Day of Hilula
The Gra (The Vilna Gaon)
י״ט בתשרי
Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania
In Jewish tradition, the day of a tzadik's passing — the 'Hilula' — is not a day of mourning, but a day of spiritual elevation and awakening. According to the teachings of Kabbalah, on this day the soul of the tzadik ascends to a higher realm, and their light and merits shine upon the world. Many Jews mark the day through Torah study, reciting Tehillim, lighting a memorial candle, and good deeds for the elevation of the soul — to connect with the tzadik's path and qualities.
His Life and Legacy
The legacy of the Gra is felt in every field of Torah and thought. His commentaries and glosses on the Shulchan Aruch and on the Talmud are a foundation of the scholarship of the later generations, and are studied in every study hall. His disciples established the Volozhin Yeshiva — 'the mother of the yeshivas' — and thus shaped the world of the yeshivas for the generations. The ascent of the Perushim to the Land of Israel, which he initiated and encouraged, laid the foundation for the Ashkenazi settlement in the Land. His opposition to Hasidism shaped the character of Lithuanian Jewry, and his thought in Kabbalah and in ethics influenced the Musar movement and Jewish thought. The figure of the Gra — the wondrous sage, the ascetic and the diligent — became a model for the generations, and his memory is preserved in Israel as one of the greatest geniuses of all the generations. Streets, neighborhoods, and Torah institutions in Israel and around the world are named for him.
"One does not act based on signs (omens)"