own lifetime, Rabbi Eliahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797) was known as the “Gaon of Vilna”. He was the acknowledged master of Talmudic studies in the vibrant intellectual ...
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A legendary figure in his own lifetime, Rabbi Eliahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797) was known as the “Gaon of Vilna”. He was the acknowledged master of Talmudic studies in the vibrant intellectual center of Vilna, revered throughout Eastern Europe for his learning and his ability to traverse with ease seemingly opposed domains of thought and activity. After his death, the myth that had been woven around him became even more powerful and was expressed in various public images. The formation of these images was influenced as much by the needs and wishes of those who clung to and depended on them as by the actual figure of the Gaon. This book sheds light on aspects of the Vilna Gaon's “real” character and traces several public images of him as they have developed and spread from the early nineteenth century until the present day.Less
A legendary figure in his own lifetime, Rabbi Eliahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797) was known as the “Gaon of Vilna”. He was the acknowledged master of Talmudic studies in the vibrant intellectual center of Vilna, revered throughout Eastern Europe for his learning and his ability to traverse with ease seemingly opposed domains of thought and activity. After his death, the myth that had been woven around him became even more powerful and was expressed in various public images. The formation of these images was influenced as much by the needs and wishes of those who clung to and depended on them as by the actual figure of the Gaon. This book sheds light on aspects of the Vilna Gaon's “real” character and traces several public images of him as they have developed and spread from the early nineteenth century until the present day.
R. D. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198206606
- eISBN:
- 9780191717307
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206606.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Between 1815 and 1848, the forces of liberalism and nationalism contended with those of reaction orchestrated by the Austrian chancellor Metternich. Governments generally expected universities to ...
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Between 1815 and 1848, the forces of liberalism and nationalism contended with those of reaction orchestrated by the Austrian chancellor Metternich. Governments generally expected universities to enforce political and religious orthodoxy. University professors and students, mostly drawn from the growing middle class, had a central part in these conflicts. In Germany, the Burschenschaft student movement voiced the demand for German national unity, but was severely repressed after 1819. In France and Italy, professors and students were often involved in political movements, sometimes violent, in the 1820s and during the 1830 revolutions. A particularly dramatic episode was the Polish rising against Russian rule in 1830, which led to the suppression of Vilna University and the diffusion of Polish intellectual exiles. During the 1848 revolutions, students were active on the liberal side in Germany, at Vienna, and in France.Less
Between 1815 and 1848, the forces of liberalism and nationalism contended with those of reaction orchestrated by the Austrian chancellor Metternich. Governments generally expected universities to enforce political and religious orthodoxy. University professors and students, mostly drawn from the growing middle class, had a central part in these conflicts. In Germany, the Burschenschaft student movement voiced the demand for German national unity, but was severely repressed after 1819. In France and Italy, professors and students were often involved in political movements, sometimes violent, in the 1820s and during the 1830 revolutions. A particularly dramatic episode was the Polish rising against Russian rule in 1830, which led to the suppression of Vilna University and the diffusion of Polish intellectual exiles. During the 1848 revolutions, students were active on the liberal side in Germany, at Vienna, and in France.
Peter J. Yearwood
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199226733
- eISBN:
- 9780191710308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226733.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
After American rejection of the Covenant, which London could not influence, the League was overshadowed by the Allied Supreme Council which tackled the main post‐war issues. The British supported the ...
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After American rejection of the Covenant, which London could not influence, the League was overshadowed by the Allied Supreme Council which tackled the main post‐war issues. The British supported the Canadian attempt to delete article 10 (the territorial guarantee) but this was not seen as an important issue. Nor was the elaboration of procedures for sanctions under article 16 (the guarantee of peace) through the nineteen resolutions of 1921. Lord Curzon succeeded Balfour as Foreign Secretary. Rejecting balance of power politics, he valued the League as embodying moral principles in the conduct of international affairs. The League was involved in the resolution of several crises including Armenia (1920), North Persia (1920), Vilna (1920–3), Upper Silesia (1921), and Albania (1921). Its record was mixed. Meanwhile, Cecil, aiming to replace Lloyd George with a high‐minded coalition under Grey, turned the League of Nations Union into a significant force in British politics.Less
After American rejection of the Covenant, which London could not influence, the League was overshadowed by the Allied Supreme Council which tackled the main post‐war issues. The British supported the Canadian attempt to delete article 10 (the territorial guarantee) but this was not seen as an important issue. Nor was the elaboration of procedures for sanctions under article 16 (the guarantee of peace) through the nineteen resolutions of 1921. Lord Curzon succeeded Balfour as Foreign Secretary. Rejecting balance of power politics, he valued the League as embodying moral principles in the conduct of international affairs. The League was involved in the resolution of several crises including Armenia (1920), North Persia (1920), Vilna (1920–3), Upper Silesia (1921), and Albania (1921). Its record was mixed. Meanwhile, Cecil, aiming to replace Lloyd George with a high‐minded coalition under Grey, turned the League of Nations Union into a significant force in British politics.
Shaul Stampfer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774853
- eISBN:
- 9781800340909
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774853.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter details the development of the image of the Vilna Gaon, one of the best-known east European Jews. The Gaon left few disciples and a very problematic literary heritage. He wrote enigmatic ...
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This chapter details the development of the image of the Vilna Gaon, one of the best-known east European Jews. The Gaon left few disciples and a very problematic literary heritage. He wrote enigmatic notes rather than clear and readable comments on the Talmud, so that reconstructing his interpretation of a talmudic text is a difficult and arduous task. For this, and probably other reasons as well, he was not often cited. One consequence of this was that later generations could not even learn of his ideas secondhand. If the Gaon's works were not widely studied, how then was his memory preserved? In his lifetime, the Gaon had a very strong impact on a small circle of individuals close to him and a leading role in the Vilna community and region. Therefore, biographies seem to have had an important role in the maintenance of his memory. However, while they preserved his memory, they also helped shape it. Interestingly, one of the elements that seems to have been underemphasized in these biographies was the Gaon's opposition to hasidism.Less
This chapter details the development of the image of the Vilna Gaon, one of the best-known east European Jews. The Gaon left few disciples and a very problematic literary heritage. He wrote enigmatic notes rather than clear and readable comments on the Talmud, so that reconstructing his interpretation of a talmudic text is a difficult and arduous task. For this, and probably other reasons as well, he was not often cited. One consequence of this was that later generations could not even learn of his ideas secondhand. If the Gaon's works were not widely studied, how then was his memory preserved? In his lifetime, the Gaon had a very strong impact on a small circle of individuals close to him and a leading role in the Vilna community and region. Therefore, biographies seem to have had an important role in the maintenance of his memory. However, while they preserved his memory, they also helped shape it. Interestingly, one of the elements that seems to have been underemphasized in these biographies was the Gaon's opposition to hasidism.
Alan Brill
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774594
- eISBN:
- 9781800340695
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774594.003.0027
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter takes a look at Elijah Judah Schochet's The Hasidic Movement and the Gaon of Vilna. Schochet sets out to answer two related questions in this book: What problems did its opponents ...
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This chapter takes a look at Elijah Judah Schochet's The Hasidic Movement and the Gaon of Vilna. Schochet sets out to answer two related questions in this book: What problems did its opponents perceive in the hasidic movement and why did the Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (known as Hagra), reject it? The book presents the problems of hasidism through the eyes of the edicts and polemical tracts against it. The chapter reviews how Schochet presents his arguments and how the Gaon is presented within the book. Schochet's scholarship is also analysed, and certain possible influences to his work drawn. To conclude, the chapter offers some critiques on Schochet's analysis could be improved.Less
This chapter takes a look at Elijah Judah Schochet's The Hasidic Movement and the Gaon of Vilna. Schochet sets out to answer two related questions in this book: What problems did its opponents perceive in the hasidic movement and why did the Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (known as Hagra), reject it? The book presents the problems of hasidism through the eyes of the edicts and polemical tracts against it. The chapter reviews how Schochet presents his arguments and how the Gaon is presented within the book. Schochet's scholarship is also analysed, and certain possible influences to his work drawn. To conclude, the chapter offers some critiques on Schochet's analysis could be improved.
Motti Zalkin
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774716
- eISBN:
- 9781800340725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774716.003.0036
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter presents Hirsz Abramowicz’s compilation of essays, arranged in five chapters. The first chapter deals with Lithuanian Jewish life and traditions, examining among other topics rural ...
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This chapter presents Hirsz Abramowicz’s compilation of essays, arranged in five chapters. The first chapter deals with Lithuanian Jewish life and traditions, examining among other topics rural occupations, the shtetl, diet, and mental illness. The second is an account of reform and upheaval before the First World War, with sections on Jewish public figures such as Joshua Steinberg, Hirsh Lekert, and Anna Lifshits, and on tsarist prisons, Jewish gymnasiums, and so on. The third examines the First World War and its aftermath, with sections entitled ‘Joining the Militia’, ‘The Germans’, and ‘April 1919’. The fourth is a description of Jewish vocational education, focusing on ‘help through work’, agricultural schools, and other programmes. The final chapter consists of profiles of Vilna Jews such as Mark Antokolsky, Eliezer Kruk, and Moshe Shalit.Less
This chapter presents Hirsz Abramowicz’s compilation of essays, arranged in five chapters. The first chapter deals with Lithuanian Jewish life and traditions, examining among other topics rural occupations, the shtetl, diet, and mental illness. The second is an account of reform and upheaval before the First World War, with sections on Jewish public figures such as Joshua Steinberg, Hirsh Lekert, and Anna Lifshits, and on tsarist prisons, Jewish gymnasiums, and so on. The third examines the First World War and its aftermath, with sections entitled ‘Joining the Militia’, ‘The Germans’, and ‘April 1919’. The fourth is a description of Jewish vocational education, focusing on ‘help through work’, agricultural schools, and other programmes. The final chapter consists of profiles of Vilna Jews such as Mark Antokolsky, Eliezer Kruk, and Moshe Shalit.
Justin D. Cammy
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774693
- eISBN:
- 9781800340718
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774693.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines Yung Vilne (Young Vilna, 1929–1940). In the decade preceding the outbreak of the Second World War, a group of young, unknown Yiddish poets, writers, and artists helped turn ...
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This chapter examines Yung Vilne (Young Vilna, 1929–1940). In the decade preceding the outbreak of the Second World War, a group of young, unknown Yiddish poets, writers, and artists helped turn Vilna into the dominant Yiddish cultural centre in Poland. These young men and women, the majority of them from Vilna itself or its neighbouring towns, emerged at a moment when Jewish Vilna's culture was defined by its commitment to Yiddish culture and youth. Drawn together under the rubric Yung Vilne, the group synthesized the aspirations of individual members for artistic experimentation and freedom of expression with a collective concern for the social, political, and cultural life of the city. In doing so, Yung Vilne earned the distinction of being both the last of the major Yiddish avant-garde movements in inter-war Poland, and the literary group most evocative of the pressures of time and place.Less
This chapter examines Yung Vilne (Young Vilna, 1929–1940). In the decade preceding the outbreak of the Second World War, a group of young, unknown Yiddish poets, writers, and artists helped turn Vilna into the dominant Yiddish cultural centre in Poland. These young men and women, the majority of them from Vilna itself or its neighbouring towns, emerged at a moment when Jewish Vilna's culture was defined by its commitment to Yiddish culture and youth. Drawn together under the rubric Yung Vilne, the group synthesized the aspirations of individual members for artistic experimentation and freedom of expression with a collective concern for the social, political, and cultural life of the city. In doing so, Yung Vilne earned the distinction of being both the last of the major Yiddish avant-garde movements in inter-war Poland, and the literary group most evocative of the pressures of time and place.
Sarunas Liekis
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774693
- eISBN:
- 9781800340718
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774693.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter discusses the transfer of Vilna and the surrounding district to the Lithuanian republic in a 1939 treaty. After this transfer, the Lithuanian republic annulled the previously operating ...
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This chapter discusses the transfer of Vilna and the surrounding district to the Lithuanian republic in a 1939 treaty. After this transfer, the Lithuanian republic annulled the previously operating Polish laws and introduced its own legal system. The new Ministry of Education announced that under Lithuanian law the kehilah of the Jewish community, which had exercised authority during Polish rule, would have to be re-elected in May 1940. As a consequence, the kehilah's structure and its operating rules would be changed. This led the leaders of the Jewish community to petition that kehilah's status as a legal entity be restored and to allow it to continue its activities as under the laws of the former Polish state.Less
This chapter discusses the transfer of Vilna and the surrounding district to the Lithuanian republic in a 1939 treaty. After this transfer, the Lithuanian republic annulled the previously operating Polish laws and introduced its own legal system. The new Ministry of Education announced that under Lithuanian law the kehilah of the Jewish community, which had exercised authority during Polish rule, would have to be re-elected in May 1940. As a consequence, the kehilah's structure and its operating rules would be changed. This led the leaders of the Jewish community to petition that kehilah's status as a legal entity be restored and to allow it to continue its activities as under the laws of the former Polish state.
Barbara Epstein
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242425
- eISBN:
- 9780520931336
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242425.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, this book recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. The book chronicles the history of a Communist-led ...
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Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, this book recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. The book chronicles the history of a Communist-led resistance movement inside the Minsk ghetto, which, through its links to its Belarussian counterpart outside the ghetto and with help from others, enabled thousands of ghetto Jews to flee to the surrounding forests where they joined partisan units fighting the Germans. Telling a story that stands in stark contrast to what transpired across much of Eastern Europe, where Jews found few reliable allies in the face of the Nazi threat, this book captures the texture of life inside and outside the Minsk ghetto, evoking the harsh conditions, the life-threatening situations, and the friendships that helped many escape almost certain death. The book also explores how and why this resistance movement, unlike better known movements at places like Warsaw, Vilna, and Kovno, was able to rely on collaboration with those outside ghetto walls. It finds that an internationalist ethos fostered by two decades of Soviet rule, in addition to other factors, made this extraordinary story possible.Less
Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, this book recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. The book chronicles the history of a Communist-led resistance movement inside the Minsk ghetto, which, through its links to its Belarussian counterpart outside the ghetto and with help from others, enabled thousands of ghetto Jews to flee to the surrounding forests where they joined partisan units fighting the Germans. Telling a story that stands in stark contrast to what transpired across much of Eastern Europe, where Jews found few reliable allies in the face of the Nazi threat, this book captures the texture of life inside and outside the Minsk ghetto, evoking the harsh conditions, the life-threatening situations, and the friendships that helped many escape almost certain death. The book also explores how and why this resistance movement, unlike better known movements at places like Warsaw, Vilna, and Kovno, was able to rely on collaboration with those outside ghetto walls. It finds that an internationalist ethos fostered by two decades of Soviet rule, in addition to other factors, made this extraordinary story possible.
Akiva Zimmermann
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781906764739
- eISBN:
- 9781800343306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781906764739.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines the years spent in Vilna, Warsaw, and Russia by Moshe Koussevitzky, one of the greatest cantors of the twentieth century. It recounts Moshe's path to the position of chief ...
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This chapter examines the years spent in Vilna, Warsaw, and Russia by Moshe Koussevitzky, one of the greatest cantors of the twentieth century. It recounts Moshe's path to the position of chief cantor at the Great Synagogue of Vilna. It also mentions Shlomo Scharf, who had returned with other Lithuanian refugees from Russia and sang in the choir of Taharat Hakodesh synagogue. The chapter discusses Moshe's marriage to Raya Zrankin and their settlement into an apartment on Dominikanska Street, in the Jewish quarter. It points out how Moshe was deeply influenced by Eliasz Zaludkowski's easy handling of the nusah hatfilah.Less
This chapter examines the years spent in Vilna, Warsaw, and Russia by Moshe Koussevitzky, one of the greatest cantors of the twentieth century. It recounts Moshe's path to the position of chief cantor at the Great Synagogue of Vilna. It also mentions Shlomo Scharf, who had returned with other Lithuanian refugees from Russia and sang in the choir of Taharat Hakodesh synagogue. The chapter discusses Moshe's marriage to Raya Zrankin and their settlement into an apartment on Dominikanska Street, in the Jewish quarter. It points out how Moshe was deeply influenced by Eliasz Zaludkowski's easy handling of the nusah hatfilah.
Barbara Epstein
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242425
- eISBN:
- 9780520931336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242425.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the strategies of resistance beyond Minsk. It focuses on the Kovno ghetto and its efforts to send Jews to the forest. The story of the Kovno ghetto forms a useful point of ...
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This chapter discusses the strategies of resistance beyond Minsk. It focuses on the Kovno ghetto and its efforts to send Jews to the forest. The story of the Kovno ghetto forms a useful point of comparison with the Minsk ghetto underground. In contrast to the approximately ten thousand Jews who reached partisan units from the Minsk ghetto, only about three hundred Jews reached the partisan units from the Kovno ghetto. These differences were caused by geographical and logistical differences between the two ghettos. Like Minsk, the Kovno ghetto was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, however the sentries of the Kovno ghetto were stationed at intervals along it. Kovno was not like Minsk, which was within a day's walk of the partisan forest. It was not possible for the residents of the Kovno ghetto to leave on their own, walk to the forest and search for partisan groups to join. The most important difference between the Minsk and Kovno ghetto was that the Minsk ghetto was part of a united underground movement while the Kovno ghetto did not have external allies. Due to the weakness and the isolation of underground forces outside the ghetto, Kovno was only able to send limited numbers of Jews to the forest. This Kovno story highlights the significance of external allies, such as links to a strong underground organization, and a dense network of ties between Jews in the ghetto and non-Jews outside it. In addition to discussing the story of the Kovno ghetto, the chapter also tackles the ghetto revolt that dominated the ghettos of Vilna, Warsaw, and Bialystock.Less
This chapter discusses the strategies of resistance beyond Minsk. It focuses on the Kovno ghetto and its efforts to send Jews to the forest. The story of the Kovno ghetto forms a useful point of comparison with the Minsk ghetto underground. In contrast to the approximately ten thousand Jews who reached partisan units from the Minsk ghetto, only about three hundred Jews reached the partisan units from the Kovno ghetto. These differences were caused by geographical and logistical differences between the two ghettos. Like Minsk, the Kovno ghetto was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, however the sentries of the Kovno ghetto were stationed at intervals along it. Kovno was not like Minsk, which was within a day's walk of the partisan forest. It was not possible for the residents of the Kovno ghetto to leave on their own, walk to the forest and search for partisan groups to join. The most important difference between the Minsk and Kovno ghetto was that the Minsk ghetto was part of a united underground movement while the Kovno ghetto did not have external allies. Due to the weakness and the isolation of underground forces outside the ghetto, Kovno was only able to send limited numbers of Jews to the forest. This Kovno story highlights the significance of external allies, such as links to a strong underground organization, and a dense network of ties between Jews in the ghetto and non-Jews outside it. In addition to discussing the story of the Kovno ghetto, the chapter also tackles the ghetto revolt that dominated the ghettos of Vilna, Warsaw, and Bialystock.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about Rabbi Eliyahu, the son of Shlomo Zalman, known as the Gaon of Vilna. This book provides descriptions of the Gaon written ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about Rabbi Eliyahu, the son of Shlomo Zalman, known as the Gaon of Vilna. This book provides descriptions of the Gaon written by his sons and several of his disciples and examines the works of Gaon in relation to the Haskalah, Hasidism, and Mitnagdim. It also discusses Talmudic scholarship and the rabbinate in Lithuanian Jewry during the nineteenth century and explains the thought and practice of the Vilna Gaon.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about Rabbi Eliyahu, the son of Shlomo Zalman, known as the Gaon of Vilna. This book provides descriptions of the Gaon written by his sons and several of his disciples and examines the works of Gaon in relation to the Haskalah, Hasidism, and Mitnagdim. It also discusses Talmudic scholarship and the rabbinate in Lithuanian Jewry during the nineteenth century and explains the thought and practice of the Vilna Gaon.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter describes the unusual distinction of the Gaon of Vilna's achievements as a Torah scholar, a distinction that made him a symbol and model of greatness in Torah scholarship in the eyes of ...
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This chapter describes the unusual distinction of the Gaon of Vilna's achievements as a Torah scholar, a distinction that made him a symbol and model of greatness in Torah scholarship in the eyes of his disciples and in the eyes of many others. It attempts to reconstruct the figure of the Gaon as it was conceived and interpreted by those few who saw his face based on the introductions written by the Gaon's two sons and a few of his students to his posthumously published works. The analysis reveals that in various ways the Gaon's disciples and sons expressed their conviction that before them was a person of superhuman dimensions and that the sum of his writings represented merely a drop of the sea of his wisdom.Less
This chapter describes the unusual distinction of the Gaon of Vilna's achievements as a Torah scholar, a distinction that made him a symbol and model of greatness in Torah scholarship in the eyes of his disciples and in the eyes of many others. It attempts to reconstruct the figure of the Gaon as it was conceived and interpreted by those few who saw his face based on the introductions written by the Gaon's two sons and a few of his students to his posthumously published works. The analysis reveals that in various ways the Gaon's disciples and sons expressed their conviction that before them was a person of superhuman dimensions and that the sum of his writings represented merely a drop of the sea of his wisdom.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter deals with the myth of the Vilna Gaon as a maskil among both proponents and opponents of Haskalah. It traces this myth as reflected in the historiography of the Haskalah movement and ...
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This chapter deals with the myth of the Vilna Gaon as a maskil among both proponents and opponents of Haskalah. It traces this myth as reflected in the historiography of the Haskalah movement and shows that the matter of the Gaon and Haskalah is an instructive example of the continuity between Haskalah literature of the nineteenth century and Jewish historiography of the end of that century and the first half of the next. It discusses the image of the Vilna Gaon as a maskil as a weapon in the hands of Orthodox Judaism and evaluates the influence of the Vilna Gaon on the growth of the Haskalah movement in Lithuania.Less
This chapter deals with the myth of the Vilna Gaon as a maskil among both proponents and opponents of Haskalah. It traces this myth as reflected in the historiography of the Haskalah movement and shows that the matter of the Gaon and Haskalah is an instructive example of the continuity between Haskalah literature of the nineteenth century and Jewish historiography of the end of that century and the first half of the next. It discusses the image of the Vilna Gaon as a maskil as a weapon in the hands of Orthodox Judaism and evaluates the influence of the Vilna Gaon on the growth of the Haskalah movement in Lithuania.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses various aspects of the controversy between the Hasidism and the Mitnagdim and evaluates the role of Vilna Gaon in the struggle against Hasidism. The findings contradict the ...
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This chapter discusses various aspects of the controversy between the Hasidism and the Mitnagdim and evaluates the role of Vilna Gaon in the struggle against Hasidism. The findings contradict the view that the struggle against Hasidism began as an initiative of the oligarchy, and that the Gaon merely served as a figurehead that the establishment was pleased to use. The result reveals that the basic motives underlying the struggle against Hasidism were spiritual and religious, and not political and social.Less
This chapter discusses various aspects of the controversy between the Hasidism and the Mitnagdim and evaluates the role of Vilna Gaon in the struggle against Hasidism. The findings contradict the view that the struggle against Hasidism began as an initiative of the oligarchy, and that the Gaon merely served as a figurehead that the establishment was pleased to use. The result reveals that the basic motives underlying the struggle against Hasidism were spiritual and religious, and not political and social.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter examines how the persecuted Hasidim regard their persecutor and how did the Hasidic leaders explain to themselves and to their flocks the fact that their chief opponent, Vilna Gaon, was ...
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This chapter examines how the persecuted Hasidim regard their persecutor and how did the Hasidic leaders explain to themselves and to their flocks the fact that their chief opponent, Vilna Gaon, was the greatest scholar of their generation. It analyzes the letters written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady. The findings reveal that Zalman's response to the role played by the Vilna Gaon in the struggle against Hasidism was dual. While he acknowledged the Gaon's eminence as the greatest scholar of his day, he also challenged his authority to determine that Hasidism was a heresy.Less
This chapter examines how the persecuted Hasidim regard their persecutor and how did the Hasidic leaders explain to themselves and to their flocks the fact that their chief opponent, Vilna Gaon, was the greatest scholar of their generation. It analyzes the letters written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady. The findings reveal that Zalman's response to the role played by the Vilna Gaon in the struggle against Hasidism was dual. While he acknowledged the Gaon's eminence as the greatest scholar of his day, he also challenged his authority to determine that Hasidism was a heresy.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the controversy between Mitnagdim and Hasidim focusing on Rabbi H. Hayyim of Volozhin's response to Hasidism. Hayyim waged the struggle against Hasidism in a style entirely ...
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This chapter discusses the controversy between Mitnagdim and Hasidim focusing on Rabbi H. Hayyim of Volozhin's response to Hasidism. Hayyim waged the struggle against Hasidism in a style entirely different from that initiated and led by his teacher and master, Vilna Gaon. It explains that while Vilna Gaon waged an unrelenting war to eliminate the deviant sect, Hayyim chose to struggle against Hasidism on the plane of ideas and education. It also discusses Hayyim's realization that Hasidim were not heretics and their motives were pure and his establishment of the Volozhin yeshiva.Less
This chapter discusses the controversy between Mitnagdim and Hasidim focusing on Rabbi H. Hayyim of Volozhin's response to Hasidism. Hayyim waged the struggle against Hasidism in a style entirely different from that initiated and led by his teacher and master, Vilna Gaon. It explains that while Vilna Gaon waged an unrelenting war to eliminate the deviant sect, Hayyim chose to struggle against Hasidism on the plane of ideas and education. It also discusses Hayyim's realization that Hasidim were not heretics and their motives were pure and his establishment of the Volozhin yeshiva.
Immanuel Etkes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223943
- eISBN:
- 9780520925076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223943.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter examines the relations between Torah scholarship and the institution of the rabbinate in nineteenth-century Lithuania. It discusses the apparent contradiction between the ideal of Torah ...
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This chapter examines the relations between Torah scholarship and the institution of the rabbinate in nineteenth-century Lithuania. It discusses the apparent contradiction between the ideal of Torah lishma and the rabbinate and analyzes the roles played by the heritage of the Vilna Gaon and that of Rabbi Hayyim in shaping the ideal of Torah study. This analysis is based on the biographies of rabbis written by their descendants or their admiring students, and the personal letters of traditional scholars.Less
This chapter examines the relations between Torah scholarship and the institution of the rabbinate in nineteenth-century Lithuania. It discusses the apparent contradiction between the ideal of Torah lishma and the rabbinate and analyzes the roles played by the heritage of the Vilna Gaon and that of Rabbi Hayyim in shaping the ideal of Torah study. This analysis is based on the biographies of rabbis written by their descendants or their admiring students, and the personal letters of traditional scholars.