The Gaon of Vilna: The Man and His Image

2. The Vilna Gaon and Haskalah

2 The Vilna Gaon and Haskalah 37 t h e v i l n a g a o n v i e w e d a s a m a s k i l b y t h e m a s k i l i m The cornerstone of the image of the Vilna Gaon as one of the forefathers of Haskalah in eastern Europe was laid by Rabbi Barukh of Shklov (1744 –1808), also known as Barukh Schick, one of the pioneers of Haskalah in eastern Europe. In the introduction to his Hebrew translation of Euclid’s Elements, Rabbi Barukh claims that, when he visited the revered sage in the winter of 1777–78, the latter advocated secular studies: “I heard from the holy one that, to the extent that a person is lacking in knowledge of secular subjects, he will lack one hundredfold in the wisdom of the Torah. For the Torah and secular knowledge are bound together . . . . He commanded me to translate whatever possible of the secular subjects into our holy tongue in order to recover what they [the 38 t h e v i l n a g a o n a n d h a s k a l a h Gentiles] had devoured, . . . so that knowledge should proliferate among our people of Israel.”1 Rabbi Barukh’s self-assumed mission was to promote secular studies among the Jews of eastern Europe,2 to which end he wrote, translated, and published books on secular subjects. As his efforts in this vein met with hostile reactions, it is reasonable to assume his claim that the Gaon approved his activities was motivated by a desire to benefit from the Gaon’s enormous prestige. Rabbi Barukh’s testimony regarding this “approval ” was widely quoted by Haskalah writers and historians of later generations, probably because it was the first evidence of its kind, it could be attributed to the primary source, and it seemed particularly trustworthy in that it had appeared in print during the Gaon’s lifetime. This portrayal of the Gaon as a supporter of Haskalah was to develop still further. The next stage can be illustrated by Te’udah BeYisrael (Admonition in Israel) by Isaac Baer Levinsohn (1788–1860). In this book, the first programmatic work of the Haskalah movement in Russia, Levinsohn took pains to prove that the aims of Haskalah were consistent with Jewish tradition, and that its very roots could be traced back to that tradition . Arguing this point, Levinsohn cited a long list of Jewish leaders of the past who had not been averse to secular studies, notwithstanding their prowess as men of Torah. In this list Levinsohn included the Gaon of Vilna, relying on the above-cited testimony of Rabbi Barukh of Shklov. However, his account seems to add some new elements. The Gaon, says Levinsohn, had not merely acknowledged the importance of secular studies and instructed Rabbi Barukh to translate scientific literature into Hebrew; he himself had been “learned in many of the sciences and he would earnestly encourage the study of sciences.” Moreover, Levinsohn stated that the Gaon’s position in this regard had influenced his disciples, among whom was Rabbi Solomon Zalman of Volozhin, a close disciple of the Gaon, whom Levinsohn described as “learned in grammar and geometry and the other secular subjects necessary for understanding the Talmud.” Levinsohn then generalized, adding that “thus were all the holy society of the disciples of Our Master Eliyahu of Blessed Memory.”3 Elsewhere, in discussing Levinsohn’s efforts to prove the correctness of Haskalah within the tradition, I wrote: t h e v i l n a g a o n a n d h a s k a l a h 39 The customary image of the Haskalah movement in eastern Europe tends to focus on elements of transformation and innovation that threatened to undermine the patterns of traditional society and to question the validity and authority of its values. This picture is certainly justifiable, even with respect to the movement’s more moderate manifestations, such as that represented by Levinsohn, and it is all the more valid if one considers its later, more radical developments. However, in viewing Haskalah as advocated by Levinsohn and his contemporaries through the prism of its future evolution, one runs the risk of overlooking one of its most basic characteristics: Levinsohn and many other contemporary...