Elijah (Eliyahu) ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon (also the Gaon of Vilna or "The Gra" — from the Hebrew acronym "Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu"), (April 23, 1720 – October 9, 1797), was one of the most outstaning rabbis in recent centuries. He was an exceptional Talmudist, Halachist and Kabbalist, and was the foremost leader of non-hasidic world Jewry. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha'Gaon ha'Chasid mi'Vilna, "the saintly genius from Vilna."