The Gaon of Vilna and His Messianic Vision

by Morgenstern, Arie; Greenwood, Naftali

• ISBN13: 9789652295668
• ISBN10: 9652295663
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-20
• Publisher: Gefen Books

Summary

In 1990 a document was discovered in Poland, according to which the Gaon of Vilna (1720-1797) stopped in Amsterdam on his way to Eretz Israel. Research based on this astonishing find, detailed in this book, brought about a chain of dramatic discoveries that fundamentally altered our knowledge of the historic figure of the Gaon of Vilana. One such discovery reveals that the journey to Eretz Israel transpired in the year 1778, three years prior to 1781 - they year set as the "end time" by the kabbalists of that generation, including the Gaon of Vilna himself. This book demonstrates that the Gaon of Vilna traveled to Eretz Israel in order to compose a new Shulhan 'arukh, a final halakhic code that would bring an end to halakhic disputes within the Jewish people. In this way he hoped to ensure the Messiah's arrival in the year 1781.

Author Biography

Dr. Arie Morgenstern is a senior fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. He received his PhD in modern Jewish history from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His research specialities include messianic movements in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Dr. Morgenstern studied for many years in Israeli yeshivot, including Yeshivat Hevron in Jerusalem. He is the author of seven books, as well as many scholarly articles. His previous book in English is entitled Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel (Oxford University Press, 2006).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction: Belief in the Redemption after the Sabbatian Crisis	p. 1
The Messianic Window of Opportunity: 1740-1781
A Biographical Sketch of Immanuel Hai Ricchi	p. 11
The Mystical Persona of Immanuel Hai Ricchi	p. 18
The End of Days as Reckoned by Immanuel Hai Ricchi: 1740-1781	p. 22
Rising to the Occasion: 'Aliya in Advance of 1740
Jewish Jerusalem Grows	p. 31
Completing the Compound of the Four Sephardi Synagogues in Jerusalem	p. 39
The Affuence of the 'Aliya Movement	p. 43
The Establishment of Eight New Yeshivot in Jerusalem before and after 1740	p. 46
Ramhal Makes 'Aliya	p. 53
The Rebuilding of Tiberias by Hayyim Abulafia in 1740	p. 60
The Role of the Pequidei Qushta in the Rebuilding of Tiberias	p. 64
The Establishment of Yeshivat Kenesset Yisrael in Jerusalem by Hayyim b. 'Attar	p. 67
Codes of Ethics and Mystical Groups in Jerusalem
Hemdat yamim and the 'Aliya of the Izmir Kabbalists	p. 77
Socioreligious Tensions Occasioned by the Population Increase in Jerusalem	p. 82
The "Dawn" Year, 1748: Another Opportunity for Redemption	p. 93
Moral Legislation in Jerusalem in 1749-1754	p. 99
The Concept of Ahdut Yisrael (Jewish Unity) in the Sermons of Israel Jacob Algazi	p. 105
The "Pledge Documents" of the Beit El Kabbalists	p. 113
"The Dawn": Three Jerusalem Kabbalists Invoke Magic to Hasten the Redemption	p. 126
The Observance of the Shiluah ha-Qen Commandment as a Redeeming Mystical Act	p. 140
The Termination of Mystical Messianic Activity in Jerusalem	p. 142
The Dissemination of Lurianic Kabbala and End Reckonings in Eastern Europe
The Role of Sabbatianism in Stimulating Interest in Lurianic Kabbala	p. 147
The Study of Lurianic Kabbala on the Basis of Mishnat Hasidim at the Brody Kloiz	p. 148
End Reckonings in Darkhei No'am	p. 155
The Eschatological Meaning of the Torments of 1768-1770	p. 160
No End in Sight: How the Kabbalists Responded	p. 169
The Search for the Ten Tribes in the Eighteenth Century
The Relationship between the Search for the Ten Tribes and Redemption	p. 179
Searching for the Ten Tribes in England and the Netherlands	p. 181
Renewed Interest in the "Sons of Moses" Letter	p. 186
Messianic Trends at the Dawn of Hasidism
New Evidence about the Messianic Motive in the Hasidic 'Aliya	p. 193
The Messianic Significance of the Ba'al Shem Tov's Iggeret ha-Qodesh	p. 206
A New Approach toward Examining the Messianic Complexion of Iggeret ha-Qodesh	p. 211
Messianic Allusions in the Hasidic Letters from Erez Israel	p. 219
Hasidic Responses to the Non-Advent of the Messiah in 1781	p. 224
The 1772 Excommunication of the Hasidim in Vilna
Why Then? Why There?	p. 231
Who Initiated the Anti-Hasidic Boycott?	p. 232
The Opposition of the Major Lithuanian Communities to the 1772 Excommunication	p. 240
The Struggle between the Vilna Community Leaders and the Town Rabbi	p. 246
The Effect of the 1771 Plague in Vilna on the Excommunication of the Hasidim	p. 253
The 1772 Excommunication of the Hasidim in Vilna: Who Approved? Who Disapproved?	p. 259
The Kahal Leaders Pressure the Judges to Sign the Excommunication Letter	p. 265
Lithuanian Jewry's Support of the Hasidic 'Olim	p. 271
Conclusion	p. 285
Omission and Evasion in the Shaping of the Gaon of Vilna's Persona
A Biographical Sketch of the Gaon of Vilna	p. 289
The Paucity of Biographical Sources	p. 292
Silences in the Forewords to the Gaon of Vilna's Books	p. 299
The Gaon of Vilna's Messianic Goal: To Be the "Final Codifier"
"Even Shelema va-Hedeq": The Gaon's Purpose in Life	p. 307
The Gaon of Vilna: The Greatest Sage Since the Sealing of the Talmud	p. 313
The Gaon of Vilna in the History of Halakhic Decisors	p. 316
The Gaon of vs. Joseph Karo, Author of Shulhan 'Arukh	p. 324
The Gaon of Vilna's Abortive 'Aliya in 1778
The Suppression of the 'Aliya Affair	p. 329
Journeying to Erez Israel via Amsterdam and the Hague	p. 333
The Gaon of Vilna Attempts to Discover the "Secrets of the Torah" in Order to Write the Final Halakhic Code
Messianic Anticipation in 1740-1781	p. 345
The Gaon of Vilna's Three Approbations and Their Significance	p. 347
The Dispute between the Gaon of Vilna and the Hasidim over How to Hasten the Redemption	p. 354
Combing Amsterdam for Priqei Hekhalot and Moses Cordovero's Commentaries on the Zohar	p. 362
The Gaon's Attitude toward Secular Science in the Messianic Era	p. 369
Did the Gaon of Vilna Seek Information about the Ten Tribes While in the Hague?	p. 374
From "Redemptive Mystical Action" to "Redemption by Natural Means"
The Last Eighteen Years of the Gaon of Vilna's Life	p. 385
The Study of the "Erez Israel-Dependent Commandments" at the Gaon of Vilna's Beit Midrash	p. 389
The Messianic Legacy of the Gaon of Vilna According to His Kabbalistic Writings	p. 394
In Conclusion	p. 399
Epilogue	p. 403
Documents Appearing in the Herbew Edition	p. 407
Bibliography
Archive Sources and Hebrew Manuscripts	p. 409
Printed Primary Sources	p. 410
Studies and Other Secondary Sources in English	p. 415
Studies and Other Secondary Sources in Hebrew	p. 416
Studies and Other Secondary Sources in Other Languages	p. 426
Index	p. 427
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