First edition of these stories about the Vilna Gaon by his son R. Abraham ben Elijah. (1750-1808). The title-page informs that it is a compilation the Totah thoughts, tales, eulogies, and Talmudic aggadot from the Gaon as well as biographic information. At the end are likktim yekarim from the Gaon.

R. Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (the Vilna Gaon; acronym Ha-GRA  1720–1797) was one of the greatest spiritual and intellectual leaders of Jewry in modern times. A man of iron will, Elijah combined the personal life of an intellectual hermit with active and polemical leadership in Jewish society through his overwhelming influence on a chosen circle of disciples. The Gaon also acquainted himself with astronomy, geometry, algebra, and geography in order to understand certain Talmudic laws and discussions. To shut out distraction, Elijah would close the windows of his room by day and study by candlelight. In winter he studied in an unheated room placing his feet in cold water to prevent himself from falling asleep According to his’s sons he did not sleep more than two hours a day, and never for more than half an hour at a time. To shut out distraction, Elijah would close the windows of his room by day and study by candlelight. In winter he studied in an unheated room placing his feet in cold water to prevent himself from falling asleep. (According to Elijah’s sons he did not sleep more than two hours a day, and never for more than half an hour at a time. Elijah made a special study of the Jerusalem Talmud, “opening up new horizons and clarifying incomprehensible passages” (eulogy in Sa’arat Eliyahu).

R. Abraham ben Elijah of Vilna (1750–1808) was a Talmudic and midrashic scholar. He received most of his education from his father, the Vilna Gaon. and acquired a command of rabbinic literature and much general knowledge. R. Abraham wrote a valuable introduction to his edition of Midrash Aggadat Bereshit (Vilna, 1802). His Rav Pe’alim (1894) is an alphabetical index of all the Midrashic works known to him,on 130 Midrashim. He wrote a geography, Gevulot Ereẓ (“The Earth’s Boundaries,” published anonymously, Berlin, 1821) and composed commentaries on several tractates of the Talmud and on Midrash Rabbah, glosses and notes to the Jerusalem Talmud, a book on weights and measures in the Talmud, another on place-names in the Talmud and Midrash, and several works, some unpublished. He was active in communal affairs. Together with his brother, R. Judah Loeb, he published several of his father’s works.

Hebrew Description

ספר סערת אליהו : ... הגיוני תושיה, וענינים יקרים, ספורים נכבדים, ובאורים בכתבי קודש ואגדות חז"ל ... גם ... הגיוני תוגה, על מות ... מרנא ורבנא, אליהו זצוק"ל מווילנא ... כתובים ע"י בנו ... מוה’ אברהם זצללה"ה. [יצא לאור מכתי"ק, מתוקן ומסודר, עם קצת הערות יקרות], [מאת] (שמואל בן ... הג"מ אברהם יונה זצ"ל יעוונין מהוראדנא, בווילנא) ..

דף כב,ב-כד,ב: מכתב יקר משארי ... מוה’ יהודא יודיל ני’ הלוי עפשטיין.

דף כה ואילך: לקוטים ... מרבינו ... אליהו זצוק"ל ... אשר עוד לא הופיע עליהם אור הדפוס ... שלוחים אלי מאת ... מוה’ ישראל דוד ני’ מיללער בעה"מ ס’ "מלחמת סופרים".