Lithuania rejects bid to move rabbi’s remains

LITHUANIA HAS refused the Israeli government’s request to transfer the remains of the Vilna Gaon, one of the most famous Jewish sages of the last 300 years.

The issue was raised during the Lithuanian Prime Minister’s visit to Jerusalem last week. His office said the request was denied because the “Vilna Gaon is an inseparable part of Lithuania’s Jewish community and Lithuanian history.”

The scholar, who died in 1797, wrote noted commentaries on the Torah, Mishnah and Talmud. In accordance with his wishes, his followers relocated to Holy Land shortly after he died.