The Fate of the Vilna Gaon: 5 Rare Cases of Seeking Answers from Heaven

According to the Gaon's lot, one can receive answers to difficult and fateful questions by opening the Bible according to specific rules. It is only performed in particularly rare and complicated situations, requiring the performer to be in great purity and holiness. The famous Chofetz Chaim performed the Gaon's lot several times and would fast beforehand and make additional preparations to be worthy of it.

Identifying the Soldiers' Bodies

One of the most famous instances where the Gaon's lot was used was during the War of Independence, when the Lamed Heh unit, consisting of thirty-five fighters, was entirely murdered by Arab forces, and twelve soldiers' bodies were buried without being certainly identified, despite great efforts to maintain burial order during wartime. Rabbi Aryeh Levin of blessed memory conducted the Gaon's lot at the request of Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank of blessed memory, the then Rabbi of Jerusalem. The Rabbi received a diagram of the unidentified grave locations, and for each plot, he performed the Gaon's lot, which would yield a verse from the Bible with the name of the deceased or a hint to it.

Journalist Yitzhak Deutsch, who was present at the occasion and documented the events, wrote "To everyone's amazement, each page spoke decisively. The first verse they reached explicitly identified one of the fallen, and the content of each verse was so fitting, reflective, and suitable, as if the matters of the day were described in those very verses. One after another, with every time flipping seven times seven – the identities of the fallen were determined".

For example, for Binyamin Boglavsky, the verse received was "And the tribe of Binyamin by lot" (Joshua 21:4); for Oded Ben-Yamini, the verse was "Is it not of Ben-Yamini" (1 Samuel 21); for Eitan Gaon, the verse was "And the pride of Israel shall testify to his face" (Hosea 7:10); for Alexander Cohen, the verse was "Your priests shall be clothed with righteousness" (Psalms 132), and so on.

Should the Yeshiva be Closed Due to State Decrees?

Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, a student of the Gaon, used the Gaon's lot when the state decreed that secular studies be introduced into the yeshiva. The verse received was "For no leaven or honey shall be offered as a food offering to Hashem," from which Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin concluded that the yeshiva should be closed.

(Photo: shutterstock)

What to Do with the Yeshiva?

During World War I, the German forces rapidly conquered Lithuania, and Radin, the town hosting the Chofetz Chaim's yeshiva, was in danger of occupation. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Levinson, the son-in-law of the Chofetz Chaim, led its management, and when the danger approached, decided to perform the Gaon's lot. The verse that appeared was "For with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I have become two camps" (Genesis 32:11). Upon bringing the answer to his father-in-law, before he could share the result of the Gaon's lot, the Chofetz Chaim said he concluded that they should follow the verse "For with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I have become two camps" and split the yeshiva into two locations, which they did.

Stay or Escape?

Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli of blessed memory, son of the Rabbi of the town of Koidanov, Russia, debated whether to flee Russia despite the risk of execution. His father was captured by the Soviets for teaching Torah and was exiled to Siberia. Since then, contact with him was lost. Rabbi Yisraeli's mother was murdered by the Nazis, may their name be erased.

Rabbi Yisraeli attempted to leave Russia legally but was repeatedly denied, so he turned to Rabbi Yaakov Kalmes of blessed memory, Rabbi of Moscow, for guidance. Rabbi Kalmes decided to perform the Gaon's lot, and the verse that arose was "Turn and journey and come to the mountain of the Amorites... to the great river, the Euphrates" (Deuteronomy 1:7).

Following this, he crossed the frozen Prut River into Poland with two of his friends, where they were caught by Poles who wanted to send them back to Russia. However, thanks to a certificate sent by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook of blessed memory, he was saved and arrived in Israel.

Where Should One Flee?

Rabbi Aharon Kotler of blessed memory, during his days in Russia when it was still possible to flee the Nazis, debated whether to immigrate to Israel or respond to the calls of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein of blessed memory who argued before him that there was a need to strengthen the Jewry of America, which was like a spiritual desert. In the Gaon's lot he conducted, a verse appeared giving him a clear answer - "And Hashem said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses" (Exodus 4:27), and his own name being 'Aharon', and his friend calling him to America being 'Moshe'.