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I heard from a friend that he read that the Vilna Gaon did a Sium on the Torah. Not just the חמישה חומשי תורה, but that he basically claimed that he finished all there is to learn in Jewish studies. Torah, Gemara, Kabala, etc.

Does anyone have a source to this? Is this a known thing?

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    What about things that came after he died?
    – Daniel
    Commented Apr 23, 2015 at 20:35
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    @Daniel I have a feeling that that wasn't included in the sium
    – yechezkel
    Commented Apr 23, 2015 at 20:37
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    @warz3 he might not have considered those "Torah"
    – Daniel
    Commented Apr 23, 2015 at 20:39
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    IMHO, this question sounds a bit silly. It's one thing to say that the Gra studied every major text that he was taught to believe was part of "the masorah", but it's another to suppose that he thought that he had thus "finished", in a sense, with Torah altogether - that Torah is a closed, bound system that one could actually do a siyum on, rather than something of infinite breadth and scope.
    – Shimon bM
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 3:36
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    Did your friend give any indication of where he may have read this? Could he? Any information along those lines would make it easier to track this story down, if it's to be found somewhere other than in a recent conversation.
    – Isaac Moses ♦
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 16:48

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It is brought in the introduction to the Sefer Peat HaSulchan. It says there that he learned and understood clearly all that there is to learn (until the Achronim on the Shulchan Aruch) including the Kisvei Arizal, and understood everything besides 2 Sugeot in the Zohar.

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    Which 2 Sugiyot?
    – Dr. Shmuel
    Commented Apr 3, 2018 at 7:54
  • Does your source say that the Gra himself said he finsihed everything or was it a disciple who said it ,big difference.
    – sam
    Commented Jun 17, 2019 at 14:39

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