ELIJAH WILNA or ELIJAH BEN SOLOMON, best known as the Gaon Elijah of Wilna (172o-1797), a noted Tal mudist who hovered between the new and the old schools of thought. Orthodox in practice and feeling, his critical treatment of the rabbinic literature prepared the way for later scientific investigations. He was one of the first to distinguish the various strata in rabbinic records ; to him was due the revival of interest in the older Midrash (q.v.) and in the Palestinian Talmud (q.v.). As an ascetic, he opposed the emotional mysticism known as the new Hassidism.
See S. Schechter, Studies in Judaism (1896) . For his voluminous writings see Jewish Encyclopedia, v.