Gra

1720-1797

Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Shlomo Zalman (1720-1797), also known as the Gra or Vilna Gaon, lived in Lithuania and was the foremost leader of the MIsnagdic Jewry. His notes on the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch are studied and analyzed by serious scholars around the world, and his customs are often considered the prevailing minhag among Ashkenazi Jews, regularly paskened by the Mishna Berura and others.

Both Kol Eliyahu and Divrei Eliyahu are posthumous compilations of his Torah insights. While many of the same ideas are in both works, Kol Eliyahu contains chiddushim interpreting pesukim, while Divrei Eliyahu will often contain more statements of ethics and homiletic remarks, and often will have deeper symbolic ideas based on gematria, the trop, or anagrams of words.

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Divrei Torah by Gra

Bereishit

Bereishit 2:7

Bereishit 2:7 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Avot 3:1 - Know: From where you came, where you are going, and before Whom you will have to give din vecheshbon. Adam was made by Hashem, so he sinned b/c he had only 2 things to look at. Din is the sin, cheshbon is the good you could have done instead.

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Bereishit

Bereishit 3:3

Bereishit 3:3 — Divrei Eliyahu

by Divrei Eliyahu

Midrash Rabba: Snake was asked why he is between fences. Explanation: He could not get Chava to sin directly, but only by first getting her to violate the "fence" protecting the sin.

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Bereishit

Bereishit 4:5

Bereishit 4:5 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

The yetzer hara can control a person only where there is an opening for him, such as when a person is in doubt as to whether to perform a mitzva. Thus Rashi Sanhedrin 103 - worse to find your wife safek nida than actual nida.

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Bereishit

Bereishit 4:8

Bereishit 4:8 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Midrash: Hevel was bigger than Kayin, so Kayin can hurt him only w/ a trick: calling him achiv (his brother), convincing him to be alone in the field where he could surprise attack him. Thus Hashem asks "where is Hevel your brother" - there is no other.

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Noach

Noach 11:28

Noach 11:28 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Zohar: Until Haran, no one ever predeceased their father. Q: What about Hevel, Chanoch, and Lemech? Perhaps it meant after the flood. Q: But Shem outlived Arpachshad, Eiver outlived Peleg, and Serug outlived Nachor? A: If you add it up, Haran died before Arpachshad, Peleg, and Nachor.

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Lech Lecha

Lech Lecha 12:3

Lech Lecha 12:3 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Hashem said He will bless those who bless Avraham and those who curse Avraham He will curse. But why mention the resulting blessing first and the resulting curse last? The blessing of a rich person is stronger, and the curse of a poor person is stronger. Thus Hashem wanted those who bless and curse Avraham to do so while wealthy.

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Vayera

Vayera 18:1

Vayera 18:1 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Rashi: Mamrei gave Avraham the advice to do the Bris Mila, so Hashem revealed Himself to Avraham in Mamre's land. Gra: All of Avraham's actions were to bring people closer to serving Hashem. His method was to compare Hashem's kind ways to the cruelty of avoda zara asking to burn their children. But now he is being asked to circumcise himself at 99 and babies at 8 days old. Perhaps it would be better to miss out on his own reward for this mitzva in order to continue to bring others closer to Hashem? Aner and Eshkol agreed, but only Mamrei told Avraham to do the Bris. This is also the argument the Satan tried to use to convince Avraham not to do the akeda.

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Vayera

Vayera 18:3

Vayera 18:3 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Shabbat 127 - Welcoming guests is greater than greeting the Shekhina. Q: How do we know it's greater? Maybe it's equal? A: Someone leaving his rebbe backs away, face towards the rebbe. But Avraham went to greet the guests, and it would not be polite to go greet them facing backwards, with his face towards Hashem. The pasuk says he ran "likratam" (towards them), which means he turned his back on the Shekhina. Thus we see greeting guests is greater.

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Vayera

Vayera 21:33

Vayera 21:33 — Kol Eliyahu

by Kol Eliyahu

Midrash Tehillim and Rashi Ketubot 9: Eshel stands for achila, shtiya, and leviya (eating, drinking, and escorting). Gra: With this, Avraham fixed Adam's sin of eating, Noach's sin of drinking, and Sodom's sin of escorting. Footnote: Mei Shlomo - The home of a rich and generous host who used to welcome and feed lots of guests burnt down. Gra was asked why his mitzva didn't protect his home. Gra answered that he didn't escort the guests out, left with only the aish (fire) of eshel.

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