After eagerly awaiting its publication, the public will be
pleased to see the arrival on the bookshelves of another
volume in the Chumash HaGra series by HaRav Dov
Eliach. Two previous volumes in the series, on Bereishis
and Shemos, have appeared.
Vayikra was not ready this year due to a lack of time,
but the appearance of Bamidbar is a pleasure to behold and a
reason to celebrate and to write a few words of appreciation
for the new sefer for those who seek the Toras
emes of the Gra.
Chumash HaGra, based on the nigloh commentaries
of the Gaon, is such an apt innovation it comes as a surprise
that it has never appeared before. After all who can
elucidate the simple, true meaning of the text like the Vilna
Gaon zt"l? Who else offers commentaries as worthy to
see the light of print as the Gra, who points out how the
language of the verses upholds his remarks?
The book reflects the tremendous effort invested by editor
HaRav Dov Eliach, who toiled indefatigably to select and
check the elucidations, as well as the entire organization.
His remarkable conversance with the Gra's writings is
attested to by the list of books he already published on the
Gra and his teachings, the fruits of which are readily
apparent in every volume of the new series.
HaRav Eliach's books are notable for their careful assessment
and weighing of every teaching based on its original source.
Clearly one cannot attribute the same weight to commentaries
extracted from the Gra's writings themselves or even the
writings of his close talmidim, as to teachings cited
in the name of the Gra, including teachings that originated
some 200 years after the Gra lived.
Unfortunately not all is so clear in several of the available
Gra compilations since they mixed together various elements
and in some cases repeatedly print every word that is in any
way attached to his name, even when the source is hazy and
seems lacking in precision and reliability and sometimes even
the contents themselves appear dubious and unfounded.
Such is not the case with Chumash HaGra, whose
experienced editor toiled to authenticate the contents based
on the original. He made clear distinctions between firsthand
sources from the writings of the Gra, his talmidim and
his family members and those disseminated in his name. All
unsubstantiated teachings are marked "Mipi hashemu'oh"
because even after all of the sifting and clarifying done to
corroborate these shemu'os, still the din of a
shemu'oh is not the same as the writings of the Gra
and his talmidim.
In addition the contents were presented to HaRav Chaim
Kanievsky, who has supported and assisted HaRav Eliach in all
of his works. Thus the end result is polished and clean.
With three splendid volumes already on the bookshelves the
author can now be counted on to produce fine work.
The range of sources found at the end of the elucidations
indicates the extensive efforts made to search every nick and
cranny to find the Gra's illuminations, both large and small.
He also drew clarifications of the simple meaning of the
verses from the Gra's works on Kabboloh, Nach, Mishnoh,
gemora, and grammar as well as all of his disciples'
books. He gleaned and gathered together all of these sources
to provide us with this fabulous compilation.
The great esteem the author has won from gedolei Yisroel
shlita serves as evidence of the importance they attach
to his fine works, which really do bring brochoh to
every Torah home.
All that remains for us is to once again wait eagerly for the
last two volumes, Chumash Vayikra and Chumash
Devorim, which HaRav Eliach says are already in the final
stages of editing in preparation for their publication in the
course of the coming year.
Note: In some of the earlier editions page 18 was missing.
Anyone who is missing that page should get a corrected copy
from his bookseller.
