Author: Shnayer Z. Leiman

The commemoration of the 200th yahrzeit of the Vilna Gaon (19 Tishrei, 1797-1997) last year saw the transformation of the Gaon from unrivaled Torah scholar and pietist to Lithuanian national hero.  Amid much fanfare, the commemorative activities ranged from the issuing of a Lithuanian first-day cover with the Gaon’s portrait to the erection of a […]

In this essay, Shnayer Leiman, professor of Jewish history and literature at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, explains how the legend of the Golem of Prague is largely based on a literary hoax known as Niflaot Maharal, falsely ascribed to Maharal’s son-in-law. The work, which claims to be an eyewitness account […]