The Fateful Meeting
in
Rabbi Shlomo ben David
In honor of the
The life of Rav Eliyahu of Vilna — also
bicentennial of the known as the Vilna Gaon, or the Gra — is
ascent of the students of shrouded in mystery. One puzzle that many
have tried to solve is that of why, en route
the Gra to Eretz Yisrael, to Eretz Yisrael, he returned to Vilna. And
did he attempt aliyah only once, or more?
we reveal a possible and
Even more enigmatically, the Gra re-
partial solution to the fused to explain the cancellation of his
travel plans even to his closest family
riddle of his own members. When asked about it repeated-
abortive aliyah. Perhaps ly by his son Rav Avraham, the Gaon fi-
nally answered: “I lack permission from
a mysterious meeting, Heaven.”
revealed here for the New information has made it possible
to reconstruct events somewhat and theo-
first time, changed the rize that, in the wake of a fateful meeting,
Gra’s mind the Gra halted his journey.
Where was this meeting? When?
And, especially, with whom? We’ll try
to map it all out based on old findings
4  Succos 5770
plus new revelations.
“And I, thank G-d, am traveling to the
Holy Land, which everyone longs to see;
the delight of all Israel, and the delight of
Hashem Yisbarach. All the upper and low-
er beings long for it, and I am traveling in
peace, thank G-d.
“And if Hashem wills it, if I’m privi-
leged to be in Yerushalayim, the Holy City,
by the gates of Heaven, I will entreat for
you as promised. And if we merit, we will
all see each other [there], if the Master of
Mercy so wills ... and may the Master of
Peace grant you and my sons and daugh-
ters and sons-in-law and brothers and all
Israel life and peace.”
With these lofty words, the Gra begins
and ends “Leaves of Healing,” his famous
letter sent from the city of Koenigsberg
while on his way to Eretz Yisrael.
This mysterious journey has fascinated
many curiosity seekers and researchers, in-
Amsterdam
spiring numerous articles. It has captivated
all ends of the spectrum, from such lumi-
naries as Rav David Luria (Radal), Rav
Eliyahu Regoler of Kalish (see Aliyos Eli-
yahu), and Maharil Diskin to various histo-
rians not particularly identified with the
path of the Gra and his Torah, such as for-
mer Israeli president Yitzchak Ben Tzvi,
who devoted a special article to it, and
many others.
Why has this story intrigued so many,
while tales of other illustrious rabbis
haven’t? Apparently the answer has to do
with the Gra’s greatness.
The Gra ranks among the giants of
Jewish history, along with Rambam, Rav
Yehudah HaNasi, Rabi Akiva, etc. (see
Letters of the Chazon Ish, part 2, chapter
32), all of whom defied the natural decline
of the generations and shone like falling
stars once in a millennium (approbation of
Rav Y. Lifshitz, the Tiferes Yisrael, to the
Gra’s commentary on Choshen Mishpat),
illuminating the entire world with their To-
rah. The Gra’s diligence, abstinence, vir-
tues, and talents were astounding, and his
tremendous grasp of all aspects of Torah
— coupled with an extremely broad
knowledge of science — was extraordi-
nary. Above all was his “crown of humili-
ty,” in the words of his greatest disciple,
Rav Chaim of Volozhin.
The Gra sought to maximize his time,
devoting every minute to Torah study; ev-
erything he did was therefore meticulously
planned and timed. All year, he supposedly
recorded any time he’d wasted. At year’s
end, he would calculate the little time he’d
lost (always less than three hours a year),
berate himself, and confess it in the Al
Cheit for bitul Torah.
The Gra’s abortive trip to Eretz Yisrael
is apparently bound up in his spiritual lega-
cy, which included a directive to his stu- The Vilna Gaon
5
 “A Man’s Wife Comes from Hashem”
As stated in the main text, what has shed surprising new
light on the Gra’s journey to Eretz Yisrael is a manuscript
discovered by Rav Yeshayahu Vinograd, a specialist in the
works of the Gra, in all their thousands of editions.
This anonymous manuscript, found within the Warsaw
5643 edition of Chiddushei HaRashba, makes it crystal
clear that the Gra’s journey to Eretz Yisrael proceeded via
the Amsterdam community, where he stayed several
weeks.
Aside from this important testimony from an impecca-
ble source — Rav Chaim of Volozhin, the Gra’s prized pupil
— the manuscript contains a special story that reveals an-
other handsbreadth of the Gra’s exemplary personality.
t them consulted with me and told me: ‘Behold, an outstand-
A story I heard from the outstanding and veteran mouth
of Rav Meir Kohein of Volozhin, who heard it from the
holy mouth of the brilliant Rav Chaim of Volozhin, who
heard it from the mouth of his Rav [the Gra], the pious one
of Vilna:
When the pious one traveled to the Holy Land, he went
via Amsterdam. En route to Amsterdam, he lodged in a vil-
lage, in the home of an extremely honorable and wealthy
man. His sons and sons-in-law were also outstanding, and
it seemed fitting in the eyes of the pious one to rest there
several weeks from the rigors of travel and to dwell there,
because there was a minyan there evening, morning, and
afternoon. The pious one also found favor in the eyes of the
head of the household. So he stayed there some three
weeks.
When the day came for him to depart for his desired
destination, they escorted him, as is customary. And before
the pious one took leave of his host, the latter told the for-
mer: “I see that His Honor is among the great leaders of Is-
rael, the proof being that during his stay in my home he re-
viewed Shas and the other compendia. Therefore I ask that
my soul’s beloved tell me and light my way, for in my esti-
mation I’m proceeding along the straight path, and if,
Heaven forfend, he has seen some improper practice in my
home, let him tell me.”
The pious one replied: “Heaven forfend! Thus should
you always go, along the path of the innocent. Yet I have
seen one thing here that contravenes the Gemara. Chazal
say (Yevamos 62b): ‘One who loves his wife as his own
body ...’ — not more that that. Yet when [your wife] gets out
of bed every morning, you personally bring her water with
which to wash her hands, and you bring her coffee while
she’s still in bed, and you yourself don’t drink coffee.”
The head of the household replied to the pious one: “I
ask His Honor to hear the explanation of that which he
finds difficult.
“Behold, I am the son of great ones, and my father was
a great and famous scholar, but he wasn’t financially sta-
ble. Near our town lived a wealthy, reliable fellow, and he
took me for his daughter as a husband. At the time of the
tenayim, I was about nine, and he clothed and shoed me
and hired a teacher for me until I was fifteen. One thing led
to another, and my father-in-law lost his wealth. In the
short time remaining until the wedding, my father came to
my father-in-law to triple the dowry, but since he’d col-
6  Succos 5770
lapsed financially, he couldn’t fulfill the tenayim, so they
were torn up.
“Near the same village was an honorable man who also
had a wealthy son, and he took me as a husband for his
daughter. Right after the wedding, I fell ill. He hired doc-
tors to cure me, and the cure cost a certain sum, but it didn’t
work. Eventually, my father-in-law tired of this medical
matter and sent me to the village hekdeish (a home for piti-
ful cases), as was customary. And there I was terribly sick,
almost on the order of Nachum Ish Gamzu. Then my father-
in-law asked me to divorce my wife. Seeing that there was
no cure for my ills, I indeed divorced her.
“One day, poor people came to the hekdeish, and one of
ing scholar, yet he barely has food! Therefore I will seek a
resting place that will also be good for you. I’ll take a wag-
on and bring His Honor from house to house, courtyard to
courtyard, and city to city, as is customary. We’ll certainly
make a lot more money than the other beggars, for who
won’t pity you, especially since you’re a scholar?’
“And so it was: Every day he would take me around
from house to house, and I was placed in the wagon, and
upon my coming to a city, I would explain some Tosafos in
need of elucidation, and some Maharsha, until we earned
enough to survive comfortably.
“One day a poor man came to town, transporting a
maiden almost as sick as I was, and he was supporting him-
self the same way. We formed a partnership in this busi-
ness, and everything we collected in our travels from house
to house we would split. In time we formed bonds of tenay-
im, and we came to a city, to the hekdeish, and they made us
a wedding — though we were very sick, as stated — and
there was even a chuppah.
“And at the time of yichud, when bride and groom are
secluded, the woman began to weep, and her eyes streamed
with tears. And I said to her, ‘Why should you cry?’
“She replied: ‘How can I not cry? My father was
wealthy in years past, and when I was nine, he found me an
outstanding husband of fine lineage, and he supported him
almost five years, providing him with clothing and shoes.
But then he lost his wealth, and the tenayim were torn up.
And now things have come to this: I’m so sick, and I’ve
wed a sickly pauper such as you, and who knows from what
family you’ve come? How should I not cry?”
“When I heard that, I began speaking to her, until we re-
alized that she’d been my fiancée of years past! I’d re-
claimed my original bride! And there was great joy.
“Right after the wedding, things became easier for us,
and we regained our health. And behold, Hashem has
helped us prosper, as my master sees, and Hashem has
blessed me with fine, upstanding, and exceptional sons and
daughters.
“And behold, my beloved friend, if I caused her such
suffering for years, how can I not be obligated to appease
her in all manner of supplication and appeasement? There-
fore I show her all this honor.”
On hearing these words, the pious one returned to the
home of this wealthy man, where he sojourned another two
days and blessed [the couple] and their home.
Two lines in the communal records of the Hague mentioning the Gra and the Chida. The document was discovered by Dr. Morgenstern
dents to ascend to the Land and to settle it.
His students obeyed, exhibiting incredible
self-sacrifice and enduring indescribable
suffering. These “mighty of spirit, doing
the word of Hashem,” laid the foundation
for the renewal of Jewish settlement in
Eretz Yisrael in general and in Yerushalay-
im in particular. They paved the way for
the pure and holy immigrations that fol-
lowed.
“I Am Traveling to the Holy Land”
Regarding the Gra’s journey — or
journeys — to Eretz Yisrael, we have very
few details. Let us endeavor to collect
them and draw whatever conclusions we
can.
As stated, the Gra’s son, the brilliant Rav
Avraham, pleaded with him repeatedly:
“Twice I heard from his holy and pure
mouth that his Creator didn’t consent, so
he didn’t proceed. In his old age, I asked
him many times why he never reached the
Holy Land, and he wouldn’t answer me.
Once I implored him abundantly, and he
replied to me: ‘I lack permission from
Heaven.’ And likewise he promised me
that he would render decisive halachic rul-
ings from the four Turim, recording only
one opinion, which seemed right in the
eyes of his wisdom, with strong, irrefut-
able proofs. I asked him about this as well,
several years before his demise, and he re-
sponded: ‘I lack permission from Heaven.’
I said he would have been worthy, etc., but
the generation wasn’t. Is this not our sin
against him?”
Was there a connection between the
Gra’s twin aspirations, compiling a Shul-
chan Aruch for the Jewish People and as-
cending to Eretz Yisrael? Not necessarily,
but it’s not inconceivable. After all, such a
massive project needs the backing of the
sages — or at least those of Eretz Yisrael
— as did the Beis Yosef in authoring the
Shulchan Aruch.
Rav Yehoshua Heschel Levine, the
chronologist behind Aliyos Eliyahu, tells
us that the Gra traveled via Prussia and
Galicia, which was part of Hungary, and
that the letter was sent when the Gra
reached Koenigsberg (today Klinigrad).
From Levine’s reconstruction, it emerges
the Gra attempted aliyah after turning for-
ty. But why did he lengthen his journey by
traveling west — to Koenigsberg, in Prus-
sia — and only then southward to Galicia?
The simple, standard route to Eretz Yisrael
was to go from Lithuania southwest to the
region of Galicia. Even faster was the route All year, [the Gra]
southeast to Minsk, Mohilev, and then via supposedly recorded any
the Dnieper River to one of the ports along
the Black Sea (generally that of Odessa), time he’d wasted. At year’s
sailing from there to Kushta (Istanbul) and end, he would calculate
onward to Eretz Yisrael. It’s very possible
that the Gra wanted certain people to join the little time he’d lost
him. According to Aliyos Eliyahu (note
(always less than three
84), he wanted one of the hidden tzaddi-
kim of the city of Brody to come along, but hours a year), berate
the tzaddik refused and even predicted that
the Gra’s mission would fail and he would himself, and confess it in
turn back. the Al Cheit for bitul Torah
From Lithuania to Koenigsberg, a port
city on the Baltic Sea, the Gra apparently
traveled by boat. So attests Rav Yosef
Teumim, the Pri Megadim. According to a
story publicized even in the Gra’s lifetime,
he met a Jewish apostate on board. In the
morning, the Gra washed his hands and
prayed and then learned Torah, while the
apostate lay in bed, demanding whiskey.
The Gra advised him to contemplate how
low he’d sunk, but the heretic insisted that
there was no need to perform mitzvos. Pu-
rity of heart sufficed, he maintained, for
“the Merciful One desires the heart.” The
Gra refuted this argument.
More Than Once
From other sources, we know that the
Gra undertook various preparations for his
journey to Eretz Yisrael. Wealthy men do-
nated money for his travel costs, which he
later refunded, though he had indeed in-
curred expenses. His biographers see this
conduct as exceptional.
En route to Eretz Yisrael, the Gra wrote
his famous letter to his family. This letter
mentions his mother but not his father.
Thus, it must have been written between
the years 5520 — the year after his father’s
death — and 5529, the year of the demise
7

“In his old age, I asked
him many times why he
never reached the Holy
Land, and he wouldn’t
answer me. Once I
implored him
abundantly, and he
replied to me: ‘I lack
permission from
Heaven’ ”
— Rav Avraham,
son of the Gra
Map showing the route of the Gra's travels
of his mother, Traina, who’d lived in his
house some ten years. Why couldn’t the
Gra have written it as early as 5519? For
one thing, he wouldn’t have set out during
his year of mourning. Indeed, he doesn’t
refer to himself as hareini kapparas mish-
kavo, “I hereby atone for the deceased,” as
is customary during such a year.
In this famous letter, the Gra asks that
his mother and his wife educate the chil-
dren properly, suggesting that he intended
to be away for a long time. However, the
Gra concludes: “And if Hashem wills it, if
I’m privileged to be in Yerushalayim ... and
if we merit, we’ll all see each other togeth-
er [there], if the Master of Mercy so wills.”
Clearly, he planned to arrive in Eretz Yisra-
el, set himself up there and then in Yerusha-
layim, and then bring his family and maybe
even some of his students. This plan is evi-
dent from his remarks about the impor-
tance of reading the letter weekly and of
guarding one’s tongue: “Especially if
we’re privileged to come to Eretz Yisrael,
for there one needs very much to go in the
ways of Hashem ... for speech and charac-
ter require great habituation.” At this point,
when the Gra was somewhere between
forty and fifty, he still hadn’t reached the
pinnacle of fame, and we don’t know how
many followers he had.
This is more or less all we know about
the Gra’s journey to Eretz Yisrael, which
he ultimately abandoned.
Aliyos Eliyahu, a biography of the Gra,
advances many theories about why he
turned back. One hypothesis is that the ants
on board made it impossible for him to eat
8  Succos 5770
bread on Shabbos. Alternatively, the Gra
was strict about separating trumos and
maasros from produce grown in Eretz Yis-
rael even by a non-Jew, and when he
learned that the Beis Yosef excommunicat-
ed anyone who conducted himself that
way, he concluded that he couldn’t live
there.
Another reason is given in the name
of Rav Akiva Yosef Schlesinger: The Gra
calculated that he’d reach Yerushalayim
on the first day of Rosh HaShanah, and
he held that it was necessary to blow sho-
far before a beis din in Yerushalayim
when that first day fell on Shabbos, but
he worried that the beis din there
wouldn’t agree. According to yet another
explanation (put forward by Rav Eliyahu
Regolar, Av Beis Din of Kalish), the Gra
was a spark of the soul of Moshe Rab-
beinu, who hadn’t been allowed to go up
to Eretz Yisrael.
All these suppositions are quite flimsy
and most have been dismissed by various
authors. Even the idea of the Gra’s being
part of the soul of Moshe has been rejected,
for the same could be said of other tzaddi-
kim — such as Rabi Shimon bar Yochai —
yet they entered Eretz Yisrael. Further-
more, all the other issues could have been
known in advance, and the Gra wouldn’t
have traveled all that way before realizing
them. Besides, other great Jewish leaders
journeyed to Eretz Yisrael and didn’t worry
about these complications. Finally, the Gra
held that the commandment of settling
Eretz Yisrael applied even in his day, as per
Ramban and others, and certainly all the
aforementioned concerns wouldn’t over-
ride an explicit mitzvah.
Nevertheless, the Gra didn’t despair of
ascending to the Land of Israel. According
to his disciples’ descendants, he attempted
aliyah more than once.
Support for this tradition can be ad-
duced from the testimony of Rav Yaakov
Kahane, the Gra’s disciple and shammes
for more than twenty years, who quoted
the Gaon as saying: “If only Hashem
would grant me the merit of dwelling in the
Holy Land, at the very least it would be
worth my discarding Polish customs.” At
that time Lithuania and Poland were unit-
ed, with the the Polish aristocracy domi-
nating the government and culture. Thus,
even after his failed first attempt, the Gra
didn’t lose hope of reaching Eretz Yisrael
with his family.
Is there testimony to any additional
journeys undertaken by the Gra? And if so,
what’s known about them?
The Mysterious Route
Just over ten years ago, in the archives
of the Jewish community of The Hague, in
Holland, Dr. Ari Morgenstern discovered a
historic record of the community’s expens-
es, including monies sent to Eretz Yisrael.
The ledger states that, in 5538, five-and-a-
half florins were given to “Rav Eliyahu of
Vilna, who’s going to Eretz Yisrael.” It’s
hard to believe that this “Rav Eliyahu” was
the Gra. To understand why, one needs to
study the map of Europe.
Traveling from Vilna to Eretz Yisrael
via Amsterdam would take one some
1,700 kilometers out of his way. Amster-
dam is west of Lithuania, and there would
seem to be no logic in passing through it en
route to Eretz Yisrael, in the east. The sim-
plest and fastest way is to go from Lithua-
nia in the north to Minsk, Mohilev, in the
southeast, then travel along the Dnieper
River until the Zitomir region, and contin-
ue via the southern Bug River until Odes-
sa. Alternatively, one could travel the west-
ern land route to the region of Lvov,
Galicia, continuing via the Dniester River,
which spills into an area near the port city
of Odessa, along the Black Sea (see map).
From Odessa, people sailed to Istanbul,
then Ismir, then the shores of Lebanon or
directly to the coast of Acco. The entire trip
from Lithuania to Eretz Yisrael generally
took roughly a year, so why extend it by
detouring through Europe?
A manuscript found recently by Rav
Yeshayahu Vinograd, an expert in the
Gra’s works (see box on previous pages),
confirms that the ledger entry in question
may indeed refer to the Gra. This manu-
script contains highly reliable testimony in
the form of a tradition received by Rav
Meir HaKohein, a prized pupil of Rav
Chaim of Volozhin, who heard it “from his
Rav, the pious one of Vilna,” i.e., from the
Gra himself (the Gra was coined the “chas-
sid – the pious one” for his great righteous-
ness). Says this surprising testimony:
“When the pious one traveled to the
Holy Land, he went via Amsterdam. En
route to Amsterdam, he lodged in a village
... he stayed there some three weeks.”
In other words, we have clear testimo-
ny that — illogical though it was — the
Gra traveled to the Land of Israel via Am-
sterdam, near The Hague! And there’s no
doubt that this account refers to a different
journey from the famous one that proceed-
ed via Galicia and is documented in Aliyos
Eliyahu, which can’t possibly involve a
trip to Amsterdam. The obvious conclu-
sion is that this was indeed another attempt
by the Gra to reach Eretz Yisrael.
Why did the Gra veer more than 1,700
kilometers from the standard route to Eretz
Yisrael, not to mention spending several
weeks in Amsterdam once he got there?
This key question points us toward a possi-
ble solution to the mystery with which we
began.
The Key to Settling the Land
The Amsterdam Jewish community
was established only in the seventeenth
century, later than most European Jewish
enclaves. Most of the early arrivals were
Portuguese Anusim who had emigrated
from Portugal and Spain to Holland, which On his second journey, in
was then embroiled in a war with fanati-
cally Catholic Spain. The more financially addition to going up to
established Jews preferred to emigrate to a
Eretz Yisrael himself and
safer country, and Holland welcomed them
with open arms. Other Jews followed. This then sending for his family,
community was apparently the wealthiest
in Europe. Some thirty years later saw the [the Gra] sought to mobilize
arrival of Jews from southern Germany. many of his disciples and
Some twenty years after that — due to the
riots of 5508 and 5509 in Poland and Lith- reestablish the Ashkenazic
uania — Ashkenazic Jewry emigrated to community in Jerusalem
Amsterdam en masse, including such fa-
mous rabbis as Rav Moshe Ravkash, au-
thor of Be’er HaGolah and an ancestor of
the Gra.
Eventually, the Ashkenazic communi-
ty eclipsed the Sephardic one in number
and influence. Amsterdam became a mag-
net for Jews in financial or political dis-
tress. It was the Jewish capital of Europe,
funding other kehillos, yeshivos, and the
printing of Jewish books. This community
was considered a safe haven for Jews, who
circulated there without fear.
For these reasons, Amsterdam became
an intellectual crossroads of Ashkenaz and
Sephard. Great and famous scholars spent
time there, such as Ramchal. In the early
nineteenth century, the Clerks’ and Admin-
istrators’ Association of Amsterdam was
established, headed by banker Tzvi Hirsch
9
 Lehren, to raise money for the new Ashke-
nazic settlement established by the stu-
dents of the Gra. This organization paral-
leled the Council of the Clerks of Istanbul,
which served the Sephardic communities.
Not for nothing did Amsterdam earned
itself the nickname “Little Jerusalem.”
In light of all the above, the Gra’s de-
tour to Amsterdam becomes less mysteri-
ous. On his second journey, in addition to
going up to Eretz Yisrael himself and then
sending for his family, he sought to mobi-
lize many of his disciples and reestablish
the Ashkenazic community in Jerusalem.
The Gra was then close to sixty and had
merited thousands of followers throughout
Lithuania.
The goal was Yerushalayim, as spelled
out by the Gra himself in the letter written
during his first journey, and as per one of
his greatest disciples, Rav M. M. Mishkel-
ov, who was privileged to attain this lofty
objective. Even in his commentary on the
Torah (Aderes Eliyahu, Devarim 1:10), the
Gra emphasizes the importance of the peo-
ple of Yerushalayim.
Extensive Consultation
This holy goal involved tremendous
difficulties, in terms of both the mass as-
cent itself and in the pilgrims’ ability to
survive afterward in Yerushalayim, which
had been isolated since the failed aliyah of
In mid-Sivan Rav Yehudah HaChassid of Shidlova and
the Gra reached his students. The local Arabs demanded
that every Ashkenazic Jew repay the huge
The Hague and debts left by Rav Yehudah HaChassid’s
continued to students — either that or face imprison-
ment or expulsion. No doubt the establish-
Amsterdam, resting ment of an independent Ashkenazic com-
munity required the consent of the
three weeks on the
Sephardic Jewish leaders in Eretz Yisrael
way, as tradition in general and in Yerushalayim in particu-
lar, who received generous donations from
has it throughtout Europe, especially from
Greater Amsterdam.
Presumably, in pursuit of his goal, the
Gra had to consult those in the know, in-
cluding the heads of the Jewish communi-
ty in Eretz Yisrael, some of whom circu-
lated in and around Amsterdam. The Gra
also had two very important relatives in
the area. The first was the Rav of Amster-
dam, Rav Shaul Levinstam, who was the
mechutan of Rav Yissachar Ber, brother
of the Gra. The second was Rav Shaul Se-
gal, Av Beis Din of The Hague, who was
his brother-in-law. These two had very
good connections with the sages of Eretz
Yisrael and their emissaries, and both
helped raise a lot of money for the Jewish
communities there, as mentioned by the
Chida with great appreciation and empha-
sis in his book Maagal Tov.
Another fact fits in with all the above
and can help us date the Gra’s trip to Am-
10  Succos 5770
sterdam more precisely than just the year
provided by ledger of the Jewish communi-
ty in The Hague. Joining the Gra in this ven-
ture was probably one of the regular visitors
to his home, Rav Baruch Schick Mishkelov,
who, in his introduction to a book by Eu-
clides, cites the Gra regarding the need for
scientific knowledge in order to understand
the Torah and for scientific texts to be trans-
lated into Hebrew. According to this intro-
duction, Rav Baruch heard such things from
the Gra in Teves 5538. In addition, the ap-
probation by Rav Shaul of Amsterdam is
dated Tammuz 5539. The book itself was
published in The Hague in 5540.
According to the community ledger,
the Gra arrived in the city in 5538. It would
seem, if so, that Rav Baruch went with the
Gra to Amsterdam and The Hague, where
he received the approbation of Rav Shaul
of Amsterdam as well as that of Rav Shaul
of The Hague. Later, when he’d raised the
money for publication, Rav Baruch pub-
lished the book
The Fateful Meeting
According to Rav Baruch’s introduc-
tion, in Teves 5538, the Gra was still in Vil-
na. Apparently he set out only after spend-
ing Pesach with his family, since between
Adar and Nisan — when the snow melts
— the roads are impassable. We have no
confirmation of whether the Gra traveled
the quick Baltic Sea route from Koenigs-
berg to Hamburg to Amsterdam or via the
more arduous land route (complete with
swamps, rivers, and bandits) by way of
Dantzig (Gdansk), Chechen, Berlin, and
Hamburg. The naval route makes more
sense, unless the Gra had other reasons to
pass through these cities.
The journey probably took one-and-a-
half to two months. In other words, in mid-
Sivan the Gra reached The Hague and con-
tinued to Amsterdam, resting three weeks
on the way, as tradition has it. In Amster-
dam itself he stayed several weeks, after
which he apparently returned to Vilna.
What led the Gra to abandon his plan?
The answer is almost certainly connected
to a meeting he held in Amsterdam with a
key figure.
A finding no less surprising than the
mention of the Gra in The Hague commu-
nity ledger appears just two lines below
that reference. Printed there is the name of
none other than Rav Chaim Yosef David
Azoulay, the Chida, “emissary of the holy
community of Hevron,” who received —
according to the ledger — 118 gold pieces
for himself and his entourage in 5538, Par-
shas Beha’aloscha — i.e., mid-Sivan!
Not only that, but the Chida himself, in
his Maagal Tov, which chronicles his trav-
els, describes his long stay in Amsterdam
that year. Between Shvat and Iyar he stayed
in the home of Rav Shaul of Amsterdam,
who helped him a great deal (Maagal Tov,
pp. 20–26). Afterward, he writes, on Rosh
Chodesh Sivan he arrived in The Hague and
was hosted by none other than the Gra’s
other relative, Rav Shaul Segal, brother-in-
law of Rav Shaul of Amsterdam.
It would seem that the Gra met with the
Chida in Amsterdam or The Hague and
consulted him regarding his great plan (or
other matters). This meeting would also ex-
plain why the Gra tarried several weeks on
his way to Amsterdam — perhaps to meet
with key figures connected to Eretz Yisrael.
Even if our hypothesis is correct, we
have no record of what happened at this
meeting and why the Gra decided that
Heaven had denied him permission to im-
plement his grand plan.
Eighteen Years
An unsubstantiated rumor circulated
among the elders of Vilna that the Gra had
consulted Jewish leaders in the Holy Land
about renewing smichah, the traditional
rabbinic ordination, and when they
wouldn’t consent to that, he cancelled his
plans to reach Eretz Yisrael. We have no
significant support for this rumor. The only
thing that can perhaps be said is that ru-
mors did circulate throughout Lithuania
that, before his ascent to the Holy Land,
the Gra made many preparations and veri-
fied with the Jewish leaders there whether
Ashkenazic settlement could be renewed
in Jerusalem.
These words would also seem compat-
ible with the tradition handed down to Rav
Y. M. Charlap (according to his article
“Aliyas Eliyahu”) that one of the Gra’s
Heavenly objectives was to revive settle-
ment in Yerushalayim (see there also about
revealing Torah secrets and learning in a
straightforward manner and not by means
of pilpul).
Other indications of the date of the sec-
ond journey can be gleaned from the words
of the Gra himself, who relates in the intro-
duction to his elucidation of the Shulchan
Aruch that he taught in public, i.e., in a beis
medrash open to all, “for eighteen years.”
It’s possible that once he didn’t make it to
Eretz Yisrael, he came back to Vilna in
5539 and established a beis medrash pro-
moting his methods and practices. In this
endeavor he turned to the entire communi-
ty, not just to those exceptional individuals
who were close to him. From the end of
5539 or the beginning of 5540, in which
this kloiz opened, until his death early in
5758, we have eighteen years.
Precisely during these eighteen years,
the Gra was privileged to uplift the yoke
of Torah according to his methods and
practices. Scholars flocked to his beis
medrash to bask in his Torah and follow
in his footsteps. His children and disci-
ples all attest to his Heavenly goal of ori-
enting the Jewish People in straightfor-
ward learning and the rendering of
halachic decisions, in ethics and charac-
ter, etc. Rav Chaim of Volozhin notes:
“In Hashem’s mercy on us ... he sent us a
holy being from Heaven, in whom the
Divine spirit rests, our great and brilliant
rabbi, the light of the world, the holiness
of whose Torah and righteousness has
declared about him from one end of the
world to the other” (introduction to Sifra
d’Tzniyusa). His famous student Rav
Menashe Meilya, who championed the
pshat (the simple meaning of Jewish
texts) with all his might and rejected the
convoluted ways of pilpul, agreed that
the Gra was destined from Heaven for
this mission and noted that he “has begun
somewhat to restore the crown of Torah
to its former glory, according to ... the
way of truth and simplicity ... until we
merit the radiant effulgence of the Divine
via our righteous Mashiach” (Alfei Me-
nashe, part 1, par. 177).
Epilogue
Clearly, the Gra attempted at least
twice to ascend to Eretz Yisrael. Regarding
the second journey, which apparently took
place some ten years after the first, the Gra
had broader goals than he did the first time:
to bring with him not just his family but his
disciples, and to renew Ashkenazic settle-
ment in Yerushalayim. To that end, he con-
sulted with key figures involved in Eretz
Yisrael and accessible in Amsterdam. It
stands to reason that he indeed met with
the Chida, among others, but we have no
official information about what took place
during these meetings and why he decided
Heaven had denied him permission to car-
ry out his grand plan.
Where he failed, his students suc-
ceeded. In 5560, some two years after the
Gra’s stormy ascent to Heaven, Rav
Chaim of Volozhin convened a confer-
ence to consolidate a plan for mass aliyah
and the renewal of Ashkenazic settle-
ment in Eretz Yisrael. Approximately
eight years later, the first contingent set
out, followed by two more. His faithful
disciples were like Yehoshua sent by
Moshe, to whom Heaven denied entry
into Eretz Yisrael: “For you will see the
Land opposite you, and there you shall
not go” (Devarim 32:52).
The Gra’s grand plan failed to come to
fruition in his lifetime, but his vision was
implemented faithfully and self-sacrific-
ingly by his greatest students, who laid the
pure and holy foundations for the renewal
of Jewish settlement in the Holy Land to
this very day. All this and more in the next
article in this series. n
11