The Vilna Gaon

1720–1797

Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, 1720–1797. He held no rabbinic post and taught almost no students, yet Lithuanian Jewry has been shaped by his way of reading ever since: back to the plain text, with the manuscripts checked.

Days on which this name is the person of the day in 2026

• 2026-01-12 · 434
• 2026-05-11 · 245
• 2026-05-18 · 128
• 2026-06-23 · 461
• 2026-11-13 · 119

Code of the day →

Non-Hebrew names are written in Hebrew letters by ordinary transliteration; variants exist, and the number depends on the spelling. We show the letters so it can be checked. This is a coincidence of counting, not a claim about fate. It is interesting exactly insofar as you can see how it was counted.