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Are Our Gedolim Pictures Accurate?

by Yated Ne'eman Staff

The Portrait of the Gaon of Vilna

Today, we possess different portraits of the Gaon of Vilna. Each one reflects his unique saintliness. Each one mirrors his greatness and grandeur.

When we look at these pictures, one question seems obvious:Is it possible that the Gra, who permitted very few people to enter his kloiz while he studied, allowed an artist to remain there for days?

Picture #1 is said to have been drawn by one of his students, Reb Shimon of Zagar, who supposedly sat in the Gra's kloiz and drew as the Gra studied. One hundred years later a memorial service was held in commemoration of the Gra. In honor of that occasion, an enterprising Warsaw businessman printed thousands of copies of Reb Shimon's drawing. In huge advertisements promoting its sale, he wrote: ``Rabbenu Eliyahu is pictured here, seated beside a desk. He is surrounded by seforim, ... a clock is on the wall. He is draped in his tallis and is wearing tefillin. He is deeply engrossed in Torah study.

The story was that R' Shimon sat and sketched the Gra while the latter was writing. His pencil sketches were later reworked and reproduced.

However, take a look at the Gra's library. The seforim are luxuriously bound and are of equal size. It is quite doubtful, that the poverty-stricken Gaon was able to purchase such books. It is also quite doubtful that all the books were the same size.

Take a look at the parchment on which the Gra is transcribing his chiddushim. He is in the middle of a sentence, and is writing from left to right! Surely he is not writing in Hebrew! Nor is the sefer he is holding a Hebrew one, for the embossments on its cover appear on the sefer's left side!

Also, the tefillah shel rosh appears quite low on the Gaon's forehead. According to the Ma'aseh Rav (20), the Gra held that tefillin should be as high as possible on the head.

It is clear that, if the picture has any historical accuracy, the later amendments are certainly not true. On the other hand, one of the common pictures is based on a painting in the city museum of Vilna, and there are no obvious problems with it.

According to the notes of a sale at the Winner's Auction gallery in Februaruy 2018, Picture 2 matches the picture found in the home of the Gra's granddaughter Mrs. Miriam Sentawe, which the Gra's grandsons testified is correct and true, and was made with tremendous effort, and was also found in the home of the Vilner family, grandchildren of the Gra. Underneath the picture, the English text reads: 'Rabbeinu Eliyahu Vilna Gaon' and the date of his passing, 1797. The Hebrew text reads (in translation): "An eternal memory for the tzaddik. Good is the eye who saw him. A candle before us, the great gaon, wonder of the generation, light of Israel who resembles an angel, none arose as him in all seven wisdoms, rabbi of the entire diaspora, Rabbi Eliyahu son of Shlomo ztzvk"l of Vilna, gathered unto his people 19 Tishrei 5558."

A third picture came to light around the time of the 200th yarhtzeit of the Gaon. The features seem similar to Picture 2, but details are different such as the hat and beard.

Common representation of the Rambam

The image of the Rambam that was on the Israeli one shekel note (now obsolete)

The Portrait Of The Rambam

The Rambam's portraits are surely famous. For centuries, they have decorated Sukkahs, homes, and the introductory pages of seforim. Are they really accurate portraits? After all, they were painted many years after his death.

Concerning portrait #1, the Yashar of Kandia, wrote in 5604: ``With regard to the accuracy of that picture [of the Rambam] this is all that I can say. This portrait is found in a collection of ancient pictures and documents, compiled by Blazius Ogulinus, who says that the artist took it from an ancient engraving. How he acquired that engraving, I do not know, nor can I vouch for its accuracy. But this I do know: Ogulinus is a very honest, intelligent, and perceptive person, who can be trusted. It seems safe to assume that he had access to the engraving as he compiled his collection.''

This collection mentioned by Yashar was published in Venice in the year 5504 - only two hundred and forty odd years ago. Twenty-two years prior to its publication, the Tur on Shulchan Oruch, Orach Chaim appeared, and it contained pictures of Rashi, Rambam, Maharil, Maharyach, Rama and Rabbi Gur Aryeh (one of the greatest Rabbis of Mantova). In this collection a different picture of the Rambam appears. His beard is long and pointed and his payos appear to be long.

The consensus among researchers is that these pictures of the Rambam are more imaginative than real. Just as we surmise what Moshe Rabbenu and Aaron HaKohen looked like, so the painters of these portraits probably surmised what the Rambam looked like, and committed their mental impressions to their easels.

Many debates have erupted concerning the authenticity of the Besht's handwritten letters, especially those which are found in the Charsunian Genizah. Many doubt the authenticity of the famous letter which he is said to have sent to Rav Gershon Kitover in Eretz Yisroel.

No doubts are raised regarding the authenticity of the famous portrait of him. It was disseminated by a non-religious Jew, who admitted a year after he first published it about a hundred years ago that there was no way of knowing if the portrait resembled the Besht. ``But once it has been publicized as the Besht's portrait, and has appeared in hundreds of seforim, and has decorated thousands of Sukkah,''he added, ``Is it not then a portrait of the Besht?''

In fact it is thought to be the portrait of another tzaddik who was also known by the title Baal Shem Tov.

The Portrait Of The Chasam Sofer

Today, we have access to two portraits of the Chasam Sofer, one drawn when he was young, the other when he was much older. Both are reliable. The picture of the elderly Chasam Sofer graced the home of Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, the Rav of Mattersdorf, who once told Rabbi Anshel Klein, Rosh Kollel Maharis Shick of Jerusalem, that Rebbetzin Simcha Lehman, the Chasam Sofer's daughter, had said: ``That is exactly how my father looked.''

Years later, one of Hungary's greatest rabbonim compiled a sefer called Temunos HaGedolim. In its introduction, the compiler's father wrote:

``Your endeavor is very commendable, for the wisdom of a person illuminates his face, and the visage of a righteous and eminent person arouses positive emotions in people. We find that the "image of his father" is mentioned at a crucial point in the life of Yosef Hatzaddik. People love to acquire such portraits and indeed every single talmid of the Chasam Sofer possesses his picture. Whenever they look at it, they are reminded of the superlative qualities of their beloved mentor, and are inspired to emulate him.

``Also in the introduction of the biography of the MaHarSha printed in Levov it quotes the Yerushalmi (5:1) saying that when saying over something, one should pretend that the original source is standing opposite. ''

The fact that the daughter of the Chasam Sofer vouched for the reliability of the portrait proves beyond a doubt that it is accurate, as does the fact that his students cherished it.

The picture on the left is a lithograph from around 1830. The Chasam Sofer passed away nine years later.

Just as the Chasam Sofer's daughter vouched for the authenticity of her father's portrait, so did the Yaavetz - the son of the Chacham Tzvi - testify to the credibility of the famous painting of his father. He even describes the circumstances under which it was drawn.

``My revered father was greatly beloved and respected by all. One day, the Sephardic community of London invited him to visit them. Because they so loved him, they pleaded with him to let them make a portrait of him that they could keep and cherish. However, under no circumstances would he agree to their request. They tried to convince him that it was indeed permissible to paint the face of a tzaddik, but to no avail. In the end, they painted his portrait without his knowledge. And indeed, they succeeded in portraying him accurately, and at capturing his unique aura of saintliness and piety.''

Later on, the Yaavetz describes his father, saying. ``His face was slightly round, his skin ruddy, his forehead high, his nose, a bit elongated, his lips like roses, the hair on his cheeks was thin, but his beard seemed to extend from ear to ear.

This picture is very accurate. It was copied from a medal on which his image was engraved. The medal was prepared in honor of his appointment to the position of Rabbi of Amsterdam.

We possess many accurate descriptions of that event, which took place on Rosh Hashanah 5496. The appointment of Rabbi Rokeach, the Gaon of Brod, was considered a unique occasion, even by Dutch authorities. He was inducted at an impressive ceremony, and a special ode, ``Shir truas ron me'zaro shel Avrohom lamelumad me'od Elazar MiBroda ...'' (An ode to the most preeminent and learned Elazar of Broda) was composed in his honor.

The Rama of Fano, a great scholar and mekubal, was one of Italy's most eminent personages. He was famed not only for his brilliance, but also for his modesty. He once said: the initials of my name, Menachem Azarya (Mem and,Ayin point to my being a ``maavir avon - (forbearing person).

His portrait was distributed among Italy's Jews, and the Gaon Eliyahu Panizil testifies that he saw it hanging in the yeshiva of the Chacham, Rabbi Yosef Yare, the Av Bais Din of Piora. The fact that people who knew him displayed his picture, bodes well for its authenticity.

The portraits of these great tzaddikim were painted and disseminated during their lifetimes, a fact which indicates that they were indeed reliable.

The portrait of the Ben Ish Chai is unique. His features are striking, his burning gaze — piercing, his turban — impressive.

The Ben Ish Chai himself once described his turban saying that although the custom of wearing such headgear — once common among the gedolim of Baghdad — had been stopped for twenty years, he was reviving it.

How did he arrange it?

He writes: ``At first I would don a thick and strong hat called a Kima. It was filled with cotton. On top of the Kima, I would place a fez — another hat. Then I would wind a white piece of cloth around the entire base, and tie it tightly. Afterwards, I would drape a shawl over it, and fold it over very carefully, in an intricate manner. I would bind the shawl to the base with pins. The entire turban was so tightly secured, that I could remove it a number of times a day, without having to rearrange it.

The portrait of the Ben Ish Chai is accurate.

His portrait, too, is very reliable. There are many written descriptions of the Chida, and they all comply with the portrait. The Chida's features were very refined. His greatness shone forth from his face. Rabbi Gavriel Pirere deLeon of Livorno was deeply impressed by the arrival of the Chida in his community, and described him as handsome and saintly-looking. ``When he arrived in our community,'' he wrote ``everyone went out to greet him, and everyone was awed by him.'' Rabbi Nissim Shlomo Algazi, the Rav of Egypt described the Chida's appearance as majestic, and compared him to an angel of the Lord of Hosts, "in his reputation, his deeds, and his Torah, the Torah of truth."

But not only was he handsome, his appearance also reflected his honesty and the excellence of his middos. He too, wore a special turban, and was generally well dressed. He travelled extensively, and often suffered at the hands of porters and drivers who were unhappy about the luggage he brought along. In his travel diaries, we find an entry at Toulouse, France, that bemoans the loss of clothing caused by a servant, noting particularly a special, hard-to-find turban.